A Formal Black-and-White Wedding in North Carolina

Libby Hetherington's ebullient bouquet features autumn clematis, lady slipper orchids, frilly camellias, black-centered anemones, eucharis lilies, ranunculus, lilacs, and ligustrum berries.

The couple stops on the porch of the Fearrington House Country Inn, where the wedding was held.

Arriving guests stroll beneath a vibrant canopy of vermilion and copper-colored trees to the garden terrace for the ceremony.

The discerning bride selected San Francisco's Austin Press to letterpress the save-the-dates and invitations. "I first saw Kimberly Austin's stationery at one of my favorite shops in New York City and fell in love with it," she says.

For their ceremony, Libby and Alex used the vows offered by their officiant, chief magistrate Gary Wills. "When Gary first read them to us in his office, we both wound up in tears -- and we weren't even at the wedding yet," Libby recalls.

Guests pause to sign the guest book.

The five bridesmaids and five groomsmen flank the jubilant couple.

The bride gave each of her bridesmaids a floral hair accessory from Handle & Spout, which they wear as an accessory the day of the wedding.

The bridesmaid bouquets include white flowers with accents of green. They are tied with black-and-white-striped ribbon to carry through the color palette of the day. Flowers by The Fearrington House Country Inn & Restaurant.

The inn "employs" more than 30 Belted Galloways, a rare breed of Scottish cattle, to greet its guests.

A preceremony tete-a-tete.

Favor boxes with marshmallows and local hot cocoa mix are wrapped in black grosgrain ribbon and topped with lace flowers.

Black-and-white calligraphed seating cards are displayed on tables dressed in plain black -- clean and sophisticated.

Libby, in an Oscar de la Renta dress, and Alex, in Ralph Lauren, walk the sunlit grounds.

Fresh flowers adorn the four-tiered vanilla, Italian-meringue, buttercream cake.

Like the favor boxes, each white linen napkin is banded in black and accented with a white lace flower.

Some of the delicious hor d'oeuvres served to guests at the reception.

A tall Gemini, the bride's signature drink (made with St. Germain liqueur), stands beside the groom's Old Fashioned.

Miniature versions of burgers, french fries, and milkshakes await guests at the after-party.

Alex and Libby did cut the cake, but they skipped other conventions, like the bouquet toss and first dance: "We both have a hard time being the center of attention," she says.

The groom kisses his bride under the starry lights outside the barn. The twig chandeliers and soaring tin-roof ceiling add to the impressive interior.

Location, Event Planning, Catering, Flowers & Cake: The Fearrington House Country Inn & Restaurant
Stationery: Austin Press
Music: Deejay Jeffrey Tonnesen
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals; Party Tables
Wedding Photography: Missy McLamb Photographers
Gown: Oscar de la Renta
Bridesmaid Dresses: Loeffler Randall
Groom's Suit: Ralph Lauren
Groomsmen Suits: J.Crew
Hair: Rachel Chitwood Radford at D.B. Sutton & Co.