Big Fake Wedding | Baltimore, 2022

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to participate in the incredible Big Fake Wedding in Baltimore! For those of you who aren’t familiar, the Big Fake Wedding is a totally unique wedding expo styled like a real wedding! The day starts with a vow renewal ceremony for a real couple, followed by a “cocktail hour” where you can meet and chat with vendors before heading to the reception. Every part of the day is planned and executed by real local vendors, so it’s a great opportunity for couples to see the work that they do firsthand!

Big Fake Wedding has a competitive application process, so I was so excited when I found out that I was chosen to be one of the two planners involved. This is a very high-profile event — we even got published in Junebug Weddings! I’m so thankful for the experience and I can’t wait to show you all what we put together!

Planning a Modest City Wedding

Since there are so many vendors involved in the Big Fake Wedding, each one is assigned a certain space to style and decorate. I was assigned to the sweetheart table as well as two guest tables during the reception. We were provided with a mood board for the event and given full reign over our designs.

The overall vibe for this wedding was modest and simple — a courthouse-type intimate wedding with a relaxed vibe. We had a gorgeous LGBTQ+ couple and the main color for the day was sage green.

I knew I wanted to show the full range of my designs by creating three different table settings. My first and main priority was the sweetheart table. I knew I wanted this to feel feminine and romantic, so I focused heavily on two large floral arrangements to make it pop. Did you know that I actually have a background in floral styling? I ended up creating both of these arrangements on-site so they perfectly fit the table, and I’m in love with how they turned out! We added in some votives and minimalist white places settings for a clean look that wouldn’t overwhelm the flowers.

At my first guest table, I went for a similar romantic and effortless look. I used a similar assortment of flowers as the head table, including white spray roses, peach mums, and lamb’s ear. We used silver mercury votives and a silver frame with crisp clean table numbers. In my planning, I reached out to Cink Art, who was also one of the chosen vendors at Big Fake Wedding, and she created these minimalist placards for me!

I wanted my second table to be a more elevated, ornate version of the first, so we started with this dusty blue floral tablecloth which I absolutely love. We went with all white roses in a mercury glass vase for the centerpiece and then accented with marble pieces around the table. I chose slightly more ornate plates for this table, and some clear glass votives to pull it all together.

I had so much fun working on the Big Fake Wedding and meeting the other vendors as well as so many lovely couples! If you’re looking for a stylist, planner, or day-of coordinator for your upcoming wedding around Baltimore or Frederick, I’d love to chat!