Lucy Shores knew that she had met the man of her dreams on their first date.
On a Friday night she was out with girlfriends and saw Peter and walked right up to him and said, “You’re cute, what’s your name”?
The next day he called to ask her out for that Sunday and that is when they both knew that there was an instant connection. He had told her that they were going on a picnic and to bring her dog. They went to a local state park and just splashed around in the water with their dogs; he even remembered to bring water for the dogs and towels to dry them off.
They dated for a year and a half and Peter proposed in the same park where they had their first date. As they were compiling their invitation list, they realized that the list included people from more than 30 states.
“Pete and I have family and friends all over the country,” said Lucy. “We knew no matter where we had our wedding, people would have to travel. The North Carolina mountains provided the perfect location — halfway between Raleigh, Peter’s home, and Birmingham, my home, not too hot for our summer wedding, and a stunning backdrop. After touring a couple of venues, we instantly fell in love with the High Hampton Inn.
“We wanted to keep things simple and wanted our guests to feel like they were on vacation. The dress was ‘no heels, no ties.’ Also, the mountain and scenery surrounding High Hampton Inn is breathtaking and we did not want to do anything to take away from that.”
Because the couple did not want their guests to have to leave the property, they arranged with High Hampton Inn to provide boxed lunches on Saturday for all their wedding guests. They wanted their guests to be able to hike, swim, boat — essentially “play” and not to have to think about lunch. Guests could park their cars and not have to get back in them until they checked out on Sunday.
“Caroline, the wedding planner at High Hampton Inn, was invaluable and steered us to the perfect vendors,” said Lucy. “She knows what she is doing and will not steer you in the wrong direction.”
Sandy at Fiddlehead Designs spends a lot of time with her brides and loves to get to know the brides’ personalities, as well as their design sensibilities and then ask for creative license
to design.
“Lucy loved textures and organic, natural elements,” said Sandy. “She and Mrs. Shores fully put their trust in us, allowing us to create surprise and thrill her. It was a magical event and we even went so far as to use mattress springs, an inside joke with the groom…a little way to tease and have fun with him.”
“Peter and I walked around to every table at the reception looking at the floral arrangements and loving the special touches that Sandy incorporated into the design,” said Lucy. “The ceremony was simple. It was small since we only wanted our closest friends and family there. We were very specific about our guest list and only wanted those people that we spoke to on a regular basis.
“We decided not to have a wedding party because we wanted everyone to feel equally responsible for supporting us throughout our marriage. The mountain backdrop behind the ceremony site at High Hampton Inn is so majestic and symbolic; it made us feel as if God was sitting right there with us – like we were completely surrounded by friends, family and Him.”
Peter surprised the bride by arranging with Caroline for a quartet to play her favorite song as she walked down the aisle and her reaction, according to Caroline, was
goosebump-worthy.
Peter’s favorite part of the day was their private candlelit dinner looking out on the mountain after the ceremony. This gave them time to unwind, laugh about each other’s day and to have a time to connect as husband and wife before going to
the reception.
The reception was held at the pavilion only a few steps away from the ceremony site. It was open air – food and seating inside, dancing and drinks outside. There was a collection of yard games and a driving range to entertain the guests. The Blue Tips provided a great musical backdrop and blew the guests away.
After the wedding, the couple honeymooned in Maine and then returned to their home in Raleigh.