Today, we introduce you to South African wedding photographer {Christine Meintjes}.  Kirstin, our SW Art Director, found Chrisitine’s website one day and fell in love.  She requested Leanie + Neil’s wedding to be featured on the SW Blog and was all smiles when Christine wrote back in interest. The lovely Leanie and handsome Neil met on a New Years Eve river boat ride on the Thames Rives in London in 2006.  They have been together ever since.  Both from South Africa, there was no other choice then to be married at {Haute Cabiere} outside of Cape Town. Leanie’s sister is a former event planner and helped Leanie make some great decisions like hiring {Mint & Magnolia} to create the beautiful arrangements. Leanie’s stunning dress was designed by {Elbeth Gillis}. To see more shots from this fantastic wedding, click over to Christine’s photo {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story…Neil and I are both South African and living in England. I met him through friends in London and it was love at first sight for me! It’s not a very romantic story but we got together on the January 1, 2006. On New Year’s Eve, we were on the Queen Mary boat on the Thames River in London. I ignored Neil the whole night through all the romantic fireworks and all…I thought he was way too attractive to ever be interested in me and he probably wouldn’t be a nice guy! We got together the next day and haven’t been apart since. He turned out to be a very nice guy.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted something simple, intimate and romantic. The town where my parents live in South Africa and where we had our wedding is called ‘Franschhoek’ (Afrikaans for ‘French Corner’). Neil and I also had a lot of holidays in France during our relationship and we decided to have a French theme.
Favorite design element of your big day: The venue itself created the best element of the day, Haute Cabriere is a restaurant and wine estate with an underground wine cellar where we had the ceremony. It created a very Medieval Effect that made the atmosphere wonderful. The setting was also the best feature. We were surrounded by mountains, vineyards and a perfect African sunset!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I have never been one of those girls who know exactly what type of wedding dress to wear. It took me a while to find out what I wanted. Luckily my sister got married in March 2008 and she had a stunning dress and a brilliant designer that I booked immediately when we got engaged. I looked in a zillion magazines and tried on a few dresses. I decided on something simple, but romantic. I chose an ivory colour and I loved the Chinese satin that the designer showed me. I had a picture that I saw when I got engaged and my ideas haven’t really changed much, we changed a few things, but the designer was brilliant and she created my dream dress!
Describe your wedding flowers: My sister used to be a wedding planner (bonus!) and she introduced me to the florist who did her wedding. I just described the theme of the wedding and it all went from there. I never had set ideas for the flowers, but I was very pleased with the outcome. The bridal and bridesmaid bouquet’s were cream roses. The venue was covered with beautiful burnt orange roses to create a warm atmosphere.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The setting of the wedding with beautiful views and the intimate venue. We had a great band that played Jazz and French accordion music while the guests were having pre-drinks and enjoyed the sunset.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Romantic, Intimate, and French/Medieval.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? It helps to have a sister who was a wedding planner! It also helps to be in the country where you plan your wedding. I was in England while
my wedding was being planned in South Africa. My mother and sister did absolutely everything and they were fantastic wedding coordinators! Try not to worry too much about every detail…I couldn’t really care less what the flowers, tables etc looked like, I just wanted to marry the guy of my dreams. It was nice to have a few surprises on the wedding day, it is good to let the suppliers use their creative ideas to contribute towards the special day.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We have just moved from the countryside to London and we are adapting to city living! We are planning a few trips in Europe, while we live close by and going home to South Africa often to visit our family and friends. We are enjoying married life and we are still as happy as the day we met!
Favorite inspirational blogs or sites: Christine Meintjes (Photographer’s website)! I loved the Pronovias
website, I used it alot for ideas for wedding dresses.

Congratulations to Leanie + Neil.  We wish you the best in life!

What happens when a floral designer is given a bridesmaid dress and told to come up with a tablescape design to match the dress? The following gorgeous display of floral design and creativity from some amazing floral designers. The gorgeous images were taken by the very talented Agnes Lopez. Each floral designer was given a bridesmaid dress to use as inspiration for a tablescape design. These designs are truly stunning and proving once and for all that inspiration really can come from anything…even a dress!

Shoot Location: The Players Club Sawgrass

Makeup: Kimtasha Armstrong

Model: Chelsea with M.T.M Agency

Wardrobe: Bella Bridesmaid Jacksonville, Florida

Floral Designers: Rose of Sharon European Florist, Blooming Branches, Glenn Certain Studio, Liz Stewart Floral Design, Wilson’s Limited

credits: All images {Agnes Lopez}, Row 1 {Rose of Sharon}, Row 2 {Blooming Branches}, Row 3 {Glenn Certain Studio}, Row 4 {Liz Stewart Floral Design}, Row 5 {Wilson’s Limited}

Back with more from the elegant affair of Meagan + Jerry’s wedding celebration.  After the ceremony, guests met the couple at the {Botanic Hall at Checkwood Botonical Gardens}.  The evening was complete with dinner and dancing.  Our favorite wedding detail, the favor cake.  Inspired by {Martha Stewart Weddings} the couple crafted together many little boxes with ribbons and candies inside, to stack like a wedding cake.  The end result was simply beautiful.  Besides the favor cake, happened to be a wedding cake and grooms cake by {Maples Wedding Cakes}.  This event was planned by the fabulous Mary Alice Sublett of {A Delightful Day}.  The wedding in its entirety was captured by {Nashville Wedding Video} and {Gray Photography}.  Check out all the shots on Gray’s photo {Blog}.

The weather on our wedding day was: A little chilly with sun that slowly turned to clouds.
Favorite design element of your big day: I loved it all. I loved the elegant feel of all the details. I loved my gown. I loved the silver mint julep cups and the silver trumpet vases with the pink roses.
Describe your wedding cake: Alternating square tiers of butter pecan and strawberry covered in a pink-tinted white chocolate fondant with white flowers scattered all over. On the top near a cluster of flowers were two butterflies representing the two of us finding one another and coming together. The red velvet groom’s cake was a replica of a Harrier aircraft that the groom had worked on during his service in the Marine Corps.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My grandfather used to play “Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain” by Willie Nelson for me on his guitar when I was growing up. While most people have probably never heard Willie Nelson at a wedding, it was important for me to have it played at the beginning of the ceremony as my father lit a candle in remembrance of him and my grandmother. I wore my grandmother’s ring and had my grandfather’s wedding ring pinned to a fold in my dress. We were able to donate the flowers to an organization that will rearrange them and deliver them to hospice patients. I used to volunteer at a hospice and I think it is an amazing thing. I am so glad we were able to use the flowers beyond the wedding day.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Trusting my gut. I chose the wrong wedding dress at first and I also chose the wrong bridesmaids dresses at first. Luckily the bridesmaids could tell better than I could that I was not pleased with their dresses so they did not purchase them. It was a good thing because I changed to the Ann Taylor’s dresses a week later and they were perfect!
The Reception: {The Botanic Hall at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens} in Nashville, Tennessee. The guests enjoyed a cocktail hour while we were completing photographs at the church. They were served various passed hor devours and the signature drink of the evening a pomegranate pear martini that complemented the wedding colors and fall atmosphere. A seated dinner followed consisting of a salad of mixed greens with cranberry vinaigrette, roasted pears, candied pecans and aged soft goat cheese and an entrée of Chicken and Vegetable Wellington with Mushroom Duxelle, garlic mashed potatoes, buttered asparagus spears and white cheddar Mornay sauce. The tables were beautifully draped in a navy lamourand with floral centerpieces of silver trumpet vases full of pink roses and white hydrangea. The crowd watched as the couple shared their first dance to “Heavenly Day’ by Patty Griffin and joined them in dancing for the remainder of the evening.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Gorgeous, Elegant, Amazing.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Hire a planner. I hired {Mary Alice Sublett} after interviewing planners. I knew that I would have to have someone to throw ideas off of and someone to lead me down this path toward my ideal wedding. She was amazing. She answered every question no matter how big or small. She did not push me to make my wedding similar to others she had done. She just led me to use my likes and dislikes to create the best day of our lives. It was perfect. Also, I think it is important to have fun and enjoy yourself. When it stopped being fun for me, I would just drop it for the day. It is supposed to be the time of your life so don’t let yourself get too stressed. It will all work out.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. One of my guests said to me “I knew you would be pretty, but not this beautiful.” I felt like it was the best day of my life. I was surrounded by loving friends and family and I had just married the best man I had ever met.
What’s next for you as a couple? We are looking forward to purchasing a house and starting a family together. We are really enjoying being married. I enjoy just being with him and knowing that we are family now.
Any DIY items? We did a replica of a favor cake from the cover of {Martha Stewart Weddings}, the Fall 2008 issue. It was a lot more work than we expected to find the boxes and ribbon and then to actually make them. My husband did a lot of work on it that was very sweet. We filled each box with Hershey kisses that said “Just Married” on the flag. I had really worried about getting the perfect favors, but nothing really suited us. I think this was the best because it was a pre-wedding project that we could do together.
Favorite inspirational blogs or sites: {Ashley’s Bride Guide} is so great! {Style Me Pretty} and my planner’s site and blog {A Delightful Day} are good resources too.

Congratulations to Meagan + Jerry.  We wish you the best as you begin that family of yours!

Meagan + Jerry planned their wedding to be an “elegant and timeless affair” in Nashville, Tennessee.  To begin this classic styled wedding, Meagan + Jerry declared their love in front of family and friends at {West End Church of Christ}.  Meagan was dressed in a gown she ordered from {www.preownedweddingdresses.com} a month before the wedding date.  Her bridesmaids wore stunning dark indigo dresses from {Ann Taylor}.  Matching the bridal gowns nicely was the gorgeous bouquets from {Vintage Florals}.  More dashing details to come in the second post.  Photography by {Gray Photography}.

How did the two of you meet? We met on my 26th birthday at a bar called {Decades} in downtown Nashville. I just walked by and he said “Hey!” I stopped and thought he was cute. We have been together since.
Describe the proposal: He worked with my parents to surprise me at the {Parthenon}, which is one of my favorite places in Nashville. My parents told me they needed to talk about their will and would pick me to discuss it over lunch. I was very busy at work and agreed to a short lunch. They took a detour through the park and said they needed a picture for my dad’s work in front of the Parthenon. This was odd but I was so preoccupied with work that I just wanted to get it over with. We parked quickly and my mom handed me an envelope and changed places with me. She told me to walk up the stairs and read it. Finally I started to clue in and inside the envelope was a handwritten card from Jerry. I read it aloud and he came from behind a column. He knelt and asked me to marry him. Right after I said “yes” it started to softly snow which was unusual in late March in Nashville. It was very sweet.
What attracted me to my husband was: He is a lot of fun, cute too! He was very persistent as well.
Why do you love your husband? He is a good man of strong character. He is good to me.
What attracted me to my wife was: Personality and her drive to succeed.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? I wanted an elegant, classic and timeless wedding.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I originally bought a dress that was not ultimately the dress. I thought it was and I felt slightly rushed to find the right dress because I was about six months away from the date. “The dress” was a {Reem Acra} “Rich” style that I had found at {The Bride Room} in Nashville but did not purchase due to price. Over time I kept noticing ball gown dresses and mine was an A-line. I just did not feel excited to put it on. I should have realized sooner that was a major sign. When I returned to The Bride Room to purchase a veil, I tried “the dress” on again and truly realized my mistake. At that point the wedding was a month away and the sales lady helped me understand that ordering it was not an option and they could not sell the one off of the rack. I went home and franticly searched for it online. I found only one and it was my size on {www.preownedweddingdresses.com}! It was still available and she could ship it right away. Somehow I did and it was perfect. It was really meant to be. I am so glad that I went for it! I love the Reem Acra dress. It made me feel so beautiful. The Bride Room is my adopted bridal salon and they were so good to me. I bought my veil and jewelry there before I even had the new dress!
Describe your wedding flowers: My bouquet was a mix of blush and ivory roses with stephanotis and berries.  The bridesmaids carried bouquets of hot pink roses and green berries.
Funniest moment? During the ceremony we had the minister read notes we had written to one another that we had not previously seen. In Jerry’s note he referenced an acrostic (a poem using the letters of his name) that I wrote during the first few months we were dating. When he pulled it out of his pocket, I just laughed and laughed because I could not believe that he still had it.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? I think standing at the alter and looking into Jerry’s eyes. I felt that he was so full of love for me and I was for him. It was remarkable.

More to come from Meagan + Jerry!

We have very exciting news as we have a winner of the {CastleBride contest}.  {CastleBride}, the couture birdcage veils company, creates and designs amazing pieces for weddings in the form of veils, headpieces and hats.  We encourage you to check out the site.  Kirstin Fox, the owner, has beutiful pieces that are unique and perfect for any style of wedding, may it be chic, classic, vintage or just plain fun! With birdcage veils being one of the hottest comment makers on the SW blog (Check out Megan + John Tyler’s feature), we new this contest prize was going to be big.  CastleBride offered to give one of our readers a veil of their choice! We asked readers the simple question: how would you wear it? Take it away, Leslie.

Congratulations to Leslie! We think the birdcage veil will go perfectly for you on your big day.  Please send me your contact information and we will put you in touch with the CastleBride team.  {Email Laura_e at iloveswmag dot com}. Thanks to all that entered and be sure to check out more contest going on right now.  You might just be our winner for the {Maihar Designs Contest}.