From Tara of Asheville-based {Weddings With Tara}. “Lora and Jeremy were married at the Lioncrest at the {Biltmore Estate}. Liz, with {The Purple Iris}, filled the ballroom with candlelight.  The focus of the ceremony decor was a fireplace that Liz had built, filled with candles. With the lights dimmed, the room was breathtaking! Lora’s vision was romantic and elegant. Outside they had long tables decorated with ferns, pine cones, hydrangeas and lanterns. Beautiful!  Brian, with {Woodward + Rick}, captured the event perfectly.”  Enjoy~

Funniest moment? Before we walked down the aisle, we were waiting in a little house across from the church with both parents and grandparents, and both grandparents fell asleep in 2 arm chairs right next to each other, it was too cute!
What were your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue items? Old: My great, great grandmothers ring; New: Wedding Dress; Borrowed: the ring from my mother since I had to give it back, something blue: my earrings and the ring. We also did a cocktail menu with 5 items: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
Why do you love your husband? Because he loves me for who I am, and he is always there for me. I also love how close he is to his family and how he values those relationships. I love how much h cares for others even thought he wont admit it.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The crazy gift from my father’s long time friend; all the guys played golf the day before, and he said all our gifts on our registry were silly, so he took the total score of all the rounds of golf (equaling to 395) and gave that to us in all dollars bills CRUMPLED UP ONE BY ONE!!! It took us about 6-8 hours to unravel all of them, and we are still using them for odds and ends!!!
How was your wedding different than the way you’d always imagined it would be? Well it is hard to say, because I always imagined it at some old southern antebellum home. But growing up I always thought my home would be there, and I would have wished that our house would have been devastated in Hurricane Katrina and to loose everything. But it is bring my parents a great retirement home and perfect place to have a backyard wedding. I thought after all the we have gone through, what else to do but celebrate what we have fought back to overcome!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Exciting, Smooth, Perfect
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Things can always go not how you plan it, but somehow they work out. So don’t sweat he small stuff! In the end, remember it is about you and your husband, not about the table runners, and dresses, and what music has to be played. It is about the rest of your lives together.

From {Meg Baisden Photography}… “When you pull up to a quaint little church built in 1892 with a 1956 classic Bentley parked out front, you know it’s going to be a good day!” Location – Ocean Springs, MS.   For more of Kelly + Robert’s big day, visit the Meg Baisden {BLOG}.

The weather was: Wonderful! Clear blue skies, mid 70s
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted clean modern lines with a southern twist!
What colors did you choose for your wedding? green and blue. I originally wanted to just have blue and white, but Robert wanted to incorporate green (the state of Vermont color, where Rob is from)
Describe your wedding flowers: Very organic and a mix of color and texture, like wild flower like. Hydrangeas, lilies, roses, Irish bells
Describe your wedding cake: 3 tier square cake with fondant and white butter cream underneath, and white almond cake with chocolate icing from “Sweet Stuff in Biloxi, MS” The ribbon is a real ribbon and real flowers with a metal initial cake topper
How did you meet? We met in college at Huntingdon College, Montgomery, AL. We met during my junior year and his sophomore year. He was very quiet and I thought he didn’t want anything to do with me, but I was feeling brave and needed a date for our Sorority New Member Party, so I asked him out over IM!! Thank God for the internet :) We actually started dating around 9-11 happened, and haven’t been able to stay away from each other since!
Describe your engagement: I was in PT school in Pittsburgh, PA and it was Rob’s Birthday actually a few days before Thanksgiving (Nov 22, 2006) and I knew it was coming at some point because we had talked about it for a while but I thought we were going out for his birthday dinner. So before dinner we rode up and down the Duquesne Incline, then had dinner by this huge window, and before dessert he got down on his knee and proposed! I don’t remember anything he said, I was just so tearfully happy! It wasn’t some grand proposal like some people, but he wanted it to be between me and him and be a special intimate moment.
What attracted me to my husband was : Well Duh, he is ITALIAN!!!!
What attracted me to my wife was: her smile :)
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Going out to ship island when we first started dating (which is where her mom got the picture to paint for their wedding present)
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The favors: they were bookmarks that were just notes written that the couple donated money to the American cancer society to honor both of their deceased grandparents that both died from cancer.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Being so far away in Boston! Thank God I trusted my mother to take care of everything and even how organized I am, she is even more so!
Where there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? I took a picture to replicate my mother’s bridal portrait, I wore my great, great grandmother’s ring.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Walking into the church and looking at Rob……..he looked so happy, and it felt like it was just me and him in the room.
Scariest moment? When the DJ called the night before saying jokingly he almost missed his flight back from Africa (who tells a bride that the night before her wedding?!?!?!?)

More to come in Part II… 

A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Dinner in the New York Grill atop skyscraper in Tokyo – stunning views!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: the white paper parasols, imported from china, for each of the guests – with special designs for the two mums and a super sized one for Cheryl and her Dad.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Time – with busy careers, and a young baby – there never seemed enough time to get it all done.
Where there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? All the bridesmaids and the Mother of the bride wore my maternal Grandma’s jewelry. My Grandma had a HUGE jewelry collection. Some of my fondest memories of her, whom I was very close to, where trying on her jewelry while she told me stories of where each piece came from. I knew that if Peggy were around today she would have loved the idea.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing Cheryl approaching me at the "alter"; I had to really hold back a wave of emotion and a tear. When Phil and I went for a walk on the Beach at sunset.
Scariest moment? Trying to get Kevin , the boys’ photographer, ashore from the yacht without soaking his cameras Not knowing how our 41/2 month old son was going to hold up in the heat surrounded by a crowd of people and loud music.
Funniest moment? Uncle Kevin dancing and lip-synching
What were your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue items? Something old was an old English penny, something new was a lace embroidered handkerchief , something blue was my son’s birth stone Blue Topaz (he was born December31^st), something borrowed was my bridesmaid Vanessa’s Angle pin.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: Uncle Perry singing a big production show tune before we sat down for dinner…we thought he was just going to say grace.
How was your wedding different than the way you’d always imagined it would be? It was more personal, more involving and more spontaneous than I had expected. It wasn’t held up by any protocols or "doing the right thing".
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Authentic, natural, intimate
Did you write your own vows? Yes – to include baby James and to put ourselves in the context of where we were and who was with us.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Live your dream – and not other people’s expectations. Have fun planning for the day, Volunteer someone to take care of last minute emergencies the week leading up to the wedding. Remember the things that matter and forget the things that don’t.
What’s next for you? Everything…traveling the world with work and for play; maybe moving job/state/home; finally having Cheryl’s dog Rauch come live with us (not allowed in our current rental home so he’s living with her parents!), and giving James’ a brother or sister to play with.

From Katie at {Jenna Walker Photographers}. For more, visit the Jenna Walker {BLOG}  From Katie… “I was in Naples, Florida for Cheryl & Phil’s wedding at the {Port Royal Club} – and how beautiful it was. With most guests hailing from Michigan and the UK, this was certainly a destination weekend of togetherness for the whole crew. That sort of intimacy is always amazing – watching and meeting these families that may see each other but a few times a year. And making each day count. From the Welcome Dinner to the rehearsal to their big day, Cheryl & Phil were the most gracious of hosts both to their guests and to us.  It was my first time meeting both of them, and wow – they have such energy and empathy for the people in their lives.” 

Visual Designer and Florist {50 FIFTY FLORAL ART}, Cake {Mikkelsen’s Pastry Shop}, Paper Goods {Emerald City Designs}, DJ Steve Miller of the {Steve Miller Band},  Bridesmaid Dresses custom made by {Beth Groesbeck}, Catering {Port Royal Club}

More from Katie…”While I spent the morning at the spa with the girls, the uber-talented {Kevin Von Qualen} came along to help me shoot. He enjoyed an afternoon of sailing with Phil & his groomsmen. Rough gig huh?! It looked like an amazing time – this might be the first time I have a shot of a groom doing a back float in the Gulf of Mexico just hours before his wedding!”

{Cheryl’s answers in italics} 

The weather: We were blessed with the last beautiful Saturday of May – before the onset of the hurricane season. Blue skies, mid 80s, a few distant white fluffy clouds and, for the boys out sailing, a nice sea breeze
What was the inspiration for your wedding design? We wanted a white wedding but with a natural tropical feel. Our inspiration was Mother Nature — the ocean, sand and palms. Following the waterside service, we wanted the reception to have a South Beach feel.
How did the two of you meet? We met at a Detroit Tigers baseball game – to which I’d been invited by Cheryl’s sister Melissa who works in the same office.
Describe your engagement: I proposed while on a boat, in the middle of our lake, at sunset, having just arrived back from a London and a trip to Tiffany’s.
What attracted me to my husband was: The first time I felt the attraction we were on the dance floor dancing to every song . I loved the way we danced together, the way he looked at me the way he touched me. After that night I couldn’t wait to see him again. Phil is a true Gentleman, when the music stopped he continues to be my Knight in shining armor.
What attracted me to my wife was: She is so beautiful inside and out, and she just makes me want to be a better person every day.

More to come in Part II…