Maddie Gets Married: Officially Maddie Miller

In celebration of last week’s feature on Town & Country, I am thrilled to share our wedding weekend with you all as my first official post as Madison Miller!

WEEKEND FESTIVITIES

Fittingly, my parents and I kicked off the wedding week with a viewing of Father of the Bride, and not a single one of us made it through without a few tears, anticipating the events to unfold in the days ahead.

We opted to start celebrations early Thursday, soaking up the sun and as much time with our loved ones as possible with a day by the pool and sunset cruise around the lake, making the most of a holiday wedding weekend.

Friday was no less filled with activities, as I started the day with a few of the lovely ladies in my life at a beautiful bridal tea. Just up the road, Nate and his groomsmen played a round of golf at a nearby course and met us all for an early afternoon rehearsal at Merrimon-Wynne.

Nate and I hosted guests at our house for a pre-rehearsal dinner drink before heading to Caffé Luna, a local favorite Italian spot, where we enjoyed an evening of great food and even better toasts - having our fill of pasta and laughs.

Allison, our Design & Production Manager, designed and hand painted these perfectly themed invitations and matching menus.

We ended the night with a nightcap and farewell kiss goodnight - our last before becoming Mr. and Mrs.!

THE WEDDING DAY

Too excited to sleep, I joined my parents for a quiet early morning cup of coffee before the hustle and bustle of the day set in.

My dad manned the house, directing vendor arrivals, while Nate and his groomsmen were assigned with picking up the getaway car. After a joy ride around town, they dug up the bottle of bourbon we’d buried a month prior for a quick toast with my dad back at the house before heading to the hotel to get ready.

Meanwhile, my mom, bridal party, and I, enjoyed a leisurely morning at the beautiful Wade, courtesy of a family friend. The talented ladies of Tease and Blush helped make the day that much more enjoyable, easing what I feel is easily the most stressful part of the day, by bringing my bridal beauty vision to life - with time to relax before heading to the venue.

I waited to get dressed until we arrived to the bridal suite at Merrimon-Wynne, where I slipped into my Robert Bullock gown, paired with Loeffler Randall heels and a spritz of Jo Malone’s Basil & Neroli. All beautifully complemented by my bouquet of cascading orchids, that Becca created for me.

For my “something borrowed”, I wore my older sister’s veil, the same veil my younger sister also wore to her wedding. It has become a priceless heirloom we’ve all shared on our wedding days.

While Nate and I decided against a first look, I did share a precious - and tearful - first look with my dad, a sweet moment I will always cherish.

Instead, Nate and I exchanged a gift, our personal vows, and a prayer around a door before the ceremony. Neither one of us felt confident in making it through sharing our personal vows in front of our guests, so we opted to share them just between the two of us in lieu of a first look.

Moments before the ceremony, my sweet friend and colleague, Elizabeth, guided my dad and I to our walk down the aisle. As soon as I saw our family and friends gathered to support us and witness our day, I knew I was a goner. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room.

Due to gathering restrictions at the time, we were limited to a less than 50-person guest count for our reception, however, as wedding ceremonies are considered religious ceremonies, we were allowed to accommodate additional guests so long as we adhered to the venue’s max capacity while maintaining social distancing. With that in mind, we were able to invite our local friends to witness and be a part of our ceremony. We will forever be so grateful for those that chose to support and celebrate us that day. Seeing those sweet faces made the day that much more memorable.

Nate’s dad officiated our ceremony and led us through sharing communion with our parents as our first act as a married couple.

We exited the carriage house, thrilled to finally be Mr. & Mrs. Miller and overwhelmed with the joy, love, and support we felt from those near and far.

Our dear friends and former colleagues of Olivia’s, Nancy Ray and Callie Pitts Davis, captured every joyful moment of the day on behalf of Olivia Suriano Photography, and after family and bridal portraits at the venue, Nate and I drove off in our getaway car to see my childhood home transformed.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with live jazz, cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres before being formally announced to our quaint little gathering of 40.

We decided to keep with the “old Hollywood” theme and translated our larger wedding design plan to our smaller gathering, enjoying dinner alfresco at one long table as the sun set, with delicious food provided by Catering Works.

No detail was left undone. From the invitation suite to the custom album guest book to our black acrylic menus, Becca and Allison worked together seamlessly to ensure a a beautifully cohesive design across all design elements.

Each estate table was draped in a Nuage Designs Snow Oxford linen with Latte Tuscany napkins underlaying each raffia fan charger. We paired black flatware withour custom black acrylic menus to complete our place settings.

All this was complemented by bold pops of tropical greenery and hints of pink found in centerpieces, which included monstera and calathea leaves, tulips, snapdragons, quicksand roses, and protea.

The day of our wedding also happened to coincide with the rescheduled date of the Kentucky Derby - only the second time in its history the race has been rescheduled. With a background in horse training, my dad has never missed a race, and this year would be his first. My mom added a special bottle of Blanton’s to his place setting with a note that read “I’ll always bet on you!”.

To kick off post-dinner festivities, Nate and I poured a celebratory champagne tower. With such a small group, we were able to accommodate a longer than normal amount of time for toasts, and we were overwhelmed with the sweet memories and blessings shared by each of our siblings. We are thrilled to have each captured on video by Heartstone Films and can’t wait to see the final product, especially after they did such a fantastic job with this teaser!

Then it was time to cut the cake and hit the dance floor!

Nate and I danced to Lauryn Hill’s rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”, surrounded by our family and bridal party lighting up the starry night with sparklers in hand.

My dad and I shared our first dance to Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World”, and Nate and his mom performed choreographed moves to a medley of songs from James Taylor to Michael Jackson, surprising all of us with a good laugh!

We danced the night away under the stars to a playlist of our favorite hits and jetted off from our quick stay at the Umstead to a weeklong honeymoon at the Esperanza, an exquisite Auberge Resorts Collection property in Mexico.

While the planning process this year had its fair share of emotional ups and downs, we couldn’t have been happier with how the day turned out. We feel so spoiled to get to celebrate twice, and truly feel like we are getting the best of both worlds with next July’s delayed reception.

We couldn’t have done it without my incredible team at Rebecca Rose Events and will be forever grateful to them for transitioning our 200-guest wedding celebration to an intimate and beautiful at home affair!

XO,

Maddie Miller

Want to read more of the Maddie Gets Married Series? Follow along:

Week 1: The Proposal

Week 2: Engaged, Now What?

Week 3: Preparing for Our Creative Session

Week 4: My Biggest Takeaway from Our Creative Session

Week 5: Why We Chose Our Photographer

Week 6: When Decisions Get Hard

Week 7: Nate’s First Visit to the Merrimon-Wynne House

Week 8: Save the Date!

Week 9: How to Handle Late RSVP’s & A Free Guide to Creating Your Guest List