Vibrant Coral Chesapeake Bay Beach Wedding: Cara + James

It was love at first site for Cara and James when they toured Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, they knew it was the perfect spot to say their vows in front of their friends and family given that they had met in Annapolis 4 years prior and the bride hailed from New England. The chic waterfront Maryland venue encompassed so many nods to their history, and brought their love story full circle. In the days leading up to the wedding the weather was unseasonably cold and rainy, and the bride shared how the sun came out the moment she pulled on her dress. We are so glad she was able to have such a special moment that foreshadowed the celebration of the amazing journey they were about to begin. The ladies wore lace navy J. Crew bridesmaid dresses, and the bride punched up the nautical look with bright coral peonies, mint succulents, and cream textured bouquets which really brought together a perfect summer color story! We love that they repurposed their ceremony aisle arrangements onto the reception kings table for a budget conscious, yet impactful floral element! Thank you to Renee Michele Photography for sharing their beautiful Chesapeake beach wedding day love story with us!

From the bride: The gold bangles that I wore belonged to my Nana, including a gorgeous Irish Claddagh bangle. My family and I were very close to my Nana who passed away a few years prior to the wedding. Wearing her jewelry was such an honor, and helped me to feel her presence on our special day. My mother and mother-in-law carried personalized handkerchiefs that I gifted to them on the Mother’s Day prior to the wedding day.

My husband is a firefighter and plays the bagpipes in his company’s Emerald Society. It was really important to us to have traditional bagpipes playing at the ceremony. One of his band mates played out in front of the venue as guests were arriving to the ceremony, and then played in front of us as we walked up the aisle right after becoming husband and wife!

Advice from the couple: If you are at all anxious about wedding planning, or if decision making is not your forte, splurge on a wedding planner! It is so worth it to help make the process more enjoyable. Our planner Lee Kendall, with Elizabeth Bailey weddings did a fabulous job guiding us through the entire wedding planning process, which helped us take some of the stress out of the process to enjoy our time as an engaged couple. She also helped immensely on the day of the wedding, ensuring we were able to be present in the moment rather than worrying about logistics of the day. Also, decide prior to looking at venues and vendors what the priorities for your wedding are. It is so for priorities to become skewed during the planning process, and it is important to establish and stick with what is most important to you as a couple, after all it is your day!!

My favorite memory from my wedding day is when our photographer stole us away from our reception to snap our sunset photos. I was originally stressed about leaving the venue just as dinner was being served, and worrying about getting around to talking to each guest. Then once we were outside the setting was so beautiful and it was really the only “alone” time my husband and I had during the entire reception. There was a small boat of fisherman a bit off shore who saw us taking pictures and yelled “congratulations!” We climbed up on the rocks on the jetty and took gorgeous photos, but in that moment we were also discussing how thankful we were for each other, and how lucky we were to have such amazing family and friends!