A Rooftop Spring Wedding at Foundation for the Carolinas in Charlotte, North Carolina

Samantha Thrift (25 and a VP of customer experience) and Steven Smith (28 and an operations manager) threw a spring wedding bash at the Foundation for the Carolinas in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, and infused their venue with DIY decor and cheery pastels. Samantha wrote their short but sweet ceremony and walked down the aisle to "Grow Old With You" by Adam Sandler (from the move “The Wedding Singer”). “When I was a kid, I thought that song showed exactly what love was meant to be,” she says. The couple embraced the DIY spirit by creating their wedding arch out of ladders and turning wine bottles into table numbers. They outfitted their reception space in ivory table linens, spring blooms and table centerpieces made from stacked books, globes and vintage boxes. The newlyweds danced to “At Last” by Etta James. “Steve and I decided it was the perfect conclusion to a much-anticipated event and a song we would never get tired of,” Samantha says. For the couple’s first anniversary, Samantha surprised Steven with a visit to Foundation for the Carolinas. “I had a piece of cake and champagne in the room where we had gotten married and had ‘At Last’ ready so we could dance again,” she says. —Marissa Hermanson