Brittney + Bryan: An Intimate Mountain Wedding at Leatherwood Mountains Resort
Brittney + Bryan tied the knot at the breathtakingly beautiful Leatherwood Mountains Resort this past August. These guys did a FANTASTIC job putting everything together. It was absolutely perfect in every way. We were SO beyond impressed with how lovely everything was!
“Breathtaking views and pastoral valleys with grazing horses set the stage for a wonderful wedding experience….Once Leatherwood Mountains gets in your soul, you may never want to leave.” – Leatherwood Mountains
“As kids, my sister and I brought our horses up to Leatherwood Mountains to trail ride, so it is full of good childhood memories for me. When we started researching venues, we knew we wanted to be in the mountains where our relationship started, and Leatherwood was our first place to visit. Thankfully Bryan loved it just as much as I do. Along with the beauty of the location we loved the idea of having our wedding guests stay on the property to create more of the intimate feel we were looking for. As a bonus, Abbie, the Event Coordinator at LW could not have been more accommodating for our DIY wedding, we could tell from the start that they would be fantastic to work with.” – Brittney
Before we dive into the wedding day story… here’s a bit more of Brittney + Bryan’s sweet love story…
“Bryan & I met while in school at Appalachian State, our love for the mountains brought us both there. We were actually on a double date with other people when we struck up a conversation and realized how much we had in common. After almost 5 years of dating, Bryan flew me out to visit him while he was on a business trip in Paris. It was there on the Pont de Arts Bridge that he proposed with a gorgeous ring and a padlock to lock on the bridge to "lock our love" as is the tradition, and we tossed the keys into the Seine, below.” – As told by Brittney
“We wanted our 50 person wedding to feel intimate and personal and be a true reflection of us. The belt Bryan wore was one he designed and had needlepointed with bee's and "b's" - a play on how many B's we have in our names! There were photos of us through the past five years of dating, as well as our furbaby, Raley, on every table. We both love reading so every table included a few books. We live downtown Winston-Salem and a train runs right by our loft, so we snagged a few cool old pieces of metal off the tracks to represent our life now - also included on every table.” – Brittney
“Our makeup was done by a lady from Sugar Mountain who was fabulous, everyone looked flawless when she was done with them - Sharla Bance. Our hair was done by my hairdresser that I've gone to since 7th grade, who knows me so well, she guessed the hairstyle I wanted before I even told her - Marianne Rochford at Serenity At Oak Hollow in High Point, NC.” – Brittney
“My boots were from Corral Boots and as soon as I saw them, I knew I HAD to wear them on my wedding day - I bought them first and had to find a dress to match! My dress was a Badgley Mischka that my Mom found online and sent me the link for back in January. I loved it immediately and purchased (it was the last one!). I did go to a boutique to try on dresses just to be sure it was the one but everything else was too typically "bridal" for me and I felt like I'd seen them all over and over again before. Mine was romantic, fit into the rustic setting perfectly, and it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I loved wearing it!” – Brittney
“I found inspiration everywhere! I scoured Pinterest and wedding blogs and I got a lot of ideas from the location itself. My mom, Bryan and I are all quite creative so we made the majority of the decor. Thankfully I have a very handy (and amazing!) Dad who built everything from the "Welcome Boxes" for each guests cabin, to the cocktail table in the seating area, to every one of the stanchions holding the hanging mason jars. He tore apart enough old wooden pallets for a lifetime and thankfully was able to keep his finger after a scary chop saw incident! Many of the pieces on the table came from my own collection of knick knacks (I have a thing for birds), and we searched thrift stores and ebay for lace tablecloths and mismatched china for MONTHS! Bryan designed and built his chevron corn hole boards (they even nest inside each other), as well as the ladder golf game. I hand painted all the signage, and as I am a graphic designer and I work for a printing company, I designed and printed the invitations, programs, and all other paper goods.” – Brittney
“We rented several things, including the antique blue mason jars and the turquoise chandelier from Andi at Miss Match in Boone, NC and the gorgeous flowers were all done by Desi Parker at Desi's Floral & Design Studio. I had my heart set on mismatched flatware and Paula Sprinkle at Valley Rentals did not disappoint! Our cakes came from our favorite bakery, Maxie B's in Greensboro and Leatherwood did the catering. We have truly amazing friends and family who went above and beyond to help us set up and get the area ready for our wedding, thank you all so much!” – Brittney + Bryan
"My Grandparents were unable to make the long trip here from Southern California, but they still were part of the ceremony. My Grandfather sent me the charm for my bouquet - it's a 2008 penny, the year Bryan and I started dating, a 2013 penny for the year we married and a coin that says "forever" that represents the rest of our lives. I carried it with me on my bouquet so that even though my grandparents weren't physically there, they were still a part of our day." – Brittney
Three things you're glad you did:
“1. We are so happy we did a first look - it allowed us to have a special, private moment and it made the ceremony so much more relaxed. 2. We are incredibly glad we had a small intimate wedding, not only did it make us two introverts more comfortable, it also allowed us to be able to enjoy time with each other during the reception and spend quality time with every guest as opposed to quick small talk. 3. We were happy that we started planning so early. Getting engaged in December meant it was either Fall 2013 or Fall 2014 and we didn’t want to wait a year and a half to get married. Within 3 weeks of getting engaged we had our venue booked and didn’t look back. Making a lot of the major decisions early allowed us to focus on the small details that made the day special to us.” – Brittney
“What was the best piece of wedding advice you got: The best piece of advice we got was to not feel pressured into doing a traditional wedding if that was not what we wanted - to stay true to ourselves and create our dream wedding. My advice to other brides is the same - don't feel pressured to have a big wedding or a traditional wedding if that is not you. Design the wedding that reflects you and your fiancé's personality best - the most memorable weddings are the one's where the couple shines through.” – Brittney
“We loved every minute of our wedding day, it was everything we hoped it would be and we are so thankful for our family, friends, and vendors (including Revival!!) for helping us make it so memorable.” – Brittney + Bryan
