An Enchanting English Garden Wedding in Chapel Hill at The Carolina Inn

Lauren Megerdichian
September 25, 2023
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog

[section title=”The Planning”]

[field title=”Wedding Colors”]Deep fiddle green, deep sage, light sage, whites, brushed gold, poetic blush[/field]

[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]My husband and I first met in college, at UNC. We both love Chapel Hill and knew we wanted to get married where it all began. The vision for the wedding was timeless, classic and elegant. The Carolina Inn, a historic hotel built in the 1920s, offered the perfect backdrop, with lush lawns and old brick courtyards. A black-tie affair in June, it felt like the fancy garden party of our dreams, awash with soft whites, gauzy greens, and lots of love. [/field]

[field title=”Proposal Story”]After college, Tyler and I dated long distance for almost five years while we were both in medical school. I was in New Orleans at Tulane and he was in Greenville at East Carolina University. We typically only got to see each other once a month so in the spring of 2022, we took a trip to Oregon for a long weekend. The day we hiked Toketee Falls, we made the long drive out into the forest, surrounded by tall pines, no cell service, just the two of us. It was misty, raining on and off but when we got to the trail head, the sun came out and we saw a rainbow. We had the trail all to ourselves as we hiked down to the waterfall. Tyler is really into photography so when we belayed down a steep rock face, he went ahead to set up his tripod. He said he wanted to get a good picture of us in front of the waterfall so he kept climbing back and forth to the tripod to “check” his shot. After the third “check”, when he climbed back to me, he got down on one knee. The tripod captured the moment beautifully. We spent the rest of the weekend driving up the Oregon coast, visiting lighthouses, and admiring the incredible sunsets over the Pacific. [/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]

[/board_carousel]

[section title=”The Fashion”]

[field title=”Wedding Gown”]After I got engaged, I made an appointment at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City. Growing up, my mom and I loved watching Say Yes to the Dress together. We couldn’t wait to see it for ourselves, watching a ton of old episodes leading up to the appointment. At Kleinfeld Bridal, I found a beautiful Tony Ward dress that felt both elegant and sexy, with long delicate lace sleeves, a sleek silhouette and an almost architecturally deep v. Tony Ward happened to be in store when I tried it on. He made my day when he declared that I could have modeled it for him! [/field]

[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]I loved the idea of mix and matched bridesmaids’ dresses. I wanted something that all my bridesmaids felt comfortable in, something within everyone’s budget and, ideally, something they could wear again. We ended up with a variety of dresses in different shades of green, some floral, some solid, from Reformation, Anthropologie, Birdy Grey, and Azazie. [/field]

[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Tyler picked a classic Vera Wang tuxedo for his groomsmen. We had groomsmen living all over the country – Alaska, California, New York, North Carolina – so we decided to use Menswear House rentals, allowing all the groomsmen to coordinate no matter where they lived. We added suspenders as a final flourish, which looked great when the coats came off and they were getting down on the dance floor [/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]

[/board_carousel]

[section title=”The Details”]

[field title=”Food & Drink”]Our food was catered by our venue, the Carolina Inn. During cocktail hour, we served local artisan cheese and crackers, apple butter, orange blossom honey, and fresh bread. We also served shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, crispy braised pork belly with apple butter and pickled shallots. For dinner, we served filet mignon and scallops with a piquant sauce, whipped Yukon gold potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts and rosemary orange carrots and parsnips. For our midnight snack, we passed out sliders and french fries – a big hit at the end of a long night of dancing. We had three signature drinks: “hers,” an aperol spritz, “his,” an old fashioned, and “ours,” a spicy margarita.[/field]

[field title=”Florals & Decor”]We really wanted the florals to be a highlight for the wedding. Our florist, Once Gathered, did not disappoint. I opted for a whimsical all-white mixture of full bodied and wispy flowers—sweet peas, white roses, stock, peonies, gardenias, and lilies. My bouquet had a “garden gathered” look. The central feature of our ceremony was a huge arch of English white roses. Draped twinkle light around the reception area made the space feel really romantic and warm. [/field]

[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Our wedding cake was by Cupcake Shoppe-Raleigh. We decided on a white, three-tiered cake. Our flavors were lemon zest and red velvet. The design was textured and topped with white florals.[/field]

[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”][/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #1″][/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #2″][/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #3″][/field]

[/section]

[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]

[/board_carousel]

[board_carousel title=”Reception”]

[/board_carousel]