Industrial Baltimore Wedding | Mt. Washington Mill Dye House
After eating donuts in bed with their dog named Donut and walked through the streets of Baltimore with Star Wars outfits for their engagement session, I knew I was coming up for a treat on their wedding day. Lauren and Preston are the sweetest people, so much fun to hang out with, and super tasteful. Lauren is a designer and designed the invitations. Scroll down to see how GORGEOUS they turned out! Engaged couples out there, I talked to her and she’ll also design yours, so do yourselves a favor and get in touch with her. Her contact information is at the end of the post together with the other awesome vendors.
They were going for the industrial look and chose Mt.Washington Mill Dye House as their venue, which fit them perfectly. The Dye House is also one of my favorite venues in Baltimore. All the brick walls, twinkle lights, industrial vibes,…
- Why did you choose Mt. Washington Mill Dye House?
It was, in our eyes, the most beautiful venue in Baltimore; the rustic and industrial features were decoration in and of themselves. The venue is the backdrop for all of your photos and therefore prominent in all of your memories, so we wanted to get married somewhere special. On top of that, it was appropriately sized for the wedding that we wanted to have—about 150 attendees—and wasn't prohibitively expensive for what it had to offer. There was also a lot of flexibility in terms of floor plan and whether to hold the ceremony indoors or out in the courtyard.
- Tell me a little bit about your story.
We knew each other in college but didn't start dating until some years later, after we'd both gone off and had some experiences and adventures of our own. We started dating in 2012 (when the Ravens won the Super Bowl!) and lived together in Baltimore for awhile, slowly amassing a herd of pets, before we finally tied the knot.
- What was the mood/inspiration/theme of your wedding?
We saw the wedding as realistically the only time in our lives when all of the people who are most important to us would be together. For that reason, we wanted it to be fun, with good food, good music, and opportunities for people to catch up and to meet. Everything was intentionally planned, but our goal was for it not to feel too formal, scripted, or ceremonial. Since we got married on May 4th and are both fans of science fiction, we definitely wanted to include subtle nods to Star Wars throughout the event. May the Fourth be With You!
They did a few subtle touches of Star Wars details throughout the venue, and of course had a lightsaber. We got to play with those for a few photos and I just love how the photos turned out. Make sure to scroll until the end to see those.
My favorite part of the day was when Lauren and Preston were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Reeves. They had spent a good part of the day together, hanging out, doing photos by themselves and with the bridal party. They got married, and no tears from Lauren throughout the whole ceremony. The room was full of energy and 'hoorays' from the crowd when they were introduced, and she lost it! It was the cutest thing. She couldn't stop crying and she was sobbing their whole first dance, while Preston was wiping her tears. It was such a beautiful and powerful moment! When I asked them what was their favorite moment, I wasn’t surprised with their answer:
We loved the entire day, from start to finish, but it was an especially surreal experience to be introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Walking out to the smiling faces and applause of our family and friends was incredibly overwhelming.
- Do you have any advice for the couples that just got engaged and are starting to plan their wedding?
1. First and foremost, remember that this day is ultimately about the two of you and FOR the two of you, so try to find ways to make your wedding personal and let yourselves shine through. How you do that is up to you.
2. Weddings are expensive. Start saving and have a candid conversation with your partner about your priorities and what you value the most about this day.
3. Find vendors that you like and trust. They do this for a living and will provide advice on the minutiae of planning and execution. On the day of the wedding, our vendors were consummate professionals and we could not have been more grateful for them. Even now, months later, we are filled with gratitude and good will just thinking about them.
Photos by Barbara O Photography and Second Shooter Emily Gude
Thanks to all the amazing vendors:
Venue: Mt. Washington Mill Dye House, Baltimore
Lauren Dress: Love &Lace Bridal Boutique
Bridesmaids Dresses: ASOS and JJ’s House
Invitations Design: Lauren Berry heylaurenberry@gmail.com
Flowers: Crimson & Clover Floral Design
Hair and Make Up: Julia Tucker and Caleigh from Vintage Veils LLC
Wedding Rings: Radcliffe Jewelers
Catering and Cake: Copper Kitchen
Cake Toppers: LettersToYou from Etsy
Lightsaber (so real and had sound): Vader’s Vault
DJ: Dance Masters Entertainment
Table Numbers and Place Cards: Darra Sargent from Dear Darling Weddings