[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]Organic blues, greens, beige & ivory[/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]Our wedding was influenced by my love for the ocean, as a marine biologist I wanted to find an upscale version of a coastal inspired wedding incorporating ocean details throughout. St. Michaels was the perfect charming town for this setting, Tyler and I escaped the busy city of DC several times and found the crabs and river views to be exactly what we needed for our getaways. The ceremony, cocktail hour and reception were all at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which had excellent views of the water and historical maritime pieces that brought the whole look together. [/field]
[field title=”Proposal Story”]Tyler proposed January 2022. He had conspired with my sister and told me we were going to pick her up at the airport, but in reality we were headed to the Inn at Little Washington for perhaps the best meal of my life. We stayed the night there and in the morning took a drive on the Shenandoah National Park skyline and proposed at a beautiful outlook. After the proposal, when we got home, I was shocked to see my closest family and friends (even some who flew in from across the country) for a surprise engagement party he had planned. The proposal setting Tyler chose was perfect, national parks hold such a special meaning to us and our relationship. We met during the start of the pandemic and we drove to many parks to hike and spend time with one another in the outdoors – a place we both feel most comfortable. We recently returned from our honeymoon in Tanzania where we spent seven days hiking to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa and one of the seven summits so our adventure continues! [/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]
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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]
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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]My little niece Caroline was in town over the 4th of July, so one day we made an impromptu dress shopping appointment at the Love Couture in Maryland. It was my first (and only) appointment. When I put the dress on, Caroline said “it looks like a shell in the front!” I simply couldn’t take it off and couldn’t wait for Tyler to see it so it was easy to say yes to the dress. Amie Decker, my amazing hair and makeup artist helped me incorporate a gold and pearl shell clip in my hair to bring the shell theme back into the look. I also had a second look, a fun and flirty dress Untamed Petals that let me really party on the dance floor! [/field]
[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]I really wanted a print for the bridesmaid and bridesmen so they could look coordinated with the print on their dresses and the print on the ties. I found someone local in Annapolis, Smith and Quinn who makes incredible prints for weddings with different cuts so everyone can choose their own style. Plus the fabric was perfect for summer, its light and almost feels like running clothes! The Zianna Love print was the fun pop of blue I was looking for. [/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Tyler and I went to Alton Lane to design a custom tuxedo together! It was a lot of fun designing little details and hidden customization like the inner lining having a print with a scuba underwater scene and our wedding date sketched in, so he’ll never forget ;). [/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]
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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]
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[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]To kick things off, we had our favorite daytime drink, an Aperol Spritz, passed as guests arrived at the outdoor ceremony, we discovered them traveling Italy and felt like its the perfect refreshing and colorful drink to start the celebration. The cocktail hour was in an adorable boat shed with antique boats and italian lights strung across the wooden ceiling. It was fitting to have some fresh oysters to complete the vibe. We chose Chesapeake Chefs, a local caterer that uses fresh, in season ingredients and really helped us in find a menu that would be healthy, fresh and have unique elements like fried sage and oyster mushrooms to make it a more farm to table experience! [/field]
[field title=”Florals & Decor”]Our wedding planner Carolyn Lasako from Kari Rider Events and our florist Crimson & Clover, really brought the coastal vision to life, with a sophisticated yet playful blue heron print on the linens and floral details that mimicked sea creatures and driftwood and candles that pulled it all together. Guests were snapping photos of the tablescape noting how different elements were than what they had seen before, which is not an easy task! For the bride & groom chairs, my mother surprised me with antique buoys that she hand wrote our names and date on, they now hang in our kitchen and are such a special memory for us. [/field]
[field title=”Wedding Cake”]My husband and I aren’t cake people and huge travelers so we thought it would be fun to skip the cake and go for some macarons! We did our engagement photoshoot with Audra Wrisley in Paris and it was such a great trip that we wanted to bring in a little Parisian flair to our desserts. For the toast, we coupled the macarons with espresso martinis which we had mini ones passed to the guests as well (a little extra caffeine for the after party!).
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[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]We both had our uncles read at the ceremony 1- Love in Action, Romans 12:9-18 and 2- “Unending Love” by Rabindranath Tagore (Audrey Hepburn’s favorite poem of course!). We also wanted to have our own vows to one another, it was the number one thing the guests talked about – saying there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd! While it was a lot of work to write them, I was really glad to have our own words as the foundation and start of our lives together! Van Morrison is a classic for our relationship, we always have him playing in the house – we chose “Real Real Gone” for the procession, “Into the Mystic” as our entrance, and Tyler surprised me with our first dance as “And It Stoned Me” he always calls me by my maiden name “Stone” so it was a cute play on the words of the song. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the highlight of the Bachelor Band’s playlist was “Sweet Caroline”, where the entire party circled around my little niece and sang our hearts out to her, which has become a tradition for our family weddings! [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #1″]The welcome table had a grouping of photos of those who could not be with us, our grandparents, uncles or close ones that were there in spirit. This was particularly important to us as Tyler had lost his father to cancer right before we met and we wanted him to be a part of this special day even if from afar. [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #2″]For my bridal party I wanted to do something special and wanted to hand pick earrings that they could wear on the wedding day. I customized each earring to match their style while keeping all to gold and pearl like my own earrings and hair piece. For the two men in my bridal party, I gave them gold pins. One was in the shape of a fish and the other a stingray. For my adorable little nephew Kipton who was the ringbearer, he got a small gold shark pin and our flower girl, my niece Caroline had Jennifer Behr pearl butterfly clips in her hair and a small butterfly necklace (her favorite animal). While it was a long process to find the perfect pieces for everyone, it was worth having everyone receive something unique to them. [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #3″]Our getaway plan was to be carted away at the end of the night in a golf cart, so my bridal party surprised me by decorating the golf cart with fish netting and tin cans off the back. My friend Dani Roddy is highly creative and artistic so it made the exit so memorable and was right on theme! [/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]
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Photography: Audra Wrisley Photography | Event Planning: Kari Rider Events | Floral Design: Crimson and Clover Floral Design, Inc. | Hair & Makeup: Amie Decker Beauty | Band: Bachelor Boys Band | Venue: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum | Bride's Dress: Love Couture Bridal | Paper: The Paper Place, Betsy