Lovelies, we’ve all heard the adage that a little rain on your wedding day is good luck in a marriage, so let me be the first to say that Mary and Clay should have decades of wedded bliss ahead!

 

The Big Picture

I truly had my work cut out for me when this beautiful couple’s late April wedding was hit with a storm that not only brought torrential rain showers, but thunder, lightning, and dangerous wind gusts resulting in an unraveling reception tent, power outages at the church and the hotel where the guests were staying, and downed trees in the roadway.

 

But fear not…through it all, Mary stayed focused on the purpose of the day – to marry her beloved Clay. And somehow, even though Mother Nature had concocted an enormous recipe for disaster, all the essential details fell into place. In fact, the lack of electricity lent itself well to an unexpectedly romantic atmosphere created at the church through candlelight and the last few rosy rays of post-storm sunlight coming in through the window panes. The vows were still exchanged, all of the guests made it safely through the littered streets to the reception, the cake was cut and by the end of the night the storm was long forgotten.

 

 

All the Details

With families on sides of both the bride and the groom living out of town, all but one of the couple’s guests traveled to Lower Alabama to see them wed. As a special thank you, upon arrival to their hotel guests were treated to a gift bag filled with Mary and Clay’s favorite hometown goodies: beef jerky from Clay’s native Texas, and iced sugar cookies from Mary’s favorite bakery in Indiana. Additionally, the couple arranged for transportation to all events throughout the weekend to ease the burden from their visitors.

 

For the rehearsal dinner, everyone was invited to indulge in a true low country boil prepared by the bride’s brother-in-law, Chef Will Hughes, and hosted at the home of Dr. and Mrs. William Sullivan in Fairhope. And for dessert? A surprise visit from an ice cream truck (nostalgic music and all) – a fabulous frozen surprise for kids and adults alike. To top off the feast and the night, guests were invited to enjoy a bonfire, cocktails and s’mores, at the Grand Hotel.

 

In every element of the wedding, the couple incorporated their most important value: family. From Mary’s custom cathedral-length veil with flower embellishments sewn on from her mother’s wedding gown, to the bride’s chosen processional song (“When Irish Eyes are Smiling” – the same song played when her parents exited the church at their own wedding), to the “Czech Wedding March” played at the reception – a tradition from the groom’s family, every detail was wrapped up in meaning and love.

 

Take a look…

 

How Everything Came Together

Ceremony Venue: Church of the Apostles in Daphne

Ceremony Music: Shaunna Fuller (vocalist) & George Searcy (pianist)

Reception Venue: The Fairhope Inn

Reception Music: Mid Life Crisis

Photographer: Cindy McCrory of Blue Room Photography

Florist: Wild Flowers

Cakes: JAM Cakery

Rentals: Port City Rentals

Transportation: Gulf Coast Tours