A Glorious Garden Party Wedding Full of Enchanting + Fantastical Flowers

Get ready for one of the most gorgeous garden party weddings GWS has ever seen.

“It was very important that our day felt like ‘us,’” say newlyweds Fiona + Andrew who collaborated with planners + event designers from Kyle Michelle Weddings & Events to create a beyond-charming celebration amidst the historic stone structures and manicured outdoor spaces of Winterthur Museum and Gardens in Delaware. 

Beautiful botanical patterns. Gorgeous deep greens. Floral arrangements full of ivory blooms and lush greenery. A twinkly, enchanted tent reception. And all of it a romantic reflection of the love that Fiona + Andrew share.

“Multiple people have reminisced on how you could just ‘feel the love in the air’ all day – between me and Andrew & between everyone there,” says Fiona, “and to us, that’s one of the biggest compliments we could receive.”

You’ll see it in Pat Furey’s beautiful photos, but Fiona + Andrew’s day was a perfect example of how to make a big wedding feel intimate, and we can’t wait to give you a peek!

We are loving the sage greens of this delicate, leafy invitation suite from Chick Invitations.

“Finding my dress was such a wonderful experience,” says Fiona of her joyful search for this stunning square neck floral appliqué A-line gown from Suzanne Neville. “I brought my mom, Andrew’s mom, and my best friend/maid of honor, who made the process even more fun by being the most supportive hype team! We reserved a weekend for the adventure & made appointments at a handful of places. I didn’t know what I wanted going into the process, but I learned so much about what styles, necklines, and silhouettes I liked at my first couple of appointments. I loved an A-line silhouette, but also was surprised to find I loved a more fitted look too!”

“When I tried on my dress I knew immediately it was the one. It combined all of the style elements I had loved in other dresses – a clean aesthetic with some subtle sparkle and detail, a square neck, a beautiful train, and the best part – a removable skirt! I was able to have the best of both worlds wearing a very bridal A-line silhouette to walk down the aisle but a fun fitted option for the party! I knew it was the one when, despite being an indecisive person by nature, I didn’t feel the need to try on any others. We all cried & celebrated, and it’s a memory that I’ll cherish forever.”

How precious is this matching floral appliqué flower girl dress!

Fiona’s bridal crew looked fab + feminine in floral dresses from V. Chapman.

Explore our list of the best floral bridesmaid dresses to find a blooming bridesmaid look of your own!

We love the subtle mismatched bridal party look created when bridesmaids rock the same print in different silhouettes.

Groom Andrew brought the rich color with this deep green wedding suit by Tom Ford.

The First Look

Fiona + Andrew’s love story has a rom-com-worthy beginning: “We met at a “Dancing Like the Stars” fundraiser – a dance competition. Andrew was competing, dancing and fundraising, and I was helping my parents who were on the team running the event. Andrew (dressed as James Bond) won the competition! At the after party, I walked by him on the dance floor and congratulated him (I might have known exactly what I was doing wink wink). Later that night, Andrew, feeling on top of the world after his big win, found me at the bar & asked to buy me a drink. The rest is history!”

Love the way that Fiona’s low bun bridal up do from Blush Salon shows off her gown’s gorgeous square neckline. And how romantic is her bridal glam from Makeup By Carly G??

Bold + colorful groom suits like Andrew’s are one of our fave wedding trends to watch!

This lush ivory + blush bridal bouquet is your first peek at the magic that Fresh Designs Florist created throughout Fiona + Andrew’s day.

Want to see the way another beautiful wedding utilized this amazing venue? Check out this fairytale fall wedding!

The Ceremony

Delicate hand fans like these are one of our fave creative wedding guest favor ideas! And so easy to personalize, too!

“Style-wise, we wanted our wedding to mirror the natural beauty that Winterthur has to offer,” says the couple. “You’re surrounded by these gorgeous, timeless buildings that are complemented by beautiful, eclectic gardens and fantastical, enchanting woods. We wanted the same feel for our wedding – an air of elegance and timelessness combined with elements of our own fun, unique personalities.”

So charming that Fiona + Andrew worked these white umbrellas into their ceremony seating setup!

These ceremony florals look like they sprung up magically from the lawn of this gorgeous garden!

Need some help deciding on a dress for a summer wedding? Check out our our fave summer wedding guest dresses or just take notes from Fiona + Andrew’s stylish guests! That orange Aje. fringe-bottom dress 😍

The looks keep coming! This super cute pink tiered two piece look from Sister Jane is summer wedding perfection.

Our guide to Garden Party attire has even more insight if you’ve got an event like Fiona + Andrew’s on your calendar and want to nail the garden vibe.

Our Musical Choices
Processional
"Love" by Taylor Swift (instrumental cover by Minnz Piano)
Recessional
"Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (I Love You Baby)" by Frankie Valli
First Dance
"Sun and Moon" by Anees

“From the moment we got engaged, Andrew wanted us to say our own vows during our ceremony, and I think doing that set the tone for the day. It was a beautiful reminder for why we were all there – our love!”

Explore our vow writing guide to follow Fiona + Andrew’s lead!

Cocktail Hour

One of our favorite personal touches Fiona + Andrew added to their day? Their cocktail hour napkins featured excerpts from cards or notes they had written for each other throughout the course of their relationship. How romantic! ❤️

The Reception

We. Are. Speechless. This quote-lined reception arch!

The floral wallpaper absolutely *makes* this sweet wedding reception seating chart.

How cute are these lucky penny escort cards!

Our Favorite Memory
It’s hard to pick just one! We both agree that our favorite moment was getting to say our vows to each other in front of our family and friends. It was so special and meaningful to share some insight into why we love each other with all in attendance. A close runner up, however, was getting a sneak peek of the reception tent before going to cocktail hour. It was so nice to see our vision personified & soak up the magic together - just the two of us - before the party started.

We are completely mind-blown by the immersive twinkly garden wonderland that Fiona, Andrew, and their vendor team created for the reception. Have you ever seen so many flowers?!

“Making sure we could include all of our family and friends in celebrating our love was a top priority,” says the couple of their decision to go for a higher guest count. “We had close to 100 family members travel from Ireland for the festivities which was so special. But despite having a big wedding, we wanted it to feel as intimate and personal as possible, and I think we succeeded in making that happen.”

Delicate decor details from borrowed BLU added blush hues and pops of metallic gold to the flower-filled tabletops.

Party Rentals LTD, Luxe Event Rentals, and Something Vintage banded together to outfit the celebration with the different rented elements that created its enchanting aesthetic.

Dig into our collection of tent decor ideas to start brainstorming unique design ideas to create an unforgettable tented wedding reception like Fiona + Andrew did.

Loving that green checkered dance floor wrap from Shout!

DFW Event Design handled all things rigging, lighting, and draping-related and brought the show-stopping hanging installations to life.

Loving the romantic peach + purple florals of Fiona + Andrew’s reception? Take a look through this whimsical Tangled-inspired wedding!

The geometric patterns on the ceiling! Sperry Tents knocked it out of the park.

Our Advice
One of the best things we did early on was discuss which aspects of the wedding were most important to each of us (i.e. food, music, photographer, flowers, etc.) We used that information to allocate our budget accordingly when choosing our vendors, and it helped facilitate a better sense of understanding between us when having to make key choices. In general, communication between you and your partner is key - there will likely be moments of stress, but it’s so much easier when you and your partner can talk through it & support each other. And most importantly, don’t lose sight of why you’re “having a wedding” in the first place. You can easily get caught up in the fantasy of it all (and trust me, that can be fun too!), but at the end of the day it’s about two people marrying their lives together & a celebration of that love. We always tried to come back to that feeling & remind each other that as long as we’re married by the end of the day, then we did it all right.

Congratulations, Fiona + Andrew! Your gorgeous garden party wedding was enchanting, charming, and totally unforgettable. All the best from GWS!