Alix & Richard knew they wanted an outdoor ceremony and had always loved the idea of a casual barn reception so SOTTERLEY PLANTATION with it’s view of the Pawtuxet River behind the historic plantation house was the perfect venue for them. Alix tells us, “I fell in love with the big tree we were married under, and the beautiful white barn sealed the deal. From that moment on we were able to visualize and build out the simple, natural style we were going for.” Thanks to JODY SAVAGE PHOTOGRAPHY for the gorgeous images of their day.
HOW DID YOU MEET? Living just a few doors down from one another, Richard and I met during our freshman year of college. We first grew to know each other within our close circle of friends until one of our best friends saw that we might be a good match and encouraged us to start dating. She was right!!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Richard proposed at the end of a Sunday hike on the Appalachian Trail in Maryland. We had reached a beautiful overlook at Annapolis Rock with the snowy landscape laid out before us. We love the outdoors and hiking so nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Richard got down on one knee and proposed – it was a total surprise!
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: Going in, I had a pretty good idea of what I thought I wanted (sleeves, probably a soft tulle skirt, a higher neckline) and after trying a few dresses, the stylist came back saying she’d like to introduce one more gown if I didn’t mind. She brought over the Sarah Janks “Bella”, which was a strapless, silk gown with a long train and not at all what I thought I was looking for – but it was so beautiful I decided why not just try it on. I walked out and we all basically knew it was the one. I went to one other bridal shop but couldn’t get the dress out of my head, so it was a surprisingly easy experience for a usually very indecisive shopper like me.
ANY DIY ELEMENTS? I loved being involved in creating a lot of the elements of the wedding. With my background in floral design (I currently work at Little Acre Flowers in DC), I was happy to do all the flowers and also learned calligraphy to make place cards and wooden signs. Richard gave me a calligraphy starter kit for my birthday this year – little did we know how much it would come in handy! I also designed and created the wedding programs, menus, pie labels, the bags of petals for the “toss”, wedding favors, and welcome boxes for out of town guests.
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: Once we decided on the venue and that the wedding would be in early spring, I knew I wanted to do really loose, organic arrangements with soft white flowers and lots of interesting greens. It was such an incredibly fun and special experience and I am SO grateful to my amazing boss for letting me completely take over the flower studio for a few days!! I got to order all of my favorites (garden roses, peonies, freesia, ranunculus, hyacinth, sweet peas, lisianthus, tulips… what could be better?) for the bouquets and centerpieces, and then for the banquet style tables in the barn, I wanted to keep things super simple and natural so we did long garlands of Italian Ruscus and Salal with some seeded eucalyptus and ferns sprinkled in. Richard’s boutonni 
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: For the guestbook and table assignment areas, I decided to gather and frame photos of our grandparents on their wedding days. It was so fun going through all the pictures, many of which we had never seen before. I loved seeing how much Richard looks like his grandfather – and learning that my grandmother also wore a flower crown!
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? Have fun!! All of the decision making and little details can get stressful and overwhelming at times, but just be there to remind each other what it’s really all about – you’re getting married and you get to celebrate with all of your favorite people!
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? I will never f
orget the feeling of walking down the aisle with my parents and seeing Richard at the end of it. The days leading up to the wedding were such a whirlwind and it all felt pretty surreal up until that moment, but seeing him there was when it all kind of hit me. It was overwhelming and very emotional, but so so wonderful.
ANY OTHER DETAILS THAT HELP TELL THE STORY OF YOUR DAY? Another really special moment was when my Aunt preformed a song she had written for us during the ceremony. It was so beautiful and really captured the emotions of the day – standing up there surrounded by everyone we love – I can’t even read the lyrics without tearing up!
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