summer wedding

Jennifer and Alex said their vows under a weeping willow at Baker Park, took a pedicab ride down Market Street after, then ended the day with a backyard reception at their own home. It was a breezy, beautiful summer day, captured by Mary Kate McKenna Photography. Here’s how Jennifer describes the day and the events leading up to it…

‘Blue Moon no orange’ were the first words spoken. Alex may not remember, but that was also the first night he ‘unofficially’ told me… and the rest of the bar… he loved me.

I was general manager at a Downtown Frederick restaurant and Alex was in on a Friday night for happy hour. According to him it was my ‘sassy lime green skirt and red hair’ that caught his eye. As time and Blue Moons went by, Alex had drunk up enough courage to introduce himself. Cheesing like a cheshire cat he says to me in a nutshell, “I’m Alex, I’m Russian…date me.” How could I resist such a smooth talker? Our first date was at Café Nola. I will never forget where we sat, what we were drinking, and the black T-shirt and jeans he had on. Thinking back on it , we both laugh that we couldn’t hear a word the other was saying over the music… we just smiled and nodded at each other the whole time.

Alex and I eloped while on vacation in Miami. It was the perfect day…the weather was gorgeous, the scenery was mesmerizing. After snorkeling we drove to a nearby mom-and-pop shop, bought our $30 sterling silver wedding bands, and then tied the knot at a nearby courthouse, bathing suits, flip flops and all. I thought that was the best day of my life… until we did it again.

A year later, Alex and I decided to get married again and include our closest family and friends. We wanted the ceremony to be in Baker Park where Alex proposed, and the reception to be in our backyard. We wanted the wedding to have a rustic feel to it, and I wanted to make as much of the decorations as I could. I wanted to cater the wedding myself, too. We hired a friend of a friend to man the grill, and he served hotdogs, burgers and chicken skewers. There were a lot of long nights before the wedding, and I couldn’t have finished it without the help of my mom and my maid of honor. As another bride once said, ‘If you want it done right, do it yourself. But if you want it done at all, let people help.’

Since Alex is Russian, we incorporated some Russian wedding traditions. Right after the ceremony, we all walked to a nearby bridge and took a lock brought by Alex’s mom from Russia and locked it on the bridge. We then took the key and threw it in the water  to show that our love is locked forever. Next was the throwing of rice and Russian coins at our feet as we walked up to our house. There we were greeted by Alex’s mom who had a loaf of bread and salt. Her offering showed the acceptance of welcoming me into the family. Alex and I took a bite at the same time, and whoever took the biggest bite was the ‘ head of the household.’

The reception was a casual backyard barbecue with our closest friends and family. I really wanted a dessert table, and champagne glasses filled with rock candy – Alex was all about the whiskey and cigar table for the men. All of the small details that were incorporated in the wedding were a representation of ourselves, and made for an amazing day that I wouldn’t trade for anything!