Love, Gardens, & Lace at Maymont Estate, VA

All photography by Kara Powers Photography

Saturday September 8th, 2018 will always be remembered as the day Morgan Hall and Antonio Cullari tied the knot.  Of all the years I've known them, and the seven years they dated, I've never seen a wavering moment in their relationship.  Morgan is feisty and powerful and outspoken and Antonio is her match on every point.  It's no surprise that their wedding was breathtaking, meaningful, and the perfect mixture of traditional meets bohemian.  They beat to their own drum, but their love is of the genre of timeless tradition and loyalty that lasts a lifetime.

The ceremony takes place at Maymont Estate in Richmond, Virginia, the 100-acre Victorian country estate of James Henry and Sallie May Dooley, completed in 1893.  The estate is whimsical and romantic, covered in lavish gardens and fountains, and filled with butterflies.  

Morgan primps and preps for the ceremony in the stone barn, where she drinks champagne and chats with girlfriends in anticipation.  The dressing room is covered in bouquets, champagne flutes, and Chanel powder compacts juxtaposed against the old stone and reclaimed wood of the barn.  It's a place where glamour and rustic meet.  

A horse-drawn carriage arrives to take the bride and her mother, Sandy, down to the ceremony and the rest of us hop on a golf cart and hustle down to our seats before it begins.  The outdoor atrium is filled with the intoxicating aroma of blooming flowers as Morgan walks down the aisle with her mother in arm.  Surrounded by decorative Grecian columns, "Everything I do, I do it for you" by Bryan Adams begins to play and loved ones watch through water-glassed eyes. Morgan and Sandy approach Antonio and Morgan's father, Riste, at the alter.  What follows is a heartfelt ceremony lead by both of Morgan's parents and enhanced by the genuine vows Morgan and Antonio have written for each other.  At the moment Morgan says "I do" a monarch butterfly drifts through the alter and down the aisle - a beautiful sentiment that only the bride and her closest friends truly understand.  I spy a tear on Royce's cheek, meet Kiki's wide eyes in amazement, and tissues are distributed hastily to the front row.

The couple finishes with a sand ceremony symbolizing where they've both come from, who they are as individuals, and who they become together.  The sand may never be separated.   There's a kiss to inspire a thousand romantic comedies. 

​The reception follows at the Hilton Garden Inn in Downtown Richmond.  ​