1. Real Weddings

Kelly & Matt: An Outdoor Wedding in Troutville, VA

Kelly and Matt's celebration at the home of the groom's parents was filled with rich, bold hues and literary flourishes. Cool blues and purples mingle

Kelly and Matt's celebration at the home of the groom's parents was filled with rich, bold hues and literary flourishes. Cool blues and purples mingled with vibrant oranges and greens throughout the space, creating a rustic, elegant style perfect for a home wedding. THE BRIDE Kelly Nash THE GROOM Matthew (Matt) Schertz THE DATE August 7 Kelly and Matthew may not be Romeo and Juliet, but Shakespeare did play a part in bringing them together. At St. John's University, Kelly (now a 32-year-old literacy specialist) volunteered to do a reading from Hamlet in front of their Shakespeare class, and Matt (now a 30-year-old professor of education at Colgate University) quickly offered to work with her -- unbeknownst to Kelly, he had a crush on her. Years later, Matt proposed at dawn at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, where he was studying for a year. I didn't see it coming at all, Kelly says, But Matt said later it was a logical choice; after all, what better place for a proposal than one of the world's greatest monuments to love?

A natural arbor created from tree limbs and dripping with hydrangeas, roses, amaranthus, Queen Anne's lace, mosses, and greens provided the focal point for the ceremony. Votive candles glowed atop the stone wall surrounding the area.
The house and the fountain were lit in a wash of orange lighting, and the lake in back was lit up as well. A walkway lined with lushly adorned candelabra led up to the dinner tables, which were covered in a teal damask and surrounded by chiavari ballroom chairs in a dark teal with gold silk cushions.
Kelly and Matt's Centerpieces varied between loosely arranged topiary designs featuring hydrangeas, roses, and lisianthus with a birch-branch base; lush, low arrangements of cumquats, blue and purple hydrangeas, green roses, and lisianthus; and trios of tall glass cylinders bursting with orange French tulips.
Kelly and Matt exchanged vows in a late afternoon ceremony on the groom's parents' stone patio overlooking the lake (complete with swans) and the Blue Ridge Mountains. A judge who is an old family friend of Matt's parents performed the ceremony, which the bride describes as, very secular -- short and sweet.
Kelly and Matt's round, four-tier cake was covered in white rolled fondant and adorned with green and gold Asian-inspired sugar flowers.
The Bride
The Bridal Bouquet
The Flower Girl Details
Rather than having a conventional guest book, Kelly and Matt chose to have their guests commemorated with what the bride describes as excellent, hilarious, and sometimes spookily insightful portraits. A caricature artist quickly drew a picture of each guest in a hand-bound book -- and the guests signed the portraits, creating a fabulous memento for the newlyweds.
Kelly wore a white strapless a-line mikado silk gown by Wearkstatt.
After passing through a billowing curtain of fabric at the front door, guests found themselves in the house's front yard, which had been transformed into a dramatic reception space.
The First Dance
The Ceremony Decor
The Couple