While on a beach trip in the Outer Banks, University of Virginia students Patricia Cate Elcan and Connor James Fair were paired together by their mutual friends to duet on a song, as they both play the guitar and sing. “Our first conversation ever was: ‘Hi, so what song should we play and sing?’ We were quickly attracted to each other and bonded over similar interests, but it took the next couple of months of Connor chasing me around UVA for me to really see how special he was and for us to start dating,” Cate explains.
After five-and-a-half years together, Connor proposed to Cate at their picnic spot on the back side of the Lincoln Memorial. They were squeezing in one last date there before the weather got too frigid. Cate was a little late, and Connor was frazzled by her sudden arrival and asked her to move so he could place a blanket down. “As I stood up, he grabbed my hands and turned me towards him,” she recalls. “He started a very special sweet little speech, and I eventually realized what was happening after putting my hands on his chest and feeling his heart beating out of it.”
Even before getting engaged, it had been understood that they’d wed at Cate’s family’s farm, Misty River Farm, located 20 minutes from their home in Nashville. “For as long as I can remember, I have pointed out this hill on our farm and said, ‘I am going to get married up on that hill someday.’ From day one of our relationship, Connor has known how special our farm is to me, and it quickly became special to him as well and one of his favorite places,” Cate shares.
Although on a farm, Cate and Connor didn’t want a stereotypical country farm wedding. “My style is very bohemian, very flowy, and whimsical. I love nature, and I love the color yellow. I wanted the entire weekend to feel like a natural, elevated, elegant, romantic, bohemian fairytale,” the bride shares. “My favorite trees are ginkgo trees because of their yellow color and their significance of resilience, hope, health, and longevity. We leaned into the ginkgo tree as a theme throughout the entire wedding, and it allowed for a beautiful aesthetic of exactly what we wanted.”
Over The Moon–favorite planners Easton Events—who also organized Cate’s sister’s nuptials—assembled the perfect team to help bring the bride’s vision to life: Mindy Rice Design, HMR Designs, Skyline Tent Company, and Cheree Berry Paper. “Cheree Berry Paper helped us create a warm, natural, elegant feel with personalized hints of ginkgo trees, music notes, watercolor depictions of the farm, and more throughout the entire weekend to ensure each event felt very us and personal,” Cate describes.
For her autumnal wedding wardrobe, the bride turned to Julie Sabatino and Dianis Mercado of The Stylish Bride to help curate her looks. On Thursday evening, Cate wore a J. Andreatta blouse and skirt set for the 70-person rehearsal dinner. The glam team from Claire Balest gave the bride an Old Hollywood beauty look, and her skin never felt better because of her esthetician Sarah Akram’s personalized routine. She confirms, “I felt fabulous.”
The next night, Cate wanted “to feel flowy and whimsical and be in cowgirl boots” for the “Full Moon Rendezvous.” Julie and D. helped the bride find Danielle Frankel’s Coty dress for the occasion. “As the night chilled, I paired a cashmere shawl by Loro Piana, actually called the ‘Moon Shawl,’ which complemented the Full Moon Rendezvous name quite perfectly,” Cate says.
October 28, 2023, the bride put on Lee Petra Grebenau’s Emilia wedding dress with added sleeves. She styled the look with her mother’s sapphire diamond ring and her grandmother’s diamond pearl earrings that her sister had also worn on her own wedding day. Cate ended the day in a custom design by The Stylish Bride’s designer, Peter Soronen. The bride gushes, “It was flattering, flowy, comfortable, fun to dance with, and really fun to sing with while I performed on stage.”
All of Connor’s looks were styled by Nashville-based stylist Caitlin Costello of Affiner. For the wedding day, he put on a custom tuxedo by J.Hilburn with a feather bowtie from Brackish and his favorite Christian Louboutin slippers.
As Cate had envisioned years prior, the ceremony was set on top of her special hill on the farm. Guests were welcomed into a cocktail tent for a glass of Champagne before finding their seats, as Bridgerton-esque tunes were played by Élan Artists. After the wedding party processed to “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift, Cate and her father walked down the aisle to “I Will Always Love You.”
The pair exchanged personal vows. “To be completely honest, during the ceremony, I felt like Connor and I were the only people there,” Cate recalls. “I was trying so hard to focus on him and our moment that I didn’t even really notice the 420 other people who were there. . .I got choked up about halfway through reading my vows but then was able to pull it back together and get through them successfully. It was truly surreal.” After sharing a first kiss and a married couple, the two recessed to “Everlasting Love,” sung by a choir.
20-foot gingko trees filled the spectacular reception green house structure, and the theme continued with gingko leaves painted on the custom dance floor, band backdrop, and bar. “Everything was jaw-droppingly beautiful,” Cate says. The new Fairs made their entrance to “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” performed by Blue Rhythm.
After the delicious seated dinner, Cate climbed on top of a ladder to help Connor pour a magnum of Champagne onto their coupe tower. The full moon shone through the glasshouse—perfectly chosen to come through on the wedding day. “The moon is very special to me and my mom,” the bride explains. “I absolutely love full moons, they are magical.”
Hours later, the duo hopped up on stage to perform “Sedona” by Houndmouth—a favorite tune that their college band performed. “It was an incredible moment,” the bride beams. Once the reception came to a formal close, the Fairs made their sparkler exit to their heavily-decorated Jeep and drove off as fireworks began in the distance. “We were far enough away from the party to have a moment to ourselves. It was the first moment we had just the two of us in a while, and it was so special.”
Guests boarded the shuttles with wrapped chicken biscuits from Cate’s family’s restaurant, Loveless Cafe—a Nashville southern food classic. And the after-party kicked off at Acme Feed and Seed. “We partied and ate late-night food, and Connor and I even sang up on the stage some more,” Cate remembers. “Connor and I walked from Acme to our beautiful hotel suite at the 1 Hotel around 3:00 a.m. It was the best night of my life.”
