The BIG Event-- Baltimore, Part 4

It's all in the details...

And Courtney did a fabulous job of including a lot of small details that made her wedding unique and special. There are a lot of things I really loved about the wedding. It was incredibly kid-friendly-- the most accommodating for children I have ever seen. It integrated a lot of touches from Florida (where both bride and groom are from), as well as some Maryland offerings. The wedding was simple, sophisticated, and just comfortable. It was an outdoor ceremony and then a big tent reception on site. The food was southern fare, the bar was full, the music was good-- it was a really great party. By far one of the most fun weddings I have ever attended.

At the hotel, before heading to the venue...

The Waverly Mansion is a really interesting historic mansion in Maryland from the 18th century. I thought it was absolutely perfect. The grounds were beautiful (after a lot of harassing of the event planners--more on this later), the setting was perfect, the weather was hot, but lovely. Summer evenings are just beautiful to me-- I'm so glad they chose a 6:00 p.m. ceremony.

Waverly Mansion

The ceremony site and cocktail tables...

Inside the tent!

I love it that Court and Michael took the time to make their wedding welcoming to the kids. Weddings are certainly, in general, not the easiest event to take your kids to-- in fact, it is really quite stressful. Courtney and Mama made individual gift bags for each of the children attending-- personalized with their name and for their age. Crazy good idea.

The youngest boys...

In the lawn of the Waverly Mansion there were games set up for anyone-- including kids-- to enjoy. Gator themed, of course :) There was also a drink stand with sweet tea and pink lemonade, available for guests as they arrived.




Throughout the reception the kids ran and played, ate and danced and by all accounts seemed to have so.much.fun. How many adults can say they had a great time at a wedding, much less kids? I wish Carver had been just a little older and could have stayed up later to play with the other kids more.

Courtney, of course, looked gorgeous. I loved her dress and her teal shoes :) Her earrings were stunning-- and a wedding gift from Michael. She was perfect.



The guys looked pretty great too. I love it that they wore suits and seriously, Will in his little suit was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Mom looked stunning in her beautiful chocolate brown dress-- it was utterly perfect for her.

He is too cute for words :)

Daddy and Lyle

Mama and Courtney

Me and Mama

The flower girls (Bailey, Cora, and Kailee) wore ivory leotards and tutus-- the perfect way to represent Courtney's love of dance and, in my modest opinion, also perfect for an outdoor summer wedding. They even had on ballet shoes.

Sweet girl.

Immediately following the ceremony there were stationary and passed hors d'oeuvres-- shrimp cocktail, mini beef wellington, antipasto platters, crab cakes, and more.

The dinner was BBQ pulled pork, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, etc. With really good Sweet Tea-- the perfect southern meal.

The salad.

Cupcakes were a nice change from traditional wedding cake and they were SO GOOD. Pound cake with buttercream frosting-- crazy good.


The party favors were especially cute-- Zephyrhills water (Court's obsession and not available in MD, when I visit here and steal a bottle I feel like I am drinking liquid gold), Orange blossom honey, Orange bubble gum-- a childhood favorite, and fun cookies with their initials.

Wedding Favors

Everyone ate, danced, talked, paused for a multitude of pictures, and overall had an incredible night.

Will and Cora

Holly, Lyle, Drew and Sara

Michael and Anna Kate

Dean, Bailey, and me.

Dean and Jules

One of my favorites parts-- the wedding photographers. They were two of the nicest and most talented women I have ever met. Seriously, I want to be their friends in "real" life. Check out Karena's website and Katie's website. I kind of want to do my wedding again, just so they can be my photographers. Think Daniel (or my parents) would go for that?

The fabulous photographers.

I'm sad that wedding festivities are over, but I was so very blessed to be a part of it. I'm thrilled for Courtney and Michael and the family unit they will have with Jules. I pray for a lot of happy years for them.

Still more to come on The BIG Event-- stay tuned.