The people who linked to SWS this week: Toast and Tables, Elizabeth Anne Designs, Paul Johnson Photography, Regina Holder, Casey Brown Designs, Melissa’s Greetings, Brooke Schwab Photography, Laura Kay Photography, Le Petit Blog, The Little White Book, Terrica Skaggs of Fabuluxe on The Smart Planner,  Lisa Konecny of E Events Design on The Smart Planner, Heartistic Photography, Cathy + David Photo, Katie Price, Blue-Eyed Bride, My Cleveland Wedding, The Art Book, Lori Cox Photography, Fiore Blossoms *If you linked to us this week, but don’t see your link here, feel free to email us at [submissions at swsmag dot com] and we will be sure to add it.

Thank you so much for the blog love!  We get so excited about reading new blogs and getting love back makes this even more fun.  Thanks for taking the time to link us and for being loyal SWS readers.  The SWS Daily Blog (launched less than 3 short months ago!) jumped past 300 subscribers today.  Wow, what an honor to be a part of your daily wedding inspiration!  We are thrilled and honored!

Need a cure for the Monday blues?  Click here (Breathtaking. Totally made my week!) and here.

Big news coming this week… very exciting!  Stay tuned…  Happy Monday~

Image courtesy of {Mindy Weiss Party Consultants} 

If you haven’t already discovered www.mammothmen.com, you have some entertainment ahead of you, my friend.  Witness some of the best photographers in the business doing… well, just click over and have a laugh or two.. or ten.  There is too much talent on that bus! Image by {Fred Egan}

It has been a crazy two weeks!  We moved out of our house in LA, drove to Oregon for my brother-in-law’s wedding (which was beautiful!), then caught a plane to our new home in Chapel Hill, NC this past Monday.  We still have no furniture or cars (all were expected to arrive on Monday) but we are very happy to be here.  As we settle in over the next couple weeks (and if our furniture and cars ever arrive!) I will be getting back into the swing of things here on the blog.  I have so missed having the time to comment on other blogs…such amazing posts every day and I can’t wait to get back to my daily schedule!  I am down to 50ish emails to return, so I am making progress.  Thanks again for your patience and all the super nice emails I have been getting lately.  I love this blog because of the community that is forming around it every day.  So, now that I am finally back in the South, I need a FABULOUS intern!  Email me a cover letter and resume [Lara at swsmag dot com] if you live in the area, can come to my office several days a week, have incredible writing and organizational skills, a strong work ethic and a passion for exquisite weddings and design.  I have already received some very nice inquiries and look forward to interviewing all of you soon.  It has been a long while since I’ve had an intern in my office, so this will be a wonderful experience.  I love teaching and learning from new people.

Enjoy these sweet southern details from {The Image Mill} of Parker + Matt’s {Hudson Manor} wedding in Louisburg, NC.

Describe your engagement: We got engaged on a trip to Puerto Rico, on a tiny island called Vieques… Andy proposed on our balcony that overlooked the ocean, under a sky full of sparkly starts! Our engagement lasted a little over a year, and in that time, we both got new jobs and moved to the Bay area in California (but kept our wedding location in Carillon) — it ended up being a true destination wedding for everyone!
What attracted me to my husband was: his humor, his candor, and his honest & adorable face.
What attracted me to my wife was: I think it was her cute tush!! Stunningly naturally beautiful. Food, openness and drive for success.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Andy: The Highland Tap – Atlanta. We talked so much, so late into the night, the valet guy went home and locked up my keys (car & apartment) before he left! Where was I to go that night!? Julie: this is also the same date I will always remember… he says it was an "accident"… I was nice enough to let him crash at my place :)
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Julie: I can’t pick a favorite!! I think it was our guests — they made the day so fun & memorable. Andy: The band, the food, the people. For me it was a joy to do the traditional British speeches, where we could thank our parents, our guest, tell some fun stories and to read my fun little poem I wrote for Julie in Starbucks the morning of the wedding.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Julie: planning the wedding without a mom… but I had an amazing maid of honor, bridesmaid, and sisters to help me overcome it. Andy: For me it was making sure family and friends from the UK and New Zealand had places to stay and new house to get to the wedding destination.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Julie: seeing Andy’s face when I first walked into the chapel with my dad. He said, "oh my god"! Andy: Seeing Julie for the first time – just beautiful and delicate.
Scariest moment? Julie: right before I walked into the chapel with my dad. I looked through the glass paned door and saw everyone looking at me with cameras ready — I thought, oh my god, this is it!! Andy: the thunder!
Funniest moment? Andy: The speeches. Julie: when we sang Love Train with the band!
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: Rain! Our final song, ‘Love Train’ – we had the human love train that danced in and out of the tent, and we both got to sing the last parts of the chorus with the band!
How was your wedding different than the way you’d always imagined it would be? It was 100 times better than we could have imagined. We expected to be outside in the sun but we were inside sheltering from the rain. But it did not matter – there were just 55 guests from all over the world – Atlanta, California, Hawaii, Seattle, Korea, New Zealand, France, Scotland, England, Wales and Canada and they all made our day special by being the most sociable, fun, loving, giving, caring group of people I would ever want to share a tent with. Oh and the band – they really added something special by being just outstanding.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Andy: Invite only those you would want to share your special day with. Good food, good band, good photographers and the rest should fall into place if you have your friends and family with you. Julie: this is about you two. If you are very lucky, it will never happen again, so remember to stop, breath, and ENJOY it!!

Congratulations, Julie + Andy!  Thank you, Paul and Mecheal, for sharing these fabulous images~  Have a beautiful weekend!

Enjoy this beautiful wedding from {Paul Johnson Photography}. This is what modern southern weddings are all about–blending and expressing two lives against a southern backdrop.  Julie’s Asian heritage and Andy’s Brittish upbringing are married beautifully amidst the splendid canvas of gorgeous {Carillon Beach, Florida}.  Coordination by in-house coordinator, Victoria Volpone; Cake {Debra Spurlin}; Flowers {Bella Flora} of Carillon Beach; Caterer by {Townsend Catering} of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Check back later for Part II of Julie + Andy and be sure to visit Paul’s beautiful {BLOG}! Which image is your favorite?

The weather was: a little bit of everything! Clouds, wind, rain, thunder, lightening, and even a little bit of sun as the sun went down. We thought it was just perfect.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  We wanted an elegant wedding that would be timeless… We wanted the wedding to speak from both sides of our cultures. Our wedding coordinator did an amazing job suggesting how we could marry British sensibility (Andy’s side) with Asian simplicity and charm.
What colors did you choose for your wedding? We never started with a particular color in mind, but I decided on blue bridesmaids dresses to start, and then it just ended up permeating the entire day. So in the end, we got blue & white, which we were so happy with.
Describe your wedding flowers: We didn’t want the reception flowers to look too “forced” so we asked our florist for loose English garden arrangements in an assortment of blue & white Spode-inspired vases. They did an amazing job and alternated table arrangements with these and simpler cherry blossom branches in glass vases. It ended up that cherry blossoms were not blooming at the time, so our branches were very green — but we ended up loving the look. My bouquet was a simple bunch of white peonies, and the bridesmaid’s bouquets were simple clusters of white tulips; my favorite flower.
Describe your wedding cake: our cake was very cute! We found a cartoonish Korean bride & groom which inspired the rest of the cake. Since we were having cherry blossoms in the wedding, our cake designer incorporated cherry blossoms (to tie in the pink from the bride) with tiny pearls of blue (to tie in the blue from the groom).
How did you meet? We met at Andy’s friend, Ian’s housewarming party. Julie’s friend, Deron brought Julie to the party with their friend Amy. The first conversation we had was about the British chef, Jamie Oliver (we both love food!)… Actually, Amy also met her future husband, Alan at this same party (they are engaged now). Amy was Julie’s maid of honor and Alan was Andy’s best man!

Check back for the rest of Julie + Andy’s interview in Part II…

And now, a new SWS feature… “The 5 Questions“

5 Questions for Paul Johnson of {Paul Johnson Photography}:

When did you decide this was your calling? I fell in love with photography when I was very young and actually shot a friend of the family’s wedding when I was 11 years old but it wasn’t until later in life that I decided to pursue photography as a full time career. Soon after my wife Mecheal began assisting me at weddings I decided to give her a camera to do some second shooting. Although she was new to photography it was very obvious to me early on that she had a natural talent. Now it’s a fifty fifty deal and we both cover every wedding and combine the imagery into a chronological story of the day.
What fuels your inspiration? Mecheal and I both have a very strong desire to create something special for every client. We never think a wedding is just another wedding and being inspired by each and every couple is a must. We believe that each couple has a unique personality and style so we really strive to be sensitive to what those qualities are. We know that if we can identify and capture our clients uniqueness instead of molding and conforming them into our style of imagery then they will have not only beautiful, but meaningful images.
What inspires you on a daily basis? Imagery is everywhere.. movies, magazines, catalogs and shopping malls to name a few.. I love seeing all kinds of non-wedding imagery and using it as inspiration for my shooting and processing style. During the wedding day people watching is key, I try to pay attention to what is actually happening and not just look for the next pretty composition.
Favorite blogs/magazines/designers/photographers? Of course SWS, and MACRUMORS! I can’t wait for the new 3G iPhone to come out.
Do you have any advice to up and comers? 1. When you find that something is working for you keep it up, but at the same time never stop trying something different. 2. Timing.. if you want to capture moments you must anticipate them. The only time you will see a perfect moment in the viewfinder is AFTER it has already happened, if you didn’t already press the shutter you missed it!
What is in the future of Paul Johnson? Wow, hopefully just to be the best father, husband, and photographer I can be!