Bride and groom share a kiss in front of a framed landscape painting during their jewel-tone wedding in the galleries of the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia
Lexus & Alex: A Chrysler Museum Wedding in Norfolk

Most couples choose a venue and then bring in the art. Lexus and Alex married inside it.

At the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, the setting carries its own weight — marble, light, and masterworks on every wall. A space like that asks a planning team for restraint: enough design to make the day theirs, never so much that it argues with the room. That was the whole assignment, and it shaped every choice we made.

A WEDDING AMONG THE ART

The museum did what no backdrop can fake — it gave the day a sense of occasion the moment guests walked in. We worked with the museum spaces, huber court, porcelain galleries, and more - letting the architecture lead and placing our design where it would elevate the setting rather than cover it.

Bride in an off-the-shoulder lace gown and groom in a black tuxedo embrace against an emerald gallery wall of gilt-framed paintings at their jewel-tone Chrysler Museum of Art wedding in Norfolk, Virginia
Bride holding a jewel-tone bouquet of deep red and purple florals and groom in a black tuxedo with a green bow tie, framed in a gallery doorway at their Chrysler Museum of Art wedding in Norfolk, Virginia

DESIGNED TO MEET THE ROOM

Against the museum's palette, we built the day in moody jewel tones — deep, saturated color that more than held its own beside the art. Florals by Embellished Details framed the space without crowding it; candlelight from The Detail Collective warmed the marble; Courtney Ingram glassware and Stage Right lighting carried the jewel-tone design down to the last table. Every element was chosen to hold its own beside the art — and to still look unmistakably like Lexus and Alex.

Candlelit wedding reception with black linens, emerald napkins, and taper candles beneath the stone arches of the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, designed by By Love Events & Design
Black-and-white detail of taper and pillar candles, ribbed glassware, and dark florals down a candlelit reception table at a Chrysler Museum of Art wedding in Norfolk, Virginia
Overhead view of the bride and groom beside an emerald velvet sweetheart table surrounded by pillar candles in the grand hall of the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia

BUILT AROUND THEM

Lexus and Alex didn't want a wedding that could have happened anywhere. They wanted this room, these people, and a day that felt as considered as the place it happened in. That's not something you pull off a template. You build it around the couple — and let a remarkable room do the rest.

That's By Love.

 VENDOR CREDITS:

Couple: Lexus & Alex McDaniel

Planning & Design: By Love Events & Design (@ByLoveEvents)

Venue: Chrysler Museum of Art (@chryslermuseum)

Photography: Dakotah Van Doran (@DakotahVanDoran)

Florist: @embellished_details

Day-of details: The Detail Collective (@thedetail.collective)

Makeup: Keni B (@blushtones_keni.b) for @blushtones

 Hair: @hair_by_staybae

Dress: @studioidobridals

Tux: @miguelsformalwear

DJ: @dj_freddyc

Lighting: @stagerightweddings

Cake: @kittyscakes_va

Catering: @tastecateringva

Rentals: @waterfordeventrentals

Glassware: @thecollectionbycourtneyinghram

Invitations: @mintedweddings