“The details are not the details. They make the design.” – Charles Eames
This couldn’t have been more true for our wedding. On the surface, our plan was simple. Show up at the lake, get married, go have dinner. Easy peasy, right? I gave our general timeline to our wedding planner, Lauren Watson from The Lion House, and told her to run with it. She already knew what color scheme I liked and my general tastes – keep in mind she had already beautifully planned one wedding for us. If you don’t know that story, you can read about it here. I knew Lauren was super creative and I could trust her with our special day, but didn’t realize just how talented she was until I walked up to our ceremony. Keep reading below for all the details on our day – from the design to the ceremony and reception, and all the little things in between.
The Design
Because our wedding was taking place right at the start of the holiday season, we wanted it to feel warm and cozy without feeling overly-Christmas themed. We went with a red and burgundy color scheme with pops of blush pink and white. To be honest, I can’t take credit for much. I truly only sent Lauren a couple of inspo photos for our florals and said all I wanted was a long ribbon on my bouquet.
When I saw our florals the day of, I was BLOWN away. They were the bouquets of my dreams – filled the most beautiful peonies, ranunculus, and roses in all the perfect shades.
For our reception table scape, she repurposed our bouquets and added them to a beautiful greenery runner with vintage gold candlesticks sprinkled in. Because we wanted a no-fuss wedding, I didn’t order any paper products for our reception. She had the great idea of printing out our own place cards and menus on card stock. To be honest, I love how it turned out. If you’re looking to cut costs, repurposing your bouquets for table decor and doing paper products on your own are both great ways to save some pennies. It wasn’t the most fancy decor ever, but it all came together beautifully!
The Ceremony
For our ceremony, we planned on having what I kept referring to as a “pop-up wedding.” Bass Lake was somewhere Ryan and I always visited when in Blowing Rock. We had one location where we had always stopped and taken photos over the years, so it served as the perfect place to say our vows. Full disclosure: I’m not sure that weddings are 100% allowed at this location, but we made it work. Everyone gathered at the lake at 3pm while my dad and I sat in the car waiting for Lauren’s signal. She had already arranged everyone to stand around us gathered, and was smart enough to bring super chic white and clear umbrellas.
As I walked up, I started crying seeing everyone gathered waiting for me, and as I walked between the flickering candles, I saw the love of my life waiting for me in our special spot.
Our dear friend officiated the ceremony, and though all I can remember was looking at Ryan and feeling like we were in our own little world, everyone said that the moment she pronounced us man and wife, the fog cleared across the lake and the sun shined for a brief moment. It felt like nothing short of magic.
The Reception
I felt strongly that I wanted our reception to feel more like a big family dinner than a wedding. I wanted to skip all of the cliché moments (first dance, garter toss, etc.) and just do what felt more like us. About a year ago, Westglow invited Ryan and I to dine with them for an evening at Rowlands, the restaurant within the resort. We had one our of favorite dates ever, and I immediately knew that this is where I wanted to hold our reception.
They were beyond amazing to work with. Because we wanted a simple dinner as our reception, they worked with us to clear out their main sitting room and with the Lauren’s help, provided us with the most gorgeous and cozy dining space I could have ever asked for.
The space was so romantic and warm, from the crackling of the fire and twinkling Christmas lights to the soft music of the classical pianist playing in the background. We served some of our favorites off of their seasonal menu – and Ryan and I actually sat and ate throughout the whole meal!
So, what wedding traditions did we keep? We decided to have our maid of honor (my sister), best man, and my dad and grandad all give toasts. You’ll hear more of this in our wedding video coming soon! We also decided to do a traditional cake cutting. Our dear family friend is an amazing baker and made us the cake of our dreams.
Overall, it was simple, yet completely elegant and romantic. It was without a doubt us – no frills, no fuss, but still sophisticated and beautiful. Keeping it so simple kept my attention exactly where I wanted it: on the fact that I had just married the love of my life and we were surrounded by the most important people in our world.
I can’t thank our families, Lauren of The Lion House, Westglow, and everyone involved for making our day a absolute dream.
Photos by Autumn Harrison Photography