A Summer Fête on the Historic Lawn
J&H gathered their guests at the Historic Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach for a June celebration that unfolded across the estate’s iconic grounds. The scale of the event required a dual-tent reception on the grand lawn – one for dinner, one for dancing – designed and produced by planner/designer Carrie Lauck of The Happy Hour Hostess.
A light blue palette anchored every detail, from the invitation suite to the bridesmaids’ gowns to the ceremony florals. Isha Foss curated arrangements of blue and white hydrangeas that lined the aisle in the sunken garden. The bride wore Monique Lhuillier.
The couple exchanged vows in the Cavalier’s sunken garden, surrounded by existing greenery that Isha Foss elevated with additional florals. The chuppah stood draped in hydrangeas. White eclipse chairs lined the aisle.
The fully-draped, gable-end tent featured light blue trim and silver-accented place settings. Hydrangea centerpieces carried the palette from ceremony to reception. Outside, more of Isha Foss’s arrangements lined the path guests had walked just moments before.
Richmond Harpist, Christina Thomas, played contemporary songs reimagined for the instrument throughout dinner. Toasts from family and friends followed before the evening progressed toward the lower tent.
Two distinct structures occupy the Cavalier’s terraced lawn: the upper tent for dinner, the lower tent for dancing. The glowing footprint stretches across the grounds, with the historic hotel anchoring the scene.
As dinner concluded, a New Orleans-style second line band emerged to lead guests down the lawn. The procession moved from the upper tent through the grounds and into the lower structure, where the evening’s second chapter awaited.
Guests entered through a floral archway into a lounge filled with tufted furniture and glowing table lamps. A circular bar crowned with another floral installation anchored the room. Life of the Party Band performed on a stage backed by a bespoke blue-and-white floral wall that matched the day’s palette.
The band held strong until the crowd spilled outside for the couple’s confetti sendoff. An after-party followed in the Cavalier’s Crystal Ballroom, where DJ Roger Cruz and Rodney Charles kept the celebration going well past midnight.