A Bayside Wedding at the Bride’s Grandma’s House

Greer and Connor met at Connor’s niece’s birthday party in June 2020. His sister had stepped in to set them up. By March 2021, the two were engaged to be married. “Connor had to wait until after my brother’s wedding to propose and just couldn’t wait any longer so his original plan went out the window and he just went for it,” Greer says.

The pair invited 150 guests to Fairhope, Alabama to celebrate their November 6, 2021 wedding. Their ceremony was held at St. Francis at the Point Church, and their reception at the bride’s family home on the bay in Fairhope, Alabama. “Their house on the water has been home to me for many years and I’ve always dreamed of having my wedding out in the yard by the water,” Greer says, “Being able to live this dream and see them be a part of it was one of the most special moments of my life.” 

The couple envisioned an elegant, inviting wedding that highlighted the natural beauty of the bay. “My grandmother also gave me a lot of inspiration and I wanted the reception to feel like an extension of what her home is to me,” the bride says. They went with a color scheme of blues, greens, and cream with pops of yellow and played with moss ball orb lighting throughout the reception space.

Read on to see all the details, planned by Brooke and Jeannie of Events Detailed and photographed by Emily Barbee.

The couple worked with bridal stylist Mary Glenn McElveen to put together their rehearsal dinner looks. Greer wore a Galvan London silk-satin halterneck midi dress, while Connor looked stylish in a Billy Reid suit.

Greer says one of her favorite memories from her wedding day was “sitting on my grandmother’s bed with my two aunts, cousins, and mom thinking this was the wedding day that I always dreamed of.” They wore matching pajamas as they got ready for the day. Greer wanted to look like herself, so she went with a simple updo and natural makeup look with eyelash extensions. To prepare for the wedding, she got a hydrafacial and drank tons of water. 

Greer decided on her wedding dress when she couldn’t stop going back to it. She wore a silk shantung ivory Antonio Gual gown topped with a Romona Keveza blouse. “Ultimately it was the one that felt most like me,” she says, “I cried, not because of the dress I was wearing but thinking how lucky I was that I was getting to marry Connor.” She accessorized her dress with earrings she borrowed from her bridesmaid, a bracelet that was a gift from her grandmother, Jennifer Behr earrings, and Loeffler Randall shoes.

Connor kept his prep minimal and got a haircut the day before the wedding. He wore a black notch lapel tuxedo from The Black Tux. “He opted for a slightly more modern look by forgoing the cumberbund and wearing suspenders, with a fly front shirt so there were no studs for a clean look,” Greer says. Connor’s cufflinks were a college graduation gift from close family friends who even provided him and Greer with pre-marital counseling. His fragrance on the wedding day was Kiehl’s Original.

Although Greer and Connor talked about skipping a first look, their photographer and planner encouraged them to have one based on the timeline of the day. “We were extremely grateful that they encouraged us to do it because it allowed us to have time together just the two of us beforehand,” Greer says. The couple exchanged letters they wrote and Connor, who is a photographer, brought his own camera to take some photos of his bride. At the end, the couple’s son came out to bring them each a flower. “I loved that we had our moment but he was able to join at the right time,” Greer says.

The bridesmaids wore navy halter Amsale dress in a faille fabric purchased from Bella Bridesmaids and held smaller versions of the bride’s bouquet, made up of orchids, ranunculus, anemones, tulips, and scabiosa. The groomsmen matched Connor in black tuxedos from The Black Tux with yellow spray rose boutonnieres. They changed into different sneakers that Connor gifted them for the reception. The couple’s son was their ring bearer and the flower girl was their niece (whose birthday party they met at!). She wore an ivory smock dress that matched the ring bearer’s outfit. “They held hands the entire way down the aisle and both hugged Connor at the end,” Greer says.

As the ceremony began, Greer made her way down the aisle of St. Francis at the Point Church arm in arm with her father. Two vibrant floral arrangements decorated the altar. One of the couple’s close friends, a pastor, officiated the ceremony. “He was able to personalize it and tell some funny anecdotes and stories throughout,” Greer says. 

According to the bride, “The reception decor was set to feel like it was part of the natural ‘down by the bay’ style.” Farm tables were paired with weathered chairs for dinner, while lounge areas with linen sofas and stone-fire tables were placed on either side of the path to the pier. Seeing everything for the first time was a magical detail Connor says he’ll always remember.

Several cakes were displayed on a table covered in an ivory linen with lace overlay and decorated with tons of yellow and ivory florals that were made to look as if they were growing out of a garden. Lights were strung between trees and moss balls with lights hung from a massive live oak in the center of the lawn.

The couple served a buffet-style menu featuring grilled pork tenderloin, spring rolls, chicken tenders, grilled oysters, and more.

Connor’s favorite memory from the wedding day? “Stealing Greer away for a moment out on the wharf just the two of us,” he says. As guests enjoyed passed appetizers, the couple snagged some sunset shots by the water with their photographer, Emily Barbee. 

After Greer and Connor made their entrance at the reception, they shared a first dance to Beyoncé’s “Love On Top.” Greer danced with her dad to Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” and Connor danced with his mom to “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns n’ Roses.

The coconut wedding cake Greer and Connor cut was actually made by a bridesmaid. They also served a caramel cake and a chocolate cake for dessert. As a late night snack, guests enjoyed beignet fries and Chrissies—a boozy milkshake.

Greer and Connor changed into Nike sneakers and hit the dance floor as their band, Big Night Dynamite played a mix of motown, oldies, and recent hits. “The reception felt stressful trying to talk to all of the guests and make sure everyone was having fun,” Greer remembers, “The moment I stepped on the dance floor, all of the worry went out the window and it was just me, Connor, and all of our friends and family having fun.”

The couple exited with a sparkler sendoff and spent their honeymoon in San Francisco. To couples planning a wedding, they recommend hiring great vendors and offering them creative freedom. “You won’t regret it,” Greer says. Also, she says, “Keep in perspective that the wedding is to celebrate your marriage. The marriage is what is most important, not the celebration.”