Okay, if this isn’t a true-blue Southern wedding, I don’t know what is! Hannah + Chas were married in an intimate ceremony at their family property, Broadacres Farm. For her wedding day, Hannah donned a custom Myline replica of the iconic open-back Monique Lhullier “Scarlett” (we think she looks positively statuesque!), and even had her groom’s grandmother’s sixty-year old wedding buttons sewn onto her dress. The bride’s classic Aldo riding boots and her maids’ vintage-inspired frocks (all of their own choosing) lent a sweet, ladylike feel to this North Carolina wedding. To say Emily + I are in love with H + C’s wedding, photographed by the talented Alea Moore, would be an understatement.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Chas and I met as students in Raleigh, NC. He was the classic boy from NCSU, and I was the girl from the all women’s college down the road, Meredith College. We locked eyes on the dance floor of shag night at Red’s. He didn’t know how to dance, but asked me to teach him. I wasn’t deterred by his novice moves. Instead I saw a tall, dark, and handsome man willing to give it a try! I was a hard catch though, and quickly pointed out that he was just a freshman and I was a first year graduate student. Our romance quickly developed over creative dates like quilt making, art gallery hopping, and collecting gifts for a child we sponsored for Christmas. Chas was not the average freshman and confidently pursued me.
Describe the proposal. I am a tricky girl to surprise, but Chas pulled off a sweet proposal at Dawson’s Creek in Pamlico County, NC. I grew up spending summers with my grandparents on the water and Chas honed in on this magical spot. He caught me off guard Easter weekend of 2010. I was told he would spend the holiday with friends in Greensboro. After a day at the beach with family, I drove to my Grandmother’s house where I unexpectedly found Chas with a nervous smile on his face. He dropped to one knee on the sandy bank of Dawson’s Creek in time for a sunset proposal, and I never saw it coming.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: unique, outside-the-box, comfortable
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The music. Folk Psalm played fantastic bluegrass music for us, and even called a square dance! We were also thrilled to have a cellist play during the ceremony, a long time favorite instrument of mine. We were also in love with the “Big Fish”-esqe lighting draped across the field.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? Potluck!! Not traditional for weddings these days, but standard fair for other celebrations. We decided to give it a try, and it was THE best wedding food we, and most of our guests, had ever enjoyed. The bluegrass band, hay bale seating, and use of our old barn and wraparound porch made for a particularly Southern wedding. We had no wedding planner and no big budget. We allowed our family and friends, many of which are talented artists, to provide personal touches.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I had visited nearly every wedding shop between Winston and Raleigh without finding anything I liked. I considered ordering something online or having a custom designer fashion something, but time was running out. Six weeks before the wedding, my mother mentioned one last shop we had not yet visited. The tiny building housed hundreds of beautiful new dresses and Myeline, the owner and master seamstress, helped me find exactly what I wanted. For a very reasonable price, she altered the dress down 4 sizes and it was ready in plenty of time.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and it is right around the corner! It has all of the ingredients for a perfect day. It centers primarily around the four F’s– Food, Friends, Fall and Family. I have to admit, the food is the major draw for me! My family doesn’t trust me with the cooking (I only burned the turkey one year!) so my job is to bake, bake, bake away. Pecan pie is my specialty.

We want to make sure that you have the proper attire for your Thanksgiving cooking (or baking) and no chef is complete without an apron. IceMilk Aprons provides some of the best aprons I’ve seen to date. I especially love how they package their gift sets. The tiny details are always what matter the most.

Win: Two select readers will each win an apron from IceMilk Aprons! Perfect to wear when you are cooking your holiday feasts or to give away as a holiday present!

To Enter: I may not be a great chef but I’m sure some of you can whip up some amazing dishes. Leave a comment below with your favorite recipe for a chance to win an excellent gift from IceMilk Aprons.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This giveaway will only last until Friday morning at 11am because we have a special offer to Southern Weddings readers! Receive 25% off FRIDAY ONLY on the IceMilk Aprons website by entering the CODE: SWMAG. Enjoy!

Hey gals + guys! The etiquette queries have been coming fast and furious lately, so I thought we’d answer a trio of conundrums on the blog today.

First, Katie:

My soon-to-be fiance and I plan to have a very small wedding in my hometown. As it is not easy to get there (expensive to fly in, nowhere nearby to stay, easy to get lost on country roads), we will only be inviting family and our very, very dearest friends. After the honyemoon, we plan to have a big reception in Dallas, where we both live. My question is: do I wear my wedding dress? It seems a little odd to me to wear it, when it is not the day of the wedding, but, on the other hand, I want to wear something special and still feel like a “bride.” Help!

This is one situation where, in my opinion, there isn’t any hard and fast etiquette, just encouragement to do whatever makes you feel happiest! You can’t say that about every situation you find yourself in during wedding planning, so enjoy it! :) I would say that if you love your wedding dress and want to wear it a second time, go for it. Might as well get as much use out of that sucker as you can, right?! I’m bolstered by the fact that your Dallas reception is going to be large, so it’s not like you’re going to be sitting around in your living room with a few friends in your wedding dress… which might be a little awkward!

That being said, you absolutely have the option of wearing something else. Though no one will forget you’re the bride even if you’re wearing jeans, I’d suggest a LWD (Little White Dress) for the occasion. There are perfect options either off the rack or from the line of a designer like Amsale or Romona Keveza.

Next, Bonnie, who wanted to hear more about the intricacies of addressing envelopes to dentists, academics, and medical doctors.

Are dentists considered medical doctors so that I may write out Doctor Campbell v. Dr. Campbell? I have used Dr. for all academic doctors and Doctor for all medical doctors, but where do dentists fit? If the correct version is Doctor, then is it The Doctor Campbell or just Doctor Campbell?

Actually, the doctor title should always be abbreviated on an invitation, and dentists are welcome to use this title, as well. For a male medical doctor or dentist, you would say “Dr. and Mrs. John Smith.” For a female medical doctor or dentist, you would say “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith” or “Mr. John Smith and Dr. Kara Smith,” depending on whether or not she retains her title socially.

I have two dentists married (Oliver Campbell and Catharine Campbell). Do I say “The Doctors Campbell” or “The Doctors Oliver Campbell”? Or something else?

I like either the simplicity of “The Doctors Campbell” or the egalitarianism of “The Doctors Oliver and Catharine Campbell.” Your choice!

Our last question of the day comes from Morgan:

My fiance and I are eloping — minus the destination and surprise part. Next spring we are having a lovely private ceremony in Dallas at the chapel my parents were married in. It will be just our parents and siblings in attendance. However, quite a few “close” friends have announced displeasure at our decision. Bless their hearts, they feel they need to BE there. As a result, our wedding date has remained fairly secret. Our plan is to send out formal wedding announcements on our wedding day, each with an enclosure inviting the guest to a full reception about 6 weeks later. The tricky part is, how should we word it to appease my very proper family? We will be using the formal announcement from Ms. Post, but the reception invitation is a little harder. Can it be worded like a typical reception insert? Does it need to be formally worded like an invitation (i.e. Mr. and Mrs. X invite you to a reception in honor of Mr. And Mrs. Y?) If it is formal, is it strange that the wording is almost the same as the announcement that’s also included? Does it go in a separate enclosure envelope? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, Morgan! First, Katharine and I agree that the reception information/invitation should be separate from the wedding announcement, since guests weren’t invited to the ceremony. In terms of wording, I think very simplephrasing would complement the formality of the announcement without being repetitive. Try something like this:

Celebrate with the newlyweds / at a reception in their honor / Saturday, June 15 / at five o’clock / 123 Main Street / Dallas, Texas / The favour of a reply is requested

I’d follow the format of an invitation but remove the majority of the names for redundancy’s sake. Readers, if you have another suggestion for Morgan, I’m sure she’d love to hear it! And, of course, if any of you have etiquette issues of your own, feel free to email me and we’ll hash them out here!

All photos c/o Cooper Carras

Karen Boullard, the founder of Paper Fancy, began her career as an interior designer. Her flair for style is apparent. The lines she chooses to showcase and sell on Paper Fancy are all high-quality and the invitation suites are just so darn perfect. In addition, most products are at least 20% below the retail price. What a steal! Be sure to check out the Paper Fancy blog as well — they even featured our giveaway on there!

Congratulations to Kerry and Jessica! Enjoy your $50 gift cards from Paper Fancy!

Without a doubt I would go with the Love Tray Invitation! It has a tray of chocolate cupcakes with letters on each one spelling love. These would be perfect for my bridal shower for the following reasons…

1- I just LOVE Chocolate cupcakes! (My family and friends know I have a slight addiction to sweets!)
2- I bake cakes! Dessert is playing a huge part in my wedding reception!
3- And even the best reason of all, a portion of their sales go to breast cancer research and education!!

October 26, 2010 | Kerry

I love the “Bright Vine Blue & Orange Invitation/Announcement #20214.” I love the colors and they match my best friend’s wedding colors. I need to order invitations for a bridal shower. It would be great to have the $50 gift card, because I am having to plan this without the matron of honor of my best friend. My best friend’s matron of honor is in Germany, because her husband is stationed there in the Army. The matron of honor’s husband is currently deployed, but she has to stay in Germany to keep their housing current. She is coming home next month to visit and we are throwing our best friend a bridal shower. I am having to put together the shower, because the matron of honor can’t be here. I really want to make this special for my best friend, the bride!

October 26, 2010 | Jessica

Come back on Tuesday! We have an awesome giveaway coming up! xoxo Whitney

With Halloween over and done, we’ve finally realized it’s fall here in North Carolina. It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is three weeks around the corner and Christmas just a month later, so we wanted to revel in the autumn haze before it’s time for snow + hot chocolate. Daniel Usenko’s French-inspired shoot was just the ticket! With the help of makeup artist Anna Vavilin, model Danielle Lueck looked effortlessly chic in a belted cream frock from Urban Outfitters. Kae of Short and Sweet Design styled the shoot, and Flowerbelle designed the modish bouquet and lush, woodsy centerpieces. We love Anastasia Marie’s clean invite for the intimate table pour deux, but I have to say my favorite detail is the berry-laden buttercream cakes. Yum!

Thanks again for sharing, Daniel!