From pandemic lockdowns to hurricanes, Susan and Madison faced quite a few challenges when planning their wedding. Initially hoping for a micro wedding in Scotland, the two had to stay closer to home due to COVID, opting for an Asheville wedding. But when Hurricane Ian was supposed to hit three days before their big day, they were forced to change plans yet again, leading them to their Citizen Vinyl nuptials that were effortlessly cool and casual.
Taking on most of the planning themselves, their special day was full of DIY touches. From signage to colorful pampas grass that acted as their ceremony backdrop to custom corn hole boards, every detail was carefully curated by the two newlyweds. Even their stunning wedding attire was custom-made by Angela Kim Couture–talk about unique!
Despite all the changes, the vinyl pressing facility was turned into their dream wedding venue in a pinch. So if you’re looking for modern, colorful wedding inspiration or you can’t get enough of a good DIY project, you’re going to want to see these photos, all beautifully captured by Nathan Rivers Chesky.
The Couple:
Susan and Madison
The Wedding:
Citizen Vinyl, Asheville, North Carolina
Custom Coordinating Attire For Their Asheville Wedding
We were incredibly fortunate to have our dream wedding attire custom-made by Angela Kim Couture. Neither of us saw one another’s attire until our first look, but Angela made sure we coordinated, although we have two different styles. We worked with Angela for months iterating on our perfect fit, and we could not have been happier!
COVID And A Hurricane Changed Their Plans
After getting engaged in November of 2019, we had planned to have a destination wedding with a small group of family and friends in an estate in Scotland, but COVID interrupted those plans. However, we were incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be married in Asheville with even more family and friends by our side. Our original plans were an outdoor wedding with an incredible circle across a bridge, a pavilion for dinner, an open lawn area for yard games and food trucks, and a small amphitheater with a fire pit for s’mores and stargazing. We selected gem tones for our color palette, dried pampas and flowers, rich rugs, and soft seating areas strategically placed to have a warm cozy feeling among the beautiful fall landscape. Fast forward to three days before the wedding, and Hurricane Ian decides to make a path straight for Asheville. We were forced to move our wedding indoors and found Citizen Vinyl to host our event. We quickly sprinted into creative mode, where we transformed a vinyl pressing facility/coffee & cafe bar into our dream wedding.
Advice From The Couple
Plan, plan, plan. Ensure you book the food vendors you want months ahead of time. Always have a backup plan if your wedding is outdoors. Carefully interview wedding planners and make sure they are not just day of coordinators. And if you do select day of coordination, ensure they have enough staff to make your day effortless. Additionally, make sure you have time with your significant other (even just for 5 minutes) alone before the ceremony or immediately after just to be still in the moment as a married couple before joining all your loved ones. We will never forget that time right before our ceremony when we meditated and reflected upon our journey from then until now, living that moment in such gratitude that our day had finally arrived to be married.
The DIY Touches That Brought The Day Together
We DIY’d most of our favors and created our own signage and labels, but the thing we are most proud of is we DIY’d our own florals, from the large arrangements to the small ones. We procured all of our own dried pampas and flowers, candles and stands, all the decor, etc. We also made our invitations. Susan’s Dad also made custom corn hole boards with mountains landscape and custom ring toss games that were a huge hit at the wedding.
The Biggest Surprise Of The Day? Wedding Crashers
We had wedding crashers! We have always heard about this but didn’t know if it really happens, but we can verify it does. There was a sign outside Citizen Vinyl that said “Closed for Private Event,” yet two (what appeared to be tourists) waltzed into our reception, proceeded to visit the pretzel cart, and began shoving pretzels in their mouths. When approached by our officiant and asked, “So which one of the brides are you here for?” they both quickly looked at one another and said, “Both?” Our officiant knew immediately they were wedding crashers and politely asked them to leave. They had to be asked several times with some sternness but finally left. Madison and I saw them leaving, and they did not look happy. We laughed and were amused, and it makes a great story and memory!
Congratulations again to Susan and Madison on their Citizen Vinyl Asheville wedding! We’re so thankful that Nathan Rivers Chesky was there to capture the beauty of the day. If you’re looking to add some DIY touches to your own special day just like these two, be sure to check out our DIY wedding guide to help you nail yours!
