I know Emily Post (and our own Emily) are very clear that guests should not, under any circumstances, wear white to weddings, but this Georgia-based couple specifically asked friends and family to don white to their summer wedding.  And you know what?  I wouldn’t have thought an all-white wedding could work, but Meredith + Rodney show us how a colorless celebration can be modern, fun and effortlessly chic.  Jeremy Harwell’s crisp images of the couple’s backyard wedding only highlight the clean color palate and all-white accents coordinated by planner, Meredith Webb of a A Legendary Event.  While it’s certainly bad form to take the bride’s signature color (unless otherwise instructed by your hosts!), it’s the unanimous office decision that the guests’ attire at all detracted from the Meredith, in a sophisticated Priscilla of Boston gown.  The square, rhinestone-studded confection from The Frosted Pumpkin added the perfect touch of glamour to this otherwise clean, summery wedding.  Like this idea for your own warm weather nuptials?  Be sure to visit the photographer’s blog!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met at work  We both worked for a company called Dixie Homecrafters. After about a year, Rodney decided to pursue.  We started dating in March of 2003 and the rest is history.
Describe the proposal.  The proposal, if you want to call it, that was almost not a proposal at all.  Rodney asked me to set up some appointments to look at rings.  I set up the appointments and we went from store to store gathering information.  At one store, I saw the ring that I had sketched years ago but had never seen in any store.  Rodney noticed my excitement and he went up the counter, paid for the ring and told them to size it.  I asked what he was doing and he said, “I’m buying the ring; don’t you want it?”  I said yes, of course!  We left the store to go have lunch, and then we went back to pick up the ring.   He put the on my finger and asked me if I liked it.  When I asked if this meant we were engaged, he nonchalantly said yes.  And that was that!
Three words that describe your wedding: Unforgettable, beautiful and fun.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding: The design was inspired by our home. I wanted to incorporate something for Rodney because the groom often gets forgotten in all the planning, so I chose to have everything done in white since it’s his favorite color.  I even asked all of the guests to wear white!
What was your favorite design element?  My favorite design element was the all-white everything and the beautiful tents.
Tells us about finding your wedding dress.  Finding a dress was simple! I went alone to Priscilla of Boston and tried on about five dresses, then narrowed it down to two before settling on one.  I bought the dress about two weeks after we were engaged! 

Have you ever seen a tent – or reception set-up, for that matter – this awesome?  The open-air tent is both rustic and romantic, with a subtle hint of West Coast drama to boot.  Awesome!  And check out that incredible orchid-covered confection from Belle Loreve.  I’ve always loved orchids, but maybe never this much!  Triple thanks again to Mark Brooke for this California stunner.

Describe your wedding cake: It was an organic vanilla cake with raspberry filling, lemon frosting and purple orchid embellishments.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The STRESS of having a full-time job and also planning the wedding. It was like having two full-time jobs.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Being so nervous once the music started and my Dad walked me down the aisle, but becomming completely calm once I saw Chris waiting for me.

Congratulations, Heather + Chris!  Love and best wishes from the SW girls.

Okay, it’s confession time.  We know Heather + Chris’ wedding took place in California, which means it’s supposed to be a details feature.  Which means we’re supposed to focus on… details.  Obviously.  But we hope you’ll forgive us once you see the couple’s portraits, taken by the super talented Mark Brooke Photographers.  Aren’t they lovely?  The light is just perfect, and including a post of just portraits allows us to focus on Heather’s gorgeous Francesca Pitera dress, which is technically a detail, so… I guess we’re okay!  Enjoy, and hurry back for the AMAZING reception photos soon.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I searched aimlessly through magazines, and soon realized I kept ripping out dresses by one designer, Francesca Pitera. I was sent an invitation to a one-day trunk show in Costa Mesa, and made reservations to go with my mom, Pam, and our close family friend, Renata. We got there and I tried on about 16 dresses, and narrowed it down to 2. I chose the dress I wore because I not only looked like a bride, I FELT like a bride.
Describe your wedding flowers: Beautiful!! Joni put SO much dedication and time into the flowers. I chose flowers in shades of purple and green. The arrangements ended up looking exotic and organic, yet still elegant.

We can always count on Mark Brooke to make our day a bit brighter, and he definitely doesn’t disappoint with Heather + Chris’ California nuptials at the Bella Loreve.  There are so many things we love about this weeding: the jaw-dropping beauty of the Tuscan villa where the couple exchanged their vows, the dramatic purple bridesmaid dresses from Alfred Angelo and equally stunning arrangements from Hearts Bloom… the list goes on.  In fact, we like this autumnal West Coast wedding so much we had to make it a three-part post.  Enjoy!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  Chris and I grew up together. He was childhood friends with my older brother, Shawn, so we met when I was 7 and he was 9. We didn’t hang out much growing up, and ended up losing complete touch after he graduated high school. But, thanks to modern technology, I found him on Facebook.  About 6 months later, we started dating, and 6 months after that we – he proposed!
Describe the proposal. He took me to Mazatlan for New Years 2009. We had been there a couple of days already, but on New Year’s Eve, we decided to have dinner on our hotel balcony overlooking the ocean to catch the fireworks. Once they started, I jumped up and leant over the railing to watch. I turned around to look for him, and he was behind me on his knee with a ring in hand. I ended up screaming and got on my knees too and hugged him, almost tipping him over. He laughed and asked “So is that a yes?”  I was in such shock I forgot to even answer, and started screaming “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” I couldn’t stop staring at my ring the rest of the trip. We waited a day to call our families, although mine already knew because he had asked my Dad before we left. It was amazing.

Heaven.  I am officially in my wedding heaven.  Humor me here while I indulge in my gold, black + white wedding fantasy.  Kristen + Grant’s reception at The Cloister Clubroom on St. Simons Island in Georgia is literally dripping with luxe crystal details and gold accents, but what I really like is how the happy couple gave their elegant affair a sophisticated update with chic feather accents (did you see the plume on their four-tiered confection from Natasha Zeal of the Sea Island Culinary Team?) and subtle black details.    And the lighting – oh the lighting! – is really spectacular.   (Note to self: must add this wedding to my inspiration folder.)  Emily is going to make fun of me if I don’t stop gushing, so, for your sakes, I will, with just one question: this wedding really is something, right?

Describe your wedding flowers: The chapel had such a beautiful, simple elegance that we decided not to use any flowers. Instead, we used two tall arrangements of white ostrich plumes by the altar.  Rose at the cloister did such an amazing job on the flowers! On the head table, we had a trumpet vase filled with lush, fragrant all-white garden arrangements featuring hydrangea, stock, lisianthus, vivianne spray roses and heiress garden roses with plumes of white ostrich feathers rising from the center. The look was completed by the addition of hanging Swarovski crystals, beaded crystal votives and cut crystal candlesticks along the entire length of the table.  In my bouquet, I carried white heiress garden roses accented with feathers and Swarovski crystals. The bouquet was wrapped in silk and pinned with Grant’s great grandmother’s vintage brooch.
Describe your wedding cake: The cake was gorgeous! So gorgeous, in fact, that we had it displayed in the center of the room. It was so close to the dance floor, I was afraid a guest might fly into it while dancing! I knew I wanted to include the ostrich feathers and the crystals in the cake and the Sea Island culinary team did such a great job designing it!  It had huge ostrich plumes coming out of the top.  We wanted to create a chandelier effect with crystals on the cake, so we hung Swarovski crystals from the top layer. The cake was also covered in sugar crystals which looked so amazing against the candlelight and crystals.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding? Everyone knows that I love a good costume party, so we decided to have a “fancy dress box” on the dance floor. We had a vintage trunk filled with boas, top hats, gloves, canes, mustaches, fake jewels and feathered headbands. It really took the party to a whole new level! Everyone was dressed in costume by the end of the night.  We had so much fun and the pictures are priceless.  In addition, I asked all of the guests to wear silver, black or gold and the women to wear floor length gowns. It really added to the glamour of the night. All of my friends and family looked like movie stars and the pictures were amazing.  Also, Grant’s uncle Zeke (the judge who married us) and his wife Linda had a beautiful vase made out of the glass that Grant stomped on at the end of the ceremony. It is now proudly displayed in our living room as a wonderful reminder of our wedding day.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  Grant insists his favorite part of the wedding was seeing me walk down the aisle!  For me, it was when Grant and I snuck down to the boat dock to be alone for a few minutes in between courses.  It was very dark and there was one single chandelier hanging from the tree above us. The wedding planner had left the 40’s music from the cocktail reception playing on the terrace, so Grant and I had a single dance there under the chandelier next to the water. It was one of the sweetest, most romantic moments of my life.
Funniest Moment: During the ceremony, Grant accidentally said “I do” before being asked!  So adorable!
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We both knew that we wanted our ceremony to be short and sweet! Grant was raised Jewish and I was raised Christian so we created our own ceremony in which we could celebrate the traditions of both religions. It turned out to be a very intimate and special ceremony! We had so many guests comment on how sweet and unique it was. We also had a special part in the ceremony where we honored our grandparents who had passed. I was very close to my Grandmother Haralson, so that had extra special meaning for me.
Fun Fact: We were married on the same day as JFK and Jackie O’!
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? We are really looking forward to our long-awaited honeymoon in Greece!

Congratulations, Kristen + Grant!  Enjoy your fabulous honeymoon!