Hi hi! Remember our Valentine’s Day Brion Hopkins giveaway? Talented and generous photographer Brion is gifting his services to one lucky couple in exchange for a $1000 donation to Haiti Relief. You can read about all of the details here!
It was nearly impossible to choose just three finalists, as there were SO MANY wonderful entries!! We did ultimately choose, however, and here they are, in no particular order:
1. Meet Sarah + Ryan, getting married in December in Tennessee:
“We are getting married in an intimate evening ceremony in the stables of the Belle Meade Plantation, with an elegant ‘barn party’ reception to follow in the carriage house. The ceremony will highlight the natural beauty of the wooden stables, with magnolia garland, numerous candles, and an iron and candle chandelier. The wedding attire will have an earthy, vintage feel. The flowers will be a lot of greens, ivories, and some winter berries. The reception will feature a bluegrass band playing in the carriage house, and will be decorated with a ceiling strung full of lights. We’re using antique harvest tables to display the buffet of home-style Texas and Tennessee favorites, as well as winter desserts, including large jars full of cookies with small burlap sacks stamped with horses, hearts and ‘I Do’ for guests to take as favors. The tables will be filled with candles as well as vintage vases and apothecary jars full of winter flowers and berries. We also plan to have baskets displayed of pine cones, clementines, and berries. And, in the hallways, vintage benches with cozy plaid blankets draped across them.”
2. Meet Trisha + Jason, getting married in September in Carmel Valley.
“We have decided we do not like conformity. We don’t have “colors.” We aren’t having bridesmaid dresses (all of the bridesmaids are unique and beautiful, and we like the fact that they will be wearing something that reflects their own sense of style). Boutonnieres and bouquets will coordinate with what they decide to wear. The ceremony will be in the Carmel Mission Basilica, which was founded in 1770 and is so beautiful. The dinner will be in a vineyard, actually IN it, surrounded by ripening grapes and hopefuly while the sun is setting. We have requested picnic tables and a live grill for the feast. We are bringing in galvanized tin tubs for beer and beverages. The table decor is undecided thus far, but I have purchased different sizes of mason jars to fill with olives, flowers, and candles. We want to keep the decor simple since the landscape speaks for itself. Cake and dancing will be in a wine aging room surrounded by oak barrels, Jason’s dream.”
3. Meet Whitney + John, getting married in June near Asheville.
“Our wedding will be an expression of our love for one another and our families, and a reflection of the place where we have chosen to celebrate. It will take place on a farm outside Asheville, and be full of natural, simple, vibrant things, like hand-sewn fabric banners, locally-grown flowers arranged by the bride and her friends (all lovers of flowers, if not all green-thumbed!), and wreaths of branches found in the mountains. We will serve locally-sourced, really delicious barbecue, with all the real Southern sides, like fried okra and crumbly cornbread, and (of course) sweet tea in big Mason jars. And instead of cake, we will have loads of berry shortcake and s’mores (Whitney’s childhood favorite). We want to evoke the atmosphere of a big, happy, extra-special backyard barbecue, with an incredible bluegrass band, lots of dancing, and lots of love.”
The polls are now officially open, ladies and gents! Please vote for your favorite couple by commenting below. The comment section will remain open until next Friday, March 19. PLEASE only ONE vote per person! We can and will easily track IP addresses and delete over-voters.
Best of luck to our finalists, and another HUGE thank you to Mr. Brion Hopkins!
UPDATE: Comments for this contest will close at 11:59pm on Friday, March 19. Let’s keep things fair, guys + gals!
PLEASE NOTE: WE CAN SEE YOUR IP ADDRESS, SO IF YOU COMMENT MORE THAN ONCE IT WON’T COUNT. Save us the trouble and just comment once, please!
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Mary, March 17, 2010 4:41 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Does anybody know the name of that dress?? I love it and can't find it anywhere!
Southern Weddings, March 17, 2010 5:08 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Hi Mary! Did you mean the red dress or the white dress? Hopefully Lindsey or Shannon will hop onto the comments in a bit to help answer your question!
Emily @ SW
Charity, March 17, 2010 5:19 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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I love the cowboy boot look! The pink is pretty but the country flair is great
Sarabeth, March 17, 2010 6:32 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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I'm fairly certain that if I owned those pink heels I could find a way to work them into every outfit I own.
LOVE THEM!
Mary, March 17, 2010 7:23 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Thanks Emily! The red dress! I love it! Our rehearsal dinner is in a barn and it would be perfect!
Emily @ Southern Weddings, March 17, 2010 9:16 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Does anyone else think Shannon has a sort of Carrie Underwood vibe going on? Katharine and I are currently debating... P.S. I think my favorite look is the red dress, as well. Too cute!
Ashley, March 17, 2010 10:55 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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BOTH of these sessions are so cute! :)
wholesale roses, March 17, 2010 11:28 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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I vote for the white dress. The entire shoot is sweet and sassy. Are the flowers in it real? Regardless, it's a beautiful backdrop. Can't wait to see this couple's wedding pictures.
Audrey, March 18, 2010 1:52 am Yeehaw! Love this:
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Oh my gosh. These pictures are insanely cute! I like both looks but the first is my fave. Very girly :-) Great job!
Lindsay, March 18, 2010 2:04 am Yeehaw! Love this:
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Mary,
I'm fairly certain that the red dress is by Tracy Reese. It sold in Anthropologie stores under the name of the "Ablaze Dress." I don't think it is available on their website, but call customer service 800.543.1039. Maybe they can help you locate one in a store. The style number (they'll ask you for it) is style #030001
Shannon, March 18, 2010 2:44 am Yeehaw! Love this:
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HI Mary! I actually got the red dress from anthroplogie. Thanks to everyone for all the totally sweet comments; I had a blast working with Lindsey, Kristin Vinning, and Tiffany!!
Mary, March 18, 2010 2:15 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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I found it on ebay this morning! Thanks for the help! Mary
Amanda H, March 18, 2010 3:13 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Wow, I actually just bought those same exact shoes from Off Broadway two days ago in royal blue--and then I see them today on my most favorite blog! What are the chances? :-)
Erica, March 20, 2010 2:24 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Thats my beautiful friend!! Go Shannon!!!!, cant wait til your BIG DAY!! Im so happy for you..you deserve nothing but the BEST!
Ashley HH, March 22, 2010 6:41 am Yeehaw! Love this:
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I am in love with the red dress!!!! I have seen it twice! in one week on separate blogs and its not on the anthro website anymore! Anyone know where I can find it?
Brenda, March 23, 2010 10:02 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Do y'all know the brand of the pink shoes?
Kim King Smith Events, March 24, 2010 1:16 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Great photos! Absolutely fabulous!
Sarah, April 1, 2010 12:33 pm Yeehaw! Love this:
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Which one is my favorite? Wow, what a hard choice!
I'm going to go with BOTH! I like the traditional feel in the first set, which makes it great for those relatives who would frown on "untraditional" engagement photos (we all have one or two!) The second one, however, has a definite "this is us" feel. These are the show-to-our-grandkids pictures. They both have their place, and they're both amazing!