Ensconced within the timelessness of the Atlanta History Center’s Swan House, Sami and Drew’s classic yet opulent wedding unfolded amidst vibrant florals, lush gardens, and the soft strains of a string quartet.
For the wedding reception, the grandeur of the Swan House ballroom was transmuted into an ethereal atmosphere where nature seemed to spill from the ceiling and walls. From the aerial wedding installation of dripping blooms to the delicate butterfly details that adorned the decor, each design choice was a nod to otherworldly beauty, balancing tradition with mesmerizing contemporary flourishes.
The wedding was elegantly captured by photographer by Laura Watson.
Our Story
Names / Sami & Drew
Location / Atlanta, USA
Wedding Date / March 25th, 2023
Guest Numbers / 165
How We Met
Sami and Drew met at a Comedy Club in Atlanta, Georgia. They randomly sat next to each other for the show when Sami soon noticed that the “handsome guy” sitting next to her also had the same sense of humor as her. They exchanged cell-phone numbers, and the rest is history!
Our Engagement Story
Sami had labeled the summer of 2021 as the “Summer of Disappointment” since every trip/destination Sami and Drew traveled to throughout the summer, Sami thought a proposal was going to happen (so she had her hair, nails, and outfits ready), but it never happened. Until a random Tuesday afternoon, while Sami and Drew were visiting a nearby garden, Drew set-up a camera and told Sami to turn around to snap a cute Instagram picture. But when Sami turned back around, there was Drew on one knee!!!! Sami bursted out into tears, complete shock, and excitement!! Drew wanted to surprise Sami for “the moment” and prepared to pop the question when she least expected it.
What we love most about each other…
Sami loves that Drew makes her feel safe, supported, and loved unconditionally. Drew loves that Sami pulls him out of his comfort zone and now has a built-in best friend for life.
The Setting
Wedding Location
Sami and Drew tied the knot at The Swan House at The Atlanta History Center. The outdoor garden ceremony was filled with vibrant colors, blue skys, florals, family & friends, and a whole lot of love.
The reception took place in the Ballroom of the Atlanta History Center. Since Sami was a little girl, she had dreamt that her wedding would be a real-life fairytale. This dream certainly came true when she walked into the reception – with flowers dangling from the ceiling.
Sami and Drew knew they wanted to get married in Atlanta, GA since that is the city they fell in love and started their lives together. Sami had seen pictures of the gardens and loved how magical it made her feel. The moment Sami and Drew arrived for their first wedding venue tour; they knew this was the most enchanted, breath-taking, fairy-tale setting to tie the knot. Sami still gets butterflies when she see’s pictures of The Swan Gardens!
Aesthetic
Sami wanted her ‘Happily Ever After.’ Her inspiration for wedding design was to be transported to a world with vibrant colors, butterflies, and beautiful florals. Sami wanted a full spring wedding, with unique arrangements that showed off her vibrant personality. And for Drew, his dream was to make his wife’s dream a reality.
Preparation
Sami had a pajama party with her maid of honor (best friend from college), sister-in-law, mother, mother-in-aaw, and grandmother in the bridal suite at the hotel. She spent the morning getting glammed, laughing with her girls, reminiscing on stories, and soaking up every second of bliss.
For Drew, he woke up a ran a “Marriage Mile” to make sure he kept up his daily running routine, even on his wedding day! He then got ready with his best man (best friend from childhood), brother-in-law, father, and father-in-law in the groomsmen suite at the hotel. They laughed, drank Mountain Dew, and calmed the nerves.
Photography
Selecting Sami and Drew’s photographer, Laura Watson, was one of the best decisions they made throughout the entire wedding planning process! Laura is kind, approachable, and made them feel 100% comfortable and at ease on their wedding day. When Sami and Drew were searching for a wedding photographer, they looked up Laura’s online gallery and noticed the joy/happiness exuberating from the pictures.
Sami and Drew loved how Laura Watson captured moments and expressions while keeping the pictures fun, light and airy. Laura was able to capture the most memorable moments of the Wedding Day for Sami and Drew – for example, during Sami and Drew’s first dance, when Drew lifted Sami in the air, and all of Sami’s dreams came true in one moment (looking the love of her life in his eyes, getting lifted under an upside-down bright-colored garden, surrounded by her loved ones cheering). Laura captured all of this in 1 picture and it remains Sami’s favorite all-time wedding photo.
Style Notes
Ceremony Décor
Sami and Drew wanted the wedding ceremony to feel like a fairytale. There were bright-colored flowers all around the venue, butterflies embroidered on the ceremony pamphlet and glistening white chairs that pulled the atmosphere together. Guests were able to walk into the ceremony and listen to a beautiful string quartet playing famous love songs to set the tone.
Reception Décor
The upside-down garden was Sami’s vision since she was a little girl. While dancing on the dance floor, you could look up and see a garden dangling above you. There was no absent of bright colored flowers in the room. When the guests arrived, they first walked up to a flowered-wall structure of ethereal wedding blooms that had flutes of champagne hanging with a butterfly acrylic ontop of each glass that showed which table the guests were seated at. The bar was filled with greenery and flowers. The table setting had different colored floral tablecloths, butterfly cutouts, gold utensils and an abundant supply of bright flowers.
Wedding Planner & Stylist
Sami and Drew hired Brianne McMullan and her incredible team to help plan, design and execute the wedding. Brianne and her team did a flawless job bringing every detail to life!
Flowers
Sami wanted bright, vibrant flowers for her wedding bouquet. The greens, yellows, purples, pinks all shined through together!
Stationery
Sami and Drew worked with Carlie at Paper Daisies to create custom wedding invitations as well as stationery, escort cards, signs, and table numbers for the wedding day. Every detail was looked at – using the same color scheme, font, butterfly shape, etc.
Cake
Sami and Drew worked with Kat at Lush Cakery to design the most beautiful, whimsical wedding cake! The wedding cake was vanilla based with either sea-salted caramel ganache filling (Sami’s choice) or dark chocolate ganache filling (Drew’s choice). The outside of the cake had hundreds of edible flowers and butterflies, created out of sugar. The colors of the flowers were the same design as the upside-down garden in the Reception! It was truly stunning.
Food & Beverages
Sami and Drew bond over trying different foods from all over the world, so they wanted to make dinner a fun and interactive global experience for their guests! Dinner was served in multiple stations around the room, where guests had an opportunity to interact and visit each chef/station to try the cuisine! From Thai stir-fry, to handcrafted flatbread pizzas to a sushi boat, guests had ample food choices to try!
Fashion & Beauty Notes
Bride’s Dress & Shoes
Sami truly felt like a princess the day of her wedding! Her wedding dress was designed by Anne Barge, and her favorite detail about the gown was the matching embroidered flowers from her dress to her veil. The funny thing is, Sami originally wanted to buy 2 dresses (1 gown for the ceremony and 1 short dress for the reception); however, as soon as she put her wedding gown on for the first time, she said she didn’t want to change out of it! Goodbye dress #2!
Wedding Rings, Jewelry & Accessories
Sami’s engagement ring is an oval shaped diamond, no halo, with smaller diamonds wrapped around the band. Her wedding band has even more oval diamonds wrapped around the band – the perfect compliment to her engagement ring!
Drew’s wedding band is unique as it encompasses both gold and silver, with a patterned texture around the band.
Hair & Makeup
Hair – Sami’s childhood hairstylist, Peyton Regalado, traveled from Florida to style Sami’s wedding weekend looks! This was so special to Sami, as Peyton had done Sami’s high-school Prom hairstyle, and now her wedding! Sami wanted a natural soft-glam look. She knew she wanted her hair styled down, but wanted to pin her hair back by her face so she soak up all of the emotions throughout the day while not having any interference during the party on the dance floor!
Bridesmaids Dresses & Shoes
Sami’s maid of honor and bridesmaids both wore matching off the shoulder light blue chiffon dresses. The look was clean, classic, and elegant.
Groom’s Attire
Drew’s best man and groomsmen wore an elegant black tuxedos with bowties.
‘Sami’s wedding vision was a dreamy escape into a world of vibrant colors, fluttering nature, and lush florals.”
The Details
Transport
Sami and Drew arrived separately to the wedding day – so they wouldn’t see each other until the first look! At the end of the night, Drew drove Sami home in his 2015 Yellow GT Mustang (the same car he picked her up for their first date)! They ended their wedding night the same way they started their relationship.
Honeymoon
Sami and Drew went on the wedding honeymoon of their dreams! The first week, they traveled to Thailand and enjoyed the food, culture, and elephants! The second week, the traveled to The Maldives and spent the week in the most beautiful over-water hut! It was a dream vacation.
Wedding Songs
For the ceremony, Sami walked out to a string quartet playing “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, while Drew walked out to the string quartet playing the “Game of Thrones” theme song! The music was a representation of their personalities!
For Sami and Drew’s first dance song, they dance to “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” by Elton John. They both still get butterflies when they hear that song!
Entertainment
Sami and Drew had DJ Lou run the party all night long! Sami and Drew knew their guests would enjoy a dance-party all night long, so they picked out fun, upbeat songs to play!
Our Advice
A memorable moment…
Sami and Drew’s favorite moment of the wedding day – the first look. Sami and Drew were able to share a private, intimate moment together before the wedding ceremony began. Sami’s first thought “My husband is looking fineeee!” Drew’s first thought “I am the luckiest man, that I get to spend the rest of my life with the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” Safe to say, we laughed, cried and most importantly, got to share the first moment of our wedding day together.
One thing I wish I knew before I started my wedding plans…
Sami and Drew quickly learned that a lot of people have opinions about how your wedding day should look like. Opinions are nice, but at the end of the day, make sure you stick to your guns and plan the wedding YOU want to have.
Sami’s advice would be – have a long engagement and enjoy every second of it! There are a lot of tasks/stress that goes into planning a wedding, and if you give yourself more time to plan, you will lower the stress! Sami and Drew had ~2year engagement period so they could enjoy the wedding planning process!
Our Contacts
Wedding Venue / Atlanta History Center’s Swan House
Wedding Stylist & Planner / Brianne McMullan
Photography / Laura Watson
Bride’s Dress / Anne Barge
Hair & Makeup / Peyton Regalado
Florist / Sejour Events
Stationery / Paper Daisies
Cake / Lush Cakery
Catering / Bold Catering & Design
Rentals / Crush By EventWorks
Tabletop Rentals / TableMade
Lighting / Active Production & Design
Linens / I Do Linens
Entertainment / DJ Lou
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