A Fresh, Romantic Wedding at Foundation for the Carolinas in Charlotte, North Carolina

Newlyweds Liz Coudriet (26 and in social media for Lowe's) and Max Ferguson (29 and in consumer lending) immediately hit it off when they met through mutual friends at Folly Beach the summer after Liz graduated college. "We lived in two separate states, but talked on the phone way too much and tried to see each other every weekend," Liz explains. Once Max finally made the move to Charlotte from South Carolina, the two moved in together along with Louie, their French bulldog. "One night we were just watching a movie and Max was acting nervous, so he got up to feed Louie dinner," Liz says. "He was gone for a few minutes before I looked over and realized he was down on one knee, holding Louie who had the ring hanging from his collar!" For their summer wedding in the heart of Charlotte, the couple hired Katrina from Come Together Events to create a flower-filled soiree at the Foundation of the Carolinas. "It's such an amazing space," Liz explains. "The bottom floor is an art gallery, where we held our ceremony; while the top floor is a great reception space with fantastic views of the city." Armed with a pastel palette of periwinkle and golden yellow, soft feminine elements -- like pink ranunculus centerpieces -- were woven throughout the spacious, art-filled venue. While Elisabeth Rose Stationary custom-made both the invitations and table numbers, Liz took it upon herself to design and print the programs and escort cards in order to stay within budget. Gold Ikat-print linens ran the length of each rustic farm table while lush arrangements in shades of champagne, peach and pink were created using garden roses, ranunculus, foxglove and peonies. "I actually ended up winning my wedding cake through a giveaway by submitting an essay describing my dream cake," Liz laughs. Ines from Sky's the Limit Cakes brought the bride's vision to life by creating a coconut vanilla cake topped with the word "love" in gold glitter script. After guests dined and danced to Split Second Sound during the reception, Liz and Max passed out gold foil party horns prior to their exit from the museum. "The noise was so loud that people from surrounding bars and restaurants came outside just to see what was going on!"