Love, Laughter & Happily Ever After | Spring Mill Manor, Ivyland, Pennsylvania | Carly & Chris’ Wedding
Love, Laughter & Happily Ever After
Spring Mill Manor, Ivyland, Pennsylvania
Carly & Chris’ Wedding
Carly and Chris met by what some may call fate mixed with luck. Carly was enjoying a relaxing time by the pool in their apartment complex when Chris happened to take the empty seat next to her. This seat happened to be the only open seat left! From here their friendship bloomed into a budding romance in the years to come.
Fast-forward to August 2013, to a beautiful morning in St. Martin where Chris and Carly were vacationing. A year ago from this morning Chris and Carly were on their first date. To start their day, Chris gave Carly a letter labeled August 2012 that told her the story of everything they did in that first month of dating. As the day went on, Carly received one letter after the other for each month that they were together continuing their love story through the months. Chris even included a photo memory with each letter. Before dinner that night, Carly and Chris took a walk to a giant rock in front of the ocean where she had wanted to take a picture of the two of them. This was the setting of the final letter dated August 2013 (the present time). By the time Carly reached the end of the letter, Chris was down on one knee!
Chris’ thoughtful and perfect proposal brings us to a gorgeous morning in September 2014. The 27th to be more exact. This was the morning of the day that Chris and Carly would begin the next chapter in their love story. Spring Mill Manor was the setting for this highly awaited day.
Chris spent the morning at the country club preparing for the day with his son, Jaxon, and groomsmen. All of the men looked dashing in their suits from Men’s Warehouse. Big details from the couple’s love story could be found in even the smallest of places throughout the day including the cufflinks Chris was wearing! Each cufflink pictured an important location on the map from their relationship. One pictured the setting on the map where they first met and the other, the place where they got engaged. These cufflinks were a loving gift from Carly that completed Chris’ dapper groom look.
In the bridal suite not too far away, Carly was eagerly preparing to marry her most favorite person in the world. Carly was all smiles and bubbling with excitement over what events would take place on this day! Daneen Jensen and Associates did an incredible job enhancing the natural beauty of all the women in the wedding. With her hair down in soft, delicate curls, Carly paused to take a moment to “smell the roses” before opening a special present from Chris. Carly’s bouquet, provided by Event Creations, was comprised of ivory garden roses, her favorite flower!
Carly and her girls, all dressed in matching robes, then gathered around as Carly opened up Chris’ present to her. Carly took a moment to read Chris’ heartfelt words, another loving letter to her written in card inscribed with “it was always you” on the front.
The first gift was a framed picture of their new family tree. Three blue birds were perched in the tree symbolizing Chris, Carly and Jaxon. The second gift completely took Carly by surprise as we could see in the look on her face. Carly had unwrapped a beautiful pair of earrings that she excitedly put on right away. She and her girls spent a few moments posing for pictures and being goofy before it was time to get Carly into her dress.
Carly’s dress was a beautiful strapless ballgown that she fell in love with at The Country Bride and Gent. The gown itself was simple, classy and stunning. The bride’s favorite details were the pockets and the intricately beaded belt that added the perfect amount of sparkle to the gown. Once in her gown, Carly radiated pure happiness and excitement.
After adding the finishing touches, her Swarovski jewelry, veil and a spritz of perfume, it was just about time for the moment that Carly was anticipating the most. Carly got into her Michael Kors heels and was finally ready.
Carly’s parents had not seen their daughter yet in her complete bridal look. The first, first look of the morning was about to take place as Carly ascended the staircase to her parents awaiting their baby girl at the bottom of the stairs. Upon turning around, all were smiling with happy tears in their eyes taking in the moment while sharing in a few warm embraces. Their little girl had grown into a beautiful bride before their very eyes.
Now it was for the most important first look of the morning took place. The first time Chris would see his bride-to-be and future wife. Walking down the steps to see Chris right before their first look would take place was the best part of the day for Carly. Her anticipation for this moment was beyond words. Time seemed to slow down as Carly took a deep breath and then told Chris to turn around. Chris was in awe of the woman in front of him and took a moment to take in every detail of that moment. This was definitely a moment that neither would ever forget!
The enamored couple spent some time taking photographs of just the two of them before being joined by Jaxon to create photo memories of their new, little family on this special day. While Carly and Chris were taking a quiet moment to take in the sights in their ceremony space, Jaxon popped up between the chairs underneath of Carly’s veil making for some playful family photos.
Before it was time for the ceremony to take place, we took a stroll around the venue snapping photos of each family that would be joining together during the day and bridal party group shots showcasing the incredible outdoor setting at the Spring Mill Manor. The photos of Chris and Carly walking around outside look like they came straight from a fairytale.
After taking a few more formal photographs of the bridal party and family, with a few play photos of the bride, the time had arrived for the couple’s ceremony to begin.
As everyone took their places in the space where Chris and Carly were to be wed by the bride’s brother-in-law, Carly could not wait to be standing with her best friend. Each of the girls were dressed in beautiful Bill Levkoff dresses as they took their turns entering into the ceremony.
Before Carly knew it, it was her turn. Carly walked down the rose petal lined aisle arm-in-arm with both of her parents to a sweet melody played by Elegance String Quartet.
As soon as Carly got to Chris he took her hands and never let go. Standing under the Chuppah hand-in-hand, Chris professed his love for Carly through his vows that he had written for her. Carly shared her vows with Chris before exchanging their rings from Marks Jewelers. Once the rings were exchanged, Chris and Jaxon together took part in the breaking of the glass. A loving kiss between Carly and Chris sealed their vows and the couple excited as Mr. and Mrs. with big smiles on their faces.
The newly weds then got to see the room where they would celebrate this new chapter in their story with their closest family and friends. Awaiting them was an incredible surprise that Carly had planned for Chris. Up until this moment, Chris was under the impression that their wedding cake was going to be a classic, ivory cake. Knowing how badly Chris had wanted a sprinkle cake, a week before the wedding was to take place, she called Lochel’s Bakery and changed their order to a fun sprinkle cake. We were so happy that we could capture Chris’ reaction to his wife’s surprise for him in a photograph!
Looking around the room, it was filled with a pretty purple glow. Each detail pulled together in a classic and elegant feel combining the colors black, ivory and purple, Carly’s favorite color combination. In the center of each table was a tall enchanting display of purple and ivory flowers interspersed between crisp greenery. As a fun twist for their favor, the couple had their menu for the evening printed on a square of chocolate. This proved to be a splurge well worth it since the wedding guests could not stop talking about their “sweet” menus.
After making their grand entrance as husband and wife, Chris and Carly shared their first dance to “Is This Love,” a Bob Marley song sung by their mutual friend, Jeff. To make the moment even more special, Jaxon even joined them for part of the dance! In tradition, the couple took part in the Horah before listening to heartfelt words shared by Carly’s parents, Alona, Carly’s sister and Matron of Honor, and Chris’ best man and brother-in-law, Rich.
East Coast Event Group provided an evening filled with great tunes and energy that was evident as the guests spent much of the night on the dance floor. Aside from us capturing the day in photographs, the entire day was caught on video for the couple to relive this day over and over again by East Coast Video Production.
By the end of the night you could tell that this day had gone perfectly for Chris and Carly. The entire day was filled with a lot of detail, reminiscent of Chris’ letters to Carly before he proposed, and an abundance of fun! It was clear to all that these two are best friends who just happen to be in love.
As they continue adding to their love story we wish them a lifetime filled with love and laughter!
In closing we will leave you with a few words of advice from Carly to future brides:
“Go with your gut. There are so many choices to make- family and friends will often sway your decisions. As a bride- go with your first instinct no matter what!!”
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