When planning their wedding Heather & Elliot stayed true to who they were and ensured that their big day was really about them whilst ensuring it was a cosy family celebration for all. The gorgeous bride planned, styled and handmade all the beautiful details. For photographer JUSTIN TEARNEY it was one of those days where everything just falls into place ééò including the friendship he made with the couple ééò which makes captured gorgeous relaxed images like these so much easier!
HOW DID YOU MEET? Both of us attended the same college and even some of the same classesééòbut never formally met one another. The first time that we ever spoke to one another was on the last day of my college career. We slowly went from acquaintances to casual friends via an introduction from a mutual friend. I (Heather) had my mind set on a career in politics in Washington, DC and settling down wasn’t part of that plan. What followed was over six months of me vehemently insisting that I wasn’t looking for a relationship, only to turn around and realize that we could have both. We started dating and within a few months we had moved to DC together and the rest is history!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Elliot had planned a little surprise getaway for us for my July birthday. I have always loved the charm of Annapolis, MD and so he surprised me with a day of exploring the town and an afternoon picnic. Elliot led us to a little marina where he had rented a boat for us to spend the afternoon on the water. I had a photo book of our first anniversary made and got it in the mail the day before. He suggested that I bring the book along so that we could finally review it. After going through all of the photos and memories captured over the year, he suggested the we take a picture of this moment to ééòadd to the collection.ééò While I went to the front of the boat to fetch my phone, Elliot had gotten down on one knee. When I saw him, he said ééòYou know how much I love you, right?ééò And from there he proposed.
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: Every prom, formal, homecoming, dress search was such a stressful experience for me. I was always really picky and so I wasn’t looking because I always seemed to be picky when picking out formal dresses in the past, I thought I would ease into my dress search casually. While all back home for a weekend, my girlfriends and I loaded into an SUV with champagne and inspiration pictures and trekked to a popular dress boutique. We combed the store for our favorites and quite early on, I thought I had found the one. The dress was a form fitting blush toned gown and had a vavavoom factor, which I loved. It all seemed too easy so in the days ahead, I continued to search for other options but I kept going back to that first dress. It only took a few weeks before I went back and bought ééòthe one.ééò I couldn’t resist!
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: My bouquet was made up of gathered pale pink/peach roses, white peonies and white lisianthus, accented with dark greens and wrapped in silk ribbon. The bridesmaids had a smaller gathering of light pink peonies, white roses and white lisianthus, accented with dark greens and wrapped in silk ribbon. The groom wore two delicate pale peach roses with striking dark green accents, while the groomsmen wore delicate white roses. Our ceremony location featured two vintage accent columns that were adorned with fuchsia hydrangea and trailing dark greens. For our reception, each table featured varying clear round vases with fuchsia hydrangea, peonies and sweet peas with greenery and glass bowls of bright yellow lemons.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: Surprisingly… our vows. I say that
because we got so caught up with the details in the planning of the wedding that the ceremony began to take a backseat. Then, when we decided to finally write our own vows and sort of coordinate how they would be woven together, it brought meaning back to a day that was really just about us and our commitment. Our guests walked away from the day saying over and over again that they felt like they knew who we were and why we were there and what we stood for. Both of our vows had a comedic moment and a sentimental moment and it just felt very natural and effortless.
We also had a cigar bar down under the stone gazebo where our bar was located, it made for some great end of the evening entertainment and allowed for people to mingle around the property and socialize.
WHAT ADVISE WOULD YOU GIVE TO COUPLES PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? Hire a day-of wedding coordinator or at the very least, designate a family friend to act as one. Wedding coordinators make it their life to pull off a seamless wedding with a detailed timeline. They also ask all of the questions that I don’t think about and pushed me to make decisions on items that I was procrastinating on. They also acted as a shield to any family or friend stress that day, issues with vendors, pesky questions from distant family, etc. The peace of mind and no worries/stress made the day what it was. Priceless help!
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? It was an outdoor ceremony and we had a vintage Rolls Royce drive my father and I around the property, encircle the outermost perimeter of the ceremony and then drop us off in front of an old iron gate. The driver pulled up in front of the gate, opened our door and I walked through the gate and down the aisle. It made the ceremony feel very dreamy and allowed for a great reveal (especially when trying to stay hidden at an outdoor ceremony).
Photography JUSTIN TEARNEY / Flowers CUSTOM FLORALS / Cake PENNSYLVANIA BAKERY / Make-up JOETTE BANKES / Catering ELEVEN COURSES / Venue PETER ALLEN HOUSE / Invitations WEDDING PAPER DIVAS / Other stationery DIY / Cake topper ETSY / Gown MAGGIE SOTTERO from BRIDAL SUITE (JOHNSTON, PA) / Bridesmaids’ Dresses AMSALE from NORDSTROM BRIDAL SUITE /Flowergirl Dress NORDSTROM /Suits JOSEPH A. BANKES / Ties TIEBAR / Groomsmen shoes COLE HAAN / DJ MATT HANNAFORD with KLOCK ENTERTAINMENT / String duet CHERRYWOOD STRING ENSEMBLES / Planner PLANNED PERFECTION
