Real Wedding: Sweet on St. Michael's

Katie and Mike held their 220 person wedding at her parents home in beautiful St. Michaels, MD.  Affectionately referred to by some as the "Little Hamptons," St. Michaels is a an extremely picturesque and quaint town on Maryland's eastern shore.  Even though they now live in Annapolis, both Katie and Mike grew up in STM and their families still reside there so it made sense to have the celebration in their hometown.  The theme of the wedding was southern elegance meets hometown sweethearts (Katie was prom queen!) with a girl-next-door kinda feel.  Since Katie's parents property is called "The Groves" (which is short for their last name, Hargrove) we decided to play up the "Groves" and do a subtle tree theme for the wedding.  The property's long driveway is lined with trees and K+M decided to get married under a beautiful tree in the backyard so it worked out perfectly :)  Enjoy the wonderful pictures by Abby Jiu - I love that she shoots film!


Ceremony + Reception:  Private residence
Catering + Cake:  Windows
Flowers:  Petals
Gown:  Chevy Chase Bridal
Shoes:  Badgley Mischka
DJ:  C+J Entertainment
Invitations:  Temptations
Chivarri Chairs:  Select
Tent + Rentals:  Tents 4 Rent
Day of Paper + Logo Design:  Three Fine Mice
Bridesmaid Dresses:  Bella Bridesmaid
Lighting + Dance floor:  Perkins Productions
Lounge Furniture:  AFR
Vintage Rentals + Props:  Gilley Gray
Tree Stump Tables:  Strawberry Milk Events
Planning + Design:  Strawberry Milk Events
Photography:  Abby Jiu Photography

Color Palette:  Navy, Fuschia and Peach.

The long beautiful driveway at The Groves

Love this rustic chicken coop on the family property!

Four of the bridesmaids are actually the bride's sisters!

Our biggest seating chart yet!

Sign a wine bottle!  Creative guestbook.

Love the oyster burlap runners on all the tables!

\\

 

Late night s'mores by the pool

Candles in mason jars illuminate the pathway at night

Dance off!

French fries provided a salty snack post wedding cake

Mini rootbeer floats in vintage coke glasses

Sweet on St. Michaels

 Katie and Mike are such a cute all-American couple with the quintessential hometown love story. Their families live just miles apart in the charming town of St. Michaels - a little island on Maryland's eastern shore where Katie grew up. While they both live in Annapolis now, they are still very close with their families and frequently go back to relax and spend quality time on the weekends. Katie's parents are still in the home she grew up in (which also happens to be the beautiful location of their October 1st wedding!)

St. Michaels happens to also be one of my favorite places, as well as one of the most picturesque towns I've ever seen. I was so excited to roll up my sleeves and help with wardrobe and light photo styling as well as scouting locations on the island off the main drag. This photo shoot with talented photographer Abby Jiu was so much fun and I absolutely can't wait for the wedding day! 

I absolutely fell in love with this tiny house!  And it's for sale - so tempting.

For Katie and Mike's engagement session, we opted to keep the pictures simple and chic. We lucked out with no April showers and with the cherry trees in full bloom.  If you have a gorgeous location, a little styling can go a long way - styling doesn't always mean you have to have a bit elaborate theme or setup. We kept the props to a minimum since wanted the natural beauty and charm factor of St. Michaels to shine through the pictures, as the backdrop to Katie and Mike's love story and the town that is so dear to their hearts.

The lovely Inn at Perry Cabin - where Wedding Crashers was filmed.

 

Outfit change!  Katie wanted to also take some fun, casual pictures in a more relaxed woodsy setting.  Mike has recently gotten Katie into the sport of shooting during their weekend visits, and waterfowl hunting  is also very popular on the shore - hence the hunter boots and plaid which Katie affectionately refers to as her "country" side :)