Whimsical Garden Party Vibes in the Heart of Downtown Raleigh

Melissa Hammam
December 6, 2023
Categories: Real Weddings, Seasonal Wedding Trend, Summer, The Blog, Whimsical

[section title=”The Planning”]

[field title=”Wedding Colors”]

All shades of Pink, Yellow (The Groom’s Late Mother’s favorite Color), Light Blue, Lilac & all fun summer colors!!

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[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]

The moto for the wedding was “Whimsical Garden Party”. The Bride, Maddie, works in the Wedding Industry herself and had seen over 200+ so when the planning began she knew exactly what she wanted and most importantly what she didn’t want. Color was SUPER important while also being fun and special to us as it truly is a representation as our lives together and our relationship, which was exactly what the entire day was! The little details were also super important to the couple as the bridal has a degree in Interior Design and also works on graphics. She herself custom designed every detail from the table numbers to the invitation suite, the bar menus and the custom Wedding Crest that featured their pup Sully who also made a special appearance on the Wedding Day!

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[field title=”Proposal Story”]

Maddie and Will were not High School Sweethearts but instead were middle school sweethearts who started dating in 8th Grade and have been inseparable ever since. Last year in Charleston, SC the two planned a weekend trip after Will got back from a very long and intense internship in Pennsylvania and the two had spent months apart from each other. Maddie had been sending Will pictures of rings and places to go in Charleston, which included a pink house which had been all over TikTok! Little did Maddie know that on the second day in Charleston Will would take Maddie to that same house she was obsessed with on Tik Tok and get down on one knee and propose to her with not a ring that he bought but instead his late Mother’s ring that Will had polished and cleaned just for this moment but never had told Maddie. Let’s just say that Maddie was sobbing so much that a pedestrian walked by and asked if she was okay, we told her and she took a selfie with us to show her friends. The photo was so bad that Maddie refuses to show anyone because she had been crying for so long!

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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”]

Going into Wedding Dress shopping I knew exactly what I wanted and had it saved on my Tik Tok for months before getting engaged as I had just seen Bridal capes make an appearance and I was OBSESSED! The next week I had a trip planned to Austin, TX to see my MOH and best friend and she had planned a visit to a bridal shop while I was there so she could be apart of the dress shopping experience. Little did we know that that exact dress I had saved on Tik Tok and the cape was at that store. I had the whole bridal moment, cried and all, but there was on small issue. My mom or grandmas were there to see the dress and feel the emotions and honestly felt like they weren’t able to be apart of the experience. After many weeks crying and trying to get the dress out of my mind we went back shopping with my mom and grandmas in North Carolina and found a dress that I knew I could somehow transform into the dress I fell in love with. I purchased the dress with a complete vision in my head, took it to the sweetest seamstresses in Raleigh and you could see the fear in their eyes but I had trust and faith in them. After many months of honestly stressing those poor ladies out my dream dress came to life and we even were able to take pearls off of my mothers wedding dress and all them onto the sleeves of my cape and scattered them throughout the cape itself. It truly is a one of a find custom dress just for me and I will never ever forget it! Was truly one of my favorite pieces of the day!

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[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]

I knew I wanted to be different and allow my bridesmaids to select dresses that were not only a representation of them but that they also felt beautiful in, however, I did make sure to give them some parameters just to narrow down their search. These included no strapless necklines because that was my dress neckline, and they all needed to be pink, as the groom is a die-hard NC State Fan, his one request was that there be no light blue, but that didn’t really happen as the linens and florals featured what he calls “Carolina Blue”. All of the dresses were from Revolve but from different brands/designers.

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[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]

I wanted the Groom to stand out just slightly from everyone else so we chose a “blue” that was slightly lighter than the groomsmen attire so that he would stand out just enough to have his own moment and honestly everyone loved it, even the groom. I also wanted the “blue” to have some texture and also be more of a chambray color to really give off the summer wedding feel and match the color palette!

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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]

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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]

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[section title=”The Details”]

[field title=”Food & Drink”]

As a big foodie couple we wanted to feature a variety of food stations that were interactive for our guests and we truly had so many compliments!! It featured 3 interactive food stations that showcased a variety of tacos and nachos with endless toppings, mini chicken and beef slides with dips and toppings and last but not least, out favorite, the mashed potato and tater tot bar, which was a HIT! After dinner we then allowed guests to join us for our favorite Raleigh sweet treat, Two Roosters Ice Cream and small desserts from our caterer.

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[field title=”Florals & Decor”]

Throughout the entire wedding planning process the bride had a ranking of importance of vendors and items, and florals was always the number one priority, which the brides father though was just insane, but he just went along with it. The first thing the brides dad mentioned to her after the ceremony was “okay you were right, the flowers do look fabulous and they make it!”. AT that moment I knew it was worth it because the man who never ever is worried or thinks about the way things look actually complimented and noticed the flowers. Ever since that day every single person or guest who sees a photo will tell you that they are obsessed with the florals and that they have never seen so many flowers in their life and that it just made the event and I couldn’t agree more!

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[field title=”Wedding Cake”]

Instead of cake, which the couple doesn’t really like, they chose to have their favorite ice cream in Raleigh and ever, at their wedding. The couple is just slightly obsessed with their icecream and you can even find their engagement photos at the Two Roosters Ice Cream storefront on their website, instagram, page and even their newsletters as they were the first to take engagement pictures at Two Roosters. Let’s just saw the workers always know their orders when they walk in! They chose to have their vintage icecream bus and even had custom spoons made for their guests that had their initials on them!!

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

The song my parents walked down the aisle to was their wedding song which they did not know about and was a little sweet surprise for them! The bride and her dad also have a unique and goofy relationship in which they did a choreographed upbeat dance instead of a traditional slow father daughter dance like most and then at the end allowed the crowd to join in the fun and opened up the dancefloor for the night!

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[field title=”Special Detail #1″]

We incorporated yellow roses throughout the entire floral decor and design as a nod to the groom’s late mother as it was her favorite flower!

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[field title=”Special Detail #2″]

The bride surprised the groom with a live painting from Jill Danville but little did he know that there were a few surprises hidden in the image as a symbol/to recognize his late mother. Lets just say tears were shed but not only him but the entire family!

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[field title=”Special Detail #3″]

The Bride and her grandpa handmade all of the lattice pieces together that were used for ceremony backdrop and the seating chart. They spent a weekend together bonding and creating them together and it was so special to see all of the hard work actually on the day of the wedding![/field]

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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]

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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]

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