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A Pandemic Wedding

As I’ve been building out new website content here at haveawesleyday.com, one of my most highly requested posts is on all things wedding! Peyton and I got married in our hometown of Birmingham, AL in October of 2020 (cue the sighs), meaning yes—I was a pandemic bride. We originally had a big guest list, (lovingly) due in great part to parents getting their hands on things. But truthfully, the 400-person guest list was something we never really wanted. As it came time to decide whether to postpone to a later date or drastically cut the guest list due to the pandemic, we decided that the latter option was our best bet. Undergoing all of the wedding stress + a global pandemic was just…a lot. We decided that the best thing we could do for our marriage was to just get married. Cutting the guest list was truly the most stressful thing that I lost so much sleep over. (Keep in mind that we had already sent out 400 “Save the Dates” and had to “un-invite” the majority of that list.) I’ll always be grateful for how understanding everyone was during that process.

The Planning Process

We had a vision for an extremely intimate ceremony followed by a reception that felt like a big Italian dinner party where there just so happened to be a band playing, and truly, our day was exactly that! Our home church, with its famously big, beautiful sanctuary, gave us a limit of 25 people in attendance, and we were able to include about 75 others in our reception. I realize that to some, this might be considered a “big” guest list, but comparatively from where we started, it was just the intimacy we craved while keeping our loved ones as safe as possible.

My mom and I planned the entire event on our own, which really gave us a deep appreciation for wedding planners and all they do behind the scenes! We had the time and the vision—and really love to be hands-on with details—so we loved diving into this project together to bring that vision to life. I’m eternally grateful to her, however, for handling all of the dirty details I just didn’t want to fool with. I had no idea going in the effort and costs that go into lighting, sound, and even setting up a tent and a dance floor for an event. Our starting budget is somewhere out there laughing at us in the distance.

While my mom was focused on the logistics, I found myself enamored with making sure there was no detail left untouched. One of my favorite parts of the planning process (once we locked down all of our vendors, of course) was managing the “extras.” Below is a list of some of the custom goodies we put together for the whole weekend!

The Extras

Monogrammed Napkins from Etsy
Monogrammed Koozies from Discount Favors
Monogrammed Cups from Discount Favors
Custom Coasters from Etsy
Custom Signage for the Bars, Menu, Guest Book, etc. (Designed by yours truly!)
Custom Hand Sanitizers (Such a mark of 2020)
Welcome Boxes for Hotel Guests (Custom Boxes from Etsy, Custom Weekend Itinerary by Ruth Oneya, Monogrammed Playing Cards, Liquor Minis, Mixers, and Snacks)
Gifts for Bridesmaids (Robes from Etsy + Jewelry from Olive & Piper for the day of)
Gifts for Moms (Engraved YSL lipstick + Robes from Etsy + Custom Handkerchief for my mom)
Silver Monogrammed Goblets for Cake Cutting/Champagne Toast from Bromberg’s
Custom-Painted Champagne Bottle from Ruth Oneya
Vow Books from Etsy
Monogrammed Ring Box from The Mrs. Box
Guest Book from Artifact Uprising
Custom Cookies from Sarah Bakes Cookies (now Sugar Krewe)

The Vision

As I mentioned before, we wanted the entire event to feel like an intimate dinner party. We also wanted to pay homage to the joining of our families from extremely different backgrounds: mine being a true Southern family, and Peyton’s being a big Italian-American family. I envisioned all of the traditional Southern wedding details I’d dreamed of: being married in my home church, where my parents were married and I grew up, the custom monogram designed by my best friend, bourbon and oysters, and a local musical duo playing the best of Billy Joel. We matched those details with some classically Italian elements: cascading greenery everywhere, holding the event at our favorite indoor-outdoor restaurant with the most insane menu, and everyone’s favorite detail, the homemade limoncello bar. (More on that later!)

I found these two collages of inspiration that I made during the planning process. How sweet is this to look back on?

The Day Of

At risk of sounding entirely self-pitying, of course there was a literal hurricane that came through on our wedding day. Despite our families’ best efforts to wish it away, it actually did end up raining all day. But the rain somehow actually made the day magical. It seemed like every time we popped outside for a few photos, the rain just disappeared for us, leaving a dreamy, romantically-foggy scene behind. My bridesmaids and I got ready in a suite at the Redmont Hotel, and it was so much fun for us to just hang out and giggle while we got ready for several hours.

Thankfully, Ovenbird had an on-staff event coordinator, so we were able to use her for all of our day-of coordination needs while we enjoyed having our hair and makeup done. We moved over to the church and knocked out all of our first look + wedding party + family photos before the ceremony, which I highly recommend. It saved us so much stress and daylight so that we could immediately move to the fun part after the ceremony! Our photographer Lauren was a total pro at time management and made the entire photo-taking process a breeze. I truly cannot say enough good things about her.

Like I said before, there was just something so magical about this day.

One incredible moment occurred while Peyton and I were taking photos together on the front steps of the church, and a butterfly landed on my dress. And let me tell you, this thing was not going anywhere. We are firm believers in “signs” from above, and took this as a sign from Peyton’s brother, Zack, that we would feel his presence on our big day.

*How great is this photo?*
*A framer, for sure.*

But wait…there’s more. Just moments before our ceremony, Peyton and I were hunkered down separately with our bridesmaids and groomsmen. The torrential downpour stopped just for a moment, and a *double rainbow* appeared above the church. I mean, you really can’t make this stuff up! Thankfully, my parents were able to snap an *adorable* photo standing below.

Our ceremony was something out of a dream: just us, our wedding party and our closest family members in a candlelit sanctuary while it stormed outside. We read vows we wrote ourselves and were co-officiated by two of our best friends in ministry who we have experienced so much life with.

We packed it up and rode our trolley further downtown to Ovenbird to enjoy a private dinner before entering the reception. We were so lost in conversation and the delicious spread before us that we actually ended up being late to our own party! (In our defense, the most talked-about element of our reception was that. food. We couldn’t tear ourselves away, either!) After a member of the band poked his head in to (kindly) ask when we were coming (I can’t stop laughing at this), we finally made our grand entrance. We cut our cakes, drank champagne and danced the night away with our closest friends and family. I couldn’t believe how quickly it all went by and was so sad when people started lining up for our sparkler sendoff. However, I’m told that the crowd stuck around for several more hours after we were gone until my parents finally cut off the bar tab. (I’m also told that people experienced days-long hangovers like never before, which I take a lot of pride in.)

We had a large pizza waiting on us at The Grand Bohemian Hotel, where we spent the night before heading out on our mini-honeymoon to The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL the following morning.

The Most-Asked Question

“How did you pull off the limoncello bar?”

It all started with a Pin. Leave it to me to completely zero-in on a detail and plan an entire event around it. I had saved a Pin of a similar setup prior to the planning phase and knew that I had to reference it in my own way—in a big way. It was one of the first things I showed my florist, which she used as inspiration to create the grand arrangement on the bar, but the rest was up to us! Truly, it became a family passion project. We sourced a large cart from the restaurant that was hosting the reception and truly did the rest by hand. We found tiny glass bottles with corks from an online wholesaler, and I took my hand at designing a label on Canva and had them custom printed from Sticker Mule. My dad spent several months leading up to the wedding brewing homemade limoncello, perfecting his recipe a little at a time. I imagine that labeling each bottle was a laborious process, for which I also have my parents to thank—ha! At the last-minute, they also tied fresh rosemary around each bottle with twine. We included the hundreds of bottles as a “party favor” on the cart at the reception, as well as tucked them away into the “welcome boxes” for hotel guests. The end result was quite a spectacle and still remains my favorite detail from the day!

The Vendor List

Planner: Self-Planned

Bridesmaids Luncheon: Daniel George

Rehearsal Dinner: The Florentine

Ceremony: Independent Presbyterian Church

Reception + Catering: Ovenbird Restaurant

Photography: Lauren Bailey Photography

Hair and Makeup: Abby Moorer

Dress: Ivory & White (Designed by Pronovias)

Spray Tan: Be Loved Beauty

Florals: Mary Donald

Band: Tim Tyler Music

Violinist: Jeanette Hightower

Wedding Monogram: Katrina Brittain Art

Cakes: Magic Muffins

Bridesmaids Jumpsuits: Red Dress Boutique

Invitations: Shine Wedding Invitations

Transportation: Rare Transportation

My Bridal Looks

I love looking back on all of my bridal looks, but it does make me laugh a little bit about how my taste has changed even since 2020! (Your girl was absolutely in her Amazon era.) I did my best to include in-stock links for my looks and accessories, but of course, many of these items are no longer available.

Tip to brides: Always, always choose classic over trendy!