The Legend of Zelda Inspired This Ballantyne Country Club Wedding in North Carolina

Sheila and Will took a hybrid approach when it came to wedding planning—tackling some DIY projects while leaving others to the pros. "We did a mix of DIY and had a day-of coordinator. I pulled a lot of samples from Pinterest and tweaked them to fit our style and timeline. I’m super into organization so I had sharable Google Docs and Excel Sheets ready to go for planning. I consulted The Knot to build a thorough checklist, get ideas, and to find local vendors for floral, alterations, photographer, and videographer!" Sheila shares. Once the couple settled on how they wanted to approach the task of wedding planning, they moved on to thinking about the celebration's actual aesthetic. Their chosen theme was out-of-the-box and perfectly personalized. "The theme of our wedding was The Legend of Zelda. It’s my favorite video game and we wanted it to be magical with faeries and such. We played a lot of video games together when we started dating and we still do almost every night!" The couple's stationery was one spot where their video game inspiration was on full display. The wedding invitation envelopes bore "the Legend of Zelda font and rose gold faeries. I stamped the back of the envelopes with a green triforce wax seal to make it more elegant," Sheila explains. For ceremony music, Sheila even chose, "the Legend of Zelda Symphony Medley and Super Smash Bros. Brawl Main Theme. I walked down the aisle to the Great Fairy’s Fountain. All of our friends who play video games with us knew EXACTLY what the songs were!" The famed video game also made its way into cocktail hour and the reception, notably through the couple's signature cocktail selections. "We had a cocktail with signature his and hers drinks, both Legend of Zelda themed of course. I had a drink called “The Legend of Sheila” which was vodka, sugar, ginger beer, mint, blueberries, and lime. Will had a drink called 'Will’s Rupee Rush' which was bourbon, bitters, honey, and lemon juice. I designed the drink menus with Zelda characters."

Beyond incorporating The Legend of Zelda into their wedding, Sheila and Will added yet another layer of personalization to the day by honoring Sheila's Ghanian heritage. "We incorporated a Ghanaian element with the Kente bowties. Kente cloth is a traditional Ghanaian textile worn for occasions. My Auntie Tina brought the Kente cloth with her from Ghana and I gave it to one of my best friends who owns a bowtie company to make bowties out of the cloth! We also ending up doing a Sunday brunch the day after the wedding with the whole family in full matching Kente attire."