An Ultra-Personal, Rustic Wedding at Georgia State Railroad Museum in Savannah, Georgia

Designers Cassie Bray (28) and Eric Meckley (26) are self-proclaimed quiet types, happy to take a back seat and go along with the crowd. But for their wedding at Savannah’s Georgia State Railroad Museum, a block from where they met in architecture school, they wanted to let their personalities shine. The historic venue already had plenty of character (its brick buildings once held railroad construction and repair shops), so the couple focused on intimate details, filling the space with whatever unexpected items felt natural: mid-century modern furniture, Moroccan rugs, neon signs and cat cake toppers. Cassie carried garden roses, ranunculus, cherry blossoms, chocolate lace, rice flowers and mushrooms. Not wanting to force traditions, Cassie and Eric made up their own. “We really wanted to have a ritual, but struggled to find something that didn’t seem contrived,” Eric says. “We decided to own the fact that we just wanted to make guacamole in front of everyone to seal the deal.” Mashing avocados, they became man and wife. The reception design took cues from the venue’s 19th-century industrial ruins. “We were shooting for something that felt overgrown and natural,” Eric says. Sword ferns and foraged greenery cascaded behind the head table. Guests dined on fried chicken sliders and paneer tikka masala before cutting into a trio of cakes: lavender earl grey, rose with lemon curd and carrot. The couple created a lounge with items from their apartment and topped it off with fun, personal oddities like a mini Zen garden and Wes Anderson puzzle. For an informal sendoff, the couple threw on llama heads from the photo booth and danced to Billy Idol.