Southern Weddings

This Suffolk, Virginia wedding is so lovely!  Cristin + Christiaan were married in the {West End Baptist Church}. This classic church was packed as the two said “I do”.  After the vows were exchanged, the two rode in a classic car to a boat that took the couple on a sunset ride to the {Suffolk Hilton Garden Inn}.  Little did the couple know, they would be greeted on land by the local high school marching band playing “When the Saints Come Marching In”.  Photography by {Echard Wheeler Photography}.  Check out more of his work and see his post from Cristin + Christiaan on his {blog}.  How incredible are these bridesmaid’s dresses and matching boleros!? I’m in love…

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We are from the same town and went to the same High School but because of our age difference we never knew each other growing up. We were set up on a blind date by our good family friends Chet and Sandy Hart, and Cristin’s Boss Kenda Council. I went over to the Hart’s house one night for dinner and they told her about this “special” guy I should meet. I was totally against it, but the next day at work I asked the ladies I worked with if anyone knew this “special” guy. Before I could say know they were on the phone calling him. We went on a date two weeks later and have be inseparable ever since
Describe the proposal: Cold, Rainy night atop the Empire State building in New York City…Zero Visibility! It was the backup plan he had when the Central Park Carriage ride got cancelled. It was much fun, we were the only people up there- and after he proposed the clouds parted for a few minutes and we had a beautiful view of the city all to ourselves.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Our first date, Dinner at our favorite local restaurant on the Nansemond River and then to the local Jazz club for drinks after dinner.
The weather on our wedding day was: 70 degrees, sunny, and beautiful…great Fall day in Virginia!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Rustic fall with a touch of glitz!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Buying a wedding dress is a once in a lifetime experience. So you want to have a once in a life time amount of fun. The first time we went shopping I brought my Mom, my grooms step-mom and Sandy Hart, the friend who set us up myself and Christiaan. We had the best trying on all different kinds of dresses, one time I came out of the dressing room to find all three of them in big veils! After shopping all day I finally settled on a beautiful off white Augusta Jones Silk gown with lace detailing on the train and a lace bolero jacket. After we picked out the perfect dress we celebrated with dinner and Bellini’s.
Describe your wedding flowers: How do you describe pure beauty! They were one of the most spectacular things about our wedding! Our dear friend Sandy Hart, and a team of wonderfully talented ladies of the Garden Club of Virginia worked many hard long hours arranging the flowers beyond my dreams! They featured alternating high and low arrangements of garden flowers, “roadside” and backyard finds such as Dried Hydrangea and sunflowers, grapevine, cattails, pheasant feathers, pumpkins willowy branches and brightly colored fall flowers.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: After the ceremony we took a classic blue convertible to a boat that we then took the Hilton. When we arrived at the Hilton and got off the boat the Marching Band from the high School that We both went to and I now work at marched us in playing when the “saints go marching in” (It was all saints day and our high school mascot is the Saint). It was like our very own parade.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? At every family wedding Christiaan’s cousins write a song about the bride and groom. Our song was to the tune of the Adams family since it was Halloween weekend. It was very cute!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? How amazing it felt to look out at all of our family, friends and loved ones cheering and smiling back at us after we had been pounced husband and wife.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Spectacular, wonderful, amazingly perfect!
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Hire a wedding planner if you can. Ours was so amazing, she handled so many of the last minuet details that my family and I were really able to enjoy the whole week of our wedding!
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. Best advice was to try and use all five senses to remember the day.
Best comment: “I’ve never been to a wedding before but I think I started with the best”
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are looking forward to getting settled into our house relaxing after a crazy year, traveling a little, and in a few years starting a family.
Other details you want us to know about your wedding: The lighting was beautiful with amber up lighting around the room, pin lights on the large flower arrangements and cake, and a branch pattern was projected on to the ceiling above the dance floor.
The food was also delicious! We had mashed potato and mashed sweet potato bar, beef tender loin, fresh Nansemond River Oysters, shrimp, crab cakes, a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, and a soup station with butternut squash soup and my Mom’s Tomato Basil Bisque.

Congratulations to Christin + Christiaan. We wish you the best as you begin your lives together!