Wedding Crashing: A Modern Day Fairy Tale
We’re back after crashing yet another fun and fabulous wedding. Meet Katie and Martin, an adorable couple who met while taking French lessons (I told you, they’re adorable). So it’s no surprise they pulled off a fairy tale May wedding at Gunston Hall in Mason’s Neck, Virginia. The historic plantation (once George Mason’s home) was the perfect setting for a posh pink and mango affair complete with shimmering dusty pink bridesmaid dresses with a warm orange underlay (by Jim Hjelm). The bride sported a stunning Paula Varsalona dress and carried a chic mango colored calla lily bouquet and of course the groom and the groomsmen donned matching calla boutonnieres. Aren’t they a good looking bunch?
And if the scenery wasn’t magical enough, the bride arrived in a horse drawn carriage (so sweetly old fashioned) while both of her parents walked her down the aisle (so sweetly modern).
The ceremony was miraculously held outside (after weeks of non-stop rain relented mere hours before) while the reception was held inside the elegant and historic ballroom.
And just in case the beauty of the bride’s bouquet was lost in some of the wider shots, we thought we’d throw in this gorge close-up for all you flower lovers out there. Yummy.
Once inside the reception hall, fun pewter photo stands held seating cards for each guest- and also served as sweet take-home favors at the end of the night (Katie snagged all the picture stands from Pier 1 where they just happened to be deeply discounted).
And the stage was set for an elegant evening of food and fun. The tables were understated & serene while the traditional buffet style meal was both tasty and tasteful. Oh and Katie’s favorite wedding tip is to intentionally choose a small-ish dance floor. A big dance area looks foreboding and empty (even when it’s not) and a small one gets everyone to come together and dance like they really mean it. Such a good tip. And the dance floor was packed the whole night long (all this wedding crashing has made us bona fide experts at every dance from the Macarena to the YMCA). And boy did we break out some memorable moves.
But none of the moves that we whipped out on the dance floor could rival the romantic/hysterical wedding serenade that Martin and his friend Theo performed- a medley of songs that the groom rewrote for his lovely bride (our favorite was their Bon Jovi remix: “You give love a good name”). We totally picked the right wedding to crash.
And all that laughing sure made us hungry. Which is where the delicious three-tiered cake came in handy. We loved the sweet swiss dot pattern and the square tiers (which tasted as good as they looked, by the way). And the added sugar boost ensured that the dancing and celebrating went on into the night.
We hope you enjoyed Katie and Martin’s big day. What was your favorite part? Aren’t those calla’s to die for? Oh and John’s actually visible in one of the pictures above… can you find him? It’s like Where’s Waldo. Thanks for joining us for yet another memorable marital masterpiece. Who knows where we’ll pop up next…
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I’m going with third in from the left on the back row of th wedding party pic…yep…I think that’s John
Oh, cool–he’s one of the groomsmen! My husband went to George Mason Univ. for his undergrad, but I know very little about the school or its namesake. We should make a trip to beautiful Virginia sometime!
I love this wedding – it’s classy. I love Gunston Hall. Over the years I’ve been to a lot of neat weddings in Northern VA set in historic spots, makes it all the more special. The calla lillies are gorgeous.
Its like in a fairy tale movies “the bride arrived in a horse drawn carriage.” Romantic.
So you aren’t actually crashing weddings! Makes sense, why would you have been in Iowa for that other one, right?? It is very rude to attend someone’s wedding they have planned and paid for–I would never have the nerve! Love the pics tho :O)
When I saw the title all I could think of was the movie Wedding Crashers. I envisioned you and your husband masquerading as Aunt Jenny’s long lost relatives — or something like that. lol
The bouquet was stunning! Not overly done like some I’ve seen, simple, elegant, and beautiful. A great burst of color as well.
Virginia would be a beautiful place to have a wedding. I lived there for a year or so when my husband was in the Navy. Wonderful weather.
John is one of the groomsmen; third from the left. ;)