Hooray!! Caroline and Anders are married! It was the biggest joy to celebrate these two at their intimate wedding this past September on their original wedding date… and to know that we have their larger wedding coming up later this summer, as well! With a guest count of 27, it was such an intimate, gorgeous, joyful, and love-filled day as Caroline and Anders celebrated their new marriage in the company of their nearest and dearest family and friends. While it wasn’t their original wedding plan, I believe it was still such an incredible, magical, and celebratory (first!) wedding day for these two and their families and closest friends. I know I had many of those “pinch me” moments repeatedly throughout their wedding day, along with my assistants and other vendors, and the love, beauty, and happiness of this wedding day was so palpable. It really, really was.

Caroline and Anders’ intimate celebration included their beautiful and very meaningful ceremony on the lawn of the Merrimon Wynne followed by a seated cheese and charcuterie board cocktail hour and then a delicious, magical dinner al fresco on the lawn with their guests seated at one long, stunning dinner table. Their intimate wedding design (somewhat different than what we have planned for this summer!) was an elegant outdoor garden party with juicy, lush flowers in an abundance, a long table with their immediate families and best friends, romantic candlelight and market lights overhead, an exceptionally delicious and innovative menu, a petite wedding cake adorned with fresh flowers, and the most intimate, personalized, sweet ceremony. There were so many gorgeous and thoughtful details, from Caroline’s CEO (her monogram!) clutch to the heirloom handkerchief she carried around her bouquet to the pendant name cards we placed in the cheese and charcuterie boards to the perfect and cohesive color palette to the ginger jars that graced the ceremony flower arrangements and were later repurposed to their fantastic cocktail hour and dinner menu and everything in between! We all put so much heart and thought into the overall design and feeling of the day that was brought to life through the smallest of meaningful details to really surprise and delight their guests. Though it’s not what any of us ever imagined when we started planning well over a year ago, it was an incredibly joyful, meaningful, and truly memorable first wedding day for them as Caroline and Anders officially were married!

Caroline and Anders are just one of those dream couples to work with in every way, and I have absolutely loved getting to know them (and Caroline’s mom!) throughout the wedding planning process. I couldn’t ask for a sweeter, more trusting couple (or parents)! It’s hard to put into words just how special Caroline, Anders, and their families are and how utterly thrilled I am for them. I have absolutely loved getting to know Caroline and Anders as a couple more and more throughout the wedding planning process over the last year. They are such thoughtful, generous, genuine, trusting, and loving people, and they clearly bring out the very best in one another and are the perfect balance for each other. As much as we all wish a pandemic hadn’t changed their wedding plans, I actually think it’s almost the best of both worlds for them. At the end of the day, even with many changes and updates (and plenty of safety precautions, of course!), it was such an extraordinary and beautiful day as Caroline and Anders were married! It’s such a joyful occasion to celebrate with their beloved family and friends and to kick off married life for Caroline and Anders in such a lovely, romantic, memorable, and meaningful way.

And goodness, this intimate wedding day was truly spectacular. I’ll let you see for yourself with stunning film images from Ally and Bobby Photography…

Endless congratulations to Caroline and Anders on their (first!) wedding day! What a complete dream this magnificent was. You two are officially married, and I can only hope that it was the most marvelous, joyful, stunning, love-filled, meaningful, and fun day as we celebrated your new marriage!! It’s hard to put into words just how much I love these two and their families and friends… and how dearly loved Caroline and Anders clearly are. It was a truly special celebration of love from start to finish with their nearest and dearest, and I am deeply, deeply honored to have been a part of it!

I’m also incredibly thankful for the wonderful (and very flexible and accommodating!) vendor team – the same team for this intimate wedding and also this summer’s larger wedding. I can’t thank these stellar creative partners and vendors enough for safely bringing this magical intimate wedding day to life, even amidst a pandemic! Can’t wait to do it all over again in a few months!!

Photography: Ally and Bobby Photography

Planning and design: Stephanie Shaul Events

Venue: The Merrimon Wynne House

Florals: Bowerbird Flowers

Catering: HL Catering

Rentals: CE Rental and Cottage Luxe

Videography: Twenty One Films

Cake: The Cupcake Shoppe

Music: Arioso Strings

Hair and makeup: Tease and Blush

Day-of paper details & calligraphy: Mason Dixon Designs

Invitations: Minted

all images by the amazing, amazing Ally and Bobby Photography