Southern Weddings

We were delighted to get this wedding from Jonathan Canlas Photography! Sundance was the perfect location for Jennifer +Eric’s outdoor inspired wedding. The couple’s favorite detail was the grooms cake, done by the brides brother, second to the romantic lighting. The wedding cake was from Carrie’s Cakes and the event was catered by the venue, Sundance Resort. The bride’s beautiful dress is by Liancarlo and the floral arrangements were done by Whimsy Floral & Design. The centerpieces are my favorite detail of this wedding! And the cake surrounded by all the candel light, how pretty is that?!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met on the internet (yes, another couple from Match.com). However, for a long time we told people we met while biking on a local bike trail! Our first date was going out for sushi at Cafe Asia in Arlington, VA.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We tried to pick elements that represented us as a couple. We wanted to make everything personal to us. For example, we picked Sundance as the venue because we went there together while we were dating. We used cherry blossoms as a theme because we met in Washington, D.C. during the cherry blossom season. We made the cocktail hour Asian-inspired and served sushi because that was our first date. The cake flavors were the same as the cake we had when we got engaged. We love nature and being outdoors, so we capitalized on the venue by decorating to make the overall feel rustic, but also elegant and romantic.
Favorite design element of your big day: The lighting — we hung globe lanterns from the ceiling for the cocktail hour, and for the dinner reception, we hung old carriage lanterns from the ceiling and votives from the branches of the centerpieces. The wedding cake was set on top of votives wrapped in green vellum. The entire reception space was lit using candle light and a little bit of up-lighting. We also used lanterns hung on shepherd hooks to light the path between the cocktail and reception venues.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I had procrastinated dress shopping, so I scheduled appointments at several bridal shops in the D.C. area all the same day. A couple of my friends came along for moral support. After four shops and countless dresses, I ended up buying the first one I tried on!
Describe your wedding flowers: For the ceremony, the flowers were simple and elegant. Cherry blossoms were used to decorate the ceremony canopy and line the aisle. Kermit and moss pomanders were hung from shepherd hooks along the aisle as well. My bouquet had various peonies, white ranunculus and lily-of-the-valley. The bridesmaids carried pink ranunculus, pink bouvardia, pink spray roses, green hypericum berries, and peony buds. The rest of the wedding party was outfitted in orchids, berries, fern curl and other coordinating accents. For the cocktail hour, the flowers were modern and minimalist. The flower colors were green and white and mainly consisted of spider mums and Queen Anne’s lace. For the dinner reception, the flowers were rustic and romantic. Guests were greeted by moss wreaths. The flowers were coordinated in shades of pink, green and brown. Kermit and moss pomanders were hung from the ceiling over the head table. The centerpieces were trees constructed out of Manzanita branches. Flowers were arranged at the base of the branches, while votives and small clusters of flowers were hung from the branches. The base of each tree was wrapped in a ribbon of cork veneer.
Describe your wedding cake: Hexagonal, five-tier cake covered with light green fondant, with sugar cherry blossoms in varying shades of pink cascading down each layer. The cake layers were split using three flavors, red velvet, devil’s food, and raspberry swirl, and cream cheese icing.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The groom’s cake! My brother Jimmy made it. It was not only a tribute to Eric’s love of cycling, but also included very cute gum paste renditions of our French bulldogs, Coco and Peanut. And it was a total surprise to Eric!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Rustic, elegant, romantic
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Be very organized, watch your budget, but don’t skimp on photography, and have fun (it’s supposed to be a party!).
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? For the immediate future — just getting settled in our house. Down the road . . . starting a family (and maybe adding some more Frenchies to the household!).
Any DIY items? A lot! — Handmade napkin rings, favor boxes, monogrammed gift tags for favor blankets, ceremony programs, menus, paper cranes, pillows in damask fabric to match monogram design, etc. Most of it was made by my sister, Tara, and myself, with a lot of help from my mom and sister-in-law, Jamie.
Favorite inspirational blogs or sites: The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, Southern Weddings, Style Me Pretty

Congratulations Jennifer + Eric! We wish you love and happiness in your future together!