Determined to make their nuptials has unique as their own journey, this couple took their preppy northeast style and tossed in some Texas charm, coming together in one glorious celebration. Under the guidance of ever swoon, country music meshed perfectly with the Bride and her lovely ladies, with the team of Trent, Dara and Mark of Trent Bailey Photography capturing it all for us to gush over right here.
| Share this gorgeous gallery on | |
From The Bride… Adam and I wanted our wedding to first and foremost feel like “us.” We both grew up in the north, me in Toronto, Canada, and Adam in New York City, but both spent several years in Texas. We met at SMU in Dallas, Texas and knew each other through mutual friends and shared political sciences classes before dating. Because we met through mutual friends, we are lucky enough to still have an amazing group of best friends that knew us both individually before dating and have also known us for many years as a couple. After college, we both moved to Washington, DC. Adam proposed on a spring afternoon in DC with both of our families waiting to surprise me afterward to celebrate. We started discussing where we would get married and New York City seemed like the most central meeting spot for our DC, Canada, Texas and NYC crew.
We ended up picking the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens (in Park Slope, Brooklyn – where Adam grew up) as the spot for our ceremony and reception. We had the ceremony in the beautiful gardens and the reception in the Palm House. We also wanted our guests to get the full New York City experience so everyone stayed in SoHo and we arranged transportation to Brooklyn. It was so much fun getting ready in the Mondrian SoHo (a hotel that shares my love of blue and white décor) and such a blast having the after-party in the stunning Mondrian bar. We felt like the blend of neighborhoods really gave everyone a taste of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Through a college friend of mine, I found Tamra of ever swoon and knew she had to be our wedding planner. Tamra is super creative, always organized, sweet, personable and constantly ready to make even the most mundane tasks a celebration… not to mention she is a fellow Texan, so it was a perfect match. We could not have enjoyed the process nearly as much as we did without Tamra guiding us through it. With me taking the bar exam one week before our wedding, Tamra was a savior!
Being faithful people, we knew we wanted someone to marry us that knew us both deeply. My big brother, Jordan, is a man of strong faith and couldn’t know either of us better – the perfect officiant. So the three of us wrote the entire ceremony together – pulling from pastor friends’ previous ceremonies and traditional ceremony books. I have to say, standing at the altar with Adam and my brother, Jordan, officiating, was by far the highlight of that day. In that moment, the bond between Adam and I was not only forever changed, but the bond between the three of us as siblings became more solid and deep than I could have ever imagined.
Adam and I have a very similar style and so we wanted the wedding to reflect that along with our New York, Texas and Canada backgrounds. So became our northeast preppy meets Texas wedding. Our décor included preppy touches like seersucker tablecloths during our cocktail hour and blue and white Chinoiserie vases and invitations, Texas touches like serving Shiner Bock beer and having an SMU basketball court groom’s cake, and Canadian touches like serving Molson Canadian beer.
As for music, our favorite types of music are country music and acoustic music artists like Ray LaMontagne and John Mayer, so we wanted a band that could play both of those genres (which is rare in a wedding band!). In the end, we found the perfect southern band, the Gold Magnolias, from Austin, Texas. Their bluesy, Austin country music style was a perfect reflection of our style.
My Uncle Gerry sang and played his guitar for our first dance. My Uncle Gerry is an amazingly talented musician (as well as businessman) and sang my parent’s first dance at their wedding over thirty years ago. We worked together to select a song that showcased his talents and was meaningful to us. His beautiful acoustic rendition of John Legend’s “All of Me” had us all in tears.
Lastly, our exit was very important to us and because our venue didn’t allow sparklers I had almost given up hopes of a grand exit. But the week of the wedding, Tamra came to the rescue and got us streamers for everyone to wave as we exited. The streamers still showed up perfectly in the dark on film (which was our other concern) and became a fun dance accessory for many at the after-party.
Overall, our day was beyond magical. We kept hearing how intimate it felt with so many family members playing important roles and with such a large group of amazing friends all there to support us. It was also a perfect reflection of who we are individually and as a couple – our styles, our backgrounds, and our beliefs – and I am so happy we spent the time to make it uniquely “us.” Our photographers of Trent Bailey Photography, also could not have captured each and every moment more beautifully. We will cherish that day forever!
Photography: Trent Bailey Studio | Event Planning: ever swoon | Floral Design: Blade Floral and Event Designs | Cakes: Ana Parzych Cakes | Stationery: Lana's Shop | Ceremony Venue: Brooklyn Botanic Garden | Hair And Makeup: Face Time Beauty Concierge | Bridal Boutique: Kleinfeld Bridal | Music: The Gold Magnolias
Join The Conversation
favorite (0) share share (0) pin (0)
