Elegant Equus Run + Griffin Gate Wedding

From the bride: Throughout our engagement, we kept thinking we wanted an elegant, classic wedding, and that is exactly what we ended up with. We wanted to look back 50+ years from now and remember the day as if it were yesterday. I had a vision of a venue with stadium-type seating, making sure every single person could witness our vows during our ceremony and Darren dreamed of an outdoor wedding. Equus Run Vineyards gave us both exactly what we wanted and Griffin Gate Marriott exceeded all our reception expectations.

We found the perfect mint-colored bridesmaid dresses to compliment the venue stage. My dress was a trumpet style covered in antique-looking lace with a long lace train and antique buttons all the way down the back. My mom got a lot of use out of an old crochet hook, lacing up the antique buttons and bustling my dresses 11-point bustle. My groom looked as handsome as ever in navy blue (his groomsman looked handsome too).

My mom and I have always been very close so one of my favorite moments of the day was during our mother-daughter dance. She has always been there for me, through thick and thin. By choosing her to dance with me on my wedding day, I wanted to show her that her love was enough to fill both a mother and a father role in my life. My very favorite moment of the day is when my groom surprised me with his own, hand-written vows. Throughout our two year engagement, he continued to state he did not want to write his own vows, but he is a sneaky one! He surprised me at the ceremony in front of all of our guests and he teared up while doing so. Only thing was that he didn't have a microphone, so not many people heard them. He repeated the vows during our reception because he wanted to make sure everyone heard his vows he had written from the heart. That was very special to me.

My mom and I did lots of DIY throughout the wedding process. All of our signs, picture frames, ring bearer pillows, etc. were all hand made. We went to garage sales and thrift shops to find antique-looking frames and antiqued them with my wedding colors. I thank Matt and Becca Renaud so so much for capturing the greatest day of our lives. They were spectacular to work with and really did capture the entire day from start to finish. We would not change a thing about our wedding day!

Tonya and Darren's Classic Wedding

Elegant Equus Run + Griffin Gate Wedding