A Romantic Peach, Light-Orange, and Taupe Outdoor Wedding in Maryland

Leslie Zimmerman and Ryan Bailey met during the summer of 2005, when they both worked at the same small New York City advertising agency. It was her first job out of college, but Ryan had been there for a while, so he took her under his wing and showed her the ropes. They bonded over mutual interests, and a friendship eventually evolved into more. Coincidentally, both also hail from Maryland, so returning to their home state for their big day was a natural decision. On June 30, 2012, they tied the knot on the Eastern Shore.

Leslie designed the wedding invites and had them letterpressed by Publicide. They featured her calligraphy and three-toned watercolor painting. This was the first introduction to the airy, sophisticated, summer feeling of the celebration -- and the peach, taupe, and light orange color palette. No two invites were the same, but all of them were mailed in light gray envelopes.

Brittland Manor provided the outdoor, shorefront venue that the couple wanted. "We were looking for something that really said 'Maryland', and that felt like a backyard wedding -- if your backyard was a 100-acre farm," Leslie said. The bridal party and families stayed on site, making it a weekend of celebrating.

Everyone received a warm welcome when they drove on to the property, thanks to a sign designed by the bride. Leslie stenciled plywood and used a jigsaw in her parent’s garage to cut out the greeting. A coat of white paint finished it off.

Leslie wore a David Fielden dress from Lovely Bride, in New York City. The sophisticated gown was relaxed and slightly vintage in feeling, and was accessorized with a custom birdcage veil by Ally Bridal and vintage rhinestone earrings. Ryan chose a Hugo Boss Black dark gray suit and a Calvin Klein tie.

Peach dahlias and roses mixed with poppies, scabiosa, nigella, astrantia, and peppergrass in a bouquet made by Angela Ingram.

The bride's attendants sported neutrals -- Jenny Yoo dresses for the girls, and a Michael Kors suit for the one gent in the group.

Ryan's attendants wore light gray suits and a tie that matched the groom's. Their lapels were spiffed up with boutonnieres of dahlia buds and peppergrass.

During the ceremony guests kept cool with glasses of Arnold Palmers and iced tea decked out with doily umbrellas made by the bride.

A vintage linen hung from the tree during the pre-sunset ceremony. Childhood friends of Leslie's recited non-denominational and untraditional readings: the Apache Blessing and an excerpt from Walt Whitman's "Song of the Open Road."

The couple first bonded over music, so they saluted their shared passion by playing Vitamin String Quartet versions of three songs from concerts they attended together. The wedding party and groom entered to "Here Comes Your Man" by The Pixies, the bride debuted to "Do You Realize??" by The Flaming Lips, and the newlyweds walked up the aisle to "Everlong" by Foo Fighters.

Leslie extended the watercolor design from the stationery suite to the seating cards. She painted a large sheet of Cranes Lettra paper, then cut 3x4 cards. She temporarily numbered them to keep them in the order of the full sheet to make reassembling it easier, and kept her fingers crossed that she didn't mess up as she calligraphed the names and table assignments. She pulled of this project (her favorite in the whole wedding) without any problems and pinned the cards to a blank canvas for displaying during cocktail hour.

Leslie created a sign with their initials to hang on the house's front entrance.

The newlyweds posed for portraits taken by Lindsay Hite of Readyluck all around the property, including the cornfields and on the dock. Thankfully, the storm that had swept through the area with 60 mph wind only caused minor damage to the landscape.

Since the color palette of the wedding was inspired by the bride's love of summer peaches, the fruit itself was incorporated in each table's centerpiece. They took centerstage holding table numbers, and were subtly mixed in the floral centerpieces, along with other fruit like kiwis and green grapes.

Fresh berries celebrated the season, and pie from Jimmy's Grille in Bridgeville, Delaware, were picked up the morning of the wedding. Leslie has stopped at the family-run restaurant for years on the way to the beach, so they were not only a tasty touch but one with personal meaning too.

The couple had purchased fireworks for the end of the night but accidentally forgot to bring them. Luckily, a couple of Ryan's friends had the same idea, and they lit up the sky using their stash.

Photography: Lindsay Hite of Readyluck

Location: Brittland Manor

Catering: Occasions

Flowers: Angela Ingram Designs

Officiant: Michael Feehley

Letterpressing: Publicide

DJ: MyDeeJay

Rentals: Eastern Shore Tent and Events

Hair: Paula Soler

Makeup: Nikki Fraser

Wedding rings: DVVS Fine Jewelry