Richmond Wedding at The Women’s Club | Emma + Cooper

Hinge strikes again! This time, it’s the reason Emma and Cooper met. Both of them were on the dating app in Washington, DC, where they immediately hit it off and planned their first date. Not long after that evening, they both knew that was their last first date.

Fast forward to a sunny April morning when Cooper suggested he and Emma have a picnic lunch on the National Mall. Though they’d often picnic at local parks, this one felt a bit different. Shares Emma, “He made sure we hit all of my favorite spots to compile a really luxe picnic, but alarm bells weren’t going off which made the proposal even more special. We were sitting down just enjoying lunch when he swung over to sit right next to me and pulled the ring box out of his pocket. It was private and so so special, just like I wanted. We celebrated by having some champagne in the grass and kept the news just between us for the weekend!”

wedding dress: Lea-Ann Belter Priya via Annalise Bridal | photographer: Farrah B. Fox | scroll down for full vendor list

They decided to get married in Emma’s hometown of Richmond and chose The Women’s Club as the place. The venue also informed Emma’s choice of dress. When she tried on Priya at Annalise Bridal, “I knew my dress was ‘my dress’ the moment I tried it on—my goal was to complement the aesthetic of our wedding venue, which was a beautifully preserved Beaux-Arts style mansion in downtown Richmond, VA. That meant very classic and sleek silhouettes, and I was looking for a heavier, luxe material that would feel good and photograph well. When I tried on the 100% silk dress that I ultimately decided on, it felt like I could be dropped at any moment in time and look amazing, which felt like the right response! We asked our guests to adhere to a Black Tie dress code, and the entire evening looked so marvelous.”

More about Emma and Cooper’s Richmond wedding day—and some great advice—from our sweet bride below.

What part of your wedding day was most important to you?

“Our vows; we each wrote our own independent of the other, and somehow managed to hone in on the same topics and anecdotes from our time together. Cooper was so earnest and kind and funny, and I barely remember seeing any of our guests in the ceremony space because I was so focused on being with Cooper for the first time all day. Since we didn’t do a first look or get ready together, exchanging our vows was the first moment together on our wedding day, made even more special by the words we each shared.”

Where did you go on your honeymoon?

“Palm Beach, Florida! We went 2 days after we got married to be able to truly exhale and relax post-wedding planning and hosting the biggest party of our lives, which was 100% the right move.

Any tips for couples getting married?

“Enjoy every second of the ride! It was very easy to get overwhelmed with planning the wedding, planning the first steps of your life together as a married couple, plus everything else in life, but it goes by SO fast that it’s worth taking a beat to really enjoy the chaos and let it sink in.”