Laurie Alex Jefferson Hotel Real Weddings Richmond Downtown City

Laurie and Alex
August 25, 2019

How They Met
Laurie and Alex first met on July 2016 at a local coffee shop. The two briefly chatted outside, but their conversation turned into two iced coffees and an instant connection. During their first “date” they talked about everything under the sun, from their dogs to their love of Wegman’s blueberry muffins. The coffee date turned into a glass of wine a few blocks down the street, and soon they were attached at the hip, totally in love.

The Proposal
Alex asked Laurie to marry him on September 23, 2017, on a trip up to upstate New York to visit friends. Since they both grew up in this area (about 30 minutes apart!), it was important for Alex to propose there. Unbeknownst to Laurie, her engagement ring was hiding in the center console the entire trip up. That morning they decided to hike at a local park. On their way back down the trail, Alex, after saying how much he loved Laurie, asked her if she wanted to “make it official.”

Laurie explains, “I was so confused! It never occurred to me that he was proposing!” He proceeded to pull out the ring and asked Laurie to make it forever with him. The perfect intimate proposal on the most perfect day.

The Details
As soon as these two were engaged, they knew what they wanted from their Richmond wedding. Their ceremony at The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and a glamorous reception at The Jefferson Hotel.

“We knew a lot of our guests would be from out of town, and we wanted to make sure they would enjoy their trip to Richmond. Nowhere else in town is as luxurious and beautiful as The Jefferson!” For their décor, they wanted something that was formal, but still romantic and elegant, with flowers that looked like they were picked from a garden party.

They chose fresh freesia, light pink garden roses, and creamy white lisianthus to give that garden feel. Laurie and her girlfriends assembled the florals at Vogue Flowers.

For their colors, they went with navy, gold, and pops of raspberry pink. Laurie, who went to culinary school after college, took their desserts very seriously with an impressive assortment of sweets including a lemon meringue cheesecake.

As the two newlyweds descended the grand stairs at The Jefferson Hotel, they were surrounded by their closest family and friends. Even Alex’s family all the way from Bulgaria came! “You have everyone in this world that you love in one room, and it’s such an incredible feeling. My heart was full by the end of the day!”

Favorite Part of the Day
“My favorite part of the day was more of an ongoing experience. I was just overwhelmed with such love and emotion with seeing all our friends and family!”

Biggest Challenge
“Finding a dress! I wanted something that was very simple and timeless and made of silk. My nonna’s wedding dress was made from silk and ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted a silk wedding dress. Her being a seamstress and practical-minded, she created curtains out of her wedding dress after her wedding (it still pains me to type that even). Many of the stores down here had many beautiful dresses, however, the majority of options were made from tulle or lace, which wasn’t what I was looking for.”

Laurie eventually found her dress through an online vendor and she says, “It was meant to be!”

Best Piece of Advice
“Plan, plan, plan! Or find someone else to do it for you. On your wedding day, you want to enjoy yourself and not be putting out fires or having staff ask you a bunch of questions because they have been left in the dark. Over-communicate and make sure that everyone is on the same page for timing– including your transportation, photographer, venue, guests, band…you name it. This might be your big day, but just think about how many other events they are planning simultaneously!”

*All information in our Featured Weddings is provided by the couple. Richmond Weddings™ is not responsible for discovering and adding vendors who were not on the submission form completed by the couple.*