As a corporate event planner in New York City, the bride was excited to begin planning a destination Southern wedding with her team of wedding professionals, led by Tara Guérard. Since the couple's top priority was making sure their guests had a great time, their planner Tara designed a welcome bag for the couple's friends and family filled with essentials, sweet treats, and a "recovery" kit. The bag was decorated with a map of the iconic venue and also included the bride’s favorite cookies from her childhood. Additional thoughtful gestures were also incorporated throughout the day, such as providing heel protectors for women's heels on the grass, ceremony programs that doubled as fans, and flip-flops for dancing.
The couple exchanged vows during an intimate ceremony in the chapel, which featured an enormous window adorned with fresh greenery and florals at the altar. A string trio and trumpet, as well as gospel singers, provided the soundtrack to the special celebration. Guests then made their way to the lawn for an alfresco cocktail hour complete with plenty of Champagne and passed hors d'oeuvres featuring a Southern theme.
As guests entered the sailcloth tent for the reception, they were mesmerized by the sophisticated décor featuring the bride's favorite colors: tones of peach and pink. Mesmerizing linens were draped from the tent, vineyard chairs surrounded small cocktail tables, and upholstered sofas, daybeds, and chairs were accented with custom pillows embroidered with the pair's monogram to personalize the fête.
Since the newlyweds chose not to have a formal dinner, the reception kicked off with the pair cutting into their elegant cake, followed by their first dance to “Loving You Easy” by Zac Brown Band, performed by an 11-piece live band. From there, guests visited various food stations and hit the black-and-white checkerboard dance floor before enjoying late-night snacks – burger sliders, lobster rolls, and Cheerwine floats with vanilla ice cream – and sending the new Mr. and Mrs. off with a sparkler exit.
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