Real Richmond Wedding: Patricia and Paul at Waverly Estate

Patricia and Paul
November 18, 2017

How They Met
Patricia and Paul Laumer’s story began in 1997. Patricia’s older brother was dating Paul’s next-door neighbor, so when he had to babysit Patricia after school, she would tag along. But from across the fence, it wasn’t Paul that Patricia was interested in meeting, it was his younger sister, Elizabeth. Patricia saw Elizabeth jumping on the trampoline and the rest was history! The two were inseparable throughout their entire life (Remember Elizabeth and Andre? See their wedding here!)

Patricia became part of the family and after a while, she stopped seeing Paul as just her “best friend’s older brother.” Shortly after college, they both found themselves single and saw each other in a completely different light. They had their first date around Thanksgiving 2012. Patricia explains, “He fell in love with his little sister’s lifetime friend!”

The Proposal
Paul asked Patricia to marry him on October 23, 2016, during the Laumer family tradition of picking apples on Carter Mountain. Paul had it all planned out; He even hired a cameraman to hover around the orchard to catch it all on tape! While hiding the ring box in his coat, Paul waited for the ideal moment, and it came when Patricia reached for an apple on a tall branch overhead. As soon as she turned around, Paul was waiting on one knee behind her. Patricia said, “Yes!” and truly became a member of their family.

The Details
“We both absolutely love the fall and wanted something that would have plenty of surrounding trees to create a picture-perfect backdrop.” They chose Waverly Estate, which offered the complete package as well as the gorgeous fall foliage backdrop. As for the theme, they incorporated their love of reading throughout the entire wedding. Their Save the Dates were bookmarks, their wedding invitations were mini books, and they even had vintage books arranged as centerpieces at every table. “We named each table after one of our favorite books, and on the table numbers we put a love quote from it.”

Thanks to their families, especially their Aunt Donna, the decor that night came together perfectly. Their colors were rich and romantic using burgundy, cream, gold, charcoal grey, and green, giving a rustic, but elegant feel, seamlessly complementing the Virginia fall background.

“We wanted our guests to enjoy great food, perfectly poured drinks, and an endless loop of fun dance songs!” The late fall night ended in a dance party where the Laumer family came together as one. Paul had married the woman of his dreams, and Patricia became her best friend’s sister, something almost every girl dreams of.

Favorite Part of the Day
“My favorite part of the day was every moment I spent walking down the aisle towards Paul. It was so exciting and emotional, I was crying and so was he! I thought my heart was just going to burst with happiness knowing that man I was walking towards was about to become my husband.”

For Paul? “I would say the actual ceremonies and traditions…Our vows and first dance were just so special.”

Biggest Challenge
“The guest list. We had a very strict budget, so very early in the process, we knew we were going to have to make big cuts to the guest list. We ended up with just 75 guests – family and very close friends, which was perfect!”

Best Piece of Advice
“Do things your way and on your own time. Everyone is going to have an opinion and a request, so just remember…You can’t please everyone!”

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