“Tommy and Emily are married! Their wedding day was one for the books with gorgeous details designed by the Bride, bowties, sun, rain and lots of joy. The color scheme of the wedding was wonderfully unique with three different bridesmaid dress colors and stunning florals. Since Emily is a graphic designer, she wanted to put her personal touch on all of the print pieces by designing them herself. Each piece had its own flair and represented the two of them perfectly. They tied the knot at Central Presbyterian Church and celebrated their reception at Eldridge Furnace Inn. The rain didn’t stop the bridal party from having a great time during pictures with the clear umbrellas. It shows that even if it rains on your wedding day you can still have the best day of your life. Don’t be afraid of a little rain!” –Anna Grace Photography

What is your favorite wedding day memory?

It’s hard to pick just one thing! One of my favorite parts of the day was our wedding ceremony and also the moments right before the ceremony with my bridesmaids and Dad and then right after with Tommy and our wedding party. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime moment to say our vows before family and friends and to have everyone we love all in one place. Tommy’s favorite part was when I walked down the aisle! We also loved hearing the speeches by the Maid of Honor and Best Man, and of course the dancing {really, we loved it all!}.

What did you DIY for your wedding?

A lot of things! I designed the invitation suite including the save-the-dates, invitations, RSVP cards and a detail card. I also hand-lettered the addresses on the envelopes {with some help from my bridesmaids} and I designed the table numbers, seating cards, menus, signs for the venue, guest book and a thank you note tag to go on our favors. I hand-lettered the “Mr. and Mrs.” signs on the back of our chairs at dinner – the wood came from old siding from my in-laws house. We collected glass bottles and painted them to match the wedding colors and I also found some old drawers at a thrift shop with some of my bridesmaids, and painted those white to hold some “advice” and “date idea” cards I designed as well. For our centerpieces, we used live floral arrangements for half of the tables and then used a lantern with 3 painted mason jars and fake flowers on the other half. I bought one bouquet of silk peach roses and then split that up to put one in each mason jar, along with a white silk hydrangea.

My Mother-in-Law is an amazing seamstress and altered my Mom’s wedding dress to be my exit dress! She also created a special tablecloth from some of the extra fabric from my Mom’s dress for our sweetheart table. We found peach seersucker fabric online that she sewed the Groom’s, Groomsmen’s and Dad’s bow ties and cummerbunds and used the same fabric to also sew 17 table runners.

One of my best friends from growing up baked snickerdoodles as our wedding favors and assembled them into little gift bags we found on Etsy and attached a thank you note I designed to them using peach and white string we also found on Etsy. Tommy’s aunt made our cake, and believe it or not, it was actually made entirely out of cupcakes! They were a favorite family recipe – 5 flavor pound cake, with vanilla icing. She’s amazing. My Mom and I worked with the alterations department at David’s Bridal to add straps and the bow to my dress and we even used a hole-puncher to create custom confetti to match our wedding colors! I had a lot of help from family and friends – it really was a group effort and it was so fun to plan!

Did you have a something old, new, borrowed and blue?

Yes! Some items fell into more than one category. For something borrowed {and blue}, I carried a monogrammed handkerchief from several generations back in the pocket of my dress. One of the really special parts of our wedding day was that I got to wear my Mom’s wedding dress, which was altered by my now Mother-in-Law, to leave the reception! That was my something old, but also became my something new and my dress and jewelry were new as well. For my something blue, I wore an opal ring that my Dad gave to my Mom. We were both born in October, so that’s our birth stone, which made it extra special {the opal had a blue-ish tint}!

Any advice for brides currently in the planning process?

My advice for those planning is to not stress too much about it and enjoy this unique time of life! Your wedding will be a reflection of the two of you, and it’s okay if it isn’t 100% picture perfect. I tried to keep the perspective that our marriage is more important than our wedding day when little details started to drive me crazy! I also found that using a written list with checkboxes helped give me peace of mind {so I didn’t feel like I was forgetting something}, kept me organized and also helped to keep me motivated {it feels good to check items off the list!}. -Emily, the Bride

Event Credits

Photography: Anna Grace Photography // Ceremony Venue: Central Presbyterian Church // Reception Venue + Catering: The Elkridge Furnace Inn // Florist: Scentsational Florals // Invitations: Emily Kate Design + Lettering {the Bride} // DJ: Affirmative Groove // Engagement Ring: Nelson Coleman Jewelers // Bride's Attire: David's Bridal // Bride's Shoes: JC Penney // Groom + Groomsmen's Attire: Tuxedo House // Wedding Favor Bags: Party Supply Store // Wedding Favor Twine: Willow Bay Supply