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An Understated Nod to Nautical in this Backyard Wedding

May 23, 2018

From drivers ed and senior prom, to their wedding day, these newlyweds have found their way back to the Wye River for all of their big milestones–including this stunner of a backyard wedding! With mix & match bridesmaid dresses and lavender bouquets, this bridal party kept things calm, cool & collected with a perfect nod to nautical under the sailcloth tent. Even the menu mimicked the Shore lifestyle featuring an orange crush bar, local corn and fresh-shucked oysters. Wait until you scroll through this gallery from Karena Dixon Photography…

From the bride, Carolina: How we met: Dylan and I met in drivers ed class when we were 15 years old. It was kind of a fluke that we were even in the same class because we were from different towns but I am so glad our paths crossed and fate took hold. We began talking and hanging out in friend groups that summer and finally started dating. We dated on and off through high school and then both headed North for college following graduation. 

Proposal: I’ll give it to him…he totally caught me off guard with the proposal and made it so special. We had both come home to the Shore for a long weekend off during our senior year of college. Dylan had told me he had planned for us to go out to dinner with his brothers and their girlfriends since we were all in town. He picked me up in the 1963 mustang he had restored with his dad and we road top-down to Wye Island, one of our favorite spots. We had some time before our dinner reservation and wanted to take advantage of one last Indian Summer evening by going for a walk down to the beach overlooking the Wye River. When we finally reached the water’s edge, Dylan shocked me by getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him. I thought he was kidding and said “Shut up!” but when he pulled out the ring I knew he was serious and immediately said “YES!”.  When I looked up I saw a group of people on a boat heading for the beach. Karena Dixon was on the boat with his brother and had captured the whole thing on camera! I was in complete shock and am so grateful Dylan had planned to have the special moment captured. After the proposal we road back to his parent’s house to tell them the good news and again was completely blown away when I walked in and saw my whole family waiting for us. Dylan had arranged a dinner at his parents’ with both of our families to celebrate. It will forever be one of my most special memories. 

Wedding Vision: Planning a wedding can be so overwhelming but I knew from the start I wanted it to be fun, casual, and reflect our personalities and relationship. The perfect backdrop: the Wye River. Much of our relationship and so many memories had been made on the Wye River and I couldn’t imagine saying “I do” anywhere else. Dylan’s parents were gracious enough to let us have our wedding in their backyard overlooking the river, and gave me full reign to make our wedding what I had always dreamt. I wanted our wedding to feel organic, whimsical, and fun! We kept things simple with a sail cloth tent, greenery swags, boxed dinners, orange crushes, and an ice cream truck with chipwiches for dessert. Our band kept the party on the dance floor and the night was completed with a surprise firework display that I didn’t even know about. It will forever be my favorite day spent with all of our closest friends and family!  

Car Story: Dylan and his dad spent much of his senior year of high school restoring an old 1973 mustang convertible that his dad had gifted his mom at her college graduation. They met their restoration timeline goal and we road to our senior prom in the red mustang. When it came to our wedding it was a no-brainer to incorporate the mustang into our big day. Decorated with a eucalyptus swag and ‘just married’ sign, Dylan and I drove away in the mustang and it definitely marked one our favorite parts of the day. Our wedding hashtag was #driversedtonewlywed and the car definitely fit the theme. I have known Dylan for ten years now, and we have literally grown up together through all of the bumps and decisions life has thrown us. He has definitely been my anchor and best friend through it all and our wedding day was such a celebration of our love and commitment to each other.

VENDORS:

Photography | Karena Dixon Photography
Venue | Groom’s Family Home
Rentals | Eastern Shore Tents and Events
Month-of Coordinator | Kari Rider Events
Florals | Fleur
Catering | Chesapeake Chefs
Cake | Sweet Hearts Patisserie
Ice cream | Kilby Cream
Cookies | Chesapeake Culinary Center
Hair | Kennedy Correa
Band | XPD’s
Signs & Lettering | Natalie Bilbrough (MOH)
Bride’s Dress | Essense of Australia
Bride’s Shoes | Sole Society
Bridesmaid Dresses | Amsale
Groom & Groomsmen Suits | Joseph A. Bank

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