Raindrops at this multi-cultural wedding made the day even sweeter for Garry and Merriam’s romantic outdoor nuptials at Montalto in Virginia.
You might be wondering how that could even be possible but for this couple who tied the knot under a tent, a little drizzle couldn’t put a damper on their romantic outdoor wedding.
The bride who is Iraqi-American dazzled under the white sailcloth tent in her gown created by designer Firas Yousif (who also happens to be her godfather!). Her look was completed with a 5-foot train and oh-so-delicate Chantilly lace sleeves. The equally dapper groom wore a custom Alton Lane tux with a slim notch lapel and shoes from Spanish footwear brand Magnanni.
The day couldn’t have been any better without the team at Anyvent Event Planners who sprung into action when the weather started to turn and guided everyone under the tent to complete the ceremony. The couple’s florist, The Posey Detail, provided romantic summery floral arrangements that complemented the bride’s bouquet with hints of powdery pink and white hues.
For more details on their outdoor Montalto wedding, scroll through the gallery below!
- Couple: Merriam & Garry
- Occupations: Media Lawyer | Project Manager
Quick Facts:
- Wedding date: May 14, 2022
- Wedding location: Montalto, Charlottesville, VA
- Bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts: Garry gave his groomsmen sunglasses and Merriam gave her bridesmaids jewelry.
- Gifts for one another: Merriam gifted Garry a watch and Gary gave her a bracelet with the coordinates of Montalto (where they met/got married)
- Ceremony entrance song: Hamilton Dear Theodosia Mashup with Pachelbel Canon (performed on the keyboard by Garry’s brother, Jason). Merriam’s dance with her father was also to Dear Theodosia, which was special because Garry met Merriam’s parents for the first time at a Hamilton performance.
- First dance song: Daniel Caesar’s “Best Part”
How they met…
Garry and Merriam both attended the University of Virginia, but graduated five years apart. While they were students, they were each tapped as members of the same secret society. (We know you’re rolling your eyes, but stick with us here).
They both attended a secret society reunion at Montalto in March 2017. There, they were set up by their friends. It was a Group effort. Merriam’s friend Emily ran up to Merriam during toasts and gushed about a handsome young man named Mr. Baker who was sitting near her table with whom she HAD to set Merriam up with.
Across the tent, Merriam’s friend, Neal, separately chatted with Garry and instantly knew they’d hit it off.
So they took off looking for Merriam, but couldn’t find her. After a couple laps at the party, they called it quits and left it to fate. A few drinks later, Emily found Merriam on the dance floor and dragged her over to the bar where Garry was chatting with their friend Patrick.
And it went like this: “Sorry to interrupt. Actually, I’m not sorry. Garry, meet Merriam.” Garry grabbed Merriam’s hand and whisked her off to the dance floor. And the rest is history.
A month later, Garry (living in DC then) took the bus to visit Merriam in NYC. They met up for breakfast, followed by a walk on the High Line in the rain. They spent the rest of the weekend sharing their answers to these 36 questions that lead to love.
Our proposal story…
Merriam grew up going to Longwood Gardens with her family all the time. (Longwood Garden is a botanical garden outside of Philadelphia). While visiting Merriam’s family, Garry told Merriam that they had plans to hang out with his friends there. Garry’s friends had young kids and the excuse was that we were going to take photos of the kids in the garden with Garry’s new fancy camera.
Garry asked Merriam’s father for his blessing two nights before.
Ten minutes later, Merriam’s Mom knew. Three minutes later, her sisters knew also. Everyone was on board and excited. Merriam’s mom jazzed up Merriam’s outfit with some earrings, but they held back on convincing Merriam to change out of her comfy sneakers for the outing to not blow the surprise.
While casually wandering the garden, Garry was secretly texting a photographer who had arrived early. When they entered the greenhouse and seemingly posed for a photo in front of the fountain, Garry dropped to his knee and asked the big question.
As a crowd formed, Merriam claims she didn’t hear any of the speech he prepared and was only thinking, “Remember to say YES” as he slipped a beautiful emerald ring on her finger.
The perfect dress…
Merriam wore a custom wedding gown designed by her godfather, Boston designer: Firas Yousif. The long silk gown featured Chantilly lace sleeves. The design process began nearly a year before the wedding, with Merriam visiting Firas’ boutique on Newbury Street in Boston for appointments to design and customize the dress together.
That became her favorite part of the wedding planning process. Her favorite parts of the dress were the unique back and sleeves. It was so fun seeing the one-of-a-kind gown come together stitch by stitch.
Dressing the groom…
Garry’s tux was tailor made by Alton Lane, a company founded by Uva alumni. Alton Lane has an Atlanta location that that was fantastic at helping Garry bring his idea to life. He wore a white jacket with a black, slim-notch lapel.
Celebrating our cultures…
Merriam’s family is Iraqi, and Garry’s family is Black. From Merriam’s culture, we had debke dancing and a few other middle eastern tunes from Merriam’s culture, with belly dancing scarves. Merriam recalls, “Everyone joined us on the dance floor!”
It was so special seeing Merriam’s family teach Garry’s family the dance. Merriam’s auntie also surprised each table with trays of Iraqi pastries including baklava at dessert.
Here comes the bride…
We did it!
These springtime florals were the perfect touch…
The cutest furbaby of them all…
Extra wedding day details…
Garry’s family chartered a bus from South Georgia to make the long trip to Charlottesville, Virginia. Garry’s dad is a pastor (fun fact, so was his Grandpa!). Naturally, Garry’s dad officiated the wedding.
During our ceremony, we joined together to sing one of the songs his congregation sang the first time Merriam came to his church, “I Need You to Survive” by Hezekiah Walker.
Our guests joined us in person from as far away as China and Europe and also joined our ceremony via live stream from New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, and Mexico. It was really special being able to celebrate with our family and friends globally even during the pandemic.
Many of our wedding vendors were immigrant-owned or minority-owned businesses, from the videography team that helped us livestream our wedding to our guests worldwide (Feeling Wedding Films), to our talented makeup artist (Gohar Ayvazyan Beaver), and our award-winning photographer (Xiaoqi Li), and many more. Getting to learn what drove them each to launch their successful small businesses was a fun part of the wedding process!
Our memories…
Garry: My favorite part of the wedding was watching how well both our families came together on the dance floor. The first moment was during the “decades” dance. During the decades dance, all couples start on the dance floor and gradually take a seat until only the couple that has been together the longest is left.
With less than a few hours into our marriage, we were out fast, but watching and rooting for others is like rooting for our future as well. Merriam’s aunt and uncle won with more than 50 years together!
The second moment is during the Debke dance. Debke is a traditional dance at Iraqi weddings and even though Garry’s side and many of Merriam’s friends had never done it before, everyone got very into it and it was beautiful to see how well our worlds came together.
Merriam: We had planned for our ceremony to be on the grass lawn overlooking Monticello, but it was pouring down rain. Our outdoor wedding ceremony got moved under the tent, which is the same exact spot we met. It was so mystical exchanging the vows we wrote for each other there. While the tent kept us dry from the rain, I’m not sure there was a dry eye anywhere inside from how hard we made each other laugh!
Here’s the thing…
Do the things that matter to you. You’ll read dozens of articles and blogs about how to plan your day on top of the traditions you’ve inherited. At the end of the day, pick the things you love and forget about the rest.
Also, find a great wedding planner!
We were so lucky to have Jazmin hard at work for us. The week of our outdoor mountaintop wedding, intense storms were forecasted, and Jazmin figured out a Plan B, C, and D (including finding us a back-up venue we didn’t end up needing and coordinating with all of the wonderful folks at Monticello) to ensure the party would go on no matter what.
Thanks to Jazmin and the incredible team from Anyvent Event Planning, the rain didn’t stop us, and our wedding went off without a hitch at the top of the mountain. We also loved working with Xiaoqi, who hustled hard to snap incredible candid’s throughout our wedding day, and also kept an eye on the sky so we could capture the incredible mountaintop sunsets forever just as the storms cleared.
Vendors:
- Photography: Xiaoqi Li Photography
- Wedding planner: Anyvent Event Planning
- Dress: Firas Yousif Originals
- Suits: The Black Tux
- Groom’s attire: Alton Lane
- Groom’s Shoes: Magnanni
- Florist: The Posey Detail
- Venue: Montalto at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
- Makeup: Gohar Makeup
- Hair: Posh Bride
- Invites: Greenvelope
- Cake: Maliha Creations
- Cake Pops & Flights: Sliced. Cake Bar
- Band: Polaris Band (East Coast Entertainment)
- Ceremony music: Hit Em with the Jabz
- Lights: Blue Ridge Event Production
- Tent: Virginia Tent Rental
- Catering: The Local Catering
- Ceremony live streaming: Feeling Wedding Films
- Transportation: Cville Transportation
- Getaway Tesla: Albemarle Limousine
- Rentals: MS Events
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