Anne & John's Garden Tea Party Wedding

August 19, 2023 at The North Carolina Botanical Gardens.

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Anne and John met through mutual friends and began dating in 2018. In March 2021, as with many covid-era engagements, they decided to go ahead and get legally married, and postponed their big celebration with loved ones until August 2023. It was important to them that their event be as sustainable as possible, which is how we connected at the 2022 Green Wedding Expo.

As they are both tea lovers, Anne and John wanted a garden tea party vibe for their wedding. The North Carolina Botanical Gardens, a LEED-certified facility with beautiful blooming gardens needing minimal decor, was the perfect location!

To further incorporate their passion for tea, their marriage ceremony included a unity tea ceremony, they used thrifted tea pots and tea cups as decor, and they also selected a few of their favorite hot and cold brews to be served at the reception.

The couple chose a beautiful color palette of primarily green and white, with splashes of sunset pink, lavender, sunflower yellow, sky blue, and gold. The groom and groomsmen wore dark green suits while the bridesmaids wore green floral dresses, and Anne wore a beautiful rented lacey dress.

As some of their guests were from out of state, unable to travel, or unable to be around large crowds, the couple live-streamed their wedding ceremony via Lovestream, a DIY streaming service by Bustld. Additionally, the couple provided pronoun pins in an effort to create a safe and inclusive environment for all guests in attendance! I love seeing more folks doing this!

Another unique touch was their wedding cake. Instead of a traditional cake, Anne and John had a layered cookie cake and a tiered display of assorted cookies!

As sustainability is important to Anne and John, we worked together to make sure their wedding was as eco-friendly as possible. To highlight a few of their most impactful efforts, their flowers were rented faux flowers, Anne's dress was rented (as mentioned earlier), the vast majority of their decor was thrifted, and food waste was composted. The venue itself is inherently environmentally conscious, and does an amazing job of encouraging folks to make sustainable choices!