This Lilly Pulitzer wedding will make all your preppy dreams come true.
RUN FOR LIFE
Colleen Abbott, a registered dietitian, was looking for some running pointers, when she reached out to Patrick Kiley, a high school English teacher and cross-country coach, who she knew through a mutual friend. By the end of their first meetup, they had decided to run a 5K together. Two weeks later, Colleen and Patrick signed up for a 10K. And suddenly, they were hanging out every Saturday — for two whole years — just to exercise. It wasn’t until year three that they finally decided to date.
SURPRISES COME IN THREES
Patrick had many tricks up his sleeve for their St. Michaels engagement: professional photos, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries. He organized a surprise dinner with both families, which included a special guest-of-honor — Colleen’s grandmother, who was celebrating her birthday and had traveled all the way from Florida to be there. Last but not least was a hotel suite and a gold necklace with Colleen’s soon-to-be monogram.
THE MORNING AFTER
Colleen has known she wanted to get married at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club ever since it opened in 1999. (She was 11 at the time!) So less than 24 hours after getting engaged, she and Patrick booked their venue, for the exact same day that Colleen’s parents got married in 1979. And that’s not all. She also bought her dress, mere hours later, for $200, after remembering that J. Crew was discontinuing their bridal line. Not much to lose, if the dress didn’t fit. But, of course, it did!
PINEAPPLES AND PALM TREES
For the rest of the decisions, Colleen turned to Pinterest, where she quickly discovered mini pineapple boutonnieres, among other exciting tropical design elements. Her favorite search terms, honed through hours of online research, were Lilly Pulitzer, monograms, and preppy. From there, she decided to create a wedding crest for her invitations, welcome sign, and Koozies, which she gave out as favors.
FIANCE GONE ROGUE
One aspect of planning that Colleen was not expecting was her future husband’s interference. “I thought I would pick everything and he would say, ‘Uh-huh, that’s fine,’” Colleen explains. “But he had so many opinions!” Patrick, who had honed his copyediting skills while serving as high school yearbook advisor, reportedly proofed their invitation 23 times.
ISO FLOWERS
Colleen’s favorite detail of the wedding was her flowers, despite her original vendor backing out. “She had been at the Vegas shooting and she told me she was no longer passionate about doing flowers, so she couldn’t do our wedding,” Colleen recalls. Colleen got back her full deposit and started scrambling to find a new florist, with minimal expectations. “But Blush Floral Design Studio’s arrangements were perfect!” she says.
