Haleigh & Joe’s Wedding

Haleigh & Joe’s wedding was a beautiful celebration filled with joy and love! With a captivating color palette of cream, pinks, muted blue and greens it was perfect, the florals themselves held a romantic garden feel and even included greenery from the University of Richmond campus where they were married. Such a unique and fun detail of their day!

How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another? We met on the first day of college orientation at the University of Richmond. If you ask Haleigh how their story began, she’ll say that she had told a couple of mutual friends of theirs that she thought Joe was funny and cute. If you ask Joe, he’ll say their story began when he heard Haleigh was “obsessed” with him. Funny how that works…One date at the Melting Pot later, Haleigh and Joe realized that they had much more in common than just their pre-med classes. They clicked instantly and the rest is history!

Tell us a funny story relating to your wedding day or relationship! Joe has always been one for surprises. He of course wanted the proposal to be the biggest surprise he had pulled off yet. To throw Haleigh off the scent that a proposal was coming her way, he gave her a gorgeous David Yurman ring for her birthday. Haleigh was convinced that this would be the only ring in the picture for a little while. To her surprise, he proposed the very next day with the most stunning diamond ring! She now wears both proudly every day.

Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship or during your wedding planning. Like so many COVID couples, the uncertainty of planning a 2021 wedding was definitely the biggest hurdle we had to overcome. We had Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc, etc. Thankfully case numbers improved just in time for our June wedding for restrictions to be loosened. We were able to have the wedding of our dreams and celebrate safely with all of our loved ones.

Any special ways you incorporated your family or family history into your wedding day? We are very fortunate to have all 8 of our grandparents with us still. During our reception, we had a special dance to honor them. It was such an incredible moment to be able to share the dance floor with all of them.
Also – My engagement ring is Joe’s great-grandmother’s ring. He updated the band but the stone and setting are exactly the same. It is over 100 years old! I couldn’t love it more.

What part of your wedding day was/is most important to you? Our ceremony. We got married at the Cannon Memorial Chapel on the University of Richmond’s campus. Joe and I attended Sunday Mass together while we were students there. It meant so much to us to be able to share the biggest moment of our lives with all of our friends and family there.

From the Bride: We were inspired by summer garden florals, sunset tones, and the gorgeous greenery of UR’s (University of Richmond) campus. We got married on campus at the UR chapel. Choosing UR was such an easy decision for us – it is one of our favorite places on earth and where we first fell in love. We spent many Sunday afternoons during our college experience at mass together in the chapel. For our reception, we felt the Commonwealth Club was the quintessential Richmond venue. We immediately fell in love with the charm of the venue!
I was looking for a ballgown to twirl around the dance floor of the Commonwealth Club in! I fell in love with the blush color and the soft floral details that matched my summer garden vision. I opted for a cathedral-length veil adorned with floral appliqués and pearls for a dramatic chapel entrance.
Later on in the reception, I changed into a more fitted gown with a party bow on the back – ready to hit the dance floor!
We wanted the design of our reception to embody the summer garden vision with plenty of bright, happy pops of color! Dreamy sunset florals throughout, light blue water glasses with velvet napkins to match, and bright gold studded chargers to match the gorgeous gold ceiling of the ballroom.

What is the best thing you’ve learned from one another? Celebrate the little moments. Joe and I are both resident physicians with very busy schedules. We have learned to take joy in sharing the time we are able to spend together – whether that be taking our dog for a walk along the river trail, cooking a favorite recipe together, or binge-watching a new TV show on our couch.

What is your favorite thing about each other? Haleigh: My favorite part about Joe is his humor. He is incredibly smart and witty, and doesn’t take life too seriously. He finds a way to make me laugh every single day!
Joe: My favorite part about Haleigh is her heart. She is the most caring, loving, and passionate person I have ever met, which is why she makes such an amazing wife, physician, and (one day) mother.

What was your favorite part about planning your wedding? We loved being able to take many trips back down to Richmond during the planning process. Richmond is the city we met and fell in love in. It will always have a special place in our hearts and we cherish every opportunity we get to go back!

If you had one piece of advice for other couples, what would it be? Do one thing for your spouse each day. Our parents shared this advice with us before we got married and it has made all the difference in our marriage.