Traditional, spiritual and wild were the three words bride Carrington used to describe her early November wedding to groom Nathaniel. Pairing accents of gold with a black and white color scheme, Carrington wore a blush ballgown from Essense of Australia that really captured the couple’s romantic sensibilities. Inspired by the elegance and regality of Jackie O and Princess Diana, Carrington channeled this style effortlessly on her wedding day – that dress! Describing her wedding to husband Nathaniel as traditional, fun, spiritual and wild, their special day was nothing short of amazing!
From the bride: I’d talked about wanting a July 4th firework proposal 1 million times before, so when July 4th came and passed, I knew an engagement wasn’t going to come this year. It was an exceptionally sunny and warm August afternoon, and my then fiance, Nathaniel, and I were heading to my parent’s house for a typical “Sunday Dinner”. Little did I know that all of my closest friends and family members planned a surprise engagement party for us. As I walked into my parent’s front door as I’ve done a million times over, I was shocked when my husband, pulled my hand over to the living room that sat below our foyer and began to profess his love and admiration for me. Before he could finish he motioned that I look behind me, and above me looking over into the foyer were my friends and family from near and far. It was so unreal and emotional. Not only was it special being engaged it meant so much to have my friends there.
I would describe my bridal style as classic, with a touch of regal elegance. I have always loved styles from the 50s and 60s, with my all-time favorite style icon being former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the late Princess Di. My mom and I drew inspiration from the royal weddings of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, and the and hoped to look elegant and charming on my wedding day. Wedding dress shopping surprisingly was one of the easiest parts of the wedding.
I made several bridal appointments but found my dress at the very first store, White Satin Bridal, in my hometown Plainfield, Illinois. It was the second dress I tried on, and I was smitten by the elegance and flirtation the dress gave. With layered champagne colored tulle, the bottom of the dress was almost pink at first glace with beautiful lace detail on the long sleeves down to the crystal buttons. It was stunning. My mother, two sisters, and grandmother all approved!
Our wedding colors were black and white, with touches of gold. It was reflective of my husband and I because we are a simple couple (black and white), who thrive and grow from the sparkle of gold that our friends and family bring into our lives! Our wedding was both traditional and fun, spiritual and wild. I like to think our wedding was the best of two worlds colliding, just like my husband and I.
What was especially beautiful about our wedding is my husband, Nathaniel, and I paid for the majority of it on our own. My parents were kind and gave us a huge gift early, but he and I picked up part-time weekend jobs in addition to our full-time jobs to make sure every detail was exactly what we each dreamed of. We motivated each other and planned so well together so when the night came and we were looking at all the beautiful details of the night, from the napkin selections to the chairs, to the centerpieces, we felt accomplished and proud of ourselves for working hard throughout our engagement to make our dreams come true.
The most memorable moment of the wedding was walking down the aisle and seeing every face of every person I love and adore smiling at me! This moment was powerful because it reminded me of the quote, “it takes a village to raise a child”, and there staring back at me were mine and my husband’s “village”. Every smiling face and set of tear-filled eyes propelled us to that very destined moment. Without all of those people, I may have never had the honor and privilege to be walking down the aisle to the man of every wish, hope, and manifested dream I’ve ever had.
