Jon and Carina have known each other since middle school, but their love didn’t blossom until a college weekend getaway. A walk along the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland lead to a Ferris wheel ride, and years later, their beautiful romantic industrial American Visionary Arts Museum wedding. The quirky, brick-lined museum wedding venue was the perfect backdrop against a pastel palette of eucalyptus green, white, and blush. Carina and Jon incorporated their beloved dog Sawyer in their signature drink, and, surrounded by friends and family, danced the night away serenaded by their band under a magnificent floral chandelier. Keep reading to hear more about the day from the bride! Thank you to Winnie Dora Photography for sharing this beautiful Baltimore wedding with us today.

Tell us your proposal story. We planned a last minute trip to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon to celebrate our 6 year dating anniversary. My friends hyped me up to think that he was going to propose and I definitely had some hope that it would happen. On the day of our anniversary, we did a 12 mile hike through a slot canyon called The Narrows. It was difficult but absolutely beautiful and I will honestly say that there were a couple times I thought he might ask the big question. He didn’t propose during the hike but he told me he had dinner plans for us. We had a great dinner at this little Italian restaurant and I thought once again it might happen, but it never did. I went to bed that night, not disappointed, but fairly certain that it wasn’t going to happen on this trip and maybe not for another 6 years.

The next day we planned to hike Angel’s Landing, which is a very steep hike with 1,400 foot drops on either side. I woke up so sore and so tired from our hike the day before and regretted agreeing to do this hike. Not even a third of the way into the hike for Angel’s Landing, I told Jon that I really didn’t think I could finish this hike. He kept pushing me along saying “it’ll be so worth it.” I thought that was the athletic side of Jon saying we would both be so proud to have accomplished the hike but turns out it was worth it for different reasons. We ended up getting married exactly 1 year from the day he proposed.

Tell us about your wedding in your own words. Jon and I lived together for the first time in Baltimore and it holds a special place in our hearts, we just knew we wanted to get married there. One of our biggest obstacles was finding a venue that could hold over 250 people. We would frequently take our dog Sawyer to Federal Hill Park, which overlooks the American Visionary Art Museum. It’s such a fun museum and every time you visit, you discover something new. We loved how quirky and unique the museum is and the fact that the reception hall was a blank canvas. We decided we wanted to embrace the modern and avant garde style of the museum but incorporate traditional wedding elements with soft pastel colors and florals.

think one of the best ways we did that (and one of my favorite elements of the wedding) was the floral backdrop by IkamCreates. We used it as the backdrop for our ceremony and to me, the romantic floral design was perfectly juxtaposed in front of the rotating hot air balloon and Fifi the giant poodle and Bumpo the elephant. I wanted our wedding to be modern yet romantic and feminine. I felt like all of our acrylic signs, including the table numbers, were like little pieces of art. I was so excited about having a floral chandelier and string lights to give a more romantic feel to an otherwise industrial space.

Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now? To the grooms, when your bride to be asks you for your opinion or for advice, please do not answer “I don’t know”/”I don’t care”/”Whatever you think”. Even if you truly don’t know, don’t care or think that she knows better, give it some thought and tell her your opinion. There are so many decisions brides are expected to make in the wedding planning process and it can be exhausting. The seemingly finality of a groom’s answer/opinion sometimes gives clarity to the bride to help her reach the best decision. For example, I couldn’t decide on table cloths and Jon shared with me that he thought they should be blue. Suddenly, I could imagine blue table cloths on the 30+ tables and I realized that it would look way too blue and decided on cream. In actuality, Jon was indifferent to the color of table cloths but was thrilled that his “wrong” answer helped me finally make a decision.

Don’t forget to keep the romance and the spark alive during the wedding planning process. Since you’re planning a wedding , sometimes it feels like you’ve reached the pinnacle of your relationship. But that’s not true, that pinnacle is ever changing and growing and so should your relationship. Keep dating and pursuing one another as you did before you got engaged.

The following Maryland wedding professionals contributed to this Baltimore wedding:

Photography: Winnie Dora Photography | Ceremony Venue: American Visionary Arts Museum | Reception Venue: American Visionary Art Museum | Event Planning: Liz & Co. Events | Floral: Scentsational Florals | Stationery: Jennifer Borkowski Designs | Videography: Paperboys | Wedding Cake: La Boulangerie | Rentals: White Glove Rentals | Beauty: Ariel Lewis LLC | Rentals: Weir Event Rentals | Band: Encore Washington Talent | Event Production: Event Dynamics | Backdrops: IkamCreate Design & Rental Service | Catering: Zeffert & Gold | Calligraphy: PROCLAIMED STUDIOS | Wedding Dress: Allure from The Bridal Boutique | Groom’s Attire: Bonobos | Bride’s Shoes: Betsy Johnson | Bridesmaid Dresses: Lulus | Groomsmen Attire: Generation Tux | Headpiece: Etsy | Submitted via: Matchology

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