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Our Wedding Blog

Best of 2015

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As 2015 comes to a close, we here at Lesner Inn want to take a moment to reflect on what a great year it has been with both our social and wedding events. We have seen some of the most spectacular and creative uses of our spaces, most touching moments, most beautiful photographs, and so many other things that made 2015 at the Lesner Inn so memorable! For those of you who were married with us in 2015, we hope this first year of marriage has been blissful and we wish you all the best in years to come, and for those of you who held a social event with us, we hope to help you host an event again in the future!

Best Cake Display:

  • Here at the Lesner Inn we see our fair share of beautiful – and delicious – cakes! But, by far the most beautifully executed cake would have to be from Jacqueline and Timothy Cleary’s wedding! Check out this awesome cake by Cakes by Crystal, and thanks to Skylar Watt for capturing this gorgeous cake!

Best cake Jacqueline & Timothy Cleary - Skylar Watt

Best Hash Tag:

  • Coming up with a clever hashtag is not an easy feat. Most couples end up with a basic hashtag like #meetthesmiths. But Melinda Lackore and William Zackowski were able to come up with the cleverest mash up of names in 2015 for the hashtag #thebiglackowski! If you’ve ever seen the movie, The Big Labowski then you should appreciate this hashtag as much as we do! Great job Mr. and Mrs. Zackowski! Thanks to Elizabeth Friske for capturing these images!

Best Flower Girls:

We want to hire these two as full time flower girls! They stole the show with their dashing escort of a ring bearer when they entered the reception hall. With some liquid courage from the sparkling cider, they tore up the dance floor at Ashley and Gary Jeager’s reception and showed us that little feet sure can move! Thanks to Skylar Wyatt for capturing their antics all evening – they definitely won best flower girls of 2015!

Best Theme:

  • Creative wedding themes are one in a million at Lesner Inn, but Ann Marie and Brian Ambler really took their marathon theme and ran with it! Being a couple who love to get their exercise in by the mile, Ann Marie and Brian made sure to incorporate their love for running into their day of love for each other. The thought and effort they put into this event makes them so deserving to be recognized for the best theme of 2015! Shout out to Daisy Torres for capturing these shots!

Best DIY:

  • Rosalie and Troy’s Pinterest perfect wedding set the bar high for couples who love DIY projects! From the guest book to the photobooth, their creativity and craftiness amazed us all. Take a peek at some of her unique touches below. Shout out to Shannon Moffit for the awesome photographs!

Best Exit:

  • Boat exits are definitely the most stylish way to leave the Lesner Inn, and we have to give the best exit of 2015 to Laura and Warren Adkins for this awesome shot of our building and their guests sending them off! Thanks to Tara Liebeck for capturing this image!

View More: http://taraliebeckphotography.pass.us/wedding

Best Toast Moment:

  • Cindy was such a joy to work with in the months preceding her beautiful wedding day, and the team at the Lesner Inn has nothing but wonderful things to say about her. That being said, it comes to no surprise that the best toast goes to Cindy & Kyle from their wedding last May. Cindy fell to her knees being so overwhelmed by the love her friends and family shared for her and Kyle, and we have to thank Caitlin Gerres for capturing this moving moment!

best toast - Cindy and Kyles Wedding by Caitlin Gerres Photo

Best Guest Book:

  • Guest books are always a great opportunity to show  off your creativity at your wedding, and are much more than just remembering who was there. That’s why we love how Autumn and Matt Harvey took the opportunity to get some last minute advice and well wishes from their guests with their “Wishing Tree” guest book! This creative guest book definitely takes the title of best guest book of 2015! Thanks to Sean Holder for these great shots!

Best Florals:

  • Choosing your bouquet and floral arrangements for your wedding can be an essential piece of décor not only down aisle, but during the reception as well. Recently, many brides have been choosing succulents as a part of their floral arrangements! Succulents truly stole the show this year when it comes florals, and nobody pulled off this trend better than Ashley and Nick Bankowski! We have to admire how beautiful these natural colors look together! Props to your florist Kelly Gish, and to Dustin Lewis for getting these beautiful shots!

Best Something Borrowed:

  • When thinking about the age old tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, what normally comes to mind are simple trinkets that just barely make the cut. But, Erin Langlands’ something borrowed stole our hearts with a touching tribute to her mother. Erin, with just a bit of revamping, wore her mother’s wedding dress and looked absolutely stunning, taking something borrowed to a whole new level! We wish you all the best in the years to come! Great shots by Ashley Lester!

Best Waterside Deck Décor:

  • The Waterside Deck is known for its casual charm, so transforming this space into something more elegant can be a bit of a challenge. But, we have to give credit to ODU student, Brooke Webster, for single handedly putting her sorority’s holiday party together in our Waterside Deck at The Lesner Inn.  With use of the amazing linens from Waterford Event Rentals, she created a winter wonderland with sequins and cheerful holiday décor! Thanks to Brooke, her fellow sorority sisters & their dates were able to have an incredible night on the water! Great job Brooke!

Best Lesner Hall Décor:

  • Transforming your reception hall from a universal space, to a space that looks like it was created just for you on your wedding day takes a lot of work! It takes planning, trial and error, and a lot of patience! Lucky for us, we’ve worked with some of the best in the business and have seen some of the most beautiful combinations of color in our Lesner Hall. Our favorite for 2015, however, would have to be from Kimberly and James Speckhart! We love the gold sequined overlays, and soft pink florals! Great job to you and your team, and thanks to Amanda Hedgepeth for these gorgeous shots!

Best Day Time Wedding:

  • Jenny & Denny’s wedding was, for many reasons, one of our favorites of the year! They tied in so many of their culture’s wedding traditions, while incorporating more modern traditions as well! From a caricature artist during cocktail hour, to traditional Indian dances during the reception Jenny and Denny pulled off the best day time wedding we’ve seen in 2015! Their colorful décor filled the room with so much love and joy, which definitely can be one of the many sources of the smiles across Jenny and Denny’s faces throughout the day! Shout out to Jason Jarvis for these amazing photos!

Best First Dance:

  • If you’re wondering how to pull off the most romantic first dance, just ask the Johnson’s how it’s done. Sharise and Richard Johnson contracted Stage Right Lighting to “let it snow” during their first dance at their winter wedding. The effect was breathe taking and showed us all something we never thought we would see in the Lesner Hall! Way to keep us on our toes Johnsons!

Best first dance

Best Bad Weather Photo:

  • When Mother Nature isn’t on your side, be lucky that your photographer always is! Rain or shine, they’re there to capture those precious moments that you don’t want to forget! Even with some dreary weather, Melinda and William Zackowski were able to score this beautiful shot by Elizabeth Friske and have an all-around beautiful ceremony and reception with us at the Lesner Inn! Such beautiful pictures are definitely deserving of the best bad weather photos of 2015!

Best Sunset Photo:

  • The Lesner Inn has a reputation for gorgeous sunsets, which obviously makes for incredible pictures! So when it comes to choosing who was able to snag the most unforgettable sunset pic on their wedding day, we have a lot to choose from! But, by far the most memorable photo from 2015 was captured by Exposure Photography of Amanda and Marc Foreman!

best sunset photo Amanda and Marc Exposure

Best First Look:

  • Best first look of 2015 has to go to Jessica & Gary Ochs! One of the very many reasons we love our job and working in weddings is to see the grooms face after he sees his wife for the first time on their wedding day. This moment makes us all realize that true love does exist and we love to share these beautiful moments with you! Shout out to Amanda Hedgepeth for the awesome capture!

Best First Kiss:

  • The anticipated words “you may kiss the bride” can strike both excitement and terror in the hearts of brides everywhere. The pressure is on to have the most perfect kiss, and Caitlin and Brett Antinori sure make this moment look as if they had been practicing all of their lives! These two were such a joy to work with, and we’re so happy to have had such an exemplary couple here with us! Best wishes to you both, and thanks to Alex Moring for snapping this precious moment!

Best Wedding Photos

  • Wedding photos are one of the most important things a bride and groom will take away from their wedding day. From pictures with your squad to intimate pictures of the bride and groom they are pictures that you will look back on for years to come. Dustin Lewis is an amazingly skilled photographer who we have the pleasure of working with frequently at the Lesner Inn, and he was able to capture the most beautiful moments at Angelique and Andrew Mitchell’s ceremony and reception! This beautiful couple made Dustin’s job easy, but nonetheless deserve to be recognized for having the best wedding photos of 2015!