Weddings 2017

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WEDDINGS 2017 l 25
HANNAH + EILEEN
Cake: A pie, from
Dangerously Delicious Pies
Hair: Happily Ever Beauty
Catering: Santoni’s Marketplace
Dress/Suit: Hannah’s dress from
Love and Lace; Eileen’s suit from J. Crew
Music: Starlust Entertainment (DJ)
Flowers: Not Just Weeds
I t takes a certain amount
of faith to book a wedding
venue without actually
seeing it, but 30-year-old
Hannah Peters and her
26-year-old fiancée Eileen
Lorenz apparently had complete
confidence when they booked
the historic Belmont Manor in
Elkridge, which at the time was
under heavy reconstruction.
Howard County Parks and
Recreation purchased the manor,
which sits on 68 acres and
includes the main house and
several smaller houses on the
property, in 2012. The organization
undertook the task of restoring it
to full grandeur. When Hannah,
a patent specialist, and Eileen,
an architect, checked the site
out over two years ago, the
project had a long way to go.
“We chose it based on what they
promised it would look like when
finished,” says Hannah. “But we
loved the historical charm and
the fact that it felt like we were
in the middle of nowhere.”
As remote as the place felt,
its central location also won the
couple over, as did the fact that
they would be able to use so much
of the available space. “We had the
ceremony on the front lawn,” says
Hannah. “Then we moved indoors
for cocktails and into the back yard
under tents for the reception.”
More than 120 guests attended
the October ceremony. The
wedding followed four years of
dating after the two met online
in 2011. They were engaged in
2014 and then concentrated on
designing their perfect day.
Both women are
environmentally conscious and
wanted to weave that ethos
into their day. “The ‘theme’ for
our ceremony was the tree,”
Hannah explains. “We both
have a fascination with trees
as a representation of life and
growth.” During the ceremony,
Hannah’s brother read an
abridged version of The Giving
Tree by Shel Silverstein along
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