Highgrove Estate Wedding | Chris and Shawna

It feels like we’ve waited all year for this day to arrive! The last time that we saw Chris and Shawna was the day before the world stopped! At least that’s what it felt like when everything shut down including schools. We went from hanging out with Shawna and Chris in downtown Durham to learning our way around virtual learning within a matter of days! After the year that we’ve all had, it feels like it’s been forever since we got to hang out with these guys!

Today marks one week since Shawna and Chris said “we do” during their beautiful wedding ceremony at the Highgrove Estate in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina. The Highgrove Estate is one of my favorite venues in the area. It’s also one of the first venues that I ever visited when I first got into the wedding industry years ago.

Shawna and Chris were both busy getting ready when we arrived! Shawna and her girls were in the bridal suite while Chris and his groomsmen were down the hall in the grooms suite. Once Chris and his guys were dressed, we headed outside to witness him dig up the bourbon. There’s a tradition that says if you bury a bottle of bourbon a month before your wedding date, it won’t rain on your day! Chris wasn’t able to find the bottle that he’d buried a month before, but it seems that the tradition worked in their favor! These two were blessed with a beautiful November day for their wedding.

The ceremony was beautiful. Watching Chris tear up when he saw Shawna for the first time on their wedding day was beyond sweet. After exchanging their vows, Shawna and Chris jumped the broom before exiting the ceremony. We headed to the front of the house for portraits before heading into the reception for dinner. Everyone enjoyed dinner, dancing and then cheered the newlyweds on during the sparkler exit. Brian and I had so much fun celebrating with these guys.

Tell us about your proposal!

Chris knows I love Christmas – it’s literally the happiest time of year for me. We went on a double date with my sister and husband to a comedy show. Everything seemed normal to me except he kept insisting we go see the Christmas tree downtown. It was freezing cold and I was sleepy. However, when Chris pulled out the monogram Santa hats he made for us, I knew there was no stopping his plan. I agreed and we made our way to Raleigh. As I looked at the lights and debated whether they were antique or not, Chris asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I replied, “a Dyson vacuum.” he asked me if I knew what he wanted and I reminded him that I already had his list. He asked if he could have one more thing and as I turned around, he was on one knee. I screamed, cried and laughed my way into his arms as he asked me to be his wife. #bestChristmasever