Southern Weddings

There are so many gorgeous Southern wedding ideas to be gleaned from Victoria + Michael’s celebration! Not the least of which, is how to still look graceful and elegant in the sweltering Southern summer heat. Step one, I gather? Choose a light-as-air Delphine Manivet gown. It also helps to have good-natured guests like those of V + M, who will still pull Christmas crackers and don crowns even in 95+ degree heat. Thanks to Amber Karson Events for planning, and Brian Tropiano for capturing, all of the gorgeous pink and gray details!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My family is British, and at Christmas, our table is set with Christmas crackers that contain a joke, a trinket and a paper crown that you pull apart with the person sitting next to or opposite you. We had our wonderful calligrapher write guests’ names on silver Christmas crackers and we used them as place settings. It was joyful to look around at dinner and see friends and family celebrating with paper crowns on their heads.
Describe your wedding cake: Michael and I really wanted pies at the wedding, so we decided to have a small cake, mainly for us to cut, and a number of our favorite pies (apple, blueberry and strawberry-rhubarb) for guests. At our tasting, we nearly changed our mind because the raspberry-cream cake that Windows Catering made us was amazing. We ended up sticking with the pies, though. However, shortly after the cake cutting we got pulled away to take photos and didn’t get to have more than a bite of cake. We’re planning to order some for our first anniversary to make up for it!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The late-breaking news that it wouldn’t just be hot, but that it would be the hottest day in the Washington area in over a decade. Having to adjust on the fly to make sure guests were as comfortable as possible at our outdoor wedding and that the ceremony could proceed as planned was a challenge. Thanks to our great wedding planners, who knew exactly how many industrial-sized fans we could plug into each outlet and who came up with the wonderful idea of handing out chilled towelettes, some late purchases of extra parasols and fans, and the great attitude of our guests, we managed.
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Brian Tropiano, our photographer, was amazing to work with and captured the particulars and the spirit of the wedding.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? It was so touching having our friends and family play such an important role in our ceremony. Good friends and family did readings and both Michael’s mother and one of the groomsmen and his girlfriend sang us songs.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are looking forward to a honeymoon early next year that will take us from winter in Washington to a romantic getaway in Paris followed by an island vacation in the Seychelles.

Photographer: Brian Tropiano Photography // Event Design and Planning: Amber Karson Events // Venue: George Washington’s River Farm // Florist: Holly Heider Chapple Flowers, Ltd. // Catering: Windows Catering // Calligraphy: Meant to Be Calligraphy // Musicians: Sage String Trio // DJ: Bialek’s // Dress: Delphine Manivet from Lovely // Bridesmaid Dresses: Joanna August // Rentals: Perfect Settings // Transportation: Sunny’s Limo

Written with love by Emily