Erica & Tommy’s Offbeat Baltimore MD Wedding at the American Visionary Art Museum

Erica & Tommy’s wedding is an awesome example of modern meets alternative.

…I mean, they got married under a hot air balloon – how many couples can say THAT!?

Set at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD, Erica & Tommy threw an amazing wedding that was beautifully captured by Stephen Bobb of Love Life Images. I think you all are going to really like this one …

As a Washington, DC couple, Erica & Tommy share why they chose the American Visionary Art Museum as their venue:

Early in our relationship, we had visited American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore and fell in love with the museum and the philosophy behind it. If you haven’t been there before, it is a quirky, magical place that draws out smiles and laughter. A few months before we got engaged, we visited AVAM once again and Tommy kept saying, “You know, this would be really great space for a big party.

After we got engaged, having our wedding at AVAM immediately came to mind. Having lived in the District for most of my adult life, I struggled with wanting to have a DC wedding, but most of the venues we looked at didn’t feel like us — too formal and fancy — and didn’t have the sentimental value that AVAM had.

After taking another trip to AVAM with our wedding in mind, it became a no brainer and we settled on our destination wedding in Baltimore four years to the day of our first date.

Love Tommy’s style ~ a bearded groom is always ok with me :)

Adore the simple, bright yellow and pink boutonnieres

This shot is stunning. Looks so editorial!

Read more to see the rest of the blog feature, the Hot Air Balloon altar, modern & bright table displays, and more from this fantastic alternative Maryland wedding!

Erica shares more about their decorating theme:

For the decor, we were going for a fresh, minimalist look, by contrasting the green tablecloths and white chairs, the white lanterns, and the bright flowers in white vases. We sought to complement AVAM’s own beauty rather than overwhelm it.

How awesome is this? The white paper lanterns? The bright green colors? I love it!

Love the simple. but modern decor. Just perfect.

Come on … seriously … what a COOL, alternative wedding venue in Maryland. Baltimore brides- rejoice. This rules.

Erica shares some more about their ceremony & it’s location:

We had our ceremony on the first floor and reception on the top floor of the the Jim Rouse Visionary Center, which is a refurbished whiskey distillery with brick walls, high ceilings, and great pieces like a sculpture of Divine, Fifi the poodle, and a giant ball of bras. In between the ceremony and reception, our cocktail hour was in the AVAM Barn and garden next door, which used to be a whiskey storage warehouse.

We tried to bring a lot of personal details into the ceremony and reception. Our ceremony was officiated by Tommy’s brother-in-law, an ordained minister, but featured Quaker wedding vows and certificate.

And there it is … getting married under a hot air balloon that has LOVE written across it. I mean … *Swooooon*

I used to play the cello (I still dabble), so we hired a cellist to play my favorite Bach cello suites during the ceremony.

Cuuuuuute seating card display with grass! So fun.

What a unique, alternative guest book idea!!!

Other little details included a squirrel bride and groom cake topper (I love squirrels!); a photo booth with masks, moustaches, and clown noses; our letterpress invites (we love letterpress); favors of chocolate toffee homemade by my mom and her best friend; and the presence of my prized Loro Blonyo statues, which symbolize a happy marriage, that I picked up while living in Indonesia.

The design of their signage is amazing. I am in awe.

I love how Love Life makes it look like these two are completely alone. Kinda cool IMO.

As a fellow music lover, I know exactly what Erica means about how hard it is to perfectly craft all the playlists:

We are music lovers, so we agonized for weeks over the music playlists for cocktails and dinner and had one of Tommy’s best friends serve as DJ during the all-important dance party.

This reception looks insanely fun … animal masks included.

Erica’s favorite moment of the day:

My favorite part of the whole evening (besides marrying Tommy), was when our friends spontaneously lifted each of us up in the air. It was totally unexpected and super fun.

Crowd surfing at your own reception? Um … yes please!