Every now and again a gem lands in my inbox and I cannot help but share it. Kristine from White in Revery did a superb job of capturing the essence of western North Carolina and the spirit of Brett and Rachel’s destination mountain wedding! This video reminds me of how romantic rainy day weddings are!
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/67410652[/vimeo]
Here are some screen shots from the wedding. We tried to track down the photographer but couldn’t. I also want to draw your attention to all the professionals who made this gorgeous wedding possible, and made it possible for every guest to truly enjoy the day. Don’t forget to check out Rachel’s awesome Hindsight Wedding Advice below. Enjoy!
Why a Mountain Wedding?
Brett and I both love to travel together. Throughout our relationship we have traveled both within the United States and outside of it. Brett planned a vacation to Aruba for us, where he surprised me with a very romantic proposal of marriage. As we began planning our wedding, the first thing we did was look for a special place to have our ceremony. We looked at so many venues in Orlando that our heads were spinning, but they lacked that special quality Brett and I were hoping for and we did not fall in love with any of them. My grandfather left a home to our family in North Carolina many years ago and we had visited the area for vacations and long weekends many times. We loved the mountains and the beautiful sceneries. Those memories sparked our interest in North Carolina and we decided it would be a special place for a destination-wedding venue. Once we found Hawkesdene House, Brett and I knew that we found the perfect place to say, “I do.”
Where did you find your inspiration?
PINTEREST. The more sparkle, pink, and pearls the better. My mommy and I had way too much fun creating and planning!
What were some personal details you incorporated?
Originally Brett and I scheduled our wedding date for Labor Day weekend 2012. Unfortunately, our original venue fell through. Although it did not feel like a blessing at the time, it turned out to be. Shortly thereafter, my grandmother passed away. I am so thankful that she got to know my soon to be wonderful husband and was there to celebrate our engagement with us, butt was hard to accept that she was not going to be there for our big day. I incorporated one of her broaches into my bouquet as a reminder to us and our family that she was there with us in spirit.
Your favorite moment of the day.
Oh my goodness gracious, how am I supposed to pick one moment? There were so many special moments, not only on that day, but the entire weekend. One of my favorite moments besides becoming Mrs. Brett O’Baker, was when Brett surprised us all with his untraditional removal of my garter by performing a James Bond dance. Brett is normally a fairly shy person, so it meant even more to see him get goofy for me! And might I say Brett is quite a good dancer!
Three things you’re glad you did.
- WHITE IN REVERY wedding video! Honestly, they were able to take a rain soaked wedding day and turn it into romantic raindrops that only heightened nature’s beauty. They included all the special moments of our wedding and created our own fairytale movie. Calen and Kristine, owners of White in Revery and our wonderful friends, are creative, talented, and professional with a knack for always putting you at ease! I will cherish our wedding video forever. Hopefully when Brett and I are old and grey, we will be able to share it without our grandchildren!
- The Hawkesdene House- One of the best choices we made was picking the Hawkesdene House as our wedding venue. We rented the entire property from Thursday to Sunday; it housed 52 guests. Rob and Phil, the owners, are so friendly and helpful. They have the most delicious breakfast that is included in all the guests stay! (I want the recipe to Phil’s Orange cake….. IT IS SO SINFULLY GOOD.) The property is beautiful and the ambiance is relaxing with the sounds of the creek and the view of beautiful flowers and greenery. However, the best part of this venue is the fact that after planning so long and hard for your perfect wedding, we were able to enjoy three days and nights of celebration with family and friends, instead of just one day that goes go by in a flash. These are memories that Brett and I will always cherish.
- The Wedding Fairies- My mother has a wonderful group of friends that dubbed themselves “the wedding fairies”. Connie, Sherri, Linda, Debbie, Sara and Mary were a part of all things wedding! Although my mother still helped with everything, they took on so many of the responsibilities that allowed my mother and me to enjoy the weekend and visit with family and friends without any stress. They helped prepare and decorate my rehearsal dinner and were my wedding planners go to girls on the day of the wedding. They were such a blessing to me and were a huge part of my weddings success. I consider them more my wedding angels than fairies. My advise is on your big day, accept the help people offer and just say please and thank you, because trust me, you cannot do it all on your own.
Anything you wish you hadn’t done?
I wish I did not make my own invitations! I had more than enough things to do with two jobs and planning a wedding. Not to mention I am a perfectionist, and had to make the most difficult invitations in the world! If you do make your own invitations, keep it simple. Also, make sure you have enough postage for the size of your envelope, I did not and some of the invitations did not make it to their destinations.
What was the best piece of wedding advice you got?
You can get lost in all the details and forget why you are having a wedding in the first place. The most important part of your big day is when you say “I do” to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, rain or shine.
What piece of wedding planning advice do you wish you followed?
I had a friend that told me to not take on too many DIY projects for the wedding; sometimes it is easier and more cost effective to just buy them. She was right. Although DIY is a wonderful way to add your own personal touches and to save money, you can take on too many projects and just end up spending too much time and money.
Anything you wish you hadn’t worried about?
The weather. I stressed so much over something that I could not change. Once I accepted that it was out of my control and said yes to use the backup plan, I could finally enjoy my time with my future husband, friends, and family.
You wish you had known about sooner rather than later?
Procrastination is not fun. Time flies when you are having fun planning. Two years of engagement went by really, really fast.
How did you choose your vendors?
A lot of my vendors I found on the vendor’s list provided by my wedding venue. However, my photographer was a good friend, Naomi Hatton. She did such an amazing job on all of our photos, especially with the obstacle of weather! I am so glad that she photographed us on our special day.
What is your very best advice to other mountain brides?
Hire a wedding planner! Originally we did not have a wedding planner, but since we live in Orlando, Florida and our wedding was in North Carolina a destination wedding proved very difficult to get everything accomplished. We chose L7 Events from Hawkesdene House vendor list. Howie brought up so many things that I had not even thought of! He swept me off my feet with beautiful design ideas I thought were only possible in Pinterest weddings. He also did a great job with a backup plan…. That’s right that beautiful set up for our ceremony was a BACK UP PLAN. We originally were supposed to be married outside, but weather did not permit. To say he was our savior would be an understatement!