The Sky Inspired This Dreamy Blue-and-White Wedding at Mount Holly Municipal Complex in North Carolina

Hailey and Lukas are obsessed with travel and used their shared love of jet setting to inspire their "In the Clouds"-themed wedding. Not only did Hailey and her mother fold 5,000 paper airplanes by hand, but edible paper airplanes graced the wedding cake and Lukas sported a gold paper airplane lapel pin in lieu of a boutonniere—there were truly paper airplanes everywhere at this wedding at Mount Holly Municipal Complex in Mount Holly, North Carolina. 

"Lukas and I wanted to incorporate our love of traveling into our wedding in a very modern and fresh way," explains Hailey. "We were inspired by the tradition of hanging origami cranes, but wanted to put our own spin on it, so we decided to DIY an origami paper airplane install. It was the most whimsical element of our reception design and having hundreds of planes floating above the guest tables made the statement we were hoping for. The paper airplanes were the main driver of the entire wedding. We incorporated paper airplanes on everything from the paper goods, wedding cake, decor, and custom wedding logo (designed by Lukas). We wanted a light and bright feeling so we used white throughout the decor with touches of dusty blue. The seating chart and tables were designated by places across the globe that we plan to visit, our guest book was a wooden airplane propeller, and we had a paper airplane install cascading from the ceiling. All the paper airplanes were hand folded by myself and my mom. We cut and dip-dyed all the cheesecloth runners to add pops of blue to the all-white tablescapes." Hailey goes on to share that "I wanted the florals to be modern and very airy and light, so we opted to do no foliage and stick to a palette of all white in modern/vertical shapes. Flower selections included ranunculus (my favorite), sweet pea, garden roses, hydrangea, and Queen Anne’s lace."

The couple's travel-inspired theme wasn't the only unique, personalized component of the North Carolina wedding day—Hailey and Lukas layered in customization at every turn. "Lukas and I didn’t want the traditional, overly formal, reception where guests are glued to their seats, so we designed the layout of our wedding to encourage people to get up and mingle and have fun," explains Hailey. "We incorporated multiple lounges and our favorite games throughout the venue to encourage everyone to move about. Guests enjoyed charcuterie cones upon arrival and a hand-crafted menu of our favorite cuisines. Specialties included curry meatballs, chicken potstickers, and ramen with all the toppings. It was a delicious departure from standard wedding fare. We topped it off with our favorite thing of all: coffee! We hired the talented people at Coram Deo to serve specialty coffee drinks at the reception as well as freshly roasted coffee beans as favors to all the guests. The coffee cups and favor bags had our wedding logo stamped on them, I loved the personalized touch. The relaxed and fun atmosphere at the reception was one of my favorite things about the day!"

Looking back on the wedding day, Hailey shares that a few moments from the day were especially memorable and meaningful: "My first answer would have to be (of course) marrying my best friend! One of the most special things, however, was seeing all of our family and friends enjoy the day we spent so many hours creating and planning. Your wedding is truly for you and the groom and what makes you happy, but seeing how much our guests loved what we created was something I’ll never forget and holds such a special memory from the day." The bride goes on to encourage current to-be-weds to remember to "stay true to you! Sounds cheesy, I know, but what I loved most about our wedding was that it truly reflected me and Lukas as a couple and our personalities. Don’t plan someone else’s wedding as your own. Make the day reflect you as a couple, it makes all the stressful planning worth it!"