If you know me, then you know the precious ring bearers (in complementary cardigans, no less!) are probably my favorite detail in Sara + Bill’s autumn wedding at the Whitehall Manor, photographed by Kristen Gardner. I kid. (Sort of.) Other things I love, besides the too-cute attendants and the crisp, fall setting? Holly Heider Chapple’s rustic rose arrangements, for one, and the bride’s ruched gown from The Bridal Secret. One last love? The maids’ flowy J. Crew frocks in punchy coral!
How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Mutual friends of ours had two extra tickets to a Red Sox/Orioles baseball game in Baltimore. I was living in Virginia at the time, and Bill was in New York. He took a last minute train down and I got off of work a little early. We had never met each other, had no intentions of hitting it off, and our mutual friends certainly did not expect the weekend to turn out the way it did. I picked Bill up at Union Station in D.C. on my way home from work, and we instantly connected. By the time he had to leave on Sunday, I was convinced he was trying to miss his train back to NY just to stay a little bit longer. We pretty much started dating right away, and had a long distance relationship for about a year-and-a-half. After that, he moved to Massachusetts for work, and I followed a few months later.
Describe the proposal. We are fairly low-key people, so if he told me to dress up or had something out the ordinary planned, I would have known what was up! We had just gotten home from running some errands after work. He asked if I wanted to have s’mores, one of my most favorite treats, while we watched a movie we had rented. I said of course, so he made a batch and came out with the ring hidden underneath the plate. As soon as he handed me the plate, he got down on one knee and proposed. I think I asked him if he was kidding almost a thousand times!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Personal, laidback and joyful.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our wedding party. Bill has two older brothers and I have two older sisters, as well as great friends. It was really special to have them stand up with us as we exchanged our vows.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? With Bill’s family being from the North, we wanted to include some fun touches of the South we knew everyone would enjoy. We served pulled pork barbeque and passed hot apple cider in mason jars during the cocktail hour. A fun blue grass band performed out on the lawn, and we had apple cider donuts as favors.
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