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Gorgeously Colorful North Carolina Mountain Wedding

mallory and shawn's wedding

I LOVE how Mallory’s joyful wedding palette is both full of color and still sweet and romantic and full of meaning. I can think of no better photographer to catch the richness of the day than Fete Photography. And if you’re looking to steal an idea from this wedding, check out how Mallory sources her adorable mix and match salt and pepper shakers. Read all of Mallory’s hindsight wedding advice below…
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Mallory + Shawn
July 13, 2013
Weaverville, NC

Why a mountain wedding?

We love the mountains. We enjoy hiking, trail running, and skiing. Having our wedding in nature in a mountain setting exemplified who we as a couple are. The loved our venue for its natural beauty. We were focused on a ceremony that did not need much decorating that would enhance the overall beauty of the day. We also wanted it to be a destination for our guests.

Where did you find your inspiration?

We visited Deer Creek Run at sunset and after seeing the breathtaking sight of the sun setting over the mountains we knew this was where we wanted to get married. I was on the fence about wedding colors for a long time. People ususally pic a main color and an accent color but I just couldn’t decide. I love purple but it seemed like everyone was doing purple bridesmaids dresses. Finally it dawned on me that we should embrace the natural beauty of the mountain venue and the mountain sunset was our inspiration. Our sunset colors were dark purple, fuchsia, orange and yellow. The bridesmaids dresses were simple cotton cocktail dresses from Ann Taylor in navy blue (kind of like the mountains). There was already a lot of green with all of the grass and trees, so we picked bright fun sunset colors that would really pop.

What were some personal details you incorporated?

  • Duck decorations in honor of how Shawn proposed to Mallory
  • Wine from grandparent’s hometown in upstate NY
  • Beer from PA where both families have roots
  • Cupcakes were baked by Mallory’s aunt and cousin
  • Mini Hershey chocolate bars for where Mallory’s grandparents live
  • Photo cubes with pictures of the bride and/or groom with the guests at each table
  • Salt and pepper shakers provided by Mallory’s aunt who collects them – these were used to designate tables for the seating chart
  • Mallory wore customized Nike ID tennis shoes (with the wedding colors and the date) because you can always find her in tennis shoes
  • Sand pouring ceremony used sand and seashells from the Outer Banks, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC where Mallory and Shawn’s families have vacationed every summer for over 20 years
  • Love story – DJ had Shawn and Mallory answer questions independently and he compiled them to tell our story
  • Cornhole set for guests to play because Shawn and Mallory first met playing a game of cornhole

Your favorite moments of the day?

  • Our first look
  • Bridal brunch (made my Mallory’s aunt and cousin)
  • DANCING (and EJ’s backflip!)
  • Last dance with everyone circled around
  • Exit with Sparklers (and running back through to do it again)

Three things you are glad you did?

  • Purchase the book Bridal Bargains! It helped us realize that we didn’t have to do any of the traditional wedding things you’re “supposed to do” and helped us focus on what was important to us and our guests.
  • Send electronic invitations…email attachment with PDF of picture of venue and links to the wedding website and a Google Form so guests could RSVP electronically
  • Bridesmaids dresses from Ann Taylor
  • Have the wedding party stay together at the lodge all weekend

Anything you wish you hadn’t done?

  • Had hair and makeup done in two different locations. The hair salon was inevitable running behind which made us late for makeup appointments at the mall, which made us late for pictures back at the venue.
  • I wish the reception had been flimed (we filmed the ceremony). It would have been nice to look back and see some of those moments again, like our Love Story from the DJ
  • Forgotten to take wedding party pictures with the bridesmaids bouquets

What was the best piece of wedding advice you got?

Don’t worry about what other people think or what tradition says you’re “supposed to” do. This is your day, and what matters most is at the end of the day you’ll be married to your best friend.

What piece of wedding advice do you wish you followed?

Have a dedicated person help make sure you and the wedding party are where you need to be at any given time (and that the girls have their bouquets for pictures!) Not necessarily a wedding planner, but someone to help things run smoothly.

Anything you wish you hadn’t worried about?

I don’t usually put a ton of effort into looking “put-together” and “done-up” and I felt like there was a lot of pressure to look “perfect” on the big day. Honestly hair and makeup were the most stressful parts for me (it didn’t help that my makeup appointment I had set up fell through 2 weeks before the wedding so we had to find a plan B). In the end my hair looked great, my makeup was fine, and I married my best friend

Anything you wish you had known about sooner than later?

I wish I had known that the woman who was supposed to do my makeup was going to leave town before our wedding. That made having to find a new makeup artist very stressful.

How did you chose your vendors?

  • We happened to meet our photographer during an open house at our venue. We really clicked with him (no pun intended) and after seeing his work we were sold. Derek Olson with Fete Photography was so fun to work with!
  • Our caterer was Colorful Palate. We loved that they made healthy dishes from local ingredients. They were great to work with and the food was DELICIOUS!
  • Our florist was Elaine Young (Urban Farm Girl). She was recommended to us and we were blown away by her work. We liked that she grows her own flowers and the arrangements are wildly creative and gorgeous. We didn’t want flowers that were neatly arranged so no petal was out of place…we wanted the flowers to be natural like our venue and that is exactly what she delivered. She is a trust artist!
  • We met our officiant while visiting restaurants for the rehearsal dinner. She manages Stoney Knob Café. We clicked with her too and she mentioned that she does a few weddings each year. We loved her eclectic mix of things from various religions in our ceremony.

What is your best advice to other mountain brides?

Embrace all the natural surroundings have to offer. Utilize the natural beauty and let it inspire your theme.

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