Mia Crump

Beat the Heat! Summer Wedding Tips

August 7, 2024 by Mia Crump

Summer weddings are a whole vibe and we love them. In our beautiful Southwest Virginia, they are also H O T and H U M I D. So, how do we beat the heat and ensure guests have a fabulous time and you aren’t left in a pool of sweat? Here’s our top tips for those fabulous summer soirees!

Atmosphere

Let’s make sure we’ve thought about guest comfort every step of the way. If we’re having an outdoor ceremony, we are thinking about shade, either environmental from trees, bringing in a tent, or providing parasols for guests. We also love a good handheld fan moment. A tented wedding is often our favorite space to design in, BUT, in the summer this means we need fans, maybe even misters…Or, we need to lean into that heavenly AC and have an indoor reception awaiting our guests after an outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour.

Drinks & Cuisine

Now is not the time for heavy meals and red wine. Aperol Spritz, please! Light bites at cocktail hour, delicious seafare, summer pastas, and fresh

salads all the way. Dessert is a great spot to get creative with sweet treats! We love a classic, artistic tiered wedding cake, but summer weddings are also a fun time to bring in ice cream experiences for our guests!

Outfit Change

You’re going to be hot, and we want you to be comfortable! A reception ‘fit change can be a total gamechanger and is scientifically proven to boost serotonin levels during your reception. It’s fun AND refreshing! (Our wedding day kit also packs a punch with spray deodorant, body wipes, oil blotting tissues…all the things to keep you cool, fresh, & ready to party!)

A Backup Plan

Because we know Virginia likes to cool off by surprising us with a summer thunderstorm. We will always have a plan A, B, C for weather!

2024 Wedding Trends

July 22, 2024 by Mia Crump

As the 2024 wedding season is in full bloom (sorry not sorry), I thought it a lovely time to share some 2024 Wedding Trends the LAE team and I are excited about.

At the root of these trends, I spot a theme: Elevated guest experience & joyfully leaning into meaningful celebrations. In so many ways, I feel like we have this collective sense that 2019 was last year. Like, literally, the past three years feel like one long blur. A lot of things are different as we have slowly collectively re-emerged over the past year and a half or so from the pandemic, & I see this impact reflected in these wedding trends. We are leaning into quality time together, leaning into celebration, leaning into joy, light, & love.

Color

Everywhere! Bright florals play with an effortless, garden gathered aesthetic that is literally everything. Colored tapered candles are a chance to add ambience & accent your color pallette. Place settings, glassware, & linens are delightful elements to design with colors & mixed patterns. Wedding party attire is also having a moment with mixed complementary colors & patterns, & is such a fun way to express style!

Statement Seating Displays

From champagne walls to personalized flower pots (doubles as a favor!) to handwritten thank you placecards, this is a spot to get creative. As your guests’ first greeting into your reception space, your seating display sets the tone & elevates your guest experience with thoughtful details. Here’s a few we have upcoming for our couples this season:

Mini ranch water Topo Chico bottles, displayed with names & seating assignments attached

Handmade (by the groom!) cutting boards at each guest’s seat

Personalized thank you notes (& table assignments) enclosed in envelopes in an ombre of the wedding colors

Al Fresco Celebrations:

We are living for indoor/outdoor celebrations with a natural flow & unique spaces for guests. In April, we curated a unique New Orleans celebration at one of our very own Virginia wineries, complete with lounge spaces inside & out, an outdoor bar with a beautifully light washed fountain behind it, & an al fresco dinner service. In June, we will be leaning all the way in for an intimate, lakeside reception under nothing but the sky & the glow of string bistro lights. In the fall we will lean into a few celebrations with food trucks & unique outdoor guest experiences.

And, last but not least, just for fun & pure class: Champagne towers! Such a statement & a super fun moment to incorporate into your celebration. Gatsby style coupe glasses & sparkling bubbles please!

XOXO,

Mia

A Summer Soiree for the (Cook)Books

July 20, 2024 by Mia Crump

This one was one for the books, or should we say “the cookbooks”. First of all, it was one of the very first ceremonies at UVA Chapel since COVID, and since their extensive renovations. (Hello, green walls. Honestly, I’m here for it).

Up until right before our invitations went to print, we’d been planning on a different church, and anxiously awaiting the lottery system. Kaely got the news just a couple months before the wedding that we’d be able to use the chapel, and this switch involved some last minute changes to be sure. I always tell my couples, when faced with any planning decision, picture yourself looking back on your wedding day 5, 10, 20 years from now and imagine it both ways. Kaely and Tim, both UVA alumni, saw themselves strolling the campus years from now with their children, being able to say “We got married there.” And so, they did.

Of all the things I loved about planning with these two and their incredible families, what I loved most was their thoughtfulness & desire to incorporate meaningful, personal touches for their guests. This is my love language in wedding design, to be a part of creating guest experiences that will become cherished memories.

Avid homecooks & dedicated foodies, Kaely & Tim used family recipes as personalized escort cards, and guests raved about finding their cards in recipe tins to take home & experience cooking a special recipe selected just for them. Kaely gifted her attendants with handpicked cookbooks, each with a thoughtful inscription.

The guest book, then, was an obvious choice: The classic cookbook The Joy of Cooking, which guests signed so that each time the couple cooks together for decades to come, they will look back on their wedding day & think of the loved ones who celebrated with them.

And really, isn’t that what it’s all about?

We love designing & planning alongside intentional couples who want to create memories that guests will rave about for years to come. And, of course, we pride ourselves on curating distinctive celebrations tailored to our unique couples.

Cheers to you, Kaely & Tim! We love you!

Make it Extra: Level up your guest experience

May 19, 2023 by Mia Crump

I always tell couples that guests should walk into your wedding and think “that’s so them.” Your wedding shouldn’t feel like just anyone’s cut & paste. It should feel authentic; visual elements should tell your love story; experiences throughout the day should be things that matter to you. I’m loving the direction weddings have taken over the last few years — out-of-the-box, intentional, & exciting new immersive activities are coming to the forefront, as we are seeing couples prioritizing guest experiences & quality time with their gathered guests. Here’s a few out-of-the-box ideas that are sure to leave your guests talking about your wedding for years to come!

Permanent Jewelry

How fun would it be to know your guests left your wedding with something permanent to remember the day by? Permanent jewelry is usually super thin link bracelets, often in gold, that are sized perfectly for each individual and don’t have a clasp. I see this in a wedding day as a fun cocktail hour activity or late night vibe, think in a gorgeous lounge space set near the bar at your reception.

Guest Portraits

Preferably with a super unique & fun backdrop, courtesy of a pop-up design company like Parlor the Studio. Here’s my key stance on this: How often are any of us dressed to the nines, in full celebration mode? It’s such a nice gesture to acknowledge the effort your guests put into being present for your day – from finding childcare or a petsitter, to traveling from afar to be in attendance – not to mention getting all dressed up. What a gift for your loved ones to walk away with professional portraits, freezing in time the memory of your wedding celebration.

Tiny Tattoos

As an avid tattooed creative, this one is super fun in my eyes. There’s a sidebar to be said for the fact that I’m a big fan of tattoos with meaning, all of mine tell a story from some moment or chapter in my life. But, the same could be said of a tiny tattoo procured at a wedding! Would I do it if I was a guest? Definitely! I’ll also note how incredibly important it would be to find an artist whom you trust to create a safe environment for this! Somewhere, there’s a blurred line of elegance & over the top fun that I think would strike a super cool balance.

Tarot Readings

Just yes. What fun. It’s something so many people can get into, from so many different backgrounds. You can buy in or not, but it’s still a fun experience! Add a craft cocktail (with or without alcohol) of interesting aromatics, and this feels like the ultimate cocktail hour experience, I’m picturing it outside among cushy velvet pillows & ethereal floral arrangements. I could also see this one hit late night vibes.

Culinary Emersions

Here’s just a few we’ve curated lately, or are planning for 2025:

Oyster bar
Create your own crab cake
Cannoli piping on the dance floor
Late night bites passed on the dance floor (a few recent faves include tot nachos, hot pretzels, ice cream sandwiches, and hush puppies)
Build your own pasta chef-manned station
Aperol Spritz bar

Tini Towers

Champagne towers will always be a classic for me–a stack of 30 crystal coupes filled with bubbles is just a yes. But it doesn’t have to stop there! This year we’ve vibed with espresso martini towers, dirty martini towers, and Aperol spritz towers, as well as a few class champagne towers (one with sabered bottles!)

Etched Glass

A favor guests will actually use! Engraved onsite for your guests as a keepsake, whether with your wedding crest, date, names…or whatever your guests choose! Either way, a fun take-home treasure that guests are sure to enjoy!