REAL WILLIAMSBURG, VA WEDDING: LAUREN & MICHAEL
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Meet Lauren & Michael…they are just the cutest couple and they are a very special couple to me…you see, I had the pleasure of designing the floral for their beautiful wedding last summer. When Lauren and her mother first came to see me, I knew I wanted to be a part of her wedding celebration….I felt like I had known them forever…..Lauren has the most beautiful spirit and a smile that lights up the night…it was truly a pleasure working with her and I’m so excited to share their wedding story with you! |
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| Lauren shares a little info with us…..’We wanted to combine our interests and backgrounds in a unique way. So the food, wine, beer, and atmosphere reflected this diversity; we sought to have a comfortable wedding in the southern tradition but with elements of French culture and cuisine. The entire wedding weekend was planned to reflect this vision and to ensure that our guests truly felt like they were experiencing ‘southern hospitality.’ Since over 90% of our guests were traveling from out of town, we wanted their trip to be as easy as possible. Choosing to have our wedding in Williamsburg helped greatly — our guests could walk to all wedding events (welcome drinks, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, and brunch) from the hotel. Williamsburg is home to the College of William & Mary where I went to school and where the ceremony and reception were held. The college was the perfect choice for our wedding because of its beauty, academic setting, and historical significance. Our color scheme was defined primarily by the Mike’s tie, which included hues of blue, lavender, and champagne. It was one of the first wedding purchases we made. The flowers typically seen in June in both Virginia and in France completed our palette — we used hydrangeas, peonies, garden roses, sweet pea, scabiosa (Thank you Janie!), and tons of fresh rosemary and lavender. The ceremony was held in the Chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building, the main academic building on campus and the oldest academic building still in use in the United States. The chapel’s simplicity is beautiful, so we chose to keep decorations at a minimum. We exchanged traditional vows and included family members in the ceremony. The ceremony ended with “Joyful Joyful” which was also sung at my parent’s wedding 35 years prior. Food and drink were especially important to us. Our wedding menu mixed french-inspired dishes with specialties from the southern mid-atlantic. The cocktail hour featured miniature french ‘beouf en croute’ (beef tenderloin wrapped in puff pastry) along with Maryland blue crab crabcakes and of course French bread and cheese. At dinner, guests were seated at two long tables where more French-inspired food, including fresh herb-roasted whole chickens and ratatouille, was served family style. We wanted to serve guests foods that 1) reflected our theme, 2) we love to eat, and 3) we love to cook at home together. Mike and I also count wine as one of our interests, and had great fun over the better part of a year selecting the wedding wines. We even hosted a wine tasting party with friends where we wrapped the bottles in brown paper bags and asked everyone to rate the wines. Guests took home boxes of cookies from Colonial Williamsburg’s Raleigh Tavern Bakery that included recipes for the cookies.’ |
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| Style Team:
Photography: Andrea Marie Photography Floral: Janie Medley Flora Design Ceremony Venue: The Wren Chapel, College of William and Mary Reception Venue: The William and Mary Alumni House Shoes: Kate Spade and J.Crew Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Siri Wedding Coordinator: Weddings by Michelle Andrea, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing Lauren & Michael’s beautiful wedding story with us…and to Lauren & Michael, we wish you a lifetime filled with love and joy…xoxo
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