Today’s rustic fall wedding from Carley Rehberg Photography is a vision in purple and orange. From the bride’s shoes to the bridesmaids dresses and necklaces and the insanely gorgeous bouquets. So much of this wedding was handmade and DIY including the men’s purple pocket squares, the framed burlap table numbers, the escort cards and display, and more! We love the pops of purple and orange against the fall foliage! And the bride and groom? They’re cute as can be! Just wait until you read their elaborate proposal story! :)
Amy and Brad met in the fall of 2003 after Amy’s roommate introduced her to Brad’s fraternity. Their first “date” as friends was to the Ice Cream Crank, a local ice cream shop near Virginia Tech, before Brad had to pick up a pledge on campus. Amy thought Brad was really nice (especially since he paid for her ice cream) but wasn’t initially interested in him. Over the next few weeks, Amy got to know Brad by hanging out with him at his fraternity events and chatting with him online through AOL Instant Messenger. In the beginning of October, Amy realized she hadn’t seen or heard from Brad in a while and that she missed him (which surprised her). A few weeks later, Brad’s fraternity held an event at their off-campus house. Late in the evening, as Amy was leaving the upstairs bathroom, she ran into Brad on the stairwell. He looked up at her, she looked down at him, then he kissed her. The rest is history.
Amy knew there was something special about Brad from the very beginning. He was thoughtful and kind, different from other guys she had dated. When Brad spilled his drink on Amy’s favorite sweater, he took it to the dry cleaners and returned it a few days later. For Amy’s birthday, just a few weeks after they had made their relationship “official”, Brad gave Amy a fish bowl filled with roses and Finding Nemo, a movie Amy had told Brad she really wanted.
Brad initially liked Amy, but didn’t realize how much at first. She was fun, interesting, and way more social than other girls Brad was used to being around. He always enjoyed her company, but didn’t see her that often since she lived on campus and he did not. Being a shy, poor college student didn’t help either, but this actually worked out in Brad’s favor. Amy would always offer to treat Brad using her campus meal plan since she knew he didn’t get to eat out much. Brad used that to his advantage and that’s how their relationship began: over Virginia Tech cafeteria lunches.
After six months together, Amy and Brad’s future was uncertain as Brad was graduating from college and Amy was moving back home for the summer. It was difficult at first, but they soon figured out how to make the long distance work, and continued to do so for two more years until Amy finished school. Upon graduation, Amy headed to grad school, which happened to be in the same city where Brad lived. The transition from college to grad school was difficult for Amy and it put a strain on her and Brad’s relationship until they eventually broke up. A few months later, they realized what they had was truly special, something they had never experienced with anyone else, and decided to give it another shot. Their break up made them both realize they didn’t want to be with anyone else and within two years moved in together. It was only a matter of time before Brad decided to propose.
2011 was Brad’s year to plan their vacation. For a while, she was sure Brad hadn’t even looked at any places, although they’d talked about Maine, Charleston, South Carolina, and Vermont. When he finally picked a destination, Amy asked him to keep it a secret until the day they left. A few weeks later though, Brad told her he had to tell her where they were going (Belize) because they needed shots. Amy hates shots but got the immunizations she needed and started getting really excited about Belize. She started surfing the web for pictures, things to do, and keeping an eye on the weather. She’d relay everything she found out to Brad and tried to get him to tell her more about where they were staying, with no luck.
The morning of their trip, their friends dropped them off at the airport. They got in a ridiculously long line at the ticket counter, which presented Brad with the perfect opportunity to deliver a surprise – they were not going to Belize. Brad reminded her that she had asked him not to tell her where they were going until the day they left. Instead of Belize, they were going to the Dominican Republic (and staying at the number two all-inclusive resort). The best part? Their friends were going with them!!
After two quick flights, the fab four (as they like to call themselves) made it to Punta Cana and the beautiful Iberostar Grand Bavaro resort. They were treated to amazing food, drinks, blue water, sparkling pools, pool bars, massages (for the girls), snorkeling and golf (for the boys).
At the end of an amazing and relaxing week, they packed up their things and headed to the airport. They got stuck in customs, and worried they might miss their connecting flight, which wound up being delayed anyway, so they had time to relax once they reached their gate. After an unexpectedly short flight, they touched down in their home city. Making their way out of the terminal, their friend said she really needed to use the bathroom. Amy thought this was odd since they’d only been on the plane for 30 minutes, but remembered that she and her husband had shared a rather large bottle of water, and didn’t think anything else of it. A few minutes later, they headed for the car.
As they left the secure area, Amy thought it would be really sweet if their friends’ parents were waiting for them with their son, knowing how much they had missed him. Right about that time, Amy happened to look up and over and thought she saw her mom sitting on one of the airport waiting area couches. Another look proved that it was her mom and her dad!! She thought it was so sweet of them to greet them at the airport and went to give them a hug. That’s when she noticed some of her best friends standing around with signs and a bouquet of flowers. That’s when she knew. She started to cry and vaguely remembers Brad saying something about how she’d waited long enough (nine years, to be exact) and asked if she would marry him. She squeaked out a yes and made Brad slip the ring on her finger because her hands were shaking so much!!
{From the Bride} After nine years together, we had been to our share of weddings and knew some of the things we wanted (lots of dancing, amazing food) and some of the things we did not. Even though we were on a budget, we knew we could still have a beautiful wedding that looked expensive but wasn’t.
Using inspiration from Pinterest, and the season, we incorporated several DIY details including: the groom and groomsmen’s pocket squares, the bridesmaids’ tote bags, the ceremony programs, the escort cards and frame, the monogram tiles on the fireplace mantle in front of the dance floor, the table numbers, the Mr. & Mrs. signs for the back of the bride and groom’s chairs, the LOVE sign on the fireplace mantle behind the bride and groom’s sweetheart table, the photo booth props, the drink menus, and the table signs directing guests to the photo booth.
It was also really important to us to have amazing food. We chose Mosaic in Richmond, Virginia, because their menu is full of season-specific dishes like butternut squash ravioli and pumpkin rolls, both of which we included in our menu. With the help of our Mosaic day-of coordinator, Cristina Diez, we built an incredible menu and displayed our food on two large barn wood tables that complimented our rustic venue.
One of the hardest aspects of wedding planning is trying to envision how everything will look on your big day. We are definitely not flower people, and trying to envision what our flowers would look like by Googling those listed in our proposal didn’t help! On our wedding day, our flowers were probably the one thing that blew us away. We had a feeling they would be beautiful, but we had no idea how much of an impact they would make in our reception space and in pictures.
A big concern of ours on the day of our wedding was the weather. We got married the weekend of Hurricane Sandy and it was very cloudy and a bit cool during our rehearsal on Friday. We woke up to blue sky and sunshine on our wedding day, and though it was a bit cloudy by the time we got married, the lack of full sun made for beautiful pictures.
They say your wedding day goes by too fast, and in a way it does. Getting ready in the morning seemed to take forever, but once we arrived at the venue it felt like we didn’t have enough time to get dressed, take pictures, or relax! We opted not to do a first look, not only to keep with tradition, but also so we could have a few cute photos inspired by a few of my favorite pins on Pinterest.
I can’t choose just one moment of our wedding that was my favorite. I was so excited about finally getting married to Brad, a day I thought at times over the years might never come. I tried my best to take it all in and enjoy everything. One of my favorite surprises was when the father of one of my bridesmaids picked us up from the hotel to bring us to the venue. He was dressed in a tuxedo and had stocked a cooler full of champagne and water in the backseat of his Suburban. He made me and my girls feel so special and it was definitely something I did not expect!
{Advice for Couples} Take a step back, and live in the moment. Those times where you stop, look around, take in everything that’s going on around you, and remember that moment. Those are the memories you’ll cherish most. It’s really easy to get wrapped up in the details of your wedding, which can be really overwhelming. If you’re feeling stressed, take a step back and remember that ultimately, your wedding is one day. Focus on you and your future husband/wife and the things that will make YOU happy on your wedding day.
Congratulations, Amy and Brad! Thank you so much for sharing your wedding and love story with us!! We wish you both so much love and laughter in the many years you’ll share together! Many, many thanks to Carley Rehberg Photography for sharing their very special day with us today! xoxo
