Real Richmond Wedding Stephanie Sean Weddings Love Autumn

Stephanie and Sean
October 18, 2018

How They Met
Stephanie and Sean first met on Tinder, then later in person at Southern Railway Taphouse. They met in group situations a few times, before their first official solo date. Stephanie explains, “Sean made me dinner, showed off his incredible cooking skills, and afterward we took a stroll around Brown’s Island.”

The Proposal
Sean asked Stephanie to be his wife in June 2017 in Stowe, VT. These two love to hike and explore new places, so they planned an impromptu trip to Burlington, VT to explore the area with their new puppy. They spent their vacation going to breweries, wineries and hiking the Green Mountains. “Sean proposed at the top of a mountain called Smuggler’s Notch.” Unfortunately, the weather that day wasn’t cooperating. “It was supposed to be a picturesque scene, but it was an unusually cloudy day and we couldn’t see past 15 feet.” But they hardly noticed the weather a Sean got down on one knee and Stephanie said, “YES!”

The Details
“We knew we wanted to get married in Richmond since we met there and both of our families live there now.” The second they visited their venue, they knew it was perfect.

At their ceremony, they wanted a blend of traditional and nontraditional. Stephanie walked down the aisle to the instrumental Glasgow Love Theme from the movie, “Love Actually.” The two had both of their parents stand and give their blessing for their union, “giving them away.” They wrote their own vows, but also answered “I do” to the traditional scripted questions.

“The only theme I had in mind was FALL, all thing FALL!” They used Stephanie’s favorite color, purple, throughout with deep, jewel tone colors. The perfect combination for that fall feel.

For their flowers, they wanted bright, vibrant colors, with leaves that tied in their overall theme. They kept their decor simple, focusing mostly on the natural beauty that came with their venue. “For some of the decorations, I had pictures fo us as kids, engagement photos, and wedding photos of our parents.” For their escort cards, Stephanie had her dad cut slits into small birch logs, bringing the rustic feel of the outdoors into their reception.

“I got a little Esty-crazed and bought Sean a cardboard cutout of our dog. We are truly crazy dog parents!” While their pup, Barkley, couldn’t be at their wedding, his presence was still felt!

Favorite Part of the Day
Stephanie’s favorite part of the day was their personalized vows. “The whole day was a whirlwind, but the ceremony felt slower, so I could savor every moment.”

For Sean, it was dancing with his new bride on one of the happiest days of his life.

Biggest Challenge
Stephanie and Sean’s distance from Richmond proved to be their biggest challenge. “We planned the wedding first from New York, then moved to Georgia a few months before the wedding!”

Best Piece of Advice
“Take your time! Plan ahead! Doing things ahead of time really saved us a lot of stress. The little things and everything DIY looks cool on Pinterest, but they are time-consuming and may not have a huge impact on your day. Don’t sweat the small stuff!”

*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.*