Colleen & Greg’s Romantic Tidewater Wedding

August 8, 2017

Colleen and Greg’s Tidewater wedding is something out of a dream and we are in L-O-V-E! The romantic palette paired with the totally fun vibes of the celebration made for a perfect day and an even more perfect gallery from Karena Dixon Photography! We have found a whole new level of #weddinggoals after seeing these!

From the bride: Greg and I first met in Baltimore during the summer of 2009. My sister (and MOH) Claire and I met Greg and his friend (and Best Man) Mike at Ryleigh’s Oyster Bar in Federal Hill and struck up a conversation with them. It turned out that Greg had also attended the University of Maryland at College Park for undergrad but being such a large school we had never crossed paths in college. After that initial meeting, Greg and I would see each other around town but remained acquaintances until the following spring when a mutual friend of ours hosted a Sunday Funday brunch at Little Havana, one of our favorite local spots. After sharing a great day of food, drinks, shuffleboard and karaoke, Greg asked for my phone number and things progressed from there! As Greg was already applying to graduate programs when we first started dating, I wasn’t sure what would be in store for our relationship. Greg ultimately was accepted and chose to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he obtained his MBA degree. Being in a long distance relationship for two years was definitely challenging at times (I stayed in MD while Greg was in graduate school in NC), but it was always exciting when we would get to see each other on the weekends after not seeing each other for awhile and made it that much more special. After two years in NC, Greg made his way back home to Maryland. He proposed to me on my front steps, the same place where he had picked me up for our first date 5+ years prior. Greg actually proposed on his birthday as he knew it was one of the only days I definitely would not be expecting a proposal–I was totally surprised as I thought we were headed out to dinner to celebrate his birthday! Instead we got to celebrate not only Greg’s birthday but our engagement too and after dinner a bunch of our close friends met us at a local bar in Fells Point to join in the celebration! It was one of the happiest days of our lives and I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect proposal.

When Greg and I first started looking at wedding venues we knew we needed a venue that could accommodate a large group (we ended up having about 175 people attend our big day)! Greg is originally from the Baltimore area, while I grew up on the Eastern Shore in Denton, MD. We looked at many venues both in the Baltimore area and on the Eastern Shore before ultimately deciding on The Tidewater Inn. I set up a jam packed day for us one Saturday to try and hit as many of the Eastern Shore wedding venues we could see in one day. Being from the Shore, I honestly took Greg to see the Tidewater almost as an after-thought as I had been there so many times growing up and had never really considered it as somewhere I would have my wedding. However, once we saw the gorgeous Gold Ballroom and the Gold Ballroom Garden with the adjacent courtyard, we immediately fell in love and knew it was the place to host our big day–from ceremony to cocktail hour to reception! The Tidewater Inn was not only beautiful it was convenient that our guests could stay on-site and that there was plenty to do within walking distance in the town of Easton. Not to mention, we could not have asked for a better wedding coordinator than Melanie Bennett. My Mom still lives in Denton and frequents the Tidewater somewhat regularly. She always tells me how Melanie still remembers her name and asks about us when she sees her. Her attention to detail is truly special and she made our wedding day virtually seamless. The sun was shining for our outdoor ceremony and we felt so loved being surrounded by our closest friends and family. We ate, drank and danced the night away and I even surprised Greg towards the end of the night by having our band play Greg’s favorite karaoke song, Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” so that he could serenade us all. It truly was the best day ever and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the rest of our lives together!