Bold Colors Brought A Taste of Miami to This Wedding at North Carolina's Merrimon-Wynne House

Ali's family is from Miami, with Cuban roots, whereas Logan hails from North Carolina. To celebrate their backgrounds, the couple tied the knot at The Merrimon-Wynne House, a historic, quintessentially-Southern venue in North Carolina, but brought in festive nods to Miami, resulting in a celebration that was both stunning and uniquely their own. "It was such a fun fusion wedding that perfectly melded Ali and Logan’s family histories and traditions together: Miami touches meets the North Carolina South! Ali’s family is from Miami (with Cuban roots), whereas Logan’s family is from North Carolina. The menu was planned to perfectly fuse these together: pulled pork BBQ empanadas, a grapefruit paloma signature cocktail, dulce de leche wedding cake, a dual entree with influences from both cultures, lots of fun dancing (the Conga definitely broke out!), and so many more personalized touches to truly reflect them as a couple," recalls Stephanie Shaul, the couple's wedding planner. Ali goes on to share that they were, "particularly inspired by the darker jewel tones of a winter wedding, but not wanting to totally freeze our Miami guests, we opted for an early March date. For our colors we chose dark and dusty blues, mixed with mauve and burgundy tones. Our vision was a combination of upscale Miami meets Southern charm. Our wedding venue, the Merrimon-Wynne House, was the absolute perfect venue to carry out this vision." 


When it came to decorating their wedding, the couple kept the aesthetic, "minimal, modern, and elegant. We really let our rich color palette and florals do most of the work. With the grandiose Merrimon-Wynne House as our backdrop for our ceremony, we kept things simple. Two gorgeous floral pillars framed the ceremony focal point and some florals and candles welcomed guests at the entrance of the aisle. Our reception decor included lots of gold modern accents, like geometric figures, and candles to set a romantic mood. I particularly loved our table settings, which mixed rich dark blues and slate blues with whimsical plates and gold cutlery. We had a long farmhouse table in the center for our families to sit together. What's a Southern wedding without a farmhouse table? I DIYed all of the printed materials—invitations, signage, menus, programs, and seating chart. I have a background in graphic design and enjoyed doing all of our wedding stationery and day-of materials so much that I've turned it into a little side business," Ali shares of the hands-on approach she took with the North Carolina wedding's design. 

When it came to the reception, "good music and dancing was a high priority at our wedding. We worked with our DJ to include lots of Latin, oldies, and top 40s. In the last hour of the reception, we hyped everyone up with Gloria Estefan's 'La Conga,' glow-in-the-dark props, and handed out the most quintessential North Carolina late-night snack we could think of—Bojangles chicken biscuits!" Ali says. 

Once all was said and done, Ali had this advice to share with current to-be-weds: "The best investment we made in our planning process was a talented, organized, and wonderful wedding planner. She made the entire process a breeze and took so much off of our plates. We knew throughout the planning process that we made the right choice in hiring a planner, but the day of the wedding we were reaffirmed 1,000%! It was so great to not have to worry about anything besides enjoying our day because she took care of everything that day and night.Marriage advice: Marry the person you can see yourself quarantining with for months!! We got married on March 7, 2020, just a few days before the whole country shut down because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We never imagined our first half year of marriage would be trapped at home together, but there's no one else we would rather be trapped with."