A beautiful seaside celebration, a radiant bride and groom, and photos that are alive with both beauty and emotion - what more could anyone ask for in this Newport News, VA wedding of darling couple Kate and Elliott?
The Couple: Kate and Elliott
The Wedding: 5.12.12 - The Bride's Family Home, Newport News, VA
What three adjectives best describe your wedding? Casually elegant, lively, delicious!
What was your wedding color palette? Gray and cream
What inspired your personal wedding style, and how did you incorporate your style and personalities into your big day? Kate has always loved Jane Austen, and that served as the design inspiration. We chose an outdoor setting on the water, and held cocktail hour in the English garden (which we planted ourselves a few months before the wedding).
We also love to cook and entertain, so we wanted the event to feel like a dinner party at our home. We chose long communal tables and tried to keep florals and decor simple. We did a lot ourselves, including making homemade limoncello, freshly squeezing all the juices for cocktails, and designing and assembling all the place card stirrers and favors.
Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? We’re thrilled that we chose the house rather than a venue. It was significantly more work to organize everything ourselves, but it allowed us to choose all the details of our event.
What piece of advice would you give to a bride planning her wedding today? There are a million traditions and great ideas that have evolved over the years into near-requirements for weddings. You can drive yourself crazy trying to incorporate all of these into your big day, so pick a short list of things that are most important to you and learn to let the rest go. Sometimes it’s the things you leave out that allow the other highlights to make the event so memorable.
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Whitebox Weddings
Ceremony Venue: St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church
Reception Venue: The Bride's Parents’ House
Officiant: Fr. Alito
Invitation Designer: Crane & Co.
Catering: Groovin Gourmets
Florist: Eddie Sturgill
Wedding Cake: Shyndigz
Wedding Dress: Watters
Bridal Accessories: Antique Lapis and Pearl Earrings - Doyle and Doyle, NYC
Bridesmaid’s Apparel & Accessories: each bridesmaid selected their own
Groom's Apparel & Accessories: Suit - Canali, Shirt - Proper Cloth, Tie - Burberry, Cufflinks - White Truffle on Etsy.com, Shoes - Allen Edmonds
Hair & Make-up: Trisha Rone
DJ: DJ Bang! from Atlanta, GA
Transportation: Affinity Limosine
Favors: Handmade, using succulents from Succulents Galore on Etsy.com
Rentals: Grand Rental Station
Kate's Rings: Antique engagement ring from Claude Morady Estate Jewelry, Los Angeles, Wedding band by Doyle and Doyle, NYC
Elliott's Ring: Titanium band by Stonebrook Jewelry on Etsy.com
Absolutely, utterly charming! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us Kate and Elliott!
