Well by golly, I’m in a fabulous mood today, and no, it’s not just because pumpkin pie is on the horizon. It’s all due to the absolutely adorable love between these two right here. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t get better than this; dapper Groom and beautiful, beaming Bride at an elegant-meets-down-home-Texas affair. Our VAULT is looking good thanks to Magnolia Adam’s Photography; see it all this way!
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From the Bride… Being able to host our closest family and friends for our ceremony, overlooking the lake, and then dinner beneath a tent, both in the backyard of my parents home, October 3rd truly was our dream. We wanted everyone to be comfortable, and to enjoy a casual Texas evening – as most of our guests were from Chicago and both the East and West coasts. We chose a color palette that felt like us (navy and pinks, primarily) and added sympathetic touches, such as farm tables, lots of greenery and books borrowed from my dad’s law library to add some height and dimension to tabletop arrangements. All of our vendors worked so flawlessly together and to top it off, we had an incredible day of weather – which worked out well as we never came up with a plan B for rain :)
Adam and I met online – I saw him and thought he was handsome, so I chatted him up. It didn’t take long for us to set a first date – dinner on a chilly November Sunday night, which led to drinks, a first kiss, the setting of a second date and we’ve been pretty inseparable ever since. I knew I loved Adam from the moment we met, and luckily he was smitten with me too.
Adam enlisted one of my best friends, on her own wedding shower day, to get me to a beautiful garden in downtown Chicago. I thought he was taking our dog, Poppy, to the suburbs and then golfing, but when I walked into the Lurie Gardens and saw him standing across the walkway, I immediately knew the day had become infinitely more special. He made me laugh, made me cry, gave me a gorgeous ring and then, after all that, surprised me with both of our families waiting at our apartment. His family had come in from the suburbs, and mine had flown in from New York, Dallas and Austin to celebrate – we had a fantastic dinner and then continued celebrations with our closest friends at a champagne bar called Pops! for Champagne into the wee hours – it couldn’t have been more perfect.
I’d like to think our wedding was full of traditions – some new and some very old!
Kiddush Cup: The cup from which we drank during our wedding pre-dates WWI, and my family shared it with us to use and keep, so we can pass it on for future events.
A Family Style Meal: Since we were married at the home where I grew up, we wanted people to feel like a part of our family, so we decided to have the meal served family-style. I think this encouraged our guests who weren’t old friends to make some new ones, and certainly reminded me of childhood dinner at our family table.
Chuppah: My dad constructed the chuppah under which we were married, and my mom hand-crafted the chuppah cloth. While the beams have come down, the cloth is something we plan to keep and hopefully display – and if ever someone wants to use it, wouldn’t that be the biggest honor?
Camp Yale on Display: For the last 7 – 8 years we’ve referred to my parents house as Camp Yale, something one of my sister’s friends came up with, and then just stuck! On our wedding invitations, we included Camp Yale as the location, and my parents really went all out to welcome our guests – they had a really fun stencil made, and used it to create a ‘Camp Yale’ sign that hangs from a tree at the top of the driveway to greet everyone. They also surprised all of us with CY t-shirts for the wedding party – definitely a fun keepsake!
While it would be nearly impossible to choose just one favorite part of our wedding, I have such a vivid memory of dancing with Adam on the ledge of the pool, outside the tent. He met me just after I changed into a party dress to finish the night, and it felt like something that was very ‘us’. We didn’t have a lot of quiet time away from everyone, as so many people suggest (mostly because it was too hard to break away from the fun), so this was a spontaneous way to have our own time without missing the party.
Our palette was mostly navy, light pinks, and quiet touches of gold, green and white. A few years ago I read that navy was the “new neutral” and that was pure music to my ears, as it is one of my favorite colors. That said, we wanted to showcase the beauty of the landscape, simply complement the venue, so light pinks, greens and whites seemed quite obvious. I am a bit bias, but I think we had a stunning view of the lake, and so we didn’t go overboard on florals or additional design. We chose farm tables and wooden chairs to match the style of my parents home, and we actually used many antique tables my parents have for the cake, gifts and seating chart, etc. When we were deciding on tablescapes, there was some discussion around books – my Dad offered some of his old law library books in place of staged items from the florist, which I loved because those are something I’ve grown up seeing, so it was cool to have them on display.
No, there is nothing I’d have done differently! I am sure I could make a laundry list of small tweaks and changes, but in all honesty, the day was such a dream that I’d hate to have it happen any other way.
My advice: make a list of what’s important to you, and ask your groom to do the same, and then make sure you do those things. Recognize the importance of traditions, but also consider making your own – you never know who might pick up your ideas and carry them forward, traditions have to be started somewhere, after all!
From Magnolia Adam’s Photography… What a dream to photograph Emily and Adam’s wedding! Emily and I were sorority sisters, so when she was in town, we met up for coffee and talked about the possibility of me capturing the day for them. They flew me to Chicago where I was able to photograph their engagements, a place that is home to them to make their images sentimental. Driving down to Camp Yale was so fun, and we were welcomed with open arms. I loved all the details that Emily had chosen for the day and we felt like a part of the family, which was perfect considering the entire wedding carried that vibe.
Photography: Magnolia Adam's Photography | Event Planning: Kim Kenney | Floral Design: Timeless Fiori | Wedding Dress: BHLDN | Invitations: Grizz Shop | Bride's Shoes: Chanel | Jewelry: Joel Singer | Bridesmaids' Dresses: J.Crew | Catering: ReMARKable Affairs | Makeup: Lenore Caulton-Downey | Groom's Attire: Suitsupply | Venue: Camp Yale | Earrings, Sash + Hair Accessories: BHLDN | Groom's Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo | Napkins: Memorable Wedding | Rentals: Celebration Event Rental
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