I am so excited to share Laura and Wade’s incredibly elegant wedding today! Laura and Wade were married on June 9 at the beautiful Stone Manor Country Club near Frederick, Maryland.
Both Laura and Wade got ready at Stone Manor; there is a beautiful second floor bridal suite and a great first floor space for the groom, so they were able to get ready with their friends and family without seeing each other! Throughout the day, Laura received sweet cards from Wade (delivered via her wedding party) telling her how much he loved her and how excited he was to marry her. It was so incredibly sweet and thoughtful. Right after Laura put on her wedding gown, her sister, Ally, handed her another envelope, this time with “after dress” written on it. Inside was another loving note from Wade – and it was hard not to tear up knowing that the next sweet message between these two would be the wedding vows they would soon share with one another.
Laura had something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue all on her wedding day – with her GORGEOUS sapphire engagement ring as her something blue (so perfect!) and her shoes – which a friend wore to her own wedding and gave to Laura for this special day – as her something old. I love that she incorporated so many special elements in her day!
Since Laura and Wade were not doing a first look, we did bridal party and groom’s party pictures at separate times outdoors to reduce the risk of seeing each other, which worked perfectly! And then it was ceremony time – and just wait until you see this INCREDIBLE ceremony space! Laura and Wade’s wedding day was predicted to be rainy all day, and unfortunately, early on in the day, it was really looking that way. In fact, when Kelsey and I were driving to their wedding, it started pouring so hard that we couldn’t even see to drive and had to pull off for a few minutes to let the rain calm down! Thankfully, literally just as we parked at Stone Manor, the rain stopped – and it held off for hours – long enough for these two to have a GORGEOUS outdoor ceremony. And like I said – you will not believe this stunning ceremony space! Sweet Root Village created an incredible aisle of flowers – it was STUNNING. Years ago, when I was planning my wedding, I saw a photo of an aisle lined in flowers and I decided I wanted to hold my wedding in my parents backyard so that I could plant an aisle of flowers like that (my parents were not on board with this plan, unfortunately!). But Sweet Root Village was able to create this same stunning effect without planting flowers months in advance. It was spectacular, and I loved hearing the reactions from guests as they admired the beautiful floral aisle before Laura came down the aisle.
Because the rain began right as their ceremony ended, we moved family portraits indoors – but first Laura and Wade’s wonderful wedding party braved the rain for some gorgeous outdoor photos (this is such an awesome group!). These two had such a sweet wedding party! Laura had seven bridesmaids and Wade had seven groomsmen, and their sisters, Ally and Evelyn, were their maid of honor and best woman! It was so sweet! After wedding party pictures, Laura, Wade, and their families headed indoors for some family pictures – and to watch the Belmont! Wade’s family loves horse racing, so they were so excited to watch the Belmont together. :) After family portraits, Laura and Wade headed out for portraits. Even though it was raining, we were able to get some outdoors and some covered – and then just before the reception began, the rain stopped and the sun even broke through the clouds! It was wonderful! And then the awesome wedding reception began – what a FUN party this was! These two had the incredible Bachelor Boys Band, so guests danced all night long. It was so fun! In addition to the Bachelor Boys Band Laura and Wade had such an incredible vendor team, including Chelsea from Elle Ellinghaus Designs and stunning florals from Sweet Root Village.
I loved getting to know these two. Laura and Wade have two cats Burt and Janie – named after Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole of Parks and Rec fame! (Kelsey and I are huge Parks and Rec fans and cat lovers, too, so we just love that they named their cats after the show!). They also have the sweetest family and friends, and it is clear that they mean so much to Laura and Wade. Part of why they chose beautiful Stone Manor for their venue was so that the celebration could continue throughout the weekend, since their wedding party and family could stay at the venue. Laura and Wade, it was such an honor the celebrate with you and your friends and families. Congratulations on your marriage!!
Wade surprised Laura with cards throughout the day! It was so sweet!
Laura’s bridal party was SO excited to see her stunning gown! And her first look with her father was so, so sweet.
Look at this beautiful bridal party! Each bridesmaid had a different dress – and they are SO beautiful!
Laura, you’re such a gorgeous bride! (And isn’t her bouquet just incredible? I love the all-white mix of lush, gorgeous flowers!
Love this one of Laura and her sister! And look at this gorgeous light and beautiful spot we found! Kelsey scouted around and found this and it was just the perfect location for portraits!
Kelsey’s portraits of Wade and his wedding party were fantastic; look at this awesome group!
Ready to get married! Love this!
And then it was ceremony time! How spectacular is this ceremony space? Sweet Root Village created this amazing flower-lined aisle that is truly a dream come true. It was incredible!
The cutest ring bearer!
Yay! Married!!
Love both of these so much!!
We found the prettiest covered space for portraits! And these two just radiated happiness!!
I LOVE how they are smiling at each other in the picture on the right!
I love this one SO MUCH!! We were so lucky that the sun came out right at the end of portraits!
This is so cute you two!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the portrait on the right so much!!
Look at that gorgeous sunlight!
Love these!!
Laura, you’re so beautiful! I love your smile!
Watching the horse race together!
And then it was reception time! This space was gorgeous! Laura, Wade, Elle Ellinghaus, Chelsea, and Sweet Root Village made this STUNNING!
Towards the end of the night, we headed outside for some beautiful nighttime portraits. The house was such a beautiful backdrop!
Congratulations, Laura and Wade!!