Patapsco Female Institute Wedding

One wedding trend I’ve been loving lately is a groom donning a blue suit — it adds such amazing personality to the wedding photos! Joel and Christine were one phenomenally stylish couple, and it’s impossible not to see how in love they are while poring over these images from Elizabeth Fogarty.

From the bride, Christine: Joel and I knew from the beginning that we wanted the wedding to be fun, relaxed, and very representative of who we are. Neither of us is super traditional, but we did still want it to feel like a wedding. Nothing too formal, no frills, but still pretty and special. Once we found the perfect space, the style just sort of dictated itself. It was a little rustic and perfectly timeless.

We were very inspired by maps and they found there way into the decor without being too obvious. He was born in Wisconsin. I was born in Maryland. We met in Chicago. We fell in love in Los Angeles. We got engaged on a surprise trip to Paris while on vacation in London. It seemed appropriate 🙂 I had an old Rand McNally road map that was outdated and never got used so I started there. I made pennants using the map, burlap and ivory ribbon. Then I made garland using a large heart hole punch and strung them along on different colors of ribbon. The extra heart cutouts that that didn’t get used for garland were scattered around on table tops for an added effect. The color blue was also really prominent at the wedding. It was inspired by these amazing bright blue structural beams that went throughout the venue. My favorite DIY project was our mix CD wedding favors. We designed the CD sleeve layout on our computer and then printed them on brown craft paper. Then, a true labor of love, we hand cut and assembled all of them. Once assembled, we tied blue and white striped butchers string around each CD and topped it off with a hand stamped ‘thank you’ tag. This took the longest, but WOW, they turned out amazing. They were extremely cost effective but looked like a pricey Etsy purchase. We even burnt the CDs onto discs that looked like little records. Everything about this wedding was DIY- From the lights to the flowers to the decor so we found that simpler was better.

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Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Stick to your vision. In a Pinterest day and age, it’s way too easy to loose sight of how you want your big day to look. Also, everyone, and I mean everyone, will have an opinion about what you should do for the wedding. Politely say”that’s a great idea to think about” and then carry on with planning your perfect day. Be open to the advise, but don’t let it make you feel like you have to change or sacrifice what you want. Lastly, hire a coordinator. I couldn’t afford somebody to coordinate the whole wedding, but I was able to hire a day-of coordinator and it was the best decision! She was there to ensure that everything and everyone was where it was supposed to be. Her creative vision helped to support the entire flow of the wedding and I felt 100% at ease knowing that she was there to handle things as they came up. If the entire wedding was a group effort, our coordinator was the ring leader and rightfully so. She was a genius.

Wedding Music:
Bridal Party Processional: “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” Ryan Adams
Bride’s Processional: “Can You See it Now,” Oasis
Recessional: “Head On,” The Jesus and Mary Chain
First Dance: “Old Fashioned,” Cee Lo Green
Father/Daughter Dance: “Heart of Gold,” Johnny Cash (Neil Young cover)
Mother/Son Dance: “Mama’s Eyes,” Justin Townes Earle
We only had two slower songs at the wedding. The rest was upbeat and fun. We even had a ‘That Thing You Do’ moment with our friends.

From the photographer, Elizabeth Fogarty: I don’t even know where to freaking start when talking about this wedding. It was AWESOME. During the ceremony, the officiant paused and asked the couple to look at the guests. GENIUS. We are always complaining about how the wedding day flies by, and it was amazing when Joel and Christine looked back at the people who have been part of the journey. There might have been some tears involved… Now let’s talk about their style. Have you ever seen a groom rock a blue suit? Now you have. And a bride with gorgeous red hair? Yup! I like to call them my glamour couple. Christine’s White by Vera Wang dress was super dreamy. The Patapsco Female Institute was the perfect venue for these two. The columns and the open air space brought everything together. Their trendy details and sweets spread were to die for. Overall, it was such a heartfelt wedding. Their crazy love and passion for each other was evident the entire day.

Wedding Location: Ellicott City, MD / Photographer: Elizabeth Fogarty / Event Planner and Coordinator: Bree Ryback of Capitol Romance Wedding Coordination / Venue: Patapsco Female Institute / Wedding Dress: White by Vera Wang / Wedding Shoes: ModCloth / Earrings: Anthropologie / Handkerchief: Vintage / Makeup: Tanya Samoiliw Makeup / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: David’s Bridal / Groom’s Suit: Topman by Topshop / Caterer: Kloby’s Smokehouse / Wedding Cake: La Cakerie / DJ: The Pros / Wedding Invitations: LadybugPixels / Stationery Stamp: CarolineCreates