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My mom put all of the event invitations (for the rehearsal dinner, bridesmaid luncheon, and wedding) in a wreath on the front door of our house in Vero Beach, which made for quite the inviting entrance into our home.
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I wore a Self Portrait set for my bridesmaid luncheon the day before the wedding, along with my beloved Poolside x Over the Moon monogrammed tote. I wanted a polished and 1960's type look for it, so the suit-like structure, dramatic floral buttons, and lady jacket gave me the Jackie O vibes I was looking for.
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My mom (in the hot pink!) and a few of my bridesmaids and I checking in on the tent where the reception would be held, right after my bridesmaids luncheon.
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My mom commissioned my favorite contemporary artist and friend, Kristen Tirney, to create a 3D painting of the same detailing that was on my wedding dress. I was in awe of how special and beautiful the painting was-- and how perfectly it captured the texture and designs on my wedding dress.
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I worked with my former coworker (We both worked at Lilly Pulitzer corporate years ago!), Ashley Begley, of Ashley D. Studio, to create a custom print that was inspired by the flowers embroidered and beaded in my dress. We then partnered with Beau and Ro, based out of Charleston, to have this print made into smocked dresses for all of my bridesmaids to wear to get ready in the day of the wedding!
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My glowing maid of honor, Jacqueline, and me. I'm three and half years older than her but she has three inches on me, so we feel more like twins.
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Our family's Old English Sheepdog, Liberty, absolutely stole the show in all of the photos. She wore a custom bandana to match our dresses, as well as a flower collar made of greenery and roses. Safe to say she outshined us ALL.
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One of my favorite photos ever. My sister, mom, and me all adorned with 3D flowers and sparkly accessories. My sister wore Zimmerman and my mom wore Marchesa.
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I carried a simple bouquet of white freesia, wrapped with a blush pink embroidered 'M' for my new last name, McNitt. I opted for a smaller, more understated bouquet because I wanted nothing to distract from my dress.
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The dress reveal with my bridesmaids... I hadn't shown my dress to a soul so it was the best to see their reactions in real time. They are my ultimate hype girls.
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How beautiful are they?! This was a casual photo we snapped outside of our home. I asked each bridesmaid to wear a long pink dress of their choosing, and honestly never got around to mapping out how they would all look together, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw how well they complemented each other. Also, special shout out to my best friend, Kaeli, who is to the right of me and eight months pregnant. . . She was (and is!) radiant.
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My first look with my dad, who had not seen my wedding dress. This is the moment in which I told him the dress was serendipitously named 'The Amy.'
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My last family photo as a Littleson.
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Here's the handsome groom, Johnny, with his dad, Peter McNitt Sr. (also handsome!)
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And Johnny's sweet mom, Jane, who was stunning in a laser cut Shoshanna dress with an asymmetrical hem, and glitter peep toe heels.
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My groom and his groomsmen!
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The first look. . .
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I see both sides/benefits of doing or not doing a first look, but it was definitely the right decision for us. We had ours in private with no family or friends, and it allowed us to have a personal moment together before the day got crazy.
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A favorite photo. We are obviously all dolled up, but I truly think we looked like ourselves on our wedding day, which makes me so happy to look back on and see.
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Our wedding party! It was especially fun to have everyone together because the majority of us went to the same college, the University of Richmond, including Johnny's brother, Johnny's sister, and Johnny's sister in law. We were all in the same sorority and fraternity, so this felt like one big (and fancier) college reunion.
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A his and hers vow book, where we hand-wrote our vows that we read to each other during the ceremony.
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My gorgeous mother, getting out of her Moke (which also served as our getaway car!) in front of the church we were married in, The First Baptist Church of Vero Beach. Yes, the church was literally pink.
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My mom and friends decorated the Moke that morning, with fresh greens from our yard and pink seltzer cans strung off the back.
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Ashley D. Studio, who designed our custom wedding print, also did all of our paper goods, which tied in the print and her darling illustrations.
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Walking down the aisle with my dad. We had a string quartet play "Bridal Chorus" by Richard Wagner. I feel like there's only one chance you get to walk down the aisle to that song, so I had to do it, right?!
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Johnny standing at the altar, alongside my Christian life coach, Alexandra Kaval of Grace Space Christian Coaching, who officiated the most meaningful, heartfelt, and God-filled ceremony for us.
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This is actually the moment when all of my nerves went away.
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Standing at the altar. . . The church was so stunning inside that we used only ivy and flowers, and let it speak for itself.
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That first kiss as husband and wife! We elicited big shrieks from my bridesmaids and whoops from the groomsmen. Love them.
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And another one at the end of the aisle!
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We exited the church to all of our guests lined up outside and an explosion of bubbles!
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I threw on Celine glasses for this, which I chose after seeing a photo of Claudia Schiffer wearing an almost identical pair for a shoot she did in St. Barths for Vogue in 1992, in which she was wearing all white and giving bridal!
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And a third kiss. . .
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Bubble guns and bouquets and the best of friends, what could be better?
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I really wanted a group shot with all of our guests outside of the church, and our photographer, Joseph Rogero, captured this perfectly with his drone.
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Slipping into our getaway Moke. Peep the pillow that my mom put in the backseat (that had our new combined monogram on it!).
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An aerial view of the tent where we had our reception, at the John's Island Club, where my parents live. The cocktail hour was around the pool and then everyone took a short walk over to the tent (which was set up on top of a croquet court) for the rest of the evening.
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If I told you that my mom's seamstress worked on this scalloped cabana for 35 hours, would you believe me?! My mom then sewed the pink scallops to the umbrellas as well. . . It was a tense DIY project in our household, but worth it. The cabana was flanked by cocktail tables that had toppers made from the fabric that contained our custom wedding print.
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Of course we put our wedding crest on just about everything (as Reese Witherspoon has said, "If it's not moving, monogram it"), which was designed by the talented Emily McCarthy. The flowers on the crest were influenced by the floral appliqué on my wedding dress.
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My mom was full of last-minute surprise details for us, like these pillows debuting our new married monogram and adorned with bows made from our wedding print fabric.
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The sky was dramatic and at first gave hues of pink, and then turned moody and romantic. Also if you haven't caught on already, our dress code for our guests was "formal, pink encouraged." Our guests showed up in their finest pink ensembles!
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The entrance to our tent perfectly encapsulated the garden-party-meets-island-soirée look that we wanted. We did this with lots of blush pink peonies, forest green topiaries, and lush ivy!
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I was all smiles when we first saw the reception decor. . . My mom and I did the creative planning for the wedding ourselves, so seeing our vision in reality was one of the best parts of the day (and not to mention a big relief.)
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My mom thrifted this wicker seating set and painted it forest green and recovered the cushions. We had it situated between our head table and the dance floor, so it actually served as the perfect spot for Johnny and me to sit together and listen to the speeches.
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More details including one of two plate walls in the background that was decorated with pieces that all came from my mom's personal collection.
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We aimed for romantic and timeless tablescapes, which became so warm and cozy when the candles and lamps came on! Also, it was windy when the table settings were being set up, which is why the menus are underneath the chargers, so it worked out well that you could see through them!
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I'm not one for subtle reactions. . .
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We had one long u-shaped head table. It was an honor to get to sit with our entire wedding party and their dates.
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I think this shot encapsulates the aesthetic of the reception so perfectly. The tablecloth we chose for the head table looked crazy similar to the embroidery and sparkle details in my wedding dress. I even had a few people ask if it was the same fabric!
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A vanilla cake with strawberry cream filling. . . Complete with, you guessed it, our monogram on full display on top.
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Johnny and I probably went to twenty choreography classes for our first dance (insane, we know), but it did the job because we pretty much floated our way through our first dance (or maybe that was the champagne?!). It was to "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift, which our band, The Headliners, enthusiastically learned to play for us.
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Another kiss! (Who's counting?)
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The big lift and spin finale, with sparks and cloud smoke to boot. You only get one first dance, right?!
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My dad and I danced to "Amie," by the Pure Prairie League, a song we've been dancing to together since I was born. Also note my bustle-- my train was so long that the bustle actually kind of ended up looking like a bow, which of course I loved.
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Johnny and his mom danced to "My Wish" by the Rascal Flats, and they were flawless!
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Johnny's older brother, and best man, Peter, gave a speech, and had their little sister, Megan, bring out Bulls jerseys for Johnny and me, with our lucky number on them. Their family is from a suburb of Chicago, hence the Bulls. The jerseys made another appearance during the after party.
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Johnny and I listening to the speeches given by my dad and Johnny's brother.
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After the toasts and dinner, we called everyone to the dance floor and we didn't get off of it until the final encore!
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One of Johnny's good guy friends caught the bouquet I tossed, which was hysterical, and made even better by the fact that he got engaged to his now fiancée two weeks later (can't make this up).
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I changed into a second dress halfway through the reception, and wore a Bronx and Banco mini tulle dress that I fell in love with literally two weeks before the wedding... and we surprised our guests (even our parents!) by having me come out on Jonnny's shoulders, with two flaming bottles of Veuve rosé, while the band played Kygo's "Higher Love. . ."
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Did I mention I'm not one for subtlety?
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We had a drape photo backdrop set up in the tent, but no one left the dance floor so it didn't get any use. So our ever creative photographer, Joseph, grabbed the disco ball prop from the photo backdrop area and threw it into the middle of the dance floor for a game of disco ball keep away. . . which I'm pleased to say was a crowd favorite. (Just one of the many reasons I will forever recommend Joseph Rogero as the ultimate photographer for capturing lively energy and genuine emotions so perfectly).
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Cutting the cake! I did end up smashing a bit of it on Johnny's face, though he was a gentleman and didn't dare do the same to me. Smart man.
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My big and my little from my sorority in college, both named Elizabeth, and both absolute queens. We're drinking John Island Club's famous "Hummer" cocktails here, (basically an alcoholic milkshake), which were passed out with the cake.
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My best girlfriends from college (and now!), who have a tradition of doing a pyramid at every major life milestone we're celebrating together. They quite literally have held me up throughout our years knowing each other.
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And the perfect ending. . . Being held by my best friend, who got married six weeks after me and I was her maid of honor. After the reception, our encore song was "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, which was also the first song our string quartet played during the ceremony, we made one very long conga line from the tent to the poolside bar, where there was a DJ and espresso martinis. We didn't not end up in the pool sometime after that. . .
