Melissa + Alex’s fall wedding was glamorous, fun, and with personal touches that reflected their adventurous natures - hello cross country road trip in a pickup truck named Loretta! Planning a wedding in 2020 meant they were faced with the challenges presented by the pandemic and had to make the difficult decision to pare their guest list from 200 to 20. This didn’t stop them from having an absolutely dreamy wedding day at Pinecroft at Crosley Estate. The outdoor ceremony took place under a canopy of trees with a stunning floral backdrop of bold, artful florals that were the perfect compliment to the changing fall leaves. Melissa was oh so glamorous in her gorgeous layered tulle ballgown with floral illusion bodice and modern blusher veil. She carried a bouquet of fall florals that was complete harvest glam!

Their invitations and day of paper details were inspired by the Art Deco architecture of the Estate. All the pieces featured copper foil on merlot or cornflower blue stock. Everything tucked neatly into a coordinating cornflower blue envelopes lined with vintage white liners. Thank you notes included their wedding monogram in copper foil on vintage white stock. And the dinner menus! Circle dinner menus with the story of their cross country road trip along with spotlights on Loretta and Bubba - see below! We asked Melissa and Alex to share how it all began, the wedding day and all the good stuff in between! Beautiful photography by Rachel Rice Photography unless noted.

How did you meet?

Alex recalls meeting Melissa during a "get to know Huntington" scavenger hunt. She was vivacious and wearing a badass jean jacket. Alex was wearing a Patagonia jacket and talked a lot about craft beer, which apparently made him seem like an annoying "bro." Melissa was underwhelmed to say the least. They both had significant others at the time anyway, so this is far from a story of "love at first sight." As med school took off, they fell into their routines: Melissa sitting in the front of the class with every shade of highlighter available, and Alex in the back (when he went to class).

Eventually (about a year later), Alex endeared himself to Melissa by offering to fix her broken couch. Melissa was impressed by his carpentry skills, his perfectionism, and his kindness. The two subsequently became study and snack-sharing companions while preparing for boards. By fall of 2016, they were each single and decided to go on a “just friends” road trip to Asheville, NC. It was there where they had their first date: Alex treated Melissa to a Lera Lynn concert and wooed her with late night nachos. It was game over from there--the rest is history. They both are 3rd year Family Medicine residents. 

Tell us about the proposal.

Melissa and I both had a rare 2 day weekend off of work. I planned a trip to Asheville, NC (where we went on our “first date” and a favorite travel destination for us) under the guise of a fly fishing/ hiking trip. Melissa was very resistant to go because she is not fond of fly fishing, but I coerced her with the promise of biscuits from a favorite bakery in Asheville.

We arrived late Friday night, and my plan was to propose at sunrise on a hike the following morning. Melissa thought we were meeting “Clint” our fly fishing guide and complained the whole drive to the Blue Ridge Park. (she was deliriously tired from being on call from the OB service and hadn’t slept in 28 hours) The original hike I had planned actually faced West, so I realized last minute that the “sunrise” would be completely missed, I instead pulled over to a scenic lookout and proposed there. Melissa was completely shocked! And then we went to City Bakery for biscuits as promised and when we got back to the cabin Melissa cried happy tears for half an hour.

How would you describe the style of your wedding? 

Oh how to describe a wedding you planned before and during a pandemic… Ok: our original thought was an Art Deco theme because we were planning on getting married at the Powell Crosley Estate which was built in the Art Deco style. So our “style” was mid 1920-1930s Art Deco/Great Gatsby-like black tie event. This style remained but the pandemic changed pretty much everything else. 

Tell us about your wedding stationery vision and how it came together.

We first met virtually with Kristen right as the pandemic started. Truth be told, she was more like a counselor to us than a graphics/stationery designer at that initial visit. Through all the chaos that was unfolding we knew instantly she would be a trusted friend and help set the theme and mood for our wedding.

As time went on, Melissa and I discussed color themes and our Art Deco style and Kristen interpreted our very abstract thoughts into an instantly pleasing concrete form. She also helped us navigate the process of reducing the number of invited guests (“Forget the Dates”) when we voiced our concerns about trying to limit exposure as much as possible. Our family and friends all graciously understood and we felt the cards were well received. 

In Melissa’s words: I literally came to Kristen and said (maybe verbatim) “I want to to be like an Art Deco Christmas Harvest.” And she somehow helped us pull together this magical underlying color scheme of beautiful fall colors, soft golds, and all the warm lights that just made everything come together so nicely. We had an amazing florist to whom I actually gave the mock-ups of our stationery to help with planning the flowers. We had to downsize A LOT due to the pandemic, but somehow it all came together better than we could have imagined; largely due to Kristen’s guidance!

Who was the person or resource you most leaned on during the planning process? 

As I said before, Kristen was our spiritual guide/mentor through all of our wedding. She helped us plan, rethink, adapt, and prioritize. We started this venture in March of 2020, changed our date, changed it again, changed our guest list, and at the last minute changed our officiant. Despite all of that, no details were missed and everything came together. We are so thankful to all that helped us!

Creative Partners

Photography Rachel Rice Photography | Planning & Venue Pinecroft at Crosley Estate | Catering Funky’s Catering | Florals Tulips Up | Music Perfect Day DJ’s | Cake Bonbonerie | Melissa’s gown Plume Bridal | Mansion Hill Bridal

What part of the wedding planning process was the most fun or interesting? 

I say this in all seriousness, but our in person meetings with Kristen in her shop were so fun! I am obsessed with paper. Alex knows this. And she really brought the details that were “us” into the fold. We are both pretty spontaneous and love adventure, so knowing that my sister would not be able to make it to our October ceremony given COVID (she delivered my niece in September), we traveled to Montana in May to do an exchange of rings with she and her husband present.

In an effort to be as socially distant as possible, we purchased a 1992 Toyota pickup truck that Alex lovingly named Loretta and drove it from Montana all the way back to Ohio! The AC was leaking on my feet the whole time, haha! Any-who: Kristen incorporated an adorable map of our adventures onto the back of our menu, which was just lovely. Working with her on that was probably my favorite part of the planning process, because we got to re-live all our adventures together!

In Alex’s words: Easily the most fun part of the process was finding unique ways to bring our own spirit into the wedding. Kristen was able to photoshop our Beagle “Bubba” and my beloved truck, Loretta, into our placemats and stationery as well! Those images were a massive hit with our family.

Tell us about your wedding day - take us back through it! 

Too many memories to list, but we loved seeing about a year’s worth of planning play out as intended. I will of course say my favorite part was watching Melissa emerge from the arboretum in her wedding dress (with “Don’t Worry Baby” by The Beach Boys playing in the background). We certainly were happy to have Pinecroft as our venue because it allowed for social distancing and what we felt were safe measures for the time being.  Melissa and I both were quite impressed with the way Kristen’s work matched with our settings and style. We had many compliments on the stationery!

What detail of the wedding was most important for Melissa?

Melissa’s priorities were stationery and flowers. I can’t tell you how much time and intent she spent on them with Kristen and our florist, and she was quite pleased with the result!

What detail was most important to Alex? 

For me it was definitely having a venue that felt comfortable and making sure people were safe. I again would like to credit Kristen for helping us navigate the process of decreasing our wedding list from about 200 guests to about 20. It was no easy feat.