k
real weddings
T
alk about a sweet start: When Charles (Charlie) Rodriguez (26 and a sales associate at JES Foundation Repair) found out his secret highschool crush, Samantha Dorsey (26 and an executive vice president of Dorsey Holdings Inc.), loved pink Starburst candies, he brought some for her to the US History class they shared at the time—every single day! “Little did he know, I also had a crush on him,” Samantha shares. The pair reconnected after college, and Charlie proposed on the Gone With the Wind–inspired staircase at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. Fittingly, the couple planned a classic, romantic Southern wedding, with the Blue Ridge Mountains as their backdrop. Their rich color palette of metallics, deep burgundy, eggplant, mustard yellow and green was punctuated with a little pink in the form of—what else—Starbursts, set in a bowl next to the guest book with a note relaying the meaningful story. —ALE
The color palette:
dressed up, and anytime I can do that I’m all over it,” says Samantha, who went super-glam in an ivory tulle ball gown. Her groom looked equally grand in a custom black tuxedo, a gift from his father. the invitations A calligrapher created the couple’s classic black-and-white logo, which appeared first on their invites and then throughout their décor. the centerpieces “Some people choose not to spend too much on flowers, but if you see how they can transform your wedding, like our beautiful bouquets and table arrangements did, I think they’d change their minds,” Samantha says.
the couple’s style “One thing I love about weddings is they’re a great excuse to get really