Happy, happy wedding week, Corinne and Thomas!!! I can’t believe their wedding week is officially here, and I know these two lovebirds are so, so very excited to tie the knot and celebrate with their family and friends in their home of Charlottesville, Virginia! It’s hard to put into words just how special Corinne, Thomas, and their families are and how utterly thrilled I am for them to be married this weekend… and to bring their dream wedding day to life!

I have absolutely loved getting to know Corinne and Thomas as a couple more and more throughout the wedding planning process over the last year. Corinne and Thomas are such sweet, thoughtful, loving, and generous people, and they bring out the very best in one another. I love getting to witness a love like theirs, and it brings me the deepest joy knowing that we get to celebrate their wedding and first day of marriage this week!

It’s not easy planning a wedding in the midst of a pandemic and needing to pivot plans and dreams at the last minute, but these two have been so very, very gracious, flexible, and understanding every step of the way. They were originally supposed to get married in early June, and we made the hard decision that it was better to postpone their wedding date a couple months for the health and safety of their guests. And even with an August wedding date, we’ve needed to pivot many original plans to accommodate for the health and safety of their families, friends, and vendors. At the end of the day, even with some changes and updates, it’s going to be the sweetest, most extraordinary day as Corinne and Thomas become husband and wife.

It’s such a joyful occasion to celebrate with their beloved family and friends and to kick off married life for Corinne and Thomas in such a beautiful, marvelous, romantic, and meaningful way. Their faith and sharing that faith and their love with their families and friends have been the foundation of the wedding day that we have planned, and it will be such a testament to them and where their hope lies.

Corinne and Thomas, your wedding week is finally here, and I hope you feel nothing but an abundance of love, peace, and joy as you two are married and are celebrated with such profound joy and excitement! You were clearly made for one another, and your love is so inspiring.

I’m so excited to share Corinne’s bride spotlight with you today, where you can learn more about the two of them, their love story, and what they’re most excited about on their wedding day! Also, are they not the most attractive couple just bursting with joy?! Their love and happiness simply radiates in their engagement session by the incomparable Adelyn Boling — swoon!

1.Tell us a little bit about you and your fiance, Thomas.

Thomas was born and raised in Virginia while I moved quite a bit growing up.  I consider myself to be from Southern California since I went to part of high school there. After graduating from college in North Carolina, I moved to Charlottesville, Virginia to teach first grade and be near extended family.  Thomas moved here for work after spending some time in southeast Africa. Thomas and I both attended the same church for an entire year before meeting.  It’s a pretty large church so that wasn’t too surprising. We were volunteering at a local ministry when we first met.  We talked about all kinds of things while scrubbing counters and deep-cleaning a refrigerator and a new friendship began.  A month later we started chatting and somewhat out of nowhere I invited him to my birthday party.  Much to both of our surprise, he came!  A few days later, Thomas asked me out on our first date.  It lasted 5 1/2 hours and was pretty much perfect.  We bonded over our love of travel and our families. We also both love playing board games and hiking but will give blank stares if anyone asks us questions about professional sports.

2. What are you most excited for about your wedding day? Do you have a moment of your wedding day that you’re most anticipating?

There are so many things I’m excited about for the wedding day! It’s hard to choose. Getting to finally call Thomas my husband after the ceremony is at the top of the list though. I’m sure it will feel a bit surreal after we’ve waited longer than originally expected.

3. What was your biggest inspiration for your wedding design?

Our venue! We’re getting married at a quintessential Virginia venue with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a beautiful and elegant brick building with white columns. Our design goal was to highlight the beauty of the venue while incorporating a few additional touches.  I’m excited to see it come together!

4. Are you doing a first look or saving it for walking down the aisle?

We are saving it for the aisle! We’re pretty traditional and this was something Thomas and I knew we wanted from the beginning. I’m so excited to walk down the aisle with my dad and see Thomas standing at the other end!

5. Describe your style in one word.

elegant and classic Virginia (sorry that’s more than one!)

6. What’s your favorite way to relax and unwind?

We love to go on walks together after long days as well as read and hike. Central Virginia also has a ton of Vineyards and we’re still trying to work our way through them!

7. What is something you’re passionate about? What are some things you and Thomas love to do together?
I’m super passionate about my work in education—specifically reading education. We also both love traveling and service.  I spent eight years of my childhood on a tropical island in Eastern Asia and Thomas spent two years in Mozambique with the Peace Corps.  Our first trip together was supposed to be our honeymoon to Slovenia and Croatia.  We’ve pushed it back to summer 2021 and we can’t wait to explore the world together!  Down the road, I would also love to take Thomas to Japan and visit the island where I grew up. At home in Charlottesville, we love to cook, go on old-fashioned picnics and spend time with family and friends.

8. What has been the biggest surprise in the wedding planning process?

I don’t think anyone expected to be planning around a pandemic.  It has been such a gift to have someone as organized as Stephanie as our wedding planner in the midst of postponing our wedding.  When we found out our original date would no longer work, but before I could say “pandemic”, Stephanie found the magic date in which all of our vendors were available.  Stephanie, our families and our friends have all been a huge gift to us during this season. I can’t imagine planning this wedding without so many supportive people on our team. There were certainly some sad parts that came with the date change, like not being able to have the ceremony at our church (where Thomas asked me out on our first date) and missing family and friends who are unable to travel due to COVID. However, all things considered, so much has come together and I know it’s going to be the perfect day to marry my best friend.  We already feel so loved and supported by our families. At the end of the day, we’ll be married and we just can’t wait. We’ll also have a brand new nephew to help us celebrate!

9. What is your favorite part of your wedding design?

This is a bit random but I did not expect to love the linens as much as I do. Stephanie was amazing at helping us pick out the perfect combinations. I think I love them so much because it’s a part of the wedding design that I didn’t even consider when entering into the planning process.  The day we picked them out was one of the first times that made the wedding feel so real and so close. It was such a special day and I can’t wait to see everything come together at the reception.

10. What is your favorite thing about Thomas?

There’s so much I love about Thomas but when I think about my favorite thing, I would say it’s his thoughtfulness. He’s not only thoughtful in the way he cares for other people but he also thinks deeply. He’s super wise and I appreciate how he’s quick to listen and slow to speak. It’s something I both love and admire about him. He also gets super excited about little things: like baguettes, picnics, and good books. All of which make me really happy.

Stayed tuned this weekend for lots of sneak peeks of their wedding on my Instagram! I already can’t wait to see it all come to life for Corinne and Thomas as we celebrate this joyous, gorgeous day!

all photos by the incredible Adelyn Boling Photography

As a note, this wedding is taking place in Virginia (not North Carolina, where many of my weddings occur), which is where Corinne and Thomas met, fell in love, and live! The current government and CDC mandates, regulations, and capacities for weddings in Virginia are all drastically different than in North Carolina. We are all taking countless health and safety precautions for both guests and vendors, staying well under the current maximum capacity for venues in Virginia, adhering to all required and recommended safety measures, including but not limited to: moving most all of the wedding outdoors, practicing social distancing, asking guests to wear masks, providing a livestream option of their ceremony for guests who aren’t attending, moving the dance floor outside, spreading out all ceremony and dinner seating and seating families/households together, posting signage, providing additional hand sanitizer and masks, keeping guests updated via email, and so much more! I just had to add in this little caveat that this wedding very much legal and allowed in Virginia and at their venue – and that the health and safety of their families, friends, and vendors are incredibly important concerns to all of us.