Despite going to high school together, Meg Workman and Evan McMillion did not cross paths until after their college graduations, when they connected at a mutual friend’s house. It was the Fourth of July, and Evan was supposed to visit his other friend’s lake house, but after meeting Meg, Evan decided to not to venture out again. “I think he’s still getting grief about that to this day…” Meg confides. “The guys must have obliged because they were part of our wedding party!”
After five years together, Evan and Meg revisited the park in Charleston that was the location of one of their first dates. After driving in a golf cart to the waterfront, Evan got down on one knee and proposed. Once engaged, the couple immediately decided on using Meg’s grandparents’ lush farm property in West Virginia, The Hauldren Farm, for their wedding. “We both love being outdoors, so we knew we wanted everything to be open-air and outside,” Meg says.” Neither Evan nor Meg were too concerned about finding an aesthetic. Instead, they wanted their wedding to stylistically reflect their personalities. They knew their venue needed a fire pit for late-night s’mores.
Originally scheduled for October 24, 2020, the #OneInAMcMillion wedding was postponed to May 29, 2021. In January 2020, Meg began the process of designing a custom-made gown, but when she received it seven months later, it was nothing like she envisioned. “Thank goodness for my bridal stylist Lindsey Nowak, who set me up with Mandi Jackson Bridal in Atlanta,” Meg exclaims. “She shipped in my dream Monique Lhuillier Bloom dress to try on only a few weeks later!”
Meg wanted to try the Bloom dress months before, but the pandemic swatted any plans for a New York trip. Meg declares that the fact that Lindsey and Mandy brought her to the dress after all this time means it was meant to be. “The hand-painted fabric was just the perfect amount of ‘non-traditional’ that I was looking for, and my dress was equal parts dramatic and romantic,” she adds about her wedding gown. As a hair and makeup artist herself, styling her bridal look was incredibly important, not to mention fun. She elaborates, noting, “I think what I really wanted on my day more than anything was just to feel really feminine and like myself rather than feeling like ‘a bride.'” Meg trusted Kelli Hoff and Patrick Navarro with her hair and Lillian Fogel with her makeup. She completed the ensemble with Fendi shoes and a Jennifer Behr bow.
The bridesmaids wore different Maria Lucia Hohan dresses. “I wanted a mix of texture without going wild with patterns,” Meg shares. “My mom and I had a blast sending options back and forth, pic-stitching and laughing along the way. I have a newfound appreciation for stylists!” The women accessorized with jewelry and hair embellishments from Jennifer Behr, Suzanne Kalan, Oscar de la Renta, Rebecca de Ravenel, We Dream in Colour, and Mignonne Gavigan.
For the aisle, Evan and Meg desired something that was simple yet dramatic. The Putnam Market brought that dream to life. “We had a wild and whimsical arch, in a large grassy field with ghost chairs and a table with champagne for our guests,” she describes. “The aisle was long like my train, so I felt like I really got to show that off, and the build-up of seeing each other for the first time made that long walk even more exciting.” A two-piece piano and guitar duo, which featured Meg’s cousin on the piano, played John Mayer’s “XO,” as the bride walked down the aisle with her parents.
After the tumultuous year in 2020, both Evan and Meg were overwhelmed with emotions to finally marry. “It felt like a whole new beginning for Evan and me after living apart for four years,” she says. “Really surreal and exciting.” They exchanged bands from Croghan’s Jewel Box and were finally announced as Mr. and Mrs. McMillion.
Despite the sunshine leading up to this Memorial Day weekend, the morning of the wedding day brought a drizzly cold front. Thankfully, their planner and families revised their current plan of action. They brought out blankets and heaters and lit up the fire pit earlier than they anticipated.
“We wanted to just have a fun, relaxing, family-style meal without taking time away from the dance floor for a seated dinner,” Meg explains. The tent and the grassy area in front of the house were covered in twinkly string lights, live trees, plants, and wildflowers. The menu featured farm-to-table fresh salads and vegetables.
The newlyweds slipped out from the reception to spend a few moments eating dinner together in the house. They joined the party for their first dance, set to “I Will” by Dean Martin. This was Evan’s pick, a tune he often plays on Sunday mornings and in the kitchen. “It was fun to see my grandparents and the people their age relax in the rattan lounge area, while we danced the night away!” Meg recalls.
As the night dwindled, guests roasted marshmallows and visited the gourmet grilled cheese food truck, but not before passing some West Virginia moonshine on the dance floor.
