Guest Post: Military Bride Part 3

Welcome back to the third installment in a three part series of one military bride's story.  If you didn't catch the first two posts, here is the link to part 1 and the link to part 2.  Abby was a FCW client in October 2010 who has a pretty incredible story that started in a grocery store in Blacksburg, VA and ended up halfway across the world living in Guam.  She keeps updating her adventures on her blog, Seaweed & Sassafras, so check it out to see the latest.  This last post is about the formal wedding planning.  Enjoy!

We quickly settled into our little beachfront Condo. How many couples come home from work and walk the beach, or meet with friends to play volleyball? It was heaven. After a few months we decided we were ready to tackle planning a wedding. Now remember, Guam is a good 14 hours ahead of the East Coast, USA. So if it is noon in Maryland, it is 2am in Guam. Plane tickets cost about $2000 and it takes about 26 hours of flying to reach Maryland. It was obvious all of our planning was going to be done via internet and phone calls. After a few talks with my Mom, we realized we needed help; someone to help keep us organized and on track. Enter, Felicity. The first step was prioritizing what we needed to get done and when. We knew Chris would be deploying from November until June, so we started searching for a venue. Being 10,000 miles away from our venue meant no walk through for this girl. I had to trust in my heart to know it when I saw it. It helped to have Felicity and my parents visit the top choices and send me photos. I fell in love with Swan Harbor Farm the moment I saw it on the internet. It had sweeping lawns, grand old trees, overlooked the Chesapeake Bay, I swooned. We took whatever opening they had. In the mean time, Felicity and I would trade emails of decor ideas, colors, etc., trying to pinpoint some design elements. Chris and I share a mutual love for the outdoors and wildlife, so we decided to incorporate that into our theme.

When Chris deployed (for the first time) it was very hard, especially not living in the same country as my friends and family. But I did what every military wife has to do, pick up the pieces and make the best of it. We stayed in touch through email, a few port visits and just the anticipation of the day he would come home. He was always supportive, but let me make a lot of the decisions.

I was able to come home for the holidays. Three weeks turned into a whirlwind of wedding meetings. Felicity and I were finally able to sit down in person and talk through ideas, advice, tips, etc. This trip was also my only chance to find a wedding gown! There’s a little added pressure in finding a wedding dress knowing this is pretty much your only chance, but it didn’t take away from the special moment. We didn’t get everything done, but I left feeling like we had really made progress.

Hitched!!! Trincia Wedding 10.22.11

I have been excited about the Trincia wedding since I first spoke with Maggie & Nick last summer!  The wait is over and I'm so happy to present the professional pictures of their wedding on October 22, 2011.  Working as their day of coordinator was a great experience as Maggie and Nick are such a wonderful couple who were both very focused and excited about their big day.  Even though they currently live in San Francisco, having lived in MD a few years ago they decided to plan their wedding around what they love about Baltimore.  Over many skype meetings, I grew to know Nick & Maggie as a sweet, fun loving couple who are a perfect compliment to each other; he has a great creative mind and works in design and she is an organized project manager.  Every detail was personal to the couple which I loved.  The ceremony and reception took place at Gutierrez Studios at Clipper Mill in Baltimore, MD, an industrial site where Nick used to work.  There is even a bench that he made still on the site grounds!  To see this site transform from a working shop during our final site visit on Wednesday to their personalized wedding venue by Saturday was pretty amazing.  With family & friends joining the celebration from California to Boston to New York, Maggie & Nick decided to maximize their guests' downtime by selecting the Admiral Fell Inn, which is in the heart of Baltimore neighborhood Fells Point.  Transportation of the guests to the wedding was provided by Just Class Motorcoach.      

Now getting down to wedding details, the bride's makeup was done by her sister Penny who was also the maid of honor and the bride's talented cousin Anne Weber did her bridal hair.  I'm SO jealous of how many insanely talented friends Maggie & Nick have, the whole day was captured by freelance photographer Chris Haynes.  The ceremony was held in front of the studio entrance and performed by Jim Ezell, a family friend who flew in from California.  His ceremony was complimented by another friend who provided the ceremony music with his guitar skills and lovely singing voice.

The reception was held inside the studio space and cocktail hour was held in the lobby with the escort cards on display as well as the creative time capsule guest book.  The studio's industrial edge was enhanced by groom Nick and his brother providing weather balloons and stringing lights for a glowy atmosphere (see photos below!) and the amazing floral arrangements were provided by Gordon Florist who got Maggie's vision spot on.  I told you that this couple definitely has talented friends, Matt Makowski was the MC and set up all the sound equipment for the 'ipod DJ'.  For anyone who is skeptical about using an ipod for a wedding, Maggie & Nick did an exceptional job with the playlists and kept the party going all night long.  Catering was courtesy of the amazing Sacha's, if you keep up with my 'hitched' series then you know that I love working the Sascha's crew and I cannot think of enough compliments for their staff, professionalism, service and food.  As a super fun twist on the traditional wedding cake, Maggie & Nick had cannoli tower which was provided by Baltimore favorite, SugarBakers Cakes.  More amazing personalized details- Nick handmade the Natty Boh bride & groom heads for their tower topper and they offered guests Berger cookies as the favors, two very big Baltimore favorites.  Last but not least, I need to thank my amazing event assistant, Kellie O'Connor, who made my life easier with all her hard work.  Once again, congrats again Mr. & Mrs. Trinica, it was a joy to work with you both and I wish you a lifetime of love!

 

 

Hitched!!! Williams Wedding 4.2.11

Talk about a small world.  In high school I used to carpool with a girl named Lindsey Hinds and I was shocked to see her again over a decade later while I was a vendor at the Turf Valley Bridal Extravaganza in January!  After our intro meeting I knew she was the same sweet girl I knew years ago and I jumped on board immediately.  Lindsey & Kyle are such a great match and they infused so much of themselves into their wedding with great details at every turn.  Working very closely with Lindsey as well as her family was such a great time and I was so excited to be a part of her & Kyle's special day.

The couple decide to hold their wedding on Maryland's picturesque Eastern Shore, which is where they have been living for the past few years.  The wedding party, wedding guests and I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Kent Island which is located on the water and is as beautiful as it is accommodating.  The wedding site was The River Plantation which has a great house where the guests entered before the ceremony and enjoyed cocktail hour in addition to the amazing white tent for the ceremony & reception.  The site has an on-site catering staff who had the guests (and vendors!) raving about the delicious food.  The couple took great care in choosing gifted vendors that all came together to create a truly memorable wedding.

Although there was rain earlier in the day, by the time the ceremony rolled around the rain had lifted.  The ceremony was moved from the lawn to inside the tent and after seeing how beautiful it turned out, I can't imagine the ceremony being anywhere else.  Reverend Bill Tessyier officiated the ceremony and I was very impressed with his heartfelt sermon.  Ceremony music was provided by the incredibly talented Chesapeake Strings.  Local vendor Murdoch Florist provided the gorgeous arrangements for the wedding party and the tent decor, which included table centerpieces, roseballs hanging from the tent ceiling and two potted topiaries, all of which really set an elegant tone for the day.  The bride and bridal party's hair was done by Tara Trigger of Dakota Salon and the talented ladies at Amie Decker Beauty took care of the make up. 

All of the day's images were beautifully captured by the experienced John & Kevin of KRR Photography Ltd. and the DJs who kept it going all night long were the fantastic Crow Entertainment who definitely know how to rock a wedding.  Crow Entertainment also provided the gobo lighting design on the dancefloor, which was a spectacular touch!  Maryland favorite SugarBakers Cakes delivered a scrumptious and beautiful cake which perfectly matched the decor of this elegant wedding.  Congrats again to the Williams and thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your big day!

Enjoy these photos and please check Felicity C Weddings' Facebook page for the whole photo album coming soon!

Hitched!!! Himes Wedding 10.3.10

There are certain times when all the stars align and everything comes together beautifully for a wonderful couple with amazing families.  The Himes wedding was exactly this.  Abby found me on Facebook (we had known each other since high school) and contacted me in July 2009 after seeing me post a lot about starting Felicity C Weddings.  Abby & Chris were college sweethearts at Virginia Tech and after graduation, Chris joined the Navy.  From there it was a bit of a whirlwind.  He proposed to Abby in December 2008, in May of 2009 he received orders to Guam, and they had a wedding ceremony at a courthouse with just immediate family before leaving for Guam that same month.  Abby & Chris had wanted a wedding reception stateside with all their friends and family and contacted me to help plan their big day.  I worked very closely with Abby's parents and Abby (a 14 hour time difference!) and I could not be more happy with the whole process and the wedding.

Abby had such a strong vision that it made my job very easy- Abby is a girl who loves being outdoors and loves everything that nature offers so it was a no-brainer that nature and being eco-friendly was the theme of the wedding.  After looking at a few venues online, Abby fell in love with Swan Harbor Farm in Havre de Grace, MD and after visiting the site with Abby's mother, we both knew it was the perfect place.  The venue is actually operated by  Harford county state park and offers 531 acres of beautiful scenery, a farmhouse, landscaped gardens, tented area, and gazebo overlooking the Bay.  I'm so lucky that Abby had such great instincts and was able to choose her vendors online from Guam since she only made one visit to the US during the planning process!  They both arrived about a month before the wedding to go over final details and it was fantastic being able to show her the almost finished product.  The ceremony was officiated by a family friend and neighbor of Abby's parents which made it that much more special.  The amazing venue along with the bridal party and guests were captured by Jacqueline Schlossman Photodocumentary who I cannot say enough good things about.  This wedding was full of great vendors which really makes my job easier.

The wedding was catered by Gourmet By The Bay who did a magnificent job of the setup and the presentation and of course the food & drink were amazing as were their entire staff.  The decor was complemented by the florists of Wicked Willow LLC, who worked a lot with Abby to get the details perfected from the centerpieces to the bridal party flowers, and the lanterns with white candles as guests entered the reception tent.  The ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception music was done by Frank of Friendly Entertainment LLC who was key in helping me to make the whole wedding be such a success.  Last but not least, the surprise groom's cake (a VA Tech lunchbox paying homage to their college days) and the beautiful wedding cake were crafted by Baltimore's own talented SugarBakers Cakes.  The happy couple left their reception in style thanks to A Platinum Plus Limousines Inc.