The Details

To wrap up the wedding posts (ok, except maybe one more), I wanted to highlight the various details that went into the day.


It snowed the few days before the wedding. This is what people saw when they came to the church:

Non-pro pic by a friend.

The baptismal pool outside of the worship center.
Notice the backwards 'J'? John's brother climbed up there to flip it for us. Non-pro pic by a friend.

Ahh, that's better.

Our alter decorations.

And my labors of love- the programs.

An overall view of the church before everyone showed up.

After the ceremony we had trays of Italian cookies laid out, along with jugs with water and lemons in them. This gave everyone something to do after the service, while they were mingling. I think all of the cookies were gone- it seemed like a hit!



I LOVED our (my) flowers! All of the bridesmaids had bouquets of an individual red flower (roses, gerbera daisies, ranunculus, anemones). My bouquet was a combination of all of the flowers in the bridesmaid bouquets. I really wanted a textured, monochromatic bouquet.



The ring shot!

The placecards. I made these for everyone- the red flower symbol in the lefthand corner denotes each person's meal choice. At the reception though, somehow the key as to what symbol meant what got lost, so I had the head server asking me what they meant. I guess I gave them the right answers, because it seems like everyone got the right thing!



I framed our invitation and set it out by the placecard table. We will hang it when we get someplace that we CAN hang it..



Our awesome guestbook using our engagement pictures by Emily Porter. I love reading the notes that everyone wrote!


In the frame on the left with the white paper in it, I wrote a note "Weddings are more than just rings and tossed rice, so grab a pen and write some advice!
Make sure to leave Samantha & John a note!
Thanks!"



The favors- I wanted to make sure that the favors were something that wouldn't just be thrown out or clogging people's shelves. I decided it must be something edible. So.. we decided on homemade chocolate chip cookies. For good measure, we threw in a packet of hot chocolate that could be used with the hot water provided at the reception. To top off the favor box, my mom, sister & I dipped spoons in melted chocolate to make a spoon that can be stirred into the hot chocolate. yumm..


A glimpse of our menu underneath!


The inside of the favor box.

A non-pro pic by a friend.

The cakes! We had a groom's cake that was a surprise for John- Hokie colors with his choice of a cake topper.


My beautiful cake! My dad made the cake base/plate for me! It is based on a project that I did in studio years ago that he helped me with. I love it & have it to use again in the future!





The centerpieces were tulips in canning jars. I wanted the reception to feel a bit rustic/country/garden, as much as possible in the wintertime at least.


Surrounding the flowers were jelly jars with votives in them, in a red candleholder. I loved them. The red was so pretty in there. We also scattered some river stone on the tables. You can also see the awesome red table runners (which are actually chair sashes!) that we rented.



A closeup of the menu.


A couple of "overall" views of the reception:




And.. the fondue.. it was so yummy. Bob the Chef made us some German chocolate fondue and served it with cream puffs, strawberries, various other fruits, pretzels, marshmallows, brownie bites, rice krispie treats, and deep fried bananas!



And then we were married. The end.

All pictures (unless noted) by Keira Lemonis.