she wore danielle frankel. his jaw dropped.

A quintessential East-coast autumn set the tone for Alexa Girke and Matt sullivan’s cozy fall celebration at bellevue hall. the delaware landscape’s burnt sienna, rust, and ochre hues enveloped the couple—who met in high school over a decade ago—as they exchanged vows on the property’s sprawling grounds; they’d meandered down a curved aisle after their grandmothers, who’d assumed the day’s flower girl duties. a candle-lit party in a sage-draped tent, with foliage- and wild flower-forward centerpieces and berry linens, followed. there was romance, but plenty of nostalgia, too; the couple swayed to neil young’s “Harvest moon” alongside their parents, slammed milkshake shots, and felt the true comforts of home in the coastal countryside.

a        warm

woodlands

wedding

A Warm woodlands Wedding

a hometown-adjacent wedding in delaware was a non-negotiable; alexa and matt’s families are local. “We toured a few different venues, but immediately knew that Bellevue was the one when we walked into the historic mansion,” they say. “the dark wood felt so cozy and the vintage accents were perfectly eclectic. Our favorite part was definitely the old library.”

the venue

“We had our rehearsal dinner in a cozy and intimate wood-paneled room filled with greenery. Alexa’s parents both gave great speeches at the welcome party, and her father, a musician, played with a few bandmates that have known Alexa since she was a child.”

the night before

Alexa happened across her danielle frankel wedding dress before she and Matt were even engaged. “it never left my mind,” she says. “of course, I tried on others, but this was always the one!”

the dress

“We chose to incorporate a lot of color to truly make our wedding feel like us,” say alexa and matt. “we went with fall wildflowers and neutrals with a focus on sage green, terra-cotta, dusty blue, and wine.”

the design

A curved aisle lined with grassy florals and staggered seating created an of-the-earth feel at the ceremony. The altar, defined by a semi-circle of dusty blush blooms, was positioned in front of a weeping willow tree.


Alexa’s bouquet was a natural extension of the ceremony florals. “I wanted it to feel organic with some flowers extending at different lengths,” she says. “They fit the fall wildflower colors perfectly and there was such an array of different kinds wrapped in a dark dusty blue ribbon.”

the ceremony

“We wrote our own vows and ended up sharing similar anecdotes. both of us talked about how we dated twice in high school and each dumped the other; how we got back together in college at the perfect time to grow and flourish together; and how our first date lasted three days after telling one another we weren’t ready for anything serious.”

K. “Our favorite memory is from right after the ceremony. During the cocktail hour, we went upstairs at Bellevue to a private room and had our first drink as a married couple. We freaked out about how crazy it is that after years of being in each other's lives, we’re married now. Then we ate some snacks, freaked out some more, and rejoined everybody at the reception.”

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L. “We opted out of cake and went with cannolis and pastries, instead—as well as spiked milkshake shots. simpler deserts let us keep the party going.”

“Add as many personal touches as you can. We wanted us and everyone close to us to feel represented by the wedding—so we set out to make it our own.”