Well, friends. I have to admit I’m getting a little sentimental over here. With all this newness comes a whole lot of nostalgia about days gone by at SW. When I started this blog, I just wanted a place to show local brides what I loved about weddings.  I’m a pretty passionate person.  I love a lot!  Long story short, I was living in Pensacola when I met my husband. We moved to Ventura, CA, where he was being stationed. While I was there, I worked for some event greats like Mark’s Garden, Corridan and Company, Colin Cowie, etc.  It was wedding design heaven.  I learned so much and couldn’t wait to show Southern brides what was out there. This was back when the only blogs I remember were Faye and Greer, Style Me Pretty and Snippet and Ink, among a small handful of others.

Photo above by Rae Leytham Photography. I say “back in the day” as if it was 30 years ago, but it was only 3ish years ago.  Time flies in the blog world!  So, my husband got deployed to Iraq and I moved back to Pensacola to stay with my family while he was gone. I needed something to keep my mind busy while he was at war and – inspired by my time in LA – I really wanted to show Southern brides that there was more out there.  So, I started the Southern Weddings blog in July 2007 with some local vendor friends and it took off like a freight train in Georgia! The very first design…

Ari thankfully came home from Iraq safely and – again, long story short – we moved here to Chapel Hill, NC. We launched the first print edition to rave reviews. It sold out in the first three months! In November 2008 we launched the second version of the SW blog…

And now… here we are with all new digs.  And a very sentimental me.  It’s been a wonderful journey, y’all.  I never ever thought I’d be sitting here at this desk with these lovely ladies to spend my days with, doing “work” that makes my heart happy, with so much love and support from readers like you.

A HUGE thanks to the team at Flosites for making this happen.  Ross, Dima, Alina and crew – you are the best.  Thank you, friends, for these wonderful years! Here’s to many more!