Years ago, I had this vision for a moody, jewel toned photoshoot with a gorgeous dinner table, set under hanging flowers and candles.  I wanted jewel tone flowers, amazing ribbon/fabric detail, and ferns.   I knew it wouldn’t be anything like what most people were doing, but I knew it would be beautiful.  I wasn’t exactly sure how to make what was in my head come to life, so I filed it away in my head and waited. A year or so later, I came across a photographer, Stephanie Dee Photography, and I could just tell that she and I were a good creative fit.  I remember that in the middle of the wedding we were both working on, we both stopped to comment on how pretty the shadows of the trees were on the sides of the tent.  I knew she’d be a kindred spirit, and I did approach her about the project but we weren’t really able to get any traction to get the ball rolling.  Fast forward another year or two and I met Katie, of Rose Gold Events, and I knew I had met someone who was the last link in the puzzle of bring this idea to life.  Katie was able to help me assemble a list of contributing vendors and away we went!  I couldn’t have done it without this team!

First on the list was to secure a venue.  Vintage is an AMAZING neighborhood restaurant in historic New Market, MD, about 15 minutes from downtown Frederick (and my studio).  It became Vintage in 2014 but has been through many incarnations since its construction in 1793.  In the early 19th century, the building was a small store, a colonial log structure which is still intact inside the current brick building.  As settlers were moving west, they needed a place to stay on their journey and the building transformed into The Utz Hotel, which added guest rooms and a large courtyard.  The original water pump from the hotel remains at Vintage today and you can even find a picture of Mrs. Mealey’s mother in law resting against the working pump in its original spot in the courtyard.  As horses and buggies became a thing of the past and New Market moved into the 20th century, The Utz Hotel housed workers putting in new phone lines, allowed students to take classes there when the new high school was built, and even lodged construction superintendents in town for the paving of National Pike.  All of this increased activity required Mrs. Mealey to hire local women from various farms to help her cook, and Mealey’s Restaurant was born.  The courtyard became covered, a larger kitchen built, and Mealey’s became a staple of the community, family run for over 30 years.  The restaurant became Mealey’s Tavern, and then Mealey’s Table, and was finally turned into Vintage in 2014.  The new restaurant pays homage to the history of the building by keeping old photographs, artwork and design elements of the old building.  The restaurant is now known for its scratch menu, local craft beer, seasonal ingredients, and private dining spaces.  Take a look at some of these awesome details in the restaurant.  Pay close attention to the chandelier in the private dining room–it’s the “before” picture for the chandelier and table designs.

 

The first bouquet was an modern take on a traditional cascade bouquet.  It was more naturally formed, and longer than most bouquets and it was a true challenge to make it look the way I wanted.  In this bouquet, I used burgundy and hot pink garden roses, thistles, flowering jasmine vine, sword fern, delphinium, privet berry, black and dusty lavender roses, orchid blossoms, plum calla lilies, red amaranthus, red ranunculus and several kinds of foliage.  This is probably a good time to introduce you to Sammy Jaegar, our GORGEOUS model for the day.

 

The second bouquet had mostly the same flowers but was arranged in an asymmetrical rounded bouquet.  This one also includes dendrobium orchids and cosmos.  I love how the ferns bring a bright pop of green to the design.  And how about those ribbon tails?!

I used the private dining room to set the scene and transformed the long farm table and existing chandelier into an intimate, candlelit dinner table.  I seriously don’t know which part is my favorite….the antique candlesticks, or the cheesecloth table runner, or the mercury glass budvases and votives?  I love how the taper candles pick up the blue in the centerpiece!

…..maybe it’s the hanging candles, or the lush chandelier that graced the ceiling? Dining by candlelight is the most romantic way to dine.  I wanted to show what an intimate dining space could look like, as well as giving brides ideas about how they might decorate an even longer table, like a head table at a larger reception.

The centerpiece was an oblong arrangement in a silver mercury glass footed bowl.  Longer arrangements are perfect for decorating longer tables.  They can always be accented by bud vases and candles for an even longer design.  This is the perfect time to sing the praises of Stephanie.  She made these designs look even better than they did in person.  She made this arrangement look like an old oil painting–she is such an artist!

Our naked cake came from Blue Lace Cakes and I need to tell you…… this cake was just as yummy on the inside as it looked on the outside.  It had a berry compote filling to match the berry decorations on the outside.  In addition to the berries, the cake was decorated with a burgundy garden rose, sword fern and flowering jasmine vine.

We also had some other gorgeous details from Bare Ink Co, Boone and Sons, Garter Girl!  They were the perfect accents to the day!

 

There are just so many pretty images from this day–it truly felt like a dream come true!  All vendors are listed at the end of this post, but before I leave you, here are a few final images!

 

AMAZING AMAZING VENDOR TEAM:

Venue: Vintage | Photography: Stephanie Dee Photography | Planning: Rose Gold Events | Cake: Blue Lace Cakes | Hair and Makeup: JKW Beauty | Jewelry: Boone and Sons | Wedding Gown: Posh Bridal | Stationary: Bare Ink Co | Model: Sam Jaegar | Ribbon: Silk and Willow, Honey Silk, Midori Ribbon