It isn’t often that you see a bride choose a black wedding gown contrasted against a vineyard location, but that’s exactly what Sophia wanted when she married Dan. The wedding was in October, the both autumnal weather and spooky season influenced their day. They had beautiful burnt orange floral pieces, metallic bridesmaid dresses, the skull and skeleton decorations, and they even used dried branches as their wedding arch.
“My husband and I knew from the start that we wanted our wedding day to perfectly reflect us as a couple”, Sophia said. “We love music, good food, and everything about autumn. I would say the colours we chose followed a loose Halloween theme. It was important to us that the flowers and food were in-line with the season.”
A standout moment before the wedding even began was their choice to handcraft their own wedding bands. They spent a day at a local workshop making the rings they would wear for the rest of their lives. “This was a fun pre-wedding activity to do together,” said Sophia. “People always react in amazement when we talk about our rings.”
The ceremony was also as personal as it gets. The bride’s brother officiated and music was a really important element with Dan and his groomsmen walking out to Can’t Hardly Wait by The Replacements, and Sophia’s entrance set to Plainsong by The Cure. “My brother officiated the wedding calmed our nerves a little”, the bride explained. “My husband is a musician and for our whole relationship I’ve asked him to write me a song. In his vows he wrote a poem/song for me, Herb Garden Girl. It was a lovely ceremony.”
At the reception, the couple paid homage to their Raleigh roots by sourcing cakes from Hayes Barton Café, a local favourite. “My husband grew up eating their Bailey’s Tiramisu, and we got to enjoy it on our wedding day. We continue to get a slice every anniversary since,” Sophia explained. It was one of the many ways they incorporated small, meaningful details into their day.
Sophia also took on a few DIY projects to add personal touches to the reception decor. She created the cake stands herself and thrifted all the vases. “We had vases on our cake table for my bridesmaids to drop off their flowers so they wouldn’t have to keep track of them all night,” she notes.
When asked what advice she would offer couples planning their own weddings, Sophia emphasised individuality. “There are a LOT of wedding vendors out there. Make your wedding totally unique to who you are. This is your day and no one else matters. I absolutely love everything about our wedding and wouldn’t change anything about how the day went.”
