TODAY MARKS SEVEN YEARS OF DATING LUKE! It’s pretty fun to be able to share our wedding photos with you on this special day. There are almost 2000 photos so I will share only a few within this blog, but you already know that I will continue to post on my instagram throughout life.
We got married at Mortgage Hall Estate, which is an AIRBNB in Middleburg, VA. The entire place is gorgeous. You can see the mountains in the distance, there are ponies and horses running through the fields. The home was an estate built in the 1800’s, and the woman who owns the place is gorgeous on the inside and out. She was so incredibly helpful during the entire season of wedding planning. She made us feel like Mortgage Hall was our home.
I got my wedding dress from Ashley Grace Bridal in Lynchburg, VA. The entire staff that works there are incredible women who make you feel gorgeous, and affirm you in the entire process. They helped me find my dream dress. I told them I wanted something sweet, soft, and dainty. The first dress I tried on was the one! My dress is a Lillian West dress. Her line is very boho, which is very much my style. I love it because the dress expresses the youthful, happy, whimsical and dainty “vibes” I was going for! My bridal alterations were done by My’s Bridal Alterations. She is amazing and I strongly recommend her!
Our colors were based off of a vision I had in my mind. I wanted the colors of grapefruit, limes, and blood oranges to be what inspired my bouquet, centerpieces and decor. We used gold as our “metal accent color.” And the bridesmaid’s dresses were Sage from Birdy Grey. The bridesmaids got ready in PJ’s from Etsy from a brand called “Le Rose.” They were so comfortable and cute! The guys wore a suit from Zara that was a dark grey color with brown shoes. Luke wore boots from AMI Alexandre Mattiussi. I wore my rose gold sparkly keds for comfort.
We got our invitations from Minted and they were gorgeous.
My long time family friend, Priscilla, did my makeup. She did my makeup for prom too. We had many test run days, and I loved how hands on the whole experience was. I bought my own makeup and trust Priscilla so much. One of my favorite memories of my wedding day was my prayer time with Priscilla before she started my makeup. We both bawled (from exhaustion partially but also from excitement and amazement at God’s goodness).
Sydney, my little sister, did my hair for my wedding. I wanted my hair to be youthful, with loose curls and my BHLDN floral crown. Syd is incredible at hair and does a lot of brides and bridesmaids hair for weddings. My hairstyle was probably the easiest ever for her, but also nerve wracking since it’s your sister’s wedding day. But she did amazing.
Our florist was incredible. Urban Flora (Katelyn) worked hands on with me to make our citrus floral vision come to life. I had never met her in person until our wedding day but I genuinely can say I love her! It’s hard not to! She’s so genuine, loving, and talented. She works so hard and she has the most attention to detail of anyone I have met. She’s the kind of person that loves to help others and is going to work hard no matter what.
When it came to walking down the aisle, my girls walked down in pairs to “Here comes the Sun” piano version. Then, my worship pastor Jeff, played on the ukulele “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” when I walked down the aisle. This happy tune has many memories and meaning to me.
My grandpa welcomed the ceremony and asked the important question to my dad on who gives this bride to this man, and then my dad and grandpa swapped places. My dad then led the ceremony and officiated the entire service. It was so special and felt so intimate because it was led by family. My dad’s weddings that he officiates are always my favorite to attend because he has the bride and groom write out their love story and then reads it during the ceremony, which is the first time the couple hears what the other wrote. Our stories were so unique to us, filled with so much laughter, and tears. Very special.
Luke and I did a first look. I am so thankful we did. It helped me a lot to calm my nerves and set the tone for the whole day. We got to play with a pony named Ivy and a horse named Patricia. Our photographer is our great friend, Kim Johnson. Her husband, Curtis, was the second shooter and he was amazing! I will write more about them in the part 2 of this blog. Our videographer, Jerod from Golden Hour Visuals, was INSANE! He is SO talented. He’s so incredibly sweet and we felt like we knew him for years even though we had never met. You don’t even notice him in a room, that’s how calm/talented he is. But when you’re working one on one with him, he makes you feel so comfortable. 10/10 recommend him!
Our food menu was incredible and Mrs. Welgoss and I worked hands on with the catering company, Shawn’s BBQ. We didn’t have BBQ food, but more of a fresh, Mediterranean inspired menu. I asked Kim Johnson to please take photos of the food because, it was one of my favorite parts of wedding planning. People told me, “that was the best food I’ve ever had at a wedding, and honestly best pasta I’ve ever eaten in my life.”
Our cake was GORGEOUS, and SO yummy. Melissa Jordan, Works of Wonder Bakery has done all of our special occasion desserts from high school graduation, engagement, college graduation, wedding shower, to wedding! She always makes me a gluten free version that is sooooooo good. I dream of that cake sometimes.
DANCING. When looking for a DJ, Luke was worried because he wanted this party to be a PARTY. My mom said, “Tay, there’s a guy in our church who I know did/does professional dj’ing and I wonder if he does weddings?” Luke and I were excited because every time we heard other DJ’s samples or read reviews, we were a little let down. Charles is actually the coolest human you’ll meet while still being down to earth and easy to talk with. Luke and I said, okay this guy is cooler than us by a couple miles, so this is going to be LIT. The dance floor was PACKED. I was shocked. The power went out at one point, and I thought the beat was dropping. It went back on quickly. Charles is hands down the most talented DJ ever, and is cooler than we will ever be. Ha!
Marrying Luke is the best and easiest decision I have ever made in my life. Seven years of dating him has been filled with joy, tears, laughter, poor communication, amazing communication, painful days, and amazing days. I love you Luke. Here’s to MANY MANY more years. (Also- we will never stop celebrating our dating anniversary because that means another holiday to give gifts…but also remembering how much we’ve grown).
Thanks for reading,
Tay Ruth
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