Could Cherie + Zach be anymore perfect? I felt like I was at the royal wedding walking around with these two. They are just gorgeous people. What’s even better – they are just as beautiful on the inside. Cherie has one of the kindest souls. She brightens up any room she enters with her beautiful smile + love for life. Zach can’t help but grin when he’s with Cherie + seeing him light up every time he looked at her was the absolute sweetest thing. What a dreamy couple. Their love for each other is contagious + I am so happy I was able to be a part of their day!

 

Cherie + Zach got married in Fredericksburg, VA, which is where Cherie grew up. This wedding had a LOT of locations woven in throughout the day. The girls got ready at the Kalnen Inn, which is part of the Jepson Alumni Executive Center. The guys got ready a few blocks away at the Kenmore Inn. The Ceremony took place at Saint Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church. There was a break in between the Ceremony + the Cocktail hour, which allowed for the wedding party to visit the Historic Chatham Manor for bridal party photos. Then, finally, the cocktail hour + reception took place back at The Jepson Alumni Executive Center. Needless to say, when Cherie reached out about needing help planning her day – logistics was a huge focus of mine to ensure everything ran smoothly. A lot of people are hesitant to book a wedding planner, especially if their venue has a coordinator or the church has a mistress of ceremonies. Well, I am sure Cherie would agree, but the fact that there were so many venues + vendors involved, having one point person who can manage everyone was absolutely necessary! I always recommend hiring a wedding planner, for many biased + unbiased reasons, but if your wedding day is spread out in numerous locations – I can’t recommend this enough!

Good news – everything flowed seamlessly + just as planned (spoiler alert – that tends to happen that way when you have g+g on your side)!

Once Cherie + her best gals were ready, she shared a sweet first look with her dad. These photos are priceless! He had one of the best reactions I’ve seen.

I’ve got take a minute to rave on Cherie’s family. The Paquettes are the BEST. Cherie’s siblings + parents are the absolute sweetest people. I instantly fell in love with Cherie’s mom + dad. They absolutely adore their children + their love for both their family + each other was inspiring.

Okay okay, moving on (but seriously – I just love this family!). Following Cherie’s first look with her dad, she took some STUNNING bridal portraits in the Rectors Gallery at The Jepson Center. Holy moly, Cherie. You are GORGEOUS.

It was now time for the Ceremony! Cherie + Zach had rented a trolley to shuttle the wedding party around for the day! It was later used to also shuttle guests to and from the reception. Such a perfect means of transportation to get these beautiful people around town.

Cherie + Zach actually got married in the SAME church as Cherie’s parents. How AWESOME is that! The Ceremony was beautiful, meaningful, + filled with so much love.

I loved how adoringly Zach looked at Cherie all day. <3

These two also had a fun bubble exit after the ceremony! I LOVE ceremony exits. Now a days, most couples don’t have the photographers stay through the end of the reception. Having a fun exit planned for your ceremony is the perfect way to capture everyone’s excitement while the photographers are still around! A lot of people love the idea of a daytime exit – but struggle with ideas. A few ideas I love are: bubbles, ribbon wands, flower petals, dried herbs, or large confetti poppers. If you’re having a videographer – you could even incorporate some bells in the exit for added fun + volume!

While the guests were freshening up at their hotel, the wedding party headed over to Chatham Manor for some photos. It was VERY hot, but man where these folks troopers. One poor bridesmaid had a rough go at it. A bird pooped on her during the photo shoot (eeeek!!!!!) and as if that wasn’t enough, she was already struggling with a cold + a guest accidentally poured their drink on her later that night. She gets a triple gold star for powering through it all like a champ.

The guys looked so handsome!!

I was in love with the girls dresses + bouquets! Such stunning colors + the subtle pattern on the dresses was sheer perfection!

Now that everyone was extra sweaty – it was time to head back to The Jepson to relax, grab a drink, and get ready to party. Surprisingly, as hot as it was, Cherie + Zach still looked so cool 🙂

As if the day couldn’t get anymore beautiful – we still have an entire reception left!

Cherie had beautiful classic centerpieces set in an elegant ballroom.

These two had a blast dancing the night away!

And of course there was cake – which was stunning!! Also – can we talk about how much Cherie + Zach resemble their cake topper? These two need to model.

Another element I loved was that Cherie incorporated a lot of family photos throughout the reception. She had a legacy table to pay tribute to those she + Zach would look up to in the years to come. Such a beautiful way to honor marriage + family. There were also old photos of Cherie + Zach as kids scattered about – but my favorite was the one on the cake table. It was a picture of Cherie in her moms wedding dress. SO cute <3

These two ended the night with a sweet treat for their guests – donuts from Paul’s Bakery, a local staple in the burg. Guests ALWAYS love something sweet for the road. This is a great idea if you’re wanting to make sure your favors don’t go to waste!

So grateful to have been a part of this gorgeous wedding for one spectacular couple. Thank you so much Cherie + Zach for letting me be a part of your day. Wishing you so much joy + happiness in the years to come!

Xoxo <3

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Vendor Team:

Venue | Saint Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception (C), Chatham Manor (Pictures), + Jepson Alumni Executive Center (R)

Wedding Planner | Greenery + Grace

Photography | The Tuckers Photography

Catering | Sodexo (UMW)

Bakery | Art in Cake

Hair + MakeupArtist | Elle Style Studio

Invitations + Programs | Minted

Bridal Dress | Bridals by Natalie

Bridal Shoes | Badgley Mischka

Bridesmaid Dresses | Jenny Yoo

Reception Entertainment | East Coast Entertainment – Klaxton Brown

Florals | Carolyn Helfrich

Transportation | Fredericksburg Trolley