This Southern Virgnia Great Gasby inspired wedding was the perfect celebration for Tabatha + Christian. Tabatha, a southern girl at heart, wanted an outdoor celebration with mint juleps and elegance. The ceremony and reception took place at {Berkeley Plantation}. Tabatha, along with her sister and mom, planned this soiree including hiring the {Coleman Brothers} for the flowers, {Westhampton Bakery} for the wedding cakes and {A Sharper Palate} for the catering. The bridesmaids wore dresses from {J.Crew} wedding line while Tabatha had a beautiful {Ulla-Maija Couture} gown. Capturing the day was {Patricia Lyons Photography}. Check out the {slideshow} on Patricia’s {Blog}.
How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story: We met in Berkeley, California Summer of 1999. It was the summer after my junior year at Princeton. I was living there for the summer with a friend who went to school at UC Berkeley. She invited myself and another friend to live with her for the summer to swim (we were all swimmers), play, and enjoy the California sunshine. Thankfully, my parents are amazing and have never denied me an opportunity to travel and have fun. So we went! During the first few days in Berkeley we had a cookout in the front yard of our beautiful Victorian house. Our Berkeley friend invited some friends from school that had stuck around for the summer. Christian was one of those friends. We instantly clicked. The night was spent in our front yard playing card games where the romance blossomed. We were pretty inseparable from that night on for the rest of the summer. Most nights were spent cooking out on an old rusty grill in the courtyard of Christian’s fraternity house. As awful as that sounds, we had such an amazing time just hanging out and getting to know one another. Eventually it was time to return to school. I flew back to finish my year at Princeton, and Christian started his senior year abroad in Tahiti. In the winter, he returned to finish his year at Berkeley and we flew back and forth quite a bit until we both graduated in 2000. I moved to San Francisco after graduation and eight years after that night of card games, we got engaged.
Describe the proposal: Christian knows how incredibly important my family is to me. He knew I would be devastated if our proposal was done a million miles away from them. So, as usual, he did the right thing. We went to visit my parents for our annual vacation at The Outer Banks, North Carolina May of 2007. We arrived on a Sunday, and the entire week my dad keep telling us that Thursday there was going to be an honest to God blue moon (it actually happens about once every 3 years). Thursday came and Christian and I had planned to go to a romantic dinner with just the two of us. However, around 3 P.M. my dad cooked an entire bushel of steamed crabs, which we proceeded to inhale. Needless to say we were no longer hungry for dinner. Christian however insisted that we go for cocktails before sunset. I was dressed in regular beach gear and Christian was getting dressed up. I started to think something was fishy and changed into a dress. We went to one bar, and once we opened the door Christian said “This is not good enough.” I was really starting to think something was up at this point because he is usually much more easy going about this type of thing. We went down the street to the nicest place on the beach and sat at the martini bar. I personally love a martini, and Christian is usually pretty indifferent on them. We each ordered one. Christian swilled his down quickly and ordered another. Funny enough, there was an older lady next to us telling us what a great couple we make and that she could tell we were meant to be together (I should have gotten her number, she clearly had strong psychic powers). After a few martinis we decided we better get back home before neither one of us could drive. We got back to our place and went straight out to the beach. The entire beach was lit up by the full (blue) moon. We sat there cuddled on the dune and Christian was saying what a perfect night it was, and was there anything that could possibly make it better. Funny thing is, he was literally asking, “What could make this night any better? If you could have anything happen right now, what would it be?” As I mentioned before, I was getting very suspicious by this point, so no way was I going to bring up anything about a proposal. So I continued with Miss America answers “World peace, end hunger, eternal health and happiness, etc.” Christian finally gave up and pretended that he was going to get up, but instead he was in front of me on one knee. He quickly opened a ring box and a beautiful diamond was staring at me, glistening under the moon. He didn’t say a word. I said, “Say something!” He got out the words “Will you marry me?” Of course, the answer after eight years was “YES!” We immediately ran up to the house to tell my parents, at which time I found out Christian had asked my Dad for my hand earlier in the day, but did not say when it was going to happen. So both of my parents were very surprised, and thrilled about the news. We spent the rest of the night calling all of our family and friends sharing the excitement. My parents surprised us the next day with a champagne tour of the island, they even had a piano player serenade us with “Here Comes the Bride”. We planned our wedding for exactly one year after the proposal.
What attracted me to my husband was: His sense of humor. Christian is absolutely hilarious. He is also very honest and loyal. Truly, what more could you ask for?
What attracted me to my wife was: Where to begin…I was first attracted to my wife’s beautiful smile and pleasant disposition. She is a very genuine individual, and I really enjoyed getting to know her. We seemed to have so much in common from the beginning, and as our relationship grew, I realized that she was just as passionate about my interests as I was. She is an amazing cook, a gifted athlete, an accomplished scholar, but most importantly, she really enjoys life and doesn’t stress the small stuff. We can celebrate every moment together, from cooking dinner in the kitchen to curling up in a tent in the middle of nowhere. We avidly enjoyed each other’s company in the beginning, and we still do to this day.
The weather on our wedding day was: Scary. They were calling for torrential downpours, thunderstorms, and possible tornadoes. Pretty much, the worst weather forecast you could ask for in the event of an outdoor wedding.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? The Great Gatsby set in the South.
Favorite design element of your big day: The draped tent and beautiful crystal chandeliers. I actually purchased the chandeliers before the wedding. They are the best wedding favor I could have ever imagined. One chandelier is presently hanging in our San Francisco bedroom… I love it.
Describe your wedding flowers: The one thing that was really important to me was long, white feathers in my bouquet. My bouquet was very whimsical with huge white peonies and the long burnt coq feathers poking out. The bridesmaids carried white and green hydrangeas with eucalyptus buds. The aisle was draped with bouquets of hydrangeas and organza. Cherry blossoms, dogwoods, and curly willow strung with crystals cascaded out of tall glass and metal vases creating the front of the ceremony. The aisle was covered with pastel rose petals.
Describe your wedding cake: I wanted my cake relatively simple and I wanted it tall, 4 layers to be exact. My plan was to make the topper the centerpiece, so I had the cake iced in a light butter yellow color with small white pen dots. I topped the cake with a miniature version of my bouquet with a bright coral ombre ribbon cascading around the cake. It was a delicious vanilla pound cake with butter cream icing.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Oh, there were so many. The Cuban cigar roller, the mint julep bar, the Jefferson cups engraved with our names and our wedding date, the Bakers bourbon, the shrimp and grits bar, my dad’s deviled crabs (my dad is a professional chef), the picture-taking bar that served as entries for my guestbook, and of course most importantly all of the fabulous people that traveled near and far to share in the celebration.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Distance. I live in San Francisco and got married in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. I am very organized and lik
e to be involved. It was hard to coordinate everything over the phone, especially since some of my vendors did not work via email nor did they have online pictures of their products. I am very fortunate to have my mom who helped me so much with the planning and coordinating and I was lucky to be able to come back home several times to finalize the details.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? I carried my grandmother’s handkerchief wrapped around my wedding bouquet. She had sadly passed away a few months before our engagement.
Scariest moment? The weather forecast!!!
Funniest moment? The first dance, I really underestimated how long a song can feel when everyone is watching you dance. We spent the whole dance laughing as I was saying, “this is sooo embarrassing” over and over.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: for us it was that the weather held up, we didn’t see one drop of rain, yet the rest of the Richmond area was hit pretty hard by the storm. For my dad, I surprised him during the Father Daughter dance with the band breaking into his favorite song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”
Did you write your own vows? Yes
If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? I promise to always find a reason to celebrate
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Make it your own and by all means, make it fun!
Any DIY items? Almost everything. I am very fortunate to have a mom with fantastic taste. I ask for her advice on almost everything. So she was so much fun to have as a partner in all of the design and planning.
My mom and I made the tags with the emblem I designed that were then strung on the wicker fans (that were sat in the chairs pre-ceremony). The tags were also used on gift bags (that we put together) that were placed in hotel rooms. We made the dogwood bouquets and strung the crystals for the large arrangements that were placed at the front of the ceremony. I designed my invitations, and had a letterpress company in San Francisco produce them.
Congratulations to Tabatha + Christian. We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!
Mmm love the fans… the whole thing is just gorgeous
I remember Tabatha from growing up in Richmond- she was definitely the cool girl in the Richmond swimming world and I know a lot of us looked up to her! Congrats to her and her husband- the wedding looks lovely, especially the bouquet!
I have known tabby since I was 7 years old (that’s some nearly 25 years now). We grew up swimming together, going to school, and trading deep dark secrets. As long as I have known tabby, she wanted an outdoor wedding "with all the fixin’s"…And did she have that! I was fortunate enough to be at this event where everything was naturally perfect (including the weather).What a beautiful day with a beautiful couple and beautiful memories. This magazine has made a good choice to showcase this one!