When the bride names Audrey Hepburn as her style muse you know you are in for a treat! And from Caitlin’s tea-length wedding dress to the couple’s marquee reception, everything about this bright and breezy Summer garden wedding epitomises mid-century elegance…..

Much as I love an intimate celebration (we had just 30 guests at our wedding after all) they’re not for everyone, and when Caitlin & John got engaged they knew their wedding was to be a big – joyful – bash! Caitlin explains “John and I had already been together for seven years when we got engaged. That meant we were close to each other’s big families, and we shared fantastic groups of friends, so John and I knew we weren’t going to have a small wedding. There wasn’t a lot of talk about themes or colors; we let a classic, timeless sense of style inspire us and it all started coming together. We just wanted to throw a huge party with everyone we loved – and look really good doing it!”

And as is often the case, finding the right venue was key to bringing their romantic celebration to life…. “We both loved the idea of getting married in Baltimore, so we looked at a lot of venues in the city. John knew right away that the Evergreen Museum and Library was perfect for us. This place had everything — a stunningly elegant Italian-style gardens for our ceremony, a classic art deco patio for our cocktail hour, and a chic carriage house setting for the reception and dance floor. Tons of green space, brick, marble, and romantic dark wood meant that we didn’t have to do a lot of decorating.”

“I wish I could look like Audrey Hepburn every day of my life, so naturally I had my heart set on a tea length wedding gown. I fully committed to old Hollywood glamour with vintage-detailed wedges, a short blusher veil, and crystal stud earrings.”

“I’ll never get over John’s look. His perfectly tailored navy suit from Suit Supply is the best thing he’s ever worn. Luckily for him (and me) he can wear it over and over again. The groomsmen wore matching gray suits with different black and white ties we selected just for them from The Tie Bar.”

“Our ceremony was very personal, and we made an effort to select the readings and songs to represent the happiness and honesty we wanted our marriage to be built on. John’s cousin married us and my brothers each read something that spoke to not only John and my relationship, but to their own personalities, too. “

“My bridesmaids all wore slate gray Alfred Sung dresses in the style they liked best paired with coral shoes. “

“I could not have been more clueless about choosing bouquets and centerpieces, but I trusted our florist Wicked Willow immediately. They created the most unique and gorgeous arrangements, with only very vague direction from me. The flowers were the perfect pop of late-summer color in our mostly neutral palette.

John made the table numbers by cutting and staining wood blocks before nailing house numbers to them. I designed our programs and the thank-you cards we placed at each seat in the reception, along with the art on our pint glass favors. A local artist created a gigantic one-of-a-kind quill art piece that hung behind our sweetheart table during the reception. And my dad did all the calligraphy, including the invitations and the place cards.”

Pearls of wedding wisdom from the bride…

“Communicate! We learned very quickly that communicating exactly what we wanted was crucial to the entire process and eliminated a lot of stress. We involved our parents and friends in the planning process, but our whole wedding day was very much a reflection of us as a couple. That was mostly because John and I stayed on the same page, made decisions together, and kept everyone constantly in the loop. I sent a LOT of emails and made a LOT of spreadsheets. I’d also say: choose vendors who have style and talent you trust, and treat yourself to a day-of coordinator!”

Those bright summer colors and Caitlin’s gorgeous gown….. it’s all just fabulous! Huge congratulations to the happy couple, and a big thankyou to their photographer Katie DeLorme for not only flawlessly capturing every moment and detail, but also for letting me share her gorgeous images with you here. If her film photography has captured your heart pop over to her website at www.katiedelorme.com, and be sure to follow her on instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to see more of her work.

If you love Caitlin’s Audrey Hepburn inspired style as much as I do, you might want to see this post with 25 of the most charming tea length wedding dresses and these must haves for a mid century celebration. Or for more 1950s inspired weddings to take a peek at this intimate celebration, this woodland wedding with a high tea reception and this colorful city garden wedding is one not to be missed!

Amy

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Contributors & Credits

Photography – Katie DeLorme Photography // Wedding Dress – Justin Alexander // Floral Design – Wicked Willow // Wedding Cake – Baltimore Cakery // Bride’s Shoes – Badgley Mischka // Bridesmaids’ Dresses – Alfred Sung // Catering – Rouge Fine Catering // Hair & Makeup – UpDos For I Dos // DJ – Tower Entertainment // Ties – The Tie Bar // Groom’s Suit – The Suit Supply // Suits – Mens Warehouse // Venue – Evergreen Museum And Library // Earrings – Bauble Bar // CQ Bycicle Art – Charm City Quills // Mother Of The Bride Dress – Rent The Runway