Maryland Garden Party Wedding with British Flair

When Catherine and Alex first met in their grad school math class, they never could have imagined that they would be gifting their future wedding guests monogrammed calculator favours as a nod to how they met. Now living and working in finance in New York City, the couple dreamed of creating a getaway wedding weekend for 150 of their closest friends, and found BRITTLAND MANOR, an intimate waterfront wedding venue in Chestertown, Maryland, among their early searching. After visiting the venue in person and learning that they could invite guests to stay on site for multiple nights, they were sold. 

On their September wedding weekend – see here captured by SOPHIE KAYE PHOTOGRAPHY, guests were welcomed from out of town with handmade gift bags filled with popular Maryland Old Bay crab chips, local Flying Dog brewery Old Bay beer, and Old “Bae” koozies (Catherine is a Beyoncé fan). 

On the wedding day which was planned by EAST MADE CO, guests were thrilled to watch the bride ride up to the outdoor ceremony site in her father’s vintage green Land Rover, to the bridal processional of Beyoncé’s “Halo” performed by string trio. With a greenery wreath tied to the front of the car, the Land Rover made the perfect photo backdrop for bridal party portraits later on.   

For the outdoor cocktail hour and tented reception, Catherine and Alex opted for an elegant British garden feel, with a colour palette of light grey and mauve neutral tones, warmed by wooden tones in the chiavari chairs and the sailcloth tent poles, and evergreen in the bridesmaid’s dresses and lush greenery arrangements. Guests drank Pimm’s cup (a nod to the Father of the Bride’s British background) and dined on crab cakes and filet, a classic Maryland wedding feast. Escort cards were pinned onto an impressive floral and greenery installation climbing up an old tree’s trunk, adding to the garden party atmosphere. Guests partied until midnight and packed the dance floor all night long, only pausing to enjoy a slice of delicious Smith Island cake (a vanilla cake with chocolate icing, boasting 8-14 layers, and Maryland’s “official” dessert.)