Clean And Classic North Carolina Wedding Filled With Charm

Melissa Hammam
August 7, 2023
Categories: The Blog

[section title=”The Planning”]

[field title=”Wedding Colors”]Black, white, blush tones, and gold accents were the inspired wedding colors. [/field]

[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]

Anna Claire and Adam’s vision for their wedding day was a classic, timeless, formal affair. They pictured an elegant, simplistic design that highlighted the beauty, seclusion, and intimacy of the venue,The Bradford. We wanted their guests to experience an elevated and sophisticated event, while also enjoying an upbeat atmosphere of pure joy and celebration!

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[field title=”Proposal Story”]

Anna Claire and Adam went to Virginia Tech together. Adam was two years ahead of her. After graduation, Adam moved to Texas, while Anna Claire finished her sophomore year. They continued to date long distance for the next year, although being over 1,000 miles apart made it pretty difficult for Adam to come back home without Anna Claire suspecting anything. Adam’s brother, Austin, and sister-in-law, Emily, planned a photo shoot over Thanksgiving break for what they said would be the family “Christmas card.” Anna Claire was asked to be part of the family photo this year. The two posed for pictures in front of the cutest white chapel in Appomattox, VA, where Adam got down on one knee and asked Anna Claire to marry him. They were overjoyed to celebrate their proposal together with their families.

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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]

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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]

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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]

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[section title=”The Fashion”]

[field title=”Wedding Gown”]

Anna Claire knew she wanted to stick with the clean, classic, and timeless look. She envisioned looking for something form-fitting and simple. She tried on a couple dozen dresses at three different bridal shops and finally said yes to the dress at a&be BRidal in Cary, NC, to a beautiful Jenny Yoo wedding gown. It was classic and formal, yet modern and unique. It fit their day, venue, and the overall feel of our wedding even better than she could have imagined.

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[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]When Anna Claire first told her friends and family that she wanted to have her bridesmaids in black dresses, she was met with a mix of opinions. Although black bridesmaids dresses are starting to become popular, our wedding was the first time many of their guests had seen that done. Despite the initial concern for my somewhat bold color choice, she felt like it was the perfect complement to the formal, elegant look of their ceremony. The women looked absolutely beautiful and the photos came out so perfect! They ordered their dresses from Birdy Grey and we couldn’t have been happier with them. They were affordable and allowed each women to choose a neckline that made them feel the most comfortable and confident. [/field]

[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Anna Claire and Adam both knew they wanted the men to be in black tuxes to fit the black-tie dress code of their wedding. They chose a Vera Wang tux through Joseph A. Bank. The guys looked and felt great and the suspenders were the perfect fun edition to their look! [/field]

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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

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[section title=”The Details”]

[field title=”Food & Drink”]Their day began with a pre-ceremony champagne bar to kick off the celebration. Cocktail hour then offered their guests hors d’oeuvres of shrimp cocktail, caprese skewers, and fruit, as well as a bar with beer and wine choices. In addition to these, cocktail hour also featured one of their favorite aspects of the day: the coffee cart. Crescent Coffee served a full menu of specialty coffees for their guests and it was a hit! Adam and Anna Claire are big coffee drinkers, and they felt it was the perfect addition to the celebration. For dinner, they embraced the European charm of our venue and chose an Italian buffet with vodka pasta, sundried tomato chicken breast, and vegetables catered by 39 West Catering. [/field]

[field title=”Florals & Decor”]The Bradford is such a beautiful venue on its own and surrounded by such beautiful grounds, there wasn’t much we had to do in terms of decor. The floral team at Once Gathered and their planning and design team, Amanda Blair by Design really took the reins and produced something even more beautiful than they ever could have imagined. They tied together the white and blush color scheme beautifully with the cascading floral piece on the fireplace, the bouquets, and the gorgeous tablescapes. They really made our vision come to life. The design team also used unique wooden/cement looking vessels for the florals on the reception decor tables. It created a soft, elegant feeling as well. The chandeliers were cascading with greenery and each floral accent felt cohesive to the theme. [/field]

[field title=”Wedding Cake”]

They first met Katelyn at Capital Cakes NC when she made a cake for Anna Claire’s great grandmothers’ 100th birthday party a few years ago. Her work is beautiful and it tastes even better than it looks. They presented her with the vision for their wedding cake, which was simple, clean, all white, but unique at the same time. She executed their vision perfectly.

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[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]Another favorite aspects of their wedding day was the ceremony music. They had a string duet from Corda entertainment play for their ceremony and cocktail hour. They played a mixture of hymns and popular songs, to complement the traditional and modern aspects of our ceremony. Anna Claire walked down the aisle to ‘Forever’ by Kari Jobe.

Anna Claire and Adam were married by the pastor of their college ministry. He knew Adam long before Anna Claire did and was there to observe their relationship from day one. On their wedding day, he read from First Corinthians 13:1-7. This passage talks about love and the importance that it bears in our lives and our relationships.

Their first dance as husband and wife, we danced to ‘You’ by Dan and Shay (the acoustic version).

The reception music was another aspect of their wedding day that was really important to them. They wanted an upbeat reception with lots of dancing and that’s exactly what we got. Randy with Bunn DJ Co absolutely killed it with the music. The guests were dancing for hours to 2000’s hits, country classics, and pop songs. They even got to jump to ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica with all of our friends from Virginia Tech just like we were back at a football game. [/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #1″]For Anna Claire’s something blue, she wore a classic tanzanite and diamond ring that was given to her by her paternal grandmother. It is a stunning piece of jewelry that now forever holds a special meaning. [/field]

[field title=”Special Detail #2″]Adam’s brother, Austin, surprised him by bringing their late maternal grandfather’s watch for Adam to wear. Both boys were very close to their grandfather, and although he was unable to be at either of their weddings, they each had a piece of him with them by wearing his watch on their special days.

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[field title=”Special Detail #3″][/field]

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