Photography by Agnes Lopez
Honoring the past while looking toward the future was a central theme of the wedding celebration of Adriana Jouvanis and Andrew Scafetta. The couple, who reside in the Washington, D.C., area, wove tradition and sentiment into their special day in the most elegant way possible.
Friends and family are an extremely important part of Adriana and Andy’s lives—so much so that many of their wedding details were inspired and influenced by personal relationships. “We wanted a destination wedding, so our wedding would not just be a day, but a weekend celebration with family and friends,” says Adriana. “We love them too much to make them deal with D.C. traffic for an entire weekend.”
They chose the Jacksonville area at Adriana’s parents’ suggestion. They had just spent a weekend in Amelia Island on business, and thought the area would be perfect—not too far from the couple’s home, but far enough to feel like an escape. After looking at various venues, Adriana and Andy found exactly what they wanted—a beautiful Greek Orthodox church, Holy Trinity, to honor Adriana’s Greek heritage, and the Mediterranean-styled clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass, a golf club in Ponte Vedra Beach, for the reception.
Planning the event became such an epic undertaking that the couple even created a website to “exaggerate and satirize the grand plans for our wedding,” says Andy. Adriana adds, “My dad literally figured out how many days of wedding planning, from engagement to wedding day, were involved. I believe it was 500-plus.”
The planning paid off, of course. The ceremony was traditional Greek Orthodox, with all the customary elements such as the connected crowns (Andy and Adriana’s were made of solid sterling silver by
orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), the lavishly decorated candles and the “dance of Isaiah” around the altar. Building on the idea of tradition, Andy and Adriana chose a “vintage elegance” theme for the reception. Event designer Liza Chung built on this concept with gorgeous florals—mostly blue hydrangeas and white roses—accented with strings of crystal beads and antiqued silver elements. Personal touches, such as framed photos of the couple’s parents and grandparents on their wedding days, were placed throughout.
“The head table and cake table were, by far, my favorite,” says Adriana. “I still dream of it to this day—the billowy linens, puffs of hydrangeas and creamy blooms, crystal beading draped from the vases, ivory peacock plumes, and the romantic candles all over the tables. It was truly dreamy.”
The peacock feathers were a nod to Adriana’s grandmother. “My grandmother loved peacocks,” she says. “She actually had one as a pet. The feathers seemed like such a fun and personal nod to my mother’s family.”
Another personal touch was wearing her mother’s jewelry. “I wore her earrings and bracelets, and carried her silver handbag,” says Adriana. Her headpiece was a custom creation incorporating feathers and her mother’s vintage silver brooch. Using her mother’s jewelry, she says, “reminded me of being a little girl and raiding my mother’s closet for dress-up clothes and accessories.”
For the complete story of Adriana and Andrew's wedding, please pick up a copy of Weddings Illustrated's Fall/Winter 2010 issue here.
