Order in the court! Order in the court! Come cruise in Frances’ 1955  Buick Roadmaster  “Lucille” after Frances, a savvy book reviewer and Travis, a paralegal, seal their love at their Ceresville Mansion wedding! Fun, romantic, sweet and caring…there truly are not enough words to describe this couple.  Pure of heart, Frances and Travis, you two are deserving of this everlasting love and I hope you two have so many more fun adventures ahead of you!

Frances, I know you are usually the one to review and preview (check her fanpage here), but now…it’s my turn!  Here’s your preview of your amazing, unforgettable day.

• To see the beginning of Frances and Travis’ story, check out their engagement session !
• Note:  If you were a guest at this event, make sure to visit Gallery . *Password provided for guests only* (Be warned, it has tons of pictures. It will be fun!) 🙂

First stop is at Frances’ parents house. A gorgeous home filled with everything a photographer would dream of!

 

Top 3 tips for future brides/grooms:

1. Travis –The day goes by quickly, don’t expect to spend much time talking to one or two guests.
2. Travis – A nice easy mini-moon with a day between the wedding and the travel makes it more relaxing and enjoyable.  Worry about planning out a big trip later!
3. Travis –Minor errors make for funny stories later, don’t stress if something goes slightly off plan.

1  Frances – Have a calendar! The only thing that messed up was my makeup appointment since I changed it so many times and sent out the wrong email to everyone. Thankfully, my makeup artist from Face & Crown (Connie Tsang -my official lifesaver) is one chill lady who works wonders in moments and all my bridesmaids were willing to scramble out of bed thanks to my frantic early calls. Moral of the story – stay organized and make yourself a schedule and send that final schedule out to everyone

2  Frances – Snack early. That delectable wedding cake and my special coffee bar looked great but so much fun was going on that I didn’t have time to really eat much at the reception. So, while you’re getting your hair and makeup done, or if you’re the groom hanging out with the guys, snack, snack, snack!

3  Frances –  Don’t panic, fret, or sweat the little stuff. You’re marrying the love of your life. It doesn’t matter in the end if everything goes to plan or not. The party is nice, don’t get me wrong, but never lose sight of the main goal, spending the rest of your life with your soul mate. Do make sure you have coffee supplies though, because even if you get an evening wedding you’ll have to get up shockingly early! Don’t be grumpy on your special day thanks to a lack of caffeine!

Where did you have your wedding? Why did you choose the location?

Travis – Ceresville Mansion, It was a nice nearby location with a beautiful outdoor area and good responsive staff.

Frances – Choosing the location took the longest and was, frankly, the least amount of fun. Ceresville combined everything we needed: the beauty of nature (I just had to get married outside), plus a gorgeous interior for the reception which tickled my fancy for old houses and antiques. Then we found out that the staff basically acts as free wedding planners for you and they really do care not just about the event, but about you being happy. Like Goldilocks, it was just right.

 

Describe any personal or special touches that helped make Your Wedding Memorable.:

Travis – Driving away in Fran’s buick, having so many close family and friends around us

Frances –  My automotive baby – 1955 Buick Roadmaster, the proverbial cranky project car. With months of work (and some swearing) she was ready to be all dapper for the day. Also, Jessica and Alyssa made the early morning hecticness and the butterflies-in-the-stomach sensation of getting ready into something happy and joyous when they showed up with fancy chocolates, mimosas, and champagne glasses. Dad had a big beautiful table set with all my favs, including blueberry muffins, and coffee/soda everywhere. What more could a girl want out of life? Kind of sounds like it just needs to be a tradition going forward!

Oh, and one special gift from God: the day before was cold, blustery, and rainy as was the day after. My wedding, which I have always dreamed of being outside, fell right in between and the weather was scheduled to be foul, meaning we’d have to move indoors and I’d have to ditch my lifelong dream of a wedding set in nature. The day of, however, it was sunny with the occasional non-threatening puffy cloud, and a temperate 70 degrees.

 

The Best Thing about the day:

Travis – Putting the planning and stress behind us; signing the official papers and riding off with my new wife.

Frances –  When I walked up to Trav I was so nervous that I would trip and fall. Then as I got closer I saw that he was happy crying and all of a sudden my nervousness went away and I couldn’t hold myself back. I just had to be up there, kissing and petting him. Kristin, our priest, had to ask me to stop being so kissy and petting – she hadn’t even finished the ceremony yet! Trav was just so beautiful and vulnerable there, his great depth of love so on display, the most perfect memory I will ever have.

Tell us about your wedding day fashions.

Travis – Gary Ritterstein recommended the grey tuxes, I thought they looked great!  Fran was right about the boutonnieres

Frances – For the record, please note that I know have it in writing that my husband has admitted me to be right. This may never happen again.

Also – about the dress!!! It was the first one I tried on. According to Jessica I was “radiant” when I came out with it (Alyssa and mom were also there prowling wedding books and taking pics for me). I felt that no, I couldn’t just select the first thing I tried on . . . I mean, come on Fran. So, I tried on about ten or so other dresses. . . and while they were all beautiful, it just didn’t feel right. I slipped that first dress back on and I just knew. Then, because patience is not my virtue (I open Christmas presents in early December if allowed – a practice Trav is trying to break me of) I called him over to see it. Bought it right then and there. First trip. First dress. It’s a mermaid dress with little seed pearls all over it.

 

What was your color palette and wedding style? What inspired it? Tell us about the flowers, stationery and decor you chose.

Travis – I can speak to the colors: blue was Fran’s favorite while green was mine.  Flowers were all Fran’s calling.

Frances –  For the flowers we had Black Eyed Susans  added to the cake and floral arrangements. When my mom found out she was pregnant with me a huge field of these radiant, sunny flowers was in bloom. Everywhere she went that day, there they were. God’s special gift to her. I felt that they needed to be there on my wedding day – another glorious celebration with God and a beautiful family tradition.

 

Tell us about your cocktail hour and reception! What was on the menu? Did you have any special entertainment?

Travis –It’s hard to actually recall as we were too busy to do much for the cocktail hour, but the crab dip was delicious.  We had a vegetarian dish as well as chicken or beef.  The only special entertainment we really had besides the DJ was the quartet during the ceremony.

Frances –  If it hadn’t been for Ross, Trav’s brother & groomsman, I would have probably starved that day. He brought Trav and I some of the appetizers form the cocktail hour to eat while taking pictures and fighting to figure out how on earth to bustle a dress. They made it look so easy at the store.

 

Which element(s) of your day best reflected you as a couple? What did you do to make guests feel special?

Travis – Fran selected a nice collection of wedding favors that we put together with her parents, who were kind enough to store them at their house.  I think the business of the day reflected us as a couple pretty well!  (also me crying immediately during the ceremony and it touching Fran’s heart).

Frances – We had peanut butter in the wedding cake (because Trav is addicted to it and his friend’s Sean and Hope had a Reeses cake at their wedding) and coffee all over the place because I’m addicted to it. Our favorite colors (blue and green) merged so perfectly, complementing but different like we are. And, of course, we were with each other through most of what was both a beautiful and stressful experience, constantly looking out for each other. We even snuck upstairs for a minute to just sit by ourselves and catch our breath.

 

What is the story behind your getway french car? Can you also describe what more, year?

Travis – It is Fran’s (correct me if I’m wrong) 1955 Buick Roadmaster.  It was nice to see it running

Frances –  Ah, she is not French! She’s an All-American classic beauty and yes Trav you did get it right! A 1955 Buick Roadmaster named Lucille. She’s got attitude, spunk, power, and all the temperamental eccentricities of a cranky old car. When I was in college there was a classic car with a big “For Sale” sign that I passed every day. I would stop and look at it all of the time and when it finally sold I decided some day I was going to have a car like that. Took me a few years (and graduating college and getting a job!) I love old things in general and 1950’s cars with those gorgeous tailfins in particular! I bought Lucille from a strange guy who kept her in a garage where there was an old 40s fire engine, a VW Beetle in perfect condition with the original paint (big deal to car people), and a gangster looking Bonnie and Clyde era car with bullet holes in it. So . . . maybe Lucille was a getaway car for real in her day! Now, other than the excitement of a wedding, she mostly takes life easy and takes me to book club . . . when she feels like running.

Where did the French car take you to? ( Is it top secret? Everyone wants to know!)

Travis – We went to Fran’s parents’ house to change and drive home in our Subaru to prepare for a flight the next day down to Florida

Frances –  Ah! He’s not telling all! After mom and dad’s, we drove out again. Trav had secretly arranged a romantic stay at a bed and breakfast in downtown Frederick named 10 Clarke Bed and Breakfast (you can suss them out here and see all the cool pictures – https://www.facebook.com/10ClarkeBedandBreakfast/). Trav got us the Turret room in this gorgeous, antique, restored house. They gave us a three course breakfast in a room with a giant peacock hand painted on the wall above a gorgeous fireplace. I’m hoping this place will become our anniversary spot!

****DID YOU KNOW?!****

Did you know that Frances is a top book reviewer and now reviews for Readers Lane? Check out her Fanpage and get advanced previews and thoughts on books that you may or may not have read! Thanks Frances!

Note:  If you were a guest at this event, and you would like to view the entire gallery and possibly order images of yourself for personal use, make sure to visit Gallery . *Password provided for guests only* (Be warned, it has tons of pictures. It will be fun!) 🙂

Tell us about:

The Location: Ceresville Mansion Wedding

The Planning: Mostly, my wonderful mother (shoutout to Vivian Carden!) and Ceresville

Theme: Blue (Fran’s fave)  and Green (Trav’s fave)

Décor: Provided by Ceresville with a few pics thrown in by us and some rose petals/floaty metal spheres for the pond outside)

Menu: Ceresville provided: Blackberry chicken (my fav), a veggie kabob option on skewers, and a steak option.

Favors: Cherryblossom fan, Love Coasters, Personalized champagne flute (and legos + toys for all the kiddos – they got the most fun favors)

Budget: A mythical thing that you draw up . . . and totally end up blowing.

Rehearsal Dinner: Donna and Gary (Groom’s parents) set up TWO lovely dinners. We had a rehearsal dinner at Brewer’s Alley and a special get-together for out-of-town guests who traveled a long way at the Dutch’s Daughter (a place I have always wanted to try). I dramatically overate at both events.

Honeymoon Location: St. George Island, FL

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