A Black-Tie Micro Wedding at The Groom’s Family Farm

Lauren Megerdichian
January 4, 2021
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance

“It’s about the marriage, not the wedding.” Truer words have never been spoken. When today’s bride needed to let go of her original wedding plans due to COVID, repeating this statement to herself over and over allowed her to realign with the main goal of their wedding weekend – to say “I do” to her forever person! With help from her planner, J.Elliott Style, the beautiful couple tied the knot in a gorgeous black-tie affair in the mountains at the groom’s family farm in Cashiers, NC. To see all the timeless beauty from their day, check out the full gallery – all taken by Elizabeth Lanier Photography!

From the Bride, Victoria… Russell proposed on a gorgeous Friday afternoon in March on the family property where he grew up. We frequented his farm on weekend retreats from busy city life, which made it possible for him to pull off the surprise. A very normal day and car ride down to the farm left me with no inclination of what would later ensue. With the help of family, he had transformed the space with gorgeous blooms, petals, and candles. The answer was an easy yes! Russell had invited our families and many close friends to a surprise engagement party and dinner afterward to celebrate. It was one of the best nights!

We immediately knew we wanted to host our wedding in the mountains of Cashiers, North Carolina, as this is another very special place to the two of us. We’ve spent many weekends in these mountains and loved the beauty of the rolling hills. We drew inspiration from the natural beauty of the surrounding area. When dreaming about my wedding day, I saw lots of natural tones and classic, comfortable elegance all while being surrounded by our closest friends and family in a place that means so much. Wedding planning always seemed daunting to me, so keeping the day as peaceful and laid back as possible was a huge priority, even down to the details. My mother and I made several trips up to Cashiers where we ironed out the day’s details and dreamed about how gorgeous this May evening would be.

Our original plans were to wed May 9, 2020, and I never anticipated anything changing this, certainly not a global pandemic. Towards the middle of March, even though our venue had not closed down yet, I accepted that our May 9th wedding would not be able to proceed as planned. Due to the uncertainty, many believed that the day could still go on, but Russell and I both agreed that we needed to go ahead and pivot our plans. Looking back, making the decision as early as we did was the best call we could have made. Most in similar situations chose to postpone their celebrations to later in the year, or the year following. For us, this was never an option — we wanted to be married and did not want to wait another day. So our search for the second venue began. We chose Russell’s family home, nestled by the lake was the most beautiful little island with an oak tree looking onto the water. Surrounded by our immediate family only, we said our vows. It felt just right! We hosted an intimate dinner party on the summer patio. We incorporated family heirlooms to create a meaningful table setting and pay tribute to those that couldn’t be there with us. We used my great grandmother’s Tiffany & Co China and my Grandmother’s Belgium lace tablecloth that has been passed down. My something blue was a beautiful sapphire ring that was passed down to me by my grandmother and namesake.

Throughout our engagement season, I maintained the statement that “it’s about the marriage, not the wedding”. Letting go of our original wedding plans was tough, but repeating this to myself help me manage the disappointment and realign with the main goal of our wedding weekend: to marry Russell. There were of course aspects of our wedding day that we both had looked so forward to that just could not happen, such as no wedding guests other than our very immediate families. This was not ideal, but we both knew sacrifices would have to be made and leaned on each other. We are forever grateful for our families, specifically both of our mothers, who pulled out all of the stops in a major time crunch to make this day so special for us and host such a meaningful event at home. The day ended up being so perfect just as it was, that I never looked back or thought about our original plans again. I would not change a thing!

By far my favorite memory of the day was the first look and finally getting to see Russell. The time between having to cancel plans for our original wedding to May 9th seemed like a blur. The day really felt so real when I was able to finally see him and the rest felt like a dream. Our wedding photographs were a huge priority to me and the most important investment of our wedding. Choosing Elizabeth Lanier was my first wedding decision and by far my best. Her eye for detail and love for natural light set her apart. Every image was skillfully and expertly executed with the true emotions and beauty of the day on the main display. Russell and I both felt so comfortable and at ease with Sarah Elizabeth behind the lens, which absolutely shows in the images. I could go on and on about how happy we were with Sarah and her photographs, but I will let the images speak for themselves. I would choose Elizabeth Lanier over and over again.