Cosy Autumn Ranch Wedding with Fairy Lights & Plum Tones

We are cosying up today with Chelsea and Anthony and their utterly beautiful Cedar Creek Ranch wedding held back on the 9th November 2019 in North Carolina in the US. Their day has made me all excited for Autumn, thanks to the fairy lights, the rich plum colour scheme and surrounding Autumnal landscape. Oh so gorgeous.

They really made the most of the season with cute faux fur cover ups for the girls, blankets for guests which were then donated to their local homeless shelter and fire pits complete with s’mores. It really was just magical, the twinkling lights, the super beautiful attire (Chelsea and Anthony looked incredible!) and all of the stunning flower arrangements. It’s also great to see an outdoor ceremony so late in the year, proving it’s entirely possible if you think creatively (note the leggings!).

Dani Nicole Photography I cannot thank you enough for sharing these totally dreamy images with us, what a treat!

The Proposal

We met through a mutual friend. We kept hearing about each other but kept missing opportunities to meet until one night we finally did. Anthony asked Chelsea if she liked brunch. Chelsea said she loved brunch, but told him she wasn’t sure if he was a brunch kind of guy. Anthony was shocked that she would say such a thing and it was a joke throughout their relationship. Especially since the line was too long for the brunch restaurant and ended up having to just get bagels next door instead of brunch. We dated for about 3 and a half years and in February 2019 they took a trip up to NYC to visit a friend for his birthday. He pulled out all of the stops and hired a NY photographer to capture the moment. After brunch they went to Central Park and climbed on some rocks to get a good view of the city, which was when Anthony got down on one knee and proposed. They had a private photo session to capture the exciting day and because he is a hopeless romantic he whisked her off on a sunset helicopter ride over Manhattan and then later that night celebrated with friends and family at a rooftop bar.

The Vision

Above all else we wanted our wedding to be about our love and commitment to each other and for that to be evident to all of our guests. We wanted our wedding to be beautiful and elegant but in a simplistic and understated way. We were immediately drawn to to our venue because of it’s natural beauty and landscape. Our wedding was on a barn but we would not describe it as country. Our wedding was outside but we wanted to create a vintage romantic and elegant ambiance. Our wedding color was plum that was accented by a lot of neutral colors like black, gray and gold. It was not our original intention but halfway through our planning process we decided to also add a little bit of a travel theme since traveling together has been a big aspect of our relationship (we got engaged in NYC and took our engagement pictures in Paris). Our guest book was a globe, our favors were little suitcases with kisses in them and each table was named after a place that we have been with a picture of us designed to look like a post card.

The Flowers

Flowers was not originally something we were going to spend much on, but I am glad that we invested some money into it because it really made our reception and pictures pop and ended up being the focal point of our decor. Our flowers were gorgeous! To keep continuity of style we used the same type of flowers and style of arrangement throughout the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. The bridal bouquets, centerpieces and ceremony backdrop all were very similar. The arbor where we got married was decorated with off-white and plum flowers with an ivory fabric draped around it. Along with flowers we also used greenery in our decor. Our head table had a long garland of greenery with vases of pine cones placed down the table. To save money we also reused the bridal bouquets to double as flower arrangements for the head table for the reception. There were empty tall vases on the head table that the bridesmaids placed their bouquets in. Not only did it save money on having to buy more flower arrangements but it also gave the bridesmaids a place to put their bouquets after they were done with it.

The Decor

With our venue we really did not need a whole lot of decor. When there are beautiful flowers, trees and landscape already there what is more beautiful than that? But a lot of our decorations were DIY. We used chalkboards for signs and I designed the table names to look like postcards using a website called Canva. Our reception was in a tent that was decorated with string lights and a beautiful black chandelier, so we used decorations that complimented the look and style of the tent. We had dark chairs, black lanterns and vases with black handles.

Special Touches

We took advantage of having a fall outdoor wedding in terms of personalizing our wedding. Our venue had fire pits, so we had s’more kits as favors with little tags that say “s’more love” on them. It was a cute favor and also encouraged people to cozy up by the fire and make s’mores. Since it was a colder than usual day we also provided plum and gray blankets to stay warm during the ceremony. We had a sign and a basket that said “Share the Warmth” where guests may keep their blanket or put it in the basket to donate to our local homeless shelter.  The bride’s dad also built our bar using wooden plank boards and coated it to match the style of the venue. We ended up giving it to the venue for them to use for future weddings.

Your Outfits & Accessories

I tried on many dresses, but I knew instantly when I tried on ‘the one.’ There were instant tears and hugs. I wanted something that made me feel like princess, because it is one of the few opportunities a girl has to do that. I chose an A line dress from Essense of Australia. I loved all of the beading and the V-neckline. I felt so beautiful! I am not one for heels and prefer to be comfortable, especially if I am going to be dancing, so I opted for Kate Spade Keds from her bridal collection. It was the best choice because it was definitely true to me and I was comfortable the whole night! Since it was expected to be a cold day I also wore a faux fur white wrap to keep me warm at night but also still look elegant. And for extra warmth I also wore leggings underneath my dress. Even though those black leggings were seen in some of our pictures (especially when I was twirling) I loved it because I feel like it adds some humor and realness to our photos and wedding.

For the groom he rented his shark-skin grey tux from Menguin and got his plum tie from J. Crew. He opted for a slim fit suit for a more modern look. He looked very handsome!

Memorable Moments

Our most anticipated moment was the first time we saw each other as Chelsea walked down the aisle. We decided to keep it traditional and do a first touch instead of a first look. It was an unforgettable moment and worth the wait. We also had such a special ceremony and it is one of our favorite parts of the day. Our officiant did an amazing job of telling our love story.  Even though it was happening in front of all of our guests it was surprisingly such an intimate moment between the two of us. Another special moment of our wedding day was a special choreographed dance between my dad and I. We started off dancing to “Unforgettable’  by Nat King Cole and Natalie, which was my parent’s first dance song at their wedding. After a couple of minutes the songs breaks off and we start dancing to “Dance to the Music” by Sly and the Family Stone. It was very unexpected by our guests and it was a good transition to get the party and dancing started! I loved that we did that because our practices and the dance were such a good bonding time for us. Neither of us are very sappy or into slow dances so this was perfect and fun for us to do together.

Advice For Other Couples

Anthony’s wedding planning advice: Don’t stress about things being perfect because it won’t ever be perfect. Don’t have such high and unachievable expectations. Some things will go wrong and that’s okay. Relax and realize it is a day and it will be special no matter what because it is ultimately about your relationship. So don’t miss out on the opportunity to enjoy it because you are too busy being stressed and worrying about it.

Chelsea’s marriage advice: You will fight, especially in the beginning, but don’t ever let that make you think that your marriage was a mistake. There was a reason you guys got married and hold on to that during the hard days. Look over your wedding album or reminisce over the good memories often.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Does it get any more magical!?

Chelsea and Anthony thank you both so much for sharing with us your really wonderful wedding xo Lou