BALTIMORE | 92 | WEDDINGS
“T
ropical garden sunshine oasis” was the unof-
ficial theme of Morgan Ledford and Derek
Mauldin’s summer wedding. It’s the nonsensical, perfect
description of a day that had a Katy Perry cut-out, ice
cream tacos, flawless weather, and the megawatt smile
of a bride wearing pink.
When Morgan and Derek first met, it was also a bit
unusual. She was 19 and working as a server at the now-
closed Dark Horse Saloon in Bel Air; he was 11 years
older and a manager at another bar. She was quickly
infatuated with the guy who seemed to be everyone’s
ally, but they remained friends and didn’t start dating
until her 21st birthday. In those two years, they had got-
ten to know each other—and each other’s families—well.
“He is genuinely the nicest person I have ever met,” says
Morgan. “He wants the best for everyone that he meets.”
Fast-forward three more years, and Morgan was
working at Lemon & Lime Event Design as an event
producer. “Weddings are always on your mind,” says
Morgan. And so was her engagement. “I’m a pretty big
snoop. I don’t like surprises,” she says. But when Derek
sent her upstairs late on Christmas Eve, she didn’t
think it was anything more than last minute holiday gift
prep. At one point, he asked her to send down their
dog. “Is it a dog house?” she wondered. Finally, at 10
p.m., Derek told her she could come down. “Can’t Help
Falling in Love,” by Haley Reinhart was playing on the
sound system, and Christmas lights had been strung up
all around the house. He was in a shirt and tie (she was
in sweatpants). “I was shocked,” she remembers. “I’ve
never been surprised once in my life. I can’t remember
what he said, I thought I was going to have a heart
attack.” By the light of the Christmas tree, he proposed.
When it was go-time for planning, Morgan had
one request: a new-to-her venue. “It was hard finding
somewhere I hadn’t worked,” she explains. “I didn’t
want someone else’s memories where I was creating
my own.” During an online search, she stumbled on La
Banque at the Seaplane Base, a waterfront venue in
Havre de Grace, and on her first visit, she knew it was
the place.
Morgan and Derek ended up with picture-perfect
weather in a year that saw record rainfall. The whole
day took on a sunshine-y feel, from the bright, gor-
geous flowers to the holographic 8-foot-tall escort
card display, to the 600 cocktail napkins filled with love
quotes from their favorite movies and television shows,
to being surrounded by so many vendors she consid-
ered dear friends.
Says Morgan happily, “I think I bear-hugged every-
one that day.”JUNE 16, 2018 | PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANNA REYNALLOCAL LOVEMORGAN & DEREK