Fearrington Village Shakespearean Wedding: Complete With Horsedrawn Carriage & Real Fairies

Sep 19, 2008 by Wendy

Dream Days: It’s All In The Details

Originally Published Spring/Summer 2008 in Carolina Bride

“Magical, whimsical,” and “Shakespearean enchantment” were some of the comments that could be heard from the guests at the September wedding of Whitney Waters Long to James (Jim) David Bulbrook.

“Once we had our theme, we went wild,” said Whitney, when discussing wedding planning sessions with her mother, Linda Long.  Planning ahead and focusing on the details helped to bring this theme together.

Inspiration

Whitney nixed the idea of the traditional lone flower girl because she and Jim wanted to include their younger nieces and cousins. Starting with the thought of inviting five little girls to dress up as flower fairies, their enchanted forest theme was born.

Believing in magical moments, Whitney made sure that the flower fairies’ pouches were filled with four-leaf clovers, her lucky number 26, and magical fairy dust, of course.

Location

Fearrington Village provided the backdrop for this platinum wedding.  According to Whitney, “Every direction provided a rich canvas for each photograph.”

Ceremony

White folding chairs and a simple archway adorned with flowing white organza and flowers were used to create a simple, yet elegant outdoor ceremony.

To add romance and a regal touch to the day, a vis-à-vis horse-drawn carriage was used from Triangle Carriage Company.  Whitney and her fairies were transported from the Fearrington Bridal Suite to the ceremony site in the carriage. She said it was like they had “stepped into an aura of enchantment.”

Guests enjoyed a mini-concert by harpist, Sally Duran, and Jim’s cousin, Elizabeth Pitcairn, owner of “The Red Violin,” which is said to have inspired the 1999 Academy Award-winning film, “The Red Violin.”

The ceremony concluded when one of the fairies released butterflies to signify Whitney and Jim’s new life together.

Reception Décor

Filled with ambient candlelight and thousands of tiny, twinkling lights, the Fearrington Barn looked and felt like an enchanted forest.

A tropical color palette was used to select the variety of flowers on display. Whitney’s main flower was the mandarin orange Miracle Rose. Green moss cascaded down the sides of the brightly-colored flower arrangements.

Food

The four-course seated dinner prepared by Fearrington’s chef, Travis Cook included an array of delectable choices ranging from grilled seafood skewer appetizers to beef tenderloin on spicy grits as the main course.

And, for desert, what else but wedding cake?  Whitney and Jim had one cake request. “We wanted a cake that was chocolate, chocolate, chocolate,” said Whitney.

The couple chose a chocolate pound cake from Edible Art Bakery with chocolate ganache filling and icing. The square cake layers were decorated with ribbons of mandarin orange and tropical flowers to continue the color theme.

Entertainment

One of the couple’s biggest splurges was hiring Big Swing and the Ballroom Blasters, an eleven-piece swing band from Atlanta, Georgia, to play at the reception.

“They were absolutely unbelievable,” said Whitney. The band wore black tuxes with tails and top hats to complement the magical evening.

Photography

Mark Edwards was selected because Whitney and Jim wanted to find a “photographer who was an artist.” They wanted a photographer who could “capture romance on film and the essence of our wedding day.”

Mark arrived five hours prior to the wedding to take Whitney’s bridal portraits and pictures of the bridal party.  Mark said he has “a sensitivity to the moment in order to get real emotions.”

Favors

Out-of-town guests received welcome bags including a weekend itinerary booklet, chocolate, a UNC walking tour, and customized champagne with a specially designed label featuring a photo of Whitney and Jim.