Southern Weddings

This reception has so many inspirational details. We love the lemonade signs, whimsical parasols, floral initials made out of beautiful blue hydrangea blossoms and the sweet simplicity of the reception decor. The reception was held at the glamorous {Laurel Hall}, which was once a mansion to Indiana’s wealthiest family.  The event was planned entirely by the Bride, Tori, with day of cordination by Jill Baker. Catering by {Hoagline Fine Catering}, flowers by {Posh Petals} and wedding cinematography by {Paper Tape Films}. To see more from Tori + Patrick’s big day check out Todd Pellowe’s {Blog}. Happy Monday!

The weather on our wedding day was:  Perfect! Perfect! Perfect! It was probably 84 degrees but there was no humidity which is unheard of in August. There was not a cloud in the sky! Dinner and cocktails were held outside with no tent so we got very lucky! I think I cashed in all my good luck chips with that day!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  I really wanted a garden party feel and was inspired by the original movie Sabrina. I didn’t take that image too literally but wanted the idea of a classic and preppy outdoor party. The venue we used, Laurel Hall, really helped that come together.
Favorite design element of your big day:  The paper parasols were actually my mother-in-law’s idea and they were great. They came in handy as we sat down to dinner and the sun was at our backs. It was so cool to look out on this giant terrace and see all of these parasols popping up. I also just loved everyone on the lawn for cocktails and on the terrace for dinner. Dining al-fresco is my favorite thing in the world and I’m thrilled that came together for our wedding day. Also, the V&P flower monograms that my sister (the maid of honor) made looked fabulous!
Describe your wedding flowers:  Flowers were very important to me! For the table tops I did three or five different size silver vessels (julep cups, urns, etc) filled with white hydrangeas, rosemary or artichokes. I thought it would help evoke a garden feel. For my bridesmaids they carried a green hydrangea bloom and I had originally wanted to carry blue hydrangeas but I felt they looked too casual next to my dress so I did a bouquet of white garden roses. My favorites, peonies, were sadly out of season.
Describe your wedding cake: A wedding cake was really not that important to us, and one of the early promises I made to my husband was that we do cupcakes, and they had to look homemade. We found a woman who makes yummy cupcakes that fit the bill and used those as our “cake.”
Our favorite detail of the wedding was:  I really loved my escort cards. Indianapolis is famous for the Indy 500 race and I wanted to have a little nod to that. I found wooden race cars and the race car’s number was the table number and then I glued the name card to the back of the car. I was also really happy with my linens. I was very picky about those and was searching for the right texture and colors and I think they came out great. One last minute detail was lighting on the dance floor. I literally booked the lighting guys three days before and I cannot imagine how I could have gone without it. It made such a difference.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?  Planning a wedding in Indianapolis while living in New York. Luckily my mother was there and was a huge help. She was my ground person and I was so fortunate to have her!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  When my grandfather cut in our our FIRST DANCE! We were dying. I think he just thought it would be a sweet thing to do. Luckily Patrick was a good sport about it, and my grandfather let him cut back in a minute later.
Funniest moment?  Everyone dancing! I can’t believe how many people got out on the dance floor and how crazy things got. Everyone looked like they had a great time.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was:  The feeling of complete peace I had throughout the day. I thought I would be anxious the whole day, but it was literally the happiest day of my life and I truly enjoyed every moment of it.
Three adjectives that describe the day are:  Fun, Perfect, Loving
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding?  Be as organized as you can be, especially if you are planning it all yourself. It can be very overwhelming and I’m so grateful for the way I kept all of the info and contracts together. If it’s possible, let your families be involved. Patrick’s parents threw a killer next day party in lieu of a brunch, his father organized the band, his mother helped collect hard to find things for the welcome baskets, my dad had a fruit vendor for some of our centerpieces, my sister turned into a little craft master and glue gunned everything in sight and my mother helped me run the show. It was a great way to spend time with all of them and get things done!  I would also absolutely recommend a day of coordinator. I could not have done it without mine! No matter how organized you are, there are things you just can’t do the day of, and you want someone you trust doing them for you. Keep him or her in the loop as soon as you agree to hire them. Its so important that they understand your vision and how you want the day to go. That said, and this is coming from a total control freak, set a deadline for yourself to let go and after that hour…. LET GO! Just enjoy the ride.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. It was actually the day after our wedding, my brother said to me, “How does it feel to have had a perfect wedding?” It was the best compliment I could have ever received!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Looking forward to relaxing and enjoying other people’s weddings now. We both truly do love just being married! I’ve started an event planning firm with a friend of mine and I’m looking forward to getting that off the ground.
Other details you want us to know about your wedding:  I loved our Save The Dates. I had a very specific vision and my stationary designer made it happen. She drew the image herself and our guests loved it. I think it was very “us.”

Congratulations to Tori + Patrick. We wish you a lifetime of happiness!

We were blown away when we first received this wedding. The bride, Tori, is absolutely stunning and works it in her fabulous {Manolo Blahnik} heels. Plus, can we talk about this rock?…and her amazing ring! (haha)  I adore it.  Tori chose these classic Grace Kelly stamps to set the tone for her very classy event. This Indianapolis wedding was captured by the phenomenal Todd from {Todd Pellowe Weddings}.  Thanks to Todd and his team for sharing these stunning images with us.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story…Our story is actually kind of funny. We met for the first time in high school in Indiana. We were both on the tennis team and also had a French class together. We were more acquaintances than friends, but certainly friendly. He went off to college two years ahead of me and we did not reconnect again until we were both living in New York. We met up for drinks one night and then those drinks turned into dinner and then that dinner turned into after dinner drinks and well… the rest is history! We both moved all the way to NYC and ended up with someone not only from the same town, but the same high school! Our friends and family still tease us to this day.
Describe the proposal:  We had of course discussed getting married but I didn’t really think any type of proposal would come until later in the summer of 2007. We were on a trip to India in January of 2007 and our first day took us to Agra and the Taj Mahal. After dinner that first night we went for a walk around the grounds of our hotel and we sat down in a little pagoda that had a view of the Taj. I thought Patrick was just being romantic because a proposal was the farthest thing from my mind but then he popped the question and I was floored! I didn’t even say yes… I just said, “REALLY?!?!” It was a great moment and India will always hold a special place in my heart.
What attracted me to my husband was: He is so smart but also so modest. He is very caring and also a great communicator. I think he expresses himself better than I do. He makes me feel loved.
And he looks great in a blazer! Ha!
What attracted me to my wife was:  She really cares for others and takes good care of me. Plus she likes my taste in music.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember:  We’ve had so many wonderful experiences together but I think our first date is probably the most memorable.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  Oh! I loved my dress!!! I bought it in New York at Carolina Herrera and actually found it the first day I tried on dresses. However, trying on the dresses was so much fun that I dragged the process out as long as I possibly could. I loved the ruffle detail on the bottom of my dress and the train. For the ceremony I had to have my shoulders covered and I was so lucky that one of my recently married bridesmaids had the most perfect bolero. It looked like it was made for my dress. It was such a key detail. I also was so happy with my shoes. I had been on many unsuccessful shoe-finding missions and actually found them just when I stopped looking. They were my something blue!
Scariest moment?  I was overcome with emotion right before I walked down the aisle. The whole morning was such a blur and a rush and next thing I know I’m standing at the top of the aisle with my dad. I didn’t want to make an ugly cry face the whole walk down so I made my dad tell me a funny story. It worked!
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? Although we were married in the Catholic Church, we had a Quaker Marriage Certificate. My mother’s family is Quaker and the certificate has each guest individually sign the certificate as a witness to our marriage. It is a beautiful tradition and we are having it framed so that years from now we can look at those signatures and remember all the friends and family who helped us celebrate that day

More to come later!