Tory + Doug’s reception at the Virginia Gold Cup at the Great Meadow Foundation was fun and festive! The couple chose to celebrate during the horse races, giving guests the chance to dress their finest in bows, big hats, and seersucker. The flags on the reception tent give T + D’s wedding a festive air, while mint juleps, Southern food, and a clean green and white color palette refreshed the guests who danced and watched the races. Thanks again to Kristen Gardner for sharing!
See all the photos from Tory + Doug’s wedding in their Real Wedding Gallery!
Describe your wedding flowers: They were absolutely beautiful. My mom was president of the garden club at the time of the wedding and my aunt is an event planner, so I had the most amazing help and a great selection of flowers flown to our house. They included peonies, hydrangeas, tulips, lily of the valley, ranunculus, orchids, calla lilies and more. All were white or white with green accents.
Describe your wedding cake: We had a four-tier carrot cake. Each tier had four layers and every other layer of cream cheese frosting was cinnamon cream cheese. It was simply decorated with ribbon on the bottom of each tier that matched the color of the icing and green orchids.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? We had our reception at the Virginia Gold Cup, so people wore seersucker, bow ties and big hats, ate crab cakes, fried chicken, and pulled pork BBQ, and our flower vases were silver mint julep cups.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? My father was extremely sick and in hospitals and rehab from the end of January to middle of April. That, and living in Texas while planning a wedding in Virginia.
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? No question, the buses. Since everyone was from out of town, no one had a clue where they were going. The buses allowed them to focus on us and enjoy the festivities. Overall, they created a sense of community with all the guests that came from eight states and four countries!!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Getting back to work and making it through another Texas summer with months of 100+ temperatures! We are blessed to have so many friends and family and we plan on enjoying life as a married couple for a little bit before starting our own family, which, one day, will include three or four kids and at least one dog and one cat.
Photographer: Kristen Gardner // Planner: Lauren McWilliams // Ceremony venue: Grace Episcopal Church // Reception venue: Virginia Gold Cup at Great Meadows // Florist: Robin Pegler & Vicki Hanley // Wedding Cake Baker: Market Salomander // Caterer: Marriot Ranch // Paper Products: Marriot Ranch // Bride’s Dress: Alexia Gavela // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: Unbridaled // Bride’s Shoes: Lilly Pullitzer // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Lula Kate // Accessories: Blue Nile
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