Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I’m so happy to be starting off the week with my first real wedding feature. Rachel and Chris are two of the nicest people ever, and they could not be more perfect for each other–or cuter together, for that matter! Rachel shared the stories of their March wedding in Virginia Beach with me, and the details and special moments were all captured by Katie Stoops Photography. Enjoy!

{What was your overall vision for your wedding?}
We wanted it to be classy and welcoming, but most of all, FUN. Since a lot of my family from Missouri was traveling in for the wedding, a lot of our guests made it a whole weekend. We did a lot of hospitality to draw out the “welcoming” vibe–we made welcome baskets full of wine from Williamsburg Winery, Virginia Peanuts, yummy treats, a tourist guide to Virginia Beach, tickets to see the Cape Henry lighthouse, and a schedule of events for the weekend. We hosted breakfast on Friday and Saturday and provided transportation to and from the wedding and reception. We also had the reception in two different locations within the venue so that people weren’t in one room for too long.

 {Tell me about your dress}
 This was my FAVORITE part of wedding planning, which I owe totally to the owners of the boutique where I found my dress. I decided to go look for a dress alone so I could have that one moment in the whole planning process that I could savor by myself. I went to Ava Clara Couture Bridal in Virginia Beach. Since they work by appointment only, I was the only one in the entire shop, and both of the owners waiting on me and helping me find a dress. They weren’t pushy at all, but so fun—just truly beautiful women. The dresses they picked for their inventory are so beautiful. I could have taken any one of them and been happy. The dress I did end up with was Mercedes from Augusta Jones. I knew that I’d always wanted an all-lace dress, and it was the one! I liked the place so much that I got my bridesmaid dresses, which were Priscilla of Boston, from them as well.

 {What was your favorite moment of the big day?}
Ahh… the whole day! I think my favorite moments were when I finally got to see Chris and get married to him. I also totally loved hanging out with the bridal party on the beach taking pictures. Our photographer was so stinking cool, and so we had a lot of fun taking pictures. Also, the dancing was great!

 {Was there anything you wished you had done differently?}
I would have gotten our reception venue to get everything in writing. The staff at the Lesner was the only stress we had, because they promised some things over and over again verbally that they refused to carry through with on the night of the reception. And they were big things—like closing off the lower level of the venue when they told us that we fulfilled the budget for both, not passing out the cake to everyone (we had a huge amount leftover and tons of people didn’t get any), and closing the bar early.

 {What would your advice be to brides planning their weddings?}
Two things: First, make it about the marriage. It really set ours off on a good foot because the whole day wasn’t about “the bride,” it was about us and celebrating with our friends and family. Second, get everything from your vendors in writing!

 Vendors|Ceremony Location: St. Matthew Catholic Church| Reception Location: Lesner Inn| Photographer: Katie Stoops|Dress: Mercedes from Augusta Jones| Jewelry: Macy’s| Shoes: Blowfish| Veil: Sara Gabriel| Hairpiece at the reception: Dillards ($9!!)| Cake: Clare West, a family friend| Florist: Flowers by Kings