Our Wedding Day: Ceremony Pictorial

If you've been following along you'll know it's wedding week here on the blog! We've been sharing the events and projects leading up to the big day and today we're excited to share the final photos from our wedding day. We've been going through all of our favorite pictures from the day and there is just so much we want to share. Since we want to include so many pictures, we'll break the wedding day into two large pictorial posts. Today we're excited to give you a peek into the afternoon of our wedding as we got ready, said our vows and hopped on a Richmond trolley to capture family pictures up on Richmond's Libby Hill.

We couldn't be more thrilled with all these beautiful images our photographer, Tori Watson, captured throughout the day and evening. The entirety of the photos featured in today's post are her amazing work.

When approaching the planning process in general, it was important to us to incorporate as many DIY, handmade and local details throughout the wedding as possible — overall we were going for a feeling of down home Southern fun with a hint of Hollywood sparkle and glam. It was a hot June day, but the garden at the Edgar Allen Poe Museum here in Richmond (where we held the ceremony) was thriving with greenery and bright blooms — we couldn't have asked for a better mix of intimacy in such an urban setting:

All of us in the wedding party got ready onsite in the outbuildings of the Poe Museum. While we were getting ready, Tori took the time to capture photos of all the little details before guests began arriving, from the hanging mason jar planters we'd lined the aisle with to the paper suite and all my bridal accessories:

Our wedding bands arrived just in the nick of time the week before the wedding. We'd ordered them custom from a husband and wife metalsmith team who live and work in Germany after seeing their work on Etsy. The bands are both a very thin and simple platinum — what makes them so unique is the inside of the bands that are each imprinted with one another's fingerprint. You can read more background on the story behind my antique engagement ring in this post and more of the process behind making the fingerprint bands in this post.

Tim and all the guys got dressed and ready with plenty of time to spare. We'd had monogrammed pocket squares made by Jessica Marquez for each of the groomsmen and guys in the wedding party — each one was customized with different colored stitching and made for what we hope were meaningful gifts they might pass down one day:

They took some portraits and group shots during this time while all of us gals were upstairs getting ready:

In the bridal suite housed in one of the outbuildings above the garden, us girls were all getting ready — makeup, hair and all those things that make being a girl so much fun:

My sister (and Maid of Honor) helped me with one of the most important parts and this candid shot of little Virginia, my niece, is hands down one of my favorite shots from the day. I feel like it will be one of those that she'll grow to look back on and love too:

Many people say the wedding is all about the dress. I have to say, this dress with all of its golden sparkle, truly was the dress of my dreams.

After the dress, I was excited to put on the bright rhinestone earrings that once belonged to my maternal Hungarian great grandmother, who everyone referred to as grand-mère. For those that don't know, Tim and I share Hungarian heritage in our family lineage. I never got the chance to meet my great grandmother, but felt like she and grand-père were smiling down from above during this special time:

You can't see it very well in the photos above, but the amethyst jewelry my mother wore also belonged to grand-mère.

Another sentimental moment for me was slipping on the 1960's garter my mother-in-law wore at her own wedding almost exactly 50 years prior. I hadn't planned on wearing a garter, but when Tim's mother told me she still had hers, along with the story — I had no doubt about wanting to wear it and felt so honored she'd want me to wear it. It even had a little baby blue ribbon right on the front of it, which helped knock the "something blue" off my list:

This moment below, with each of the Vidra women welcoming me into the family was such a special one for me — I can't wait to see if Stephanie or Caitlyn might also decide to wear this garter when it's time for their own weddings:

In the final moments of getting ready, Kristen (our amazing hair stylist), pinned the birdcage veil I'd made in place and I immediately felt like a bride.

For each of the bridesmaids, I'd ordered gold pebble shaped earrings from Louisa Gallery on Etsy and their bouquets were filled with the same pink peonies and greenery tied throughout the rest of the wedding. I gave the earrings to each of the girls while we were finishing up getting ready and love that all of them wear still wear them as everyday jewelry today:

The bridesmaid dresses were custom made by Etsy designer, kay.em.kay in a vintage fit with heart shaped cutouts on the backs — they were a very simple cut and color, with a little surprise in the back.

While everyone was getting ready, the kids got a chance to run around outside a little — and my, how cute they were...

We'd had the heart-backed flower girl dresses custom made by the same dress designer as the bridesmaids dresses and a bow-tie in matching fabric for Benjamin. In lieu of flower petals, we gave the girls handmade heirloom star wands, personalized with their names and had a special "here comes the bride" sign made for Benjamin to carry down the aisle instead of a ring pillow, pictured a little lower down.

Brandon and Stephanie (Tim's children) also got a chance to have some downtime and snag some pictures with Tim before everything got started — these are some of my favorite shots from the day. I feel blessed everyday to be welcomed into such an incredible family:

Eventually, our close family and friends began to arrive and the music (our friends, Joe Sarver and Lucy Kirkpatrick) began to set the scene with instrumental jazz versions of our favorite tunes by the Kinks, Adele, The Beatles, Amy Winehouse and more:

Just before heading down for the start of the ceremony, Stephanie handed me a little note Tim had written and asked her to give me just before the clock struck 5pm. It was his way of letting me know this was it — forever. It read: 

2 Things

-You are my mess from here on out.

-You are truly stuck with me now.

(Husband Bear)

Obviously, there are a lot of personal/insider undertones in this note, all of which brought me right down to earth and in the moment of what was so important about the day — getting married to the man that gets me and loves me for all of me, no matter what. And yes, I'm a mess. A big one.

Before we knew it, we were lined up and ready to get things started. The entire procession was a bit of a blur in my mind, but I remember this moment very clearly here, where I am holding tightly onto my dad, trying to catch a glimpse of the little kids doing such a great job of making everyone there smile and laugh as they made their way down the aisle:

I've mentioned before that we decided on a traditional style ceremony. We loved the garden's intimate setting and really felt like everyone in attendance was right up there with us as we exchanged vows. 

We planned for two readings during the ceremony, the first of which my Aunt Vera stood up and read. 

Secondly, we had one of my closest friends stand up and recite a french poem (in french!), that had sentimental meaning to our family. It was an excerpt from the longer poem by Rosemonde Gérard, Lorsque Tu Seras Vieux, and was something my maternal grandmother kept in her wallet throughout the course of her 50+ year marriage. Neither of my maternal grandparents lived to attend this wedding, so it was a meaningful way to remember and honor their relationship in our ceremony:

We included the English translation in our programs, which I've shared below:

When You Are Old

Every day I love you more and more,

Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.

I will not mind the wrinkles of your face;

My love will be deeper and more serene.

Think of all the springs which will fill our hearts.

My own memories will also be yours,

These common memories will entwine us more,

And constantly between us other ties will interlace.

It is true, we will be old, very old,

Weakened by age.

For, as you know, I love you more and more,

Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.

After the fact, Tim and I both agreed we felt very "in the moment" during the entirety of the ceremony. We presently took in everything that was being said, and feel like it was just perfect for us.

After the ceremony, we all seemed to let out a big sigh of joy and relief — it was emotional, exciting and a long time coming:

Immediately following the ceremony, we took the chance to snag a few portraits in and around the garden since we forewent the option to do a "first look" where the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony. These were the very first moments we spent together after officially tying the knot:

Then we captured a few quick traditional family shots — some of my favorites are these with the kids, since they are so in the moment:

While we captured the family photos above, guests were shuttled over to the reception via old working Richmond trolleys. The final trolley came round to pick those of us in the wedding party up to head up to Libby Hill for a couple more photos:

We seized this opportunity to just take a few moments to sit down, relax, pop open a few bottles of champagne and enjoy the AC blasting from the trolley:

We made a brief stop up on Richmond's Libby Hill, overlook the cityscape. I remember it being really windy, which was a welcome treat on such a hot summer evening and made for some memorable shots like this:

While the guys took a little break to sit and enjoy the summer breeze on the steps overlooking the city line, us gals took the opportunity to get a few pics of our own:

We also go the opportunity to snap a shot of the entire wedding party at once up on the hill — we sure are lucky to have such an amazing group of immediate family and friends:

After this bit of breathing room overlooking all of Richmond, we hopped back on the trolley and headed over a few short blocks to The Roosevelt, one of our very favorite Richmond restaurants where we'd chosen to hold the reception.

Thanks for hanging in there as we shared probably way too many images from our big day. What can I say, there are so many favorites, it was hard to edit down! We'll save all the party details and pictures for our next mega-pictorial post, so stay tuned!

Sources & Credits:

Photography: Tori Watson of Marvelous Things Photography | Ceremony Location: Edgar Allen Poe Museum Garden, Richmond | Celebrant: Reverend Doctor Robert D. Friend | Bass & Keys: Joe Sarver and Lucy Kilpatrick | Flowers: The Flower Market by Vogue Flowers, Richmond | Bride & Bridesmaid Hair Stylist: Kreations by Kristen (Kristen Fugate), Richmond | Bride & Bridesmaid Makeup: Marrisa Rogers, Marrisa.Nevaeh Artistry | Wedding bands: MikaScott, Etsy | Invitation Suite & Programs: Teal Typewriter Studios, Etsy | Save the dates: DIY, tutorial | Wedding Dress: Golden Lights Gown, Sarah Seven, from Lovely Bride NYC | Vintage swan hanger: Twice A Star Vintage, Etsy | Birdcage veil: DIY, tutorial | Bridesmaid & Flower Girl dresses: kay. em. kay, Etsy | Bridesmaid earrings: Les Bijous des Siany & Louisa Gallery | Groomsmen pocket Squares: Miniature Rhino, Etsy | Flower girl bracelets: Georgie Designs, Etsy | Flower Girl star wands: Urban Collective, Etsy | Ring Bearer Sign: Nana Montana, Etsy | Ring Bearer Bowtie: Little Gentleman, Etsy | Trolley Shuttle: Segway of Richmond | Richmond Skyline Location: Libby Hill, Richmond | Hanging Mason Jars: DIY, hanging flower jar tutorial | Ceremony chalkboard: hand lettered by J Seger

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