As the sun rose over the river on a crisp Sunday morning in October, Kate and Cody were getting ready to become husband and wife at Riverview at Occoquan in Lorton, VA…
These sweethearts met in the drumline at West Virginia University and honored their love of music, games and family with a brunch wedding and musical details throughout the day. Being a part of Kate and Cody’s love story has been such an honor (peek their engagement photos here!); their love for each other is incredibly kind, gentle, fun-loving, silly, sweet and patient.
After being a part of their best day ever, I’ve decided…
All Sunday brunch weddings should be made up of these 3 “rules”:
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Not being afraid to break tradition and make the day full of things you love!
For Kate and Cody it meant enjoying cheesecake after brunch, board/card games as table centerpieces so their guests could have fun alongside of them, wearing an emerald green dress and all the meaningful musical details since they met while in drumline! More about those details below…
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Joy oozing out of you with the biggest smiles and loving laughter during every single moment.
Kate and Cody chose a first dance song for themselves (Octopus’ Garden by the Beatles) and with their parents, that totally spoke to their fun-loving personalities!
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Surprises!!!
Kate surprised her mom with a special mother daughter dance to Meghan Trainor’s Mom song; (I couldn’t stop tearing up behind the camera) and then her mom surprised Kate with a fully decorated ‘just married’ car sendoff for them to depart in!
How fun were all of their details?!!
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A flowered tambourine for Kate and her 3 bridesmaids
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Personalized Mad Libs with their nicknames, Ginger & Scooter
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Kate wore 2 different pairs of shoes: Monopoly themed Toms (with 2 different patterns!) and Cole Haan Tan Suede Booties
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An emerald green lace wedding dress
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Playing cards as favors and interactive games at each table: Sorry, Uno, SkipBo, Monopoly, Cards Against Humanity, Jenga and Phase 10 to name a few!
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Their “guest book” was the top white part of a drum to sign
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Each guest received a set of mini cymbals at their seat (personalized with Kate + Cody’s wedding initials as a drumline logo!) to ring as they toasted the happy couple!
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After a buffet brunch full of waffles, eggs, potatoes and all the tastiest breakfast items, a Wegmans cheesecake was their ‘wedding cake’… SO good!
While Kate got ready in the main suite inside the new Riverview building, Cody got ready in the historic brick pump house.
They took advantage of having plenty of space to relax and remain distant from each other while getting ready, but when it was time for their first look outside, the lawn and modern glass facade were the perfect backdrops with beautiful soft morning light and vibrant reflections of all the greenery and foliage surrounding them.
Congratulations again, lovebirds! It was an absolute joy to document your relationship over this past year and the official start of your marriage; I hope your game nights continue to be memorable and your breakfast always involves cake in some manner!!
xo,
Naomi
