An Intimate Garden-Inspired Farm-to-Table Wedding in West Cape May

Melissa Hammam
April 7, 2023
Categories: Real Weddings, Seasonal Wedding Trend, Summer, The Blog, Whimsical

This Cape May wedding feels like sunshine. With a punchy yellow and peach color palette and special details popping up throughout the day, this stunning summer celebration brings the heat. Inspired floral design by Cape May Flower Co is woven throughout every inch of the affair, and Lauren Fair Photography perfectly captures all of the joy and fun. You’ll love every minute inside the full gallery.

From the bride… Kristi and I met during our sophomore year at Rutgers University. On my way out of a party with some friends, Kristi caught my eye. I walked right up to him to introduce myself. I asked him if he knew how to spell my name, to which I said “it’s brie like the cheese.” After over 7 years together, Kristi proposed at sunset on one of our favorite beaches in the world, Turks and Caicos. As soon as we began wedding planning we knew we wanted a laidback, intimate-style wedding that felt elevated and classic, yet whimsical and unfussy. Instead of opting for a wedding planner, I chose to plan the wedding myself, as I knew I would be able to bring our vision to life. Intimate, romantic, warm, and full of love and light. Of course that brought some challenges, but having the ability to make our wedding weekend feel the most like us was worth every minute of planning. We fell in love with Beach Plum Farm‘s charming, picturesque setting as soon as we laid eyes on it. So much, so that we signed the contract that same day. The 60-acre farm was exactly what we were looking for and it was the perfect location for our laidback, garden-inspired wedding weekend. The venue sits a few blocks from the beach with onsite cottages for our guests filled with farm-to-table jams, eggs, and fresh bread. Each unique cottage is designed so effortlessly chic with an on-site luxury pool and golf carts for our guests to ride into town. We wanted each of our loved ones who traveled to the charming and quaint beach town of West Cape May, New Jersey to enjoy a comfortable atmosphere throughout our wedding weekend. We will never forget during our first visit to the farm, on a sun-filled September afternoon, we spotted a small rainbow under the willow tree where our ceremony would take place. We knew it was a sign from our loved ones above that this was where we were meant to get married. From that moment on, we knew Beach Plum Farm was the one. We turned to the natural setting of Beach Plum Farm to inspire our vision and details. It was important to us that the aesthetic felt relaxed and intimate, yet elevated and whimsical. Modern with a twist. Our color palette of soft pink and muted peach with pops of daisies and delicate blooms complimented the farm’s natural, charming landscape. On the morning of our wedding, the bridesmaids wore a smocked Eileen West nightgown and I opted for a colorful, floral nap dress from Daily Sleeper. I wanted every last detail, down to our getting-ready outfits, to match the modern, country aesthetic of the farm. I only tried on 3 wedding dresses before declaring the Dinah Dress from Lea-Ann Belter Bridal the one. At the bridal appointment, I didn’t even turn all the way around before tears swelled our eyes. I dreamt of finding something timeless and classic with a twist. The asymmetrical bow on the back of the dress was exactly that. It felt as if it was made for me. I paired the look with custom gloves from Kerry Parker embroidered with “To Have & To Hold, To Love & To Cherish.”

My bridal party wore hand-selected mismatched dresses in shades of pink, mauve, and floral. Creating the aesthetic of their bridal party dresses was one of the most memorable activities as I was able to lean into different fabrics, textures, and prints. I wanted them to embody their personal style and feel comfortable while matching our colorful, whimsical aesthetic. They each held small bouquets of delicate posies to compliment the venue and wedding florals. Upon arrival at the ceremony, our guests were greeted with a fresh lemonade-inspired cocktail to sip on while they nestled under the trees. The chairs were lined with hand-held fans to keep cool during the sun-filled September afternoon. We opted for a grounded floral arch under the breathtaking willow tree for our ceremony, to give a whimsical, natural feel. Almost as if the florals were sprouting from the ground. One of our dearest friends, Paul, officiated our marriage while we exchanged personal vows. Writing and sharing our own vows was something we always wanted to do one day at our wedding. We will never forget turning to face our family and friends in the middle of the ceremony and seeing not a dry eye in sight (and also, lots of big smiles). I don’t think my mom stopped sobbing since 9 AM that morning. Following the ceremony, our guests crossed the wooden bridge and wandered through the colorful garden before arriving at cocktail hour. Cocktail hour was set in their beautifully landscaped and picturesque garden with hors d’oeuvres such as fresh oysters, farm-to-table pulled pork sliders and paired with a refreshing Aperol Spritz. On their way to the reception, guests scanned our array of mismatched potted plants for their seating arrangements. This was one of the most fun projects of the wedding. We picked various clay pots in different sizes and shapes and painted a select few soft hues of pink and black for dimension. Cape May Flower Co filled them with extravagant greenery and it was one of our favorite details of the day. The reception took place under a white sail-cloth tent on the grounds of Beach Plum Farm with a modern black and white checkered dance floor. The tables were lined with bud and bowl vases filled with in-season delicate florals and pops of daisies. Our crafted raw-edge menus outlined the family-style farm-to-table dinner with shareable plates such as line-caught halibut and herb-roasted chicken. Our guests still talk about the Granola Caesar Salad (I can still taste it!)

While the guests dined on dinner under the lights, toasts were made by our family and friends filled with lots of tears (and lots of laughter). Instead of opting for a traditional champagne toast, each table setting was set with our favorite: a tequila shot. We did say our wedding was modern with a twist, right?! To dance the night away, I wanted a fun, comfortable party dress so I changed into a LAMARQUE Feather Mini Dress paired with a classic pair of Converse sneakers (the best decision). Thanks to the incredible work of our DJ, I don’t think a single one of our guests left the dance floor the entire night! Nothing concludes the evening quite like a late-night grilled cheese. Beach Plum Farm whipped up a delicious display of grilled cheeses with an array of homemade jams. It was the perfect way to send our guests on their way (to the after-party, of course).