From the Rachel’s sparkly Jenny Packham number to the Art Deco-inspired stationary, this stunner of a wedding is straight out of the roaring 20s! Held at The Tidewater Inn in Easton, Maryland, Rachel and Mike designed a New Year’s Eve wedding with enough glamour and elegance to make Gatsby himself envious.
“Within a few weeks of being engaged, Mike and I just knew we would have a New Year’s Eve wedding. We are both very close to our families and have large groups of friends from throughout our lives—childhood, high school, college, grad school, work—and we knew we had to throw a huge New Year’s bash that included everyone important to us.
Once we choose New Year’s as a date, we searched to find a venue that would feel like a “destination” even though it was close to home. Since we’re from Washington, DC, we specifically wanted a hotel where our guests had access to their rooms, especially with a reception that went well past midnight on NYE. My parents live on the Eastern Shore (Bishopville, MD) and it didn’t take us long to discover The Tidewater Inn. It provided the perfect “car-free” weekend getaway for our guests in the beautiful town of Easton, MD. You can’t beat the food and attention to detail you get when working with the coordinators at the Inn!
A lot of the inspiration for our wedding came from my wedding dress. I had originally dreamt of wearing something wintry, long-sleeve lace perhaps, but when I put on the sparkly Jenny Packham gown, that was just it! From there everything took on a golden, formal sparkle—tuxedos for the guys and my bridesmaids selected their own gold metallic dresses and rocked red lips. We up-lit our reception ballroom in amber lighting, draped our cake table in a sequin tablecloth and used more than 150 gold mercury glass votives to make the space glow. All our New Year’s props for guests were black, white and gold. Gold metallic confetti rained down from four cannons at midnight! I told everyone to envision a New Year’s party at the Gatsby mansion.
I was especially pleased to work with Wenfei Uva at Seaberry Farm on floral designs using all local products. She incorporated the greens and reds of the holiday season through red illex berry branches and winter greens without having the wedding scream “Christmas.” She also dipped pine cones in gold and used all white flowers in our bouquets. We used a mix of round and rented farm tables (from Eastern Shore Tents and Events) to break up the look of the ballroom and mixed tall berry branch and hydrangea arrangements with low winter green floral runners and candles.
Our cake was made by a family friend, Rita Curry, who runs a bakery in Bishopville, MD and our photographers, Cast 83, are some of our closest friends. Having those connections on our wedding day made it all the more special. My very favorite moment of the day was our First Look—Mike and I saw each other before our ceremony in the Tidewater Inn’s beautiful Crystal Room. The fireplace was on, the candles were lit and it was so special to have a few moments before the flurry of the wedding and reception for some quiet time together. After that moment, it was non-stop until 1AM! Mike tells me I didn’t leave the dance floor from 11PM until the end of our reception, all thanks to the incomparable Millennium Band. They were truly the best and had everyone on the dance floor. As I said before, it was the BEST night of our lives and we wish we could do it all again.”
VENDORS
Photography | Cast 83
Venue | Tidewater Inn
Officiant | Rev. Greg Powell, Trinity Cathedral
Florist | Seaberry Farms
Farm Table Rentals | Eastern Shore Tents and Events
Cake | Desserts by Rita
Wedding Dress | Jenny Packham, Rizik’s Bridal
Bride’s Shoes | Jimmy Choo
Bride’s Veil | Jennifer Leigh Couture
Groom’s Tux & Rentals | Berrier Menswear
Hair | Julie Flury, Jewel HD
Makeup | Kathy Schultz, Blend Events
Invitations & Paper Goods | Minted
Lighting | 27 Studios
Band | Millennium
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