Reception Locations

Brides

Photo by Amber Markley

Photos by Amber Markley

Photo by Nadean Bruehlman, Gene Ho Photography

n advance of the wedding, Stephanie and her bridesmaids enjoy champagne while making the rounds by limousine, left, as part of a bachelorette weekend.
    Top left: her aunt Brenda Needler presents Stephanie with a cup and saucer set as a party favor at a ladies’ bridal luncheon at the Wilmington Tea Room. Known for her love of hats, Stephanie selected hats and gloves for each attendee and left them with invitations in their rooms at the downtown bed & breakfast The Clarendon Inn.
    Stephanie and Adam share a close moment on The Clarendon’s terrace before the wedding begins.
    Future sister-in-law Amber Markley made favors, table runners and decorations for the rehearsal dinner, below.

tephanie explained, "My family and friends are all in
  South Carolina. Adam’s stationed in Jacksonville and
  his family and friends live in Virginia and Kansas."

They chose the Roudabush Building at South Front and Dock streets. The wedding was on the first floor, and the reception in 'The Balcony' on the third floor.

As a Marine Corps officer, Adam is one of very few grooms who can get away with cutting his wedding cake with a sword.
Stephanie and her father surprise Adam and guests with a musical serenade.

t Stephanie’s surprise 27th birthday party in Columbia, S.C., her law school friend Harry Stokes introduced her to his childhood best friend and college roommate. Adam Markley is a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, based at Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville. They dated and become engaged between the demands of both their careers.

Owner and chief designer Roberta Danford of An Event With Verzaal's made heavy use of curly bare willow branches and white flowers for an up-to-date, seasonal look for this January event. Large-scale floor decorations were accented with colored spotlights. Candles enhanced table arrangements.

n planning a wedding in a city where neither of them live, Stephanie and Adam took advantage of the innovative design ideas of several local vendors.
    Some highlights of the design decisions that went into their ceremony and reception:

Eclectic color match
    Stephanie’s attendants wore long gowns “in different patterns, but the same color.” It’s an idea that gives each bridesmaid flexibility to choose a style that suits her taste and flatters her figure, and still harmonizes with the entire party.

Innovative decorating
    They chose An Event With Verzaal’s for their flowers and decorating, for what Stephanie described as “a very contemporary and organic decor.”

New look in an old space
    Both ceremony and reception for 100 guests were at The Balcony on Dock/Roudabush Building “because I liked the warehouse’s contemporary look,” Stephanie said. “I understand we are one of the first ceremonies to be held in the Roudabush Building.”

Brimming with elegance:
    The brunch and tea at Wilmington Tea Room on Saturday morning was “hats required,” in keeping with Stephanie’s tastes. But she made that rule easy on her guests by buying each of them a hat.
    The tea was complemented with Champagne, which was the “signature drink” for the weekend’s festivities. The Tea Room has a waterfront deck on the Riverwalk.

    The century-old Roudabush Building bears the name of the garden supply and seed store that occupied it until the end of the 20th Century.
    The lovingly restored three-story building's charms include bare brick walls, high beamed ceilings and hardwood floors.
    An elevator makes all floors easily accessible. All catering is in-house. A sushi restaurant occupies the second floor.

ilmington winters are mild, so there was some artistic license involved in bringing a faux wintry landscape indoors. Dramatic bare white branches, lit from below, in drifts of artifical snow, decorated the first floor space where the ceremony took place.
    Floral decorations brought plenty of green into this white-themed world, however, as seen by these examples, all created by An Event With Verzaal’s.

Stephanie's jewels and furs and Adam's dress blues contributed to what she called an 'avant-garde' series of portrait photographs made on location around Wilmington's Historic District.

Wedding and reception site and catering:
     Roudabush Building & The Balcony on Dock
Photography
     Nadean Bruehlman, Gene Ho Photography
Flowers and decorating:
     Roberta Danford, An Event With Verzaal's
Bridal party accommodations:
     The Clarendon Inn
Bridal brunch and tea:
     The Wilmington Tea Room

Marine firepower