Devon & Sean @ Winterthur
Wedding dress: James Clifford
Bride’s Wedding shoes: Dior
Headpiece: Sara Gabriel
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Donna Morgan
Bride’s and bridesmaids’ jewelry: Etsy
Programs, place cards, table numbers, and menus: Blush Paperie
Venue: Winterthur
Getting Ready: Montchanin Inn
In the bride’s words:
Sean and I joined the South Jersey Rowing Club in 2003 while we were in high school. We were friends from the start but really bonded during the team’s trip to the Canadian Henley a few years later. Shortly after, Sean reluctantly left for the Citadel, a military college in South Carolina, but we remained pen pals. Our friendship began to blossom into something more through the exchange of letters, and when Sean returned for Thanksgiving, we were anxious to spend time together. We began dating in December 2005, and Sean transferred to Saint Joseph’s University in the spring semester. We managed to make a relationship work throughout college despite being 2 1/2 hours apart, members of Division I rowing teams, and a semester spent abroad. Distance means so little when someone means so much. After I graduated college, we moved in together in Philadelphia, but just a year later, I relocated to Baltimore for medical school. One weekend Sean came to visit me in Baltimore and brought pumpkins to carve. I carved a devil cat, aka our cat Cody, and Sean carved, “Marry me?” Everyone always asks me how I didn’t know what Sean was carving, but if you know me well, you know I’m rather competitive and very focused on whatever I’m doing. Needless to say, Sean’s pumpkin was definitely the best that night, and I happily accepted his proposal!
The first decision we made in the wedding planning process was the location. We searched online for venues in the greater Philadelphia area that had an outdoor setting, and Winterthur stood out above the rest. As soon as we stepped foot in the beautiful gardens, we knew that we wanted to get married at Winterthur. On that visit, we also stopped by the Inn at Montachannin Village. The inn was a perfect compliment to Winterthur because of its rich history and beautiful setting, so we booked the inn for the wedding weekend. From there, everything else just fell into place. We wanted an elegant, romantic wedding with a subtle bird theme woven through the decor. My mom has always called us the “Lovebirds” and Sean actually bought me a lovebird one Valentine’s Day, so we thought it was very fitting. My mom was instrumental in helping Sean and I plan the wedding of our dreams. Being in medical school, I didn’t have a lot of free time for wedding planning, so we absolutely couldn’t have done it without her help. The wedding turned out perfect, just how we envisioned, and we had an amazing time celebrating with all of our family and friends! Since the wedding, Sean has relocated to Baltimore and was able to transfer jobs within his company. We are really excited to start our new life together as husband and wife and to never have to be apart again!
