Real Wedding: Lindsay and Kyle

When Lindsay Gardner and Kyle Bacon’s photographer canceled a mere week before their wedding, citing a sudden family crisis, Lindsay was faced with every bride’s nightmare: one of life’s most important events, and no one to document it. Thankfully, kismet appeared in the form of Courtney Vogel Photography, who happily came to the couple’s aid and captured every celebratory moment of Lindsay and Kyle’s Halloween-weekend wedding at Lansdowne Resort.

Lindsay, a talent acquisition specialist from Centreville, Virginia, first met Kyle, a management consultant from Sterling, Virginia, in the summer of 2008 when they were introduced by the bride’s college roommate. A first date at a Bethany Beach bar followed, as did three years of dating and, ultimately, a romantic proposal.

“We had planned to go to Wintergreen [Resort] to celebrate our anniversary together. Little did I know what Kyle had in mind,” Lindsay says. After a tasting tour at Veritas Vineyard, the couple’s favorite winery in Afton, Virginia, they purchased a bottle of wine and snuck off to a romantic hillside spot. After a quick stroll, Lindsay returned to where they had been seated, only to find her previous Veritas wine glass replaced by a goblet-size one, etched with the words, “Will you marry me?”

When it came to the wedding, the couple opted for an elegant affair. Lindsay chose a strapless lace gown by Maggie Sottero, and she personalized the bottom of her shoes with the quote, “As we walk this journey from beginning to end, I’m glad I have my true love and best friend.”

The bridesmaids all wore champagne-colored dresses from After Six, with identical necklaces from Bebe, while the groomsmen wore black tuxes from Jos. A. Bank with argyle socks—a gift from Kyle.

Lindsay and Kyle celebrated with specialty pomegranate Marry Me mojitos and provided their female guests with dancing shoes. A first dance to Brad Paisley’s “Then” was followed by slices of carrot spice cake with cream cheese filling and buttercream frosting. The night ended with a Halloween surprise for the couple. “Toward the end of the night, the bridal party disappeared and came back dancing to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ wearing masks,” says Lindsay.