OUR WEDDING

Learn how Chris proposed to me here!

I married my best friend November 2nd 2012 at the Belvedere in Baltimore. It was such a memorable, romantic day for us. Somehow the months of planning all came together!

Chris & Cara Wedding Highlights Film from Christian Villatoro on Vimeo.

We used Villatoro Productions for our videographer. We highly recommend them and you can see from our wedding highlights film that they do beautiful work.

They really went above and beyond, which you can read about, here. Check out their website and Facebook page. 

We used Lindsay Hite with Readyluck as our photographer and she was amazing! She is beyond sweet and talented and definitely made everyone feel comfortable in front of the camera. If you are planning a wedding, definitely check her out - we are beyond happy with all of our photos! Here are a few (okay, a lot) of my favorites.

I ordered our invitation suite through Etsy and loved the look - the paper had a slight shimmer to it and the stripes fit our style perfectly! Our fancy bracket theme started with these invites. We were able to customize exactly what each piece said and I love that each had it's own fun style. We got a lot of compliments on them!

I got each of my bridesmaids personalized hangers off of Etsy that spelled out their names for them to hang their dresses on the morning of and a "Mrs. Lucas" hanger for my wedding gown.

My maid of honor made a Starbucks run that morning! My favorite chai tea latte was waiting for me when I woke up.

I kept my bouquet simple with ivory and pale pink flowers.

Everyone got ready at the Hotel Monaco in Baltimore - a gorgeous hotel in the heart of Baltimore with an amazing marble staircase.

The details in this hotel are amazing - I definitely felt like Cinderella! I hired a MAC make up artist for me and the girls. I wanted them to all feel beautiful and pampered.

My beautiful sister! The bridesmaids bouquets had ivory and pink flowers and their dresses were by Bill Levkoff. The sweet heart neckline was so flattering on everyone and they even had pockets!

Hey, handsome! Chris' bout had ivory roses, while the groomsmen sported pink dahlias. We made sure to have the boys suit's fitted - and they all looked amazing.

Meeting Chris for our first look was one of my favorite memories of the day. It was starting to sprinkle when the girls and I were driving to Mount Vernon, but stopped when we pulled up to the park. A little rain on your wedding day is good luck!

Chris was so nervous - I just couldn't wait to see him.

One of the main reasons we decided on a first look was the intimacy - being able to share time with my husband-to-be without anyone around. Our wedding was late in the evening - in November - which also meant we wouldn't have any photos outside without a first look. I definitely recommend having that time and it's one of my favorite memories of the day - seeing his face (without anyone else around) the first time he saw me.

The girl's dresses were made for twirling! This photo turned out to be one of my favorites - it took a couple of tries to get!

Our pew markers were bunches of ivory and pink flowers tied to ivory bows.

My sister DIY'd our unity candles for the ceremony. She did such an awesome job! I gave her a few photos and she knocked it out of the park.

My mom and I hand cut the wedding programs. I really loved the detail and curves of the fancy bracket that mimicked the details of our invitations.

We made sure to have a "In Loving Memory" section on our programs - something our families really appreciated.

My dad walking me down the aisle was really special - I had to give him a pep talk. Walk slow, smile often and try not to cry too much! He did a great job.

I love looking through these photos and seeing how above-the-moon happy I was the entire day. It was such a fairytale day.

The Belvedere's rooms are so unique and beautiful. After the ceremony we grabbed the opportunity to capture a few shots!

Carrying out the fancy bracket theme, I made signs for the place cards and favors with scrap book paper and shimmer stock paper. I got the frames at Ikea and now they are used in our gallery wall. We had over-sized votives filled with flowers on the tables.

For our favors/place cards we ordered succulents on Etsy. It was quite the experience bringing these back to life after their long flight from California (during hurricane Sandy), but they survived!
Chris helped me wrap the succulents in kraft paper tied with a blush ribbon.

I love hearing from our family and friends that their succulents are growing strong in their homes! We love having a collection of succulents around our home - we finally replanted them (you can see here).

I stacked extras on a tiered plate on the dessert table for people to take home.

My mom helped me DIY our votives with a glittered rim to carry on the blush and gold theme and add a little sparkle to the room. We bought the votives at Michaels and used frog tape, glitter and spray glue to achieve the look!

I created a chalkboard thank you sign for our calendar guest book with chalk board spray paint and a pretty photo frame I found at Michaels.

We created a calendar on Shutterfly with photos from our engagement shoot and lines from our favorite reading (I Carry Your Heart).  It's really fun reading all of our family and friend's notes each month. Plus, this way we won't forget anyone's birthday! 

That vase (we have 2) used on our guest book table is from Crate and Barrel and sits on our nightstands now. I created a sign similar to our place card sign for people to find their birthday and leave a note :-)

We rented table linens from Gala Cloths and it was the perfect added touch of ivory and blush to the room.

I also DIY'd the table numbers - cutting out numbers from scrapbook paper. The frames are from Ikea and come in handy when we have parties at the house - I use them for food signs!

I wanted our flowers to be a mix of high and low centerpieces. We used eucalyptus, roses, mums, dahlias and hydrangeas. 

Rose piped cupcakes from Baltimore Cakery were to die for! We chose four different flavors for our guests - and our cutting cake was "little italy". Our venue served tiny desserts, so the cupcakes were already perfectly packaged for people to grab and take home.

I found the cocktail napkins at a small store on Main Street Ellicott City. I have a small obsession for cocktail napkins, and who doesn't agree with eating dessert first?

The same flowers and ribbon adorned on the pews were fascinated to the bride and groom chairs.

I almost forgot to get a photo of my something-blue (hence the dirty tulle from our first look and dancing). My mom hand-stiched our names and wedding date into my dress - I love that it looks exactly like her hand writing. I plan on cutting it out, washing it and framing it for our gallery wall or master bedroom.

Chris chose the wedding party entrance song - levels by avicii.

Our first dance was Wanted by Hunter Hayes. We first heard the song while having dinner at a local wine bar and fell in love with the words.

After my dad pronounced to everyone that Chris converted me to a Ravens fan. Hey, hey Superbowl 2013!

We used DJ White and he was awesome. He kept the dance floor packed all night!

We had SEVERAL discussions prior to the wedding about not smashing the cake in each others faces - but some how this happened! I smelled like vanilla all night :-)

The perfect ending - Chris carrying my shoes so my feet could have a break.

My dress was by Enzoani, which I bought at Francesca's Bridal - we loved them so much that's where we got the guys suits and bridesmaids dresses from too!