An Eclectic Mountaintop Wedding

Elise & Andrew had a beautiful wedding with a view that celebrated their love with the people closest to them. They got married at the place they first met, in the mountains of Virginia …

from the planner: “Elise and Andrew wanted a wedding that was unique, natural and very guest-oriented. It was important to them to create spaces where their guests could be present in the moment, enjoying one another. They met in Sewanee while attending University of the South and it was important to them to bring their friends and family back to the mountain to show them what a serene and beautiful place it is. (Elise’s dad also went to Sewanee.) They both come from creative families so were excited about creative colors and ways to entertain their guests. Their ceremony was as All Saints’ on Sewanee’s campus and their reception was a Myers Point. The cocktail hour was on a bluff with a gorgeous view. For their reception, we had a lot of nooks and different “perching spots” from soft seating to tables to cocktail tables with barstools that allowed their guests to foster conversation when they weren’t dancing on the dance floor! In the balcony in the “barn” there was a whiskey speakeasy that opened part of the way through the night and we let the guests discover that area. Elise has a dairy allergy so her cake was fully dairy free as was much of the menu! There was so much joy in their day and the dance floor was killer!!”

How did you meet?

We met at a party while in college at Sewanee: The University of the South. It was late in the spring semester so we kept in touch over the summer and when we came back to school in the fall, started dating pretty quickly and all throughout college!

What’s your proposal story?

We had plans to spend the weekend with family in the mountains of Virginia. Friday afternoon Andrew suggested we go for our favorite hike to Flagrock. After some wildlife run-ins, we made it to the top, Andrew got down on one knee and proposed! But that wasn’t the end of the surprises. We hiked back down and our families planned a surprise engagement party! It was all perfect.

What was your wedding vision / inspiration?

We knew we wanted to get married at Sewanee because it is so special to us, not only is it beautiful but also where we met each other and so many friends. We wanted our guests to have the full Sewanee experience so we created the wedding weekend to include everything from hikes to campus tours to beers at our favorite bar. We wanted our wedding to reflect us through our food, drinks, design and music. The style was natural, unique and fun. We wanted the design to reflect the natural beauty we were surrounded by so we worked to source lots of local and in season florals, used more muted tones, rocks, sticks and greenery. It was just had we imagined and really felt like our style.

For our rehearsal we wanted something fun and not too formal. I found my dress at my favorite vintage store in Soho, The Twin Vintage and Andrew found his suit at Indochino.

I knew I wanted to wear my mom’s veil which was long and textured lace. But I also wanted to wear a dress with lace. Once I met Olia she knew exactly how to combine the two! I loved the fit and design of the lace on the dress. It had these beautiful floral designs climbing from the bottom to the top. It just really felt like me and my love for nature was again coming through for another part of our wedding. She had actually just finished designing my dress when I visited her store and was the first to purchase that style. She names the dress style after who is the first to purchase it so that dress is now called “Elise”. She was able to combine a lace veil and lace dress by creating a detachable crepe skirt which I wore for the ceremony. I loved it so much. Olia is incredibly talented.

Andrew wanted to wear a tux but wanted his to be a little bit different than the groomsman. We found the jacket at Black Tux and loved the shawl collar and blue dotted detail. It was subtle and looked awesome.

What was most important to you while planning?

The most important thing to us was that our family and friends had a great experience. We of course wanted a really good band and lots of dancing. I don’t think I left the dance floor once. But we also wanted some other fun things at the reception. We had a tap truck and special cocktails, a photo booth and a speak-easy like bourbon bar. We really valued our photography and loved working with Brad and Jen.

Favorite parts of the day?

Too many to count! For both of us we loved our mornings with our wedding party. Andrew and the boys spent some time at the Cross which is an overlook on campus and hung out on the porch of the house. The girls spent the morning at the Sewanee Inn getting ready and having fun. Another favorite memory was before walking down the aisle each bridesmaid blew me a sweet little kiss. Our first dance was incredible and everyone sang along. My parents toast was funny and thoughtful and of course made us cry. So many favorite parts — the whole weekend was our favorite!

Special details?

The flowers were all sourced locally and were in season. We had a large installation over the dance floor that was whimsical and funky. There were lots of yellows, pinks, greens, oranges, and white flowers with small twigs and bulbs playfully placed throughout.

My sister is an artist and made a sculpture out of acrylics for our rehearsal dinner seating chart and welcome sign. We made a gift bag for our guests with a map of Sewanee painted by a local artist showing all our favorite places.

I wore my mother’s veil and our cake table tablecloth was used at her wedding as well. I wore my grandmother’s earrings and bracelet.

Any advice for couples planning?

Have fun with the planning and don’t let it stress you out too much! Everything will come together as it should and the most important thing is that you wedding reflects your relationship! Once the weekend starts it is a memory from then on so soak it up because it goes by too fast!

Brent Deitrich

Publisher at The White Wren | + posts

Publisher at The White Wren and Bajan Wed, Award Winning Photography + Videographer at Live View Studios, Dad, 80s music lover, crunchy health advocate