Wesley Shaw & Peyton Chandler: A Mountain Brook Wedding

October 10, 2020

Photos by Lauren Bailey Photography

How We Met: I (Wesley) was freelancing at a local magazine in Birmingham when I received notice one day that a new intern would be joining us and that I would need to vacate my cubicle to make room for him/her. A few days later when I was introduced to said intern, let’s just say that my attitude shifted. I immediately sent a message to one of my fellow employees that finally, a really cute guy had entered our largely female-dominated office. You guessed it, he’s the groom! It’s cheesy to say, but Peyton and I can also confirm that we both “knew” before we even went on our first date.

Favorite Details: As the pandemic became a more prevalent threat, we decided to cut the guest list drastically. Although it was a very difficult task, we ended up getting the intimate wedding of our dreams after all! Because we had such a limited guest list, it opened up our budget to “spoil” our guests with an oyster bar, late night snacks a la Chef Hastings and homemade limoncello for the road. I wanted to draw inspiration from the groom’s Italian roots to create an romantic setting overflowing with beautiful greenery and candlelight.

We opted for a venue and ambiance that felt more intimate, which is how we landed on our favorite restaurant, OvenBird, as our reception venue and chose Tim Tyler as our musician. My mother was responsible for finding our florist, Mary Donald, who made all of my over-the-top Pinterest dreams come to life. One of my bridesmaids, who is a graphic designer, was so kind to design a custom wedding monogram for us, which we swiftly placed on every item imaginable (cake, koozies, menus, you name it!), and I took my hand at designing most of the paper and design elements throughout the weekend.