1. Real Weddings

Ashley & Patrick: A Fall Wedding in Oklahoma City, OK

After meeting on a church ski trip, Ashley and Patrick began a relationship that would eventually lead them down the aisle in an autumn wedding that r

After meeting on a church ski trip, Ashley and Patrick began a relationship that would eventually lead them down the aisle in an autumn wedding that reflected their shared love of the great outdoors. The Bride Ashley Banister, 26, politics The Groom Patrick Riley, 24, financial analyst The Date September 27 A year after their introduction, the two were living and working in DC, and Pat decided to use Ashley’s upcoming birthday as an excuse to take her out for a special day without giving away his actual intentions too quickly. Together they spent the day visiting the Sculpture Garden on the National Mall, the National Cathedral, and, finally, a botanical garden outside the city. There, under a gazebo sprinkled with rose petals and surrounded by flowers, Pat proposed. Not too long after, the head-over-heels pair celebrated their wedding in a garden in the bride’s hometown of Oklahoma City.

Following the reception, the guests waved their sparklers as the bride and groom made their way to the waiting carriage. Ashley’s strapless, silk satin dress was fitted through the bodice and had a dramatic, flared skirt.
Inspired by the bride’s bouquet, the height of the centerpieces alternated among the tables. The taller designs featured curly willow and various jewel-toned flowers.
Guests gathered around the chic, modular, white lounge furniture as they mingled over cocktails on the bright, grassy lawn. Although outdoor seating wasn’t offered by the museum, Ashley and Pat lucked out when a modern furniture rental boutique opened just a few months before the wedding, solving their dilemma.
The table settings were kept simple and beautiful in solid colors and a clean, contemporary design. Each place was set with a menu and a cluster of small Kermit mums tucked into a brown napkin atop a gold charger.
The tables were named for qualities Ashley and Pat admire: happiness, love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness, to name a few.
The bride’s vibrant bouquet was as stunning as it was unique. Her natural, unstructured arrangement included orange, pink, and red ranunculus, green Kermit mums, scabiosa, stars of Bethlehem, coxcomb, and hypericum berries set in eucalyptus leaves and wrapped in ivory ribbon.
“We didn’t want a typical aisle runner or flowers,” Ashley says, “so we opted for leaves to resemble a forest floor.” The aisles were also adorned with brown satin ribbon and tall pillar candles to infuse the ceremony space with soft candlelight.
During the cocktail hour, held on the beautifully manicured front lawn of the museum, a musician sang covers by artists like Norah Jones and John Denver, as well as some of her own original songs. The multiple open-air spaces located on the property sealed the deal for Ashley and Pat when they were searching for the perfect venue.
The shorter bouquets were brimming with colorful clusters of flowers, leaves, and berries for a deeper, more subdued version of the bride’s bouquet. In keeping with their urban-meets-nature theme -- inspired by the city-dwelling couple’s love of the outdoors -- the table cards were attached to sticks rather than an artificial element like plastic.
Ashley’s parents surprised the newlyweds with a carriage waiting to whisk them away from the reception.
At the altar, the bride and groom exchanged vows beneath a huppah (though the couple isn’t Jewish, they loved the Hebrew symbolism of the huppah), which their florist had created using birch, moss, and swathes of white fabric. The space inside the large, contemporary chapel was further personalized by pine trees and branches brought in to give the indoor ceremony a romantic, woodland feel.
Ashley and Pat took some liberties with their wedding program, and their efforts at personalization paid off. Around 10 pages in length, it included the couple's interpretation of the meaning of marriage and a note about each member of the wedding party, in addition to the outline of the service.
Pat and Ashley took center stage for their first dance to the song “We Are Man and Wife,” by Michelle Featherstone. For the reception music, they hired Banana Seat, a local 10-piece band specializing in tunes from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, so there was something for everyone.
The bridesmaids wore floor-length, brown dresses with an Empire waist, and the groomsmen wore traditional tuxes paired with black ties. Although the bride is from Oklahoma and the groom is from Pennsylvania, many attendants traveled to be with them on their wedding day.
For their four-tiered wedding cake, the couple chose a simple design covered with elaborately textured white frosting and accented with lime green hydrangeas and orange ranunculus. The confection was literally in the spotlight that evening -- Ashley and Pat brought in a lighting company to make sure that all 200 guests could see the action during the after-dark cake cutting.
Tables were set up in the garden of the museum where guests were surrounded by modern landscaping as well as two water features. As for style, the couple created a look that was clean and contemporary with ivory tablecloths, natural wooden chairs, and minimal decor.
Each bridesmaid carried a smaller version of the bride’s bouquet, which included ranunculus, scabiosa, stars of Bethlehem, coxcomb, hypericum berries, and eucalyptus leaves. The textured bouquets were full of vivid autumn colors, like oranges and reds, which looked beautiful against the rich brown silk of the dresses.