Art Nouveau Meets Garden Party at the Whalehead Club

Written By Amy Hammond

In the realm of weddings, sometimes you have the opportunity to work on wedding designs as unique and artistic as the couple themselves. I would describe Maggie and Geoff as a creative and sophisticated couple. Their distinct vision was woven into every thread of the fabric of their special day. The result? An incredible celebration that merged the Art Nouveau era with the charm of a garden party, set against the captivating backdrop of the Whalehead Club in Currituck, North Carolina.

I had the immense pleasure of being part of this collaborative team with Maggie and Geoff (and many other amazing professionals listed below) to craft a variety of bespoke pieces. From the intricately designed invitation suite to the throw pillows gracing the seating area at their cocktail hour, not a single detail escaped our attention. Join us for a thoughtful look back through this one-of-a-kind wedding.

What made you choose the Whalehead Club as your venue?  Geoff grew up going on family vacations in the Outer Banks, and I’m originally from a small beach town in Southern California. I’ve always known I wanted to have my wedding be somewhere coastal, but we wanted to ensure that our chosen venue was meaningful to us. Geoff’s family has so many wonderful memories from those trips and we were happy to add another one to the collection. However, while we wanted to be coastal, we didn’t necessarily want our ceremony to be in the sand or for guests to have to travel to a second venue for the reception. We felt like that was too much time lost with the people that we waited so long to celebrate with. The Whalehead Club checked every box. We had our ceremony on the pointe, a grassy lawn that stretches out into the bay, immediately followed by cocktail hour and the reception just a few hundred yards off. 

Additionally, Geoff’s last name is Mucha, and it is likely that he is related to esteemed art nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha. That coupled with the interior of the Whalehead Club being art nouveau style made the theme obvious. 

Aside from the art nouveau details at the Whalehead Club, what else inspired your vision for your wedding day?  Our theme was really “art nouveau meets garden party”. We really wanted to be able to look around both the ceremony and reception and see something beautiful. Whether it was one of the lounge areas styled by Amaranth and Artifact, or the absolutely stunning floral arrangements by Honeysuckle, we wanted to be surrounded by unique and beautiful elements of an art nouveau garden party. We tried to pull the theme from the interior of the Whalehead Club out onto the lawns of our ceremony and reception. 

What was your absolute favorite part of your wedding day?

Celebrating! We feel so lucky to have had such amazing guests who really brought a lot of energy to the celebration, in particular, the dance floor. We had so much fun that our guests insisted the band play an encore! We danced to our first dance song for about 30-45 seconds before our band invited all couples onto the dance floor to dance for the remainder of the song. We’ll never forget looking around and seeing all the people we love most dancing with one another. 


Were there any surprises or special moments you want to share? We opted to read our vows privately during our first look as opposed to the more traditional vow exchange. We weren’t sure how that would translate to the guest experience and overall flow of the ceremony, but ultimately we are really glad we made that choice. Reading our vows privately took a lot of the pressure off and allowed us to really listen to one another. It was a very emotional moment and it was nice to feel comfortable during it. 

What was your first dance song? Hold my Hand by Lady Gaga. I think we’ll forever be transported back to our first dance when we hear it. 

How did you end the night? Did you have an after-party?    We had considered having an afterparty in the weeks and months leading up to the wedding, but truthfully, by the end of the reception, we were ready to call it a night. We left everything on the dance floor and can honestly say we wouldn’t change a thing. See below ;) 

What did you find most challenging about planning your wedding? It was challenging to plan a destination wedding. Our wedding planner, Ashley Earnhardt from Southern Hospitality Weddings, was phenomenal and took so much of the pressure off. We had so many vendors that, for a time, we weren’t sure how everything would come together. It became difficult to maintain a mental image of what both the ceremony and reception would look like. But again, everything was perfect. We couldn’t have been happier with our wedding and if we could do it again we’d do it the same. Thanks, Ashley!! 

What advice would you give your friends getting married?  I’ve been keeping a list! 

 First I’d tell people to pick a theme! Themed weddings are so much fun. We knew right away that we wanted to have an art nouveau meets garden party theme for our wedding, and we worked very closely with Amy at Stonehill Paperie to thoughtfully establish thematic continuity early on. She found a wonderful art nouveau print for our envelope liners and we decided to use that same print on decorative throw pillows, bar wrap, and signage. Geoff even had the print used on his suit vest! The font and illustrations she used for our invitation suite were used again for napkins, cocktail stirrers, signage, menus, and table numbers. Our table numbers were various Alphonse Mucha paintings and our signature cocktails were named after his works. This was all purposeful, as the continuity meant the theme wasn’t only in our minds. It really came to life on our wedding day. Guests were privy to the theme from the moment they opened their invitations, and were so excited to spot the familiar details during the ceremony and reception. People were able to see how everything connected and appreciated the cohesiveness and thoughtfulness that went into every aspect of the day. 

The second thing I’d tell people is to take a moment alone at some point before the ceremony. Take a deep breath and mentally shift your focus so that you’re present for the rest of the day and evening. Remind yourself that no matter what happens, you are going to have so much fun and all the planning and jitters will feel so worth it. Wedding days can be really hectic, but give yourself permission to put the pen down and just enjoy it. It really does go by so fast. Take as many mental images as you can and allow yourself to be present. 

We also highly recommend having a welcome event. Because we had a destination wedding, we chose to have a welcome event for all guests instead of a rehearsal dinner. The night before our wedding, our guests gathered for dinner and drinks at a local club. People were able to get to know one another at the welcome event which, we believe, is what led to such a vibrant and energetic reception the following night. Come wedding reception, our guests already knew one another, had a lot they could talk about, and felt comfortable dancing together. It really helped people let loose and enjoy themselves, us included! It also allowed us to touch base with all our guests the night before the wedding so that we could spend the wedding night enjoying the fruits of our labor. We didn’t feel pressure to stop at every table during our reception because we’d already spoken to all of our guests the night before. 

The last piece of advice I’d give is to make the wedding and reception true to you. Be willing to skip tradition if you’d prefer something different. We read our vows privately and that was perfect for us. We also didn’t have a wedding cake and instead opted for ice cream sandwiches made locally at Surfin’ Spoon. It was easy to choose flavors and the guests loved them. It was a win - win! 

Maggie and Geoff’s Team of Amazing Wedding Professionals:

Amy Hammond
Previous

A Stunning Lake House Inn Wedding
Next

Tribeca Rooftop Wedding