While earning their respective graduate degrees at Yale University, Addison Rothrock and Scott Traina met at a student bar. “I thought our first conversation went exceptionally well, so I was shocked to hear that Scott didn’t think so!” admits Addison. “He thought there was no chance I would give him my number when he asked, but of course I did. I was instantly charmed.” Years later while on vacation in Turks and Caicos, Scott proposed to his beloved on the beach.

When planning their wedding, the couple knew they wanted as many people as possible to join them on their special day. “I grew up in Georgia; Scott grew up in Denver... We both have lived all over the country, [which] meant that we had community and friends across the states, so we needed a city that had a major airport and a venue that was rather easily accessible,” describes the bride. With 200 people on their guest list, they selected a gorgeous venue in Atlanta.

“The phrase I used throughout the planning process when describing the look and feel was ‘French garden party’ – specifically, the image I had in mind was a picnic scene out of the 2006 Marie Antoinette film. I wanted it to feel fresh, sophisticated, organic, invigorating, and feminine,” shares Addison of their vision for the elegant alfresco ceremony and warm reception inside the mansion.

Friends and family found their seats dotting the manicured lawn next to arrangements of textured florals in shades of pink. At last, the bride walked down the aisle toward her life partner in a romantic gown featuring floral embellishments. When asked what her most memorable moment of the day was, she affirmed that she will never forget walking towards her beloved for the vow exchange and seeing all of their friends and family together in one place for the first time ever. “I had never felt more present and at peace,” she muses.

“I wanted it to feel fresh, sophisticated, organic, invigorating, and feminine.”

Following the nuptials, loved ones made their way into the elegant reception space. Not wanting to be constrained by a particular color palette, Addison instead asked her wedding team to put together a spectacular array of florals and fruits, such as berries and figs, based on the “French garden party” style she desired. “Coupled with our tablecloths, which were a gorgeous colorful floral design, I felt that the décor hit the bullseye,” confirms the bride.

Attendees enjoyed a fun, interactive dinner with selections from various food stations, including a “Southern comfort” station – “with fried chicken, of course,” smiles Addison – as well as a “fresh” station featuring salmon and kale dishes, and a “surf and turf” station with shrimp and grits as well as short rib. For a welcomed sweet treat, an incredible donut flambé station excited guests and in keeping with the French theme, loved ones were offered macarons as wedding favors.

After special dances, including the pair’s first dance to “Your Song” by Elton John and a choreographed West Coast Swing father-daughter dance to “Ain’t That Love” by Ray Charles, the couple celebrated on the dance floor all night to their favorite hits. “Scott and I really love late-‘90s, early-2000s alternative rock, think ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ and ‘All the Small Things,’ so we had our band play a lot of that genre,” notes the bride of the entertainment.

“When they played ‘Tubthumping,’ all the guys threw Scott up into the air. As he was crowd-surfing, he pointed at me to join him and before I knew it, I was up there with him!” she adds of the special moment with her newly minted husband.

This real wedding was originally published in the Winter 2025 expanded-digital issue of Inside Weddings magazine. 

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