The best of this year’s wedding gowns span the spectrum from glamorous to alternative, dramatic to handmade. There’s something we love about all of them, so thank goodness we don’t have to narrow it down any further!

A one-shoulder ruffled gem from Romona Keveza. Photo by KT Merry from Cee Cee + Chad’s wedding.

A fabulous pink show stopper by Vera Wang! Photo by Paige Newton Photography from Alison + Brent’s wedding.

Pure glamour and grace by Anna Maier: photo by Justin Demutiis from Blair + Brian’s wedding.

A lace gown and gorgeous silhouetteby Watters with an open back: photo by White Rabbit Studios from Elizabeth + Michael’s wedding.

A fun and ruffled beauty by Amsale: photo by Jarrad Lister from Kinsey + Coley’s wedding.

Romantic and classic with a sweetheart neckline, by Amsale. Photo by 509 from Kelsey + Evan’s wedding.

One of the most dramatic gowns we featured this year, by Olia Zavozina. Photo by Leslee Mitchell from Nicole + Rob’s wedding.

Ruffles galore and a fabulous fascinator to boot, from Morilee. Photo by Brett Heidebrecht from Lauren+ Justin’s wedding.

A beauty hand-crocheted by the bride’s mom — wow! Photo by The Reason from Melanie + Cale’s wedding.

Perfected netted sleeves and a full skirt from Reem Acra. Photo by Magnolia Pair from Caroline + John’s wedding.

Justin Demutiis and KT Merry are fabulous members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

The Southern Weddings ladies are enjoying some rest and relaxation with our families at the moment, but we wanted to take the next few days to highlight some of our absolute favorite details and moments from 2012 real weddings. To begin, bouquets!

Colorful bloom with a striped ribbon bouquet by Peplum Events and Design: photo by Michelle March from Mariangelix + Steven’s wedding.

Blush peony and garden rose bouquet by Rose Golden Flowers: photo by 509 Photo from Kelsey + Evan’s wedding.

Peony, rose, and satin ribbon bouquets by Meade Wenzel: photo by Magnolia Pair from Caroline + John’s wedding.

“Mini daisy” bouquet by Amaryllis: photo by Jacqueline Campbell from Katie + Mike’s wedding.

Rose, dahlia, Queen Anne’s lace, and winterberry bouquet: photo by Caroline Joy from Audrey + Jordan’s wedding.

Sweetpea, lisianthus, stock, rose, and Queen Anne’s lace bouquet with burlap wrap: photo by White Rabbit Studios from Elizabeth + Michael’s wedding.

Pink peony and rose bouquet with a rhinestone cuff by Dana’s Floral Design: photo by Kim Box from Crystal + Trip’s wedding.

Cotton bolls, freesia, stephanotis, and roses bouquet: photo by Stephen DeVries from Turner + Forrest’s wedding.

Garden roses, ranunculus, tulip, and gilded greenery bouquet by Sweet Sunday Events: photo by Christina Carroll from Austin + Steven’s wedding.

Peonies, Queen Anne’s lace, astilbe, vine, and berry bouquet by Aria Florals and photo by Angela Cox from Liz + Josh’s wedding.

Michelle March and Caroline Joy are fabulous members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

We have signed off for the holidays and are relishing some quiet time with our families, and we hope y’all are doing the same! Here’s what we’ll all be up to over the next few days…

Haley Sheffield

Nicole: This Christmas, I’m down in Charlotte, spending time with my sister, brother-in-law-to-be, dad, mom and step dad. My mom has graciously saved all of the Christmas baking for my arrival, so a large amount of my time has been in the kitchen rolling out dough. Of course, we’re also taking breaks by drinking copious amounts of sparkling grape juice and chocolate and watching The Family Stone. I’m also really excited to be reunited with my two best friends, who are also home for Christmas, and with my puggy nephew. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s festivities, watching my dad’s face when he opens his gifts and spending time with my mom on Christmas Day. It’s her favorite holiday and it makes her so happy to have her kids together (brother-in-law-to-be and furry friends included).

Ryan Ray, styled by Lavender Joy Weddings, via Wedding Chicks

Lara: Ari, Grace, and I will be headed to my hometown of Pensacola, Florida, to spend the holiday with my parents, Grandma Bunny and my brother, Stephen, who just finished his master’s degree… so we will spend lots of time calling him “Master Stephen” this Christmas. He is already enjoying this new title. This is an unexpected change of plans for us, so my parent’s house will need some holiday decorating (they were originally planning to come here to Chapel Hill). So, I may stuff a suitcase with tinsel and all the tree trimmings! I am very much looking forward to hugging my family — I could care less about anything under a tree this year, I just want some bear hugs. OK, and some turkey and sweet potatoes.

Michelle March via Southern Weddings

Marissa: This year, BDK and I will be spending Christmas with my side of our family. We’ll be in South Florida, wearing Jack Rogers and sundresses (well, I will be, not BDK!). Even though it’s a little crazy to celebrate Christmas when it’s 80 degrees out, I’ll be thankful to see my family. Christmas Eve will be spent trying to stay up late enough to make it through midnight mass, and then on Christmas Day my mama will make a delicious linner (lunch + dinner) complete with homemade pumpkin cheesecake and her famous green bean casserole. Oh, and A Christmas Story will be on the television ALL day long. It’s a BDK tradition that I’ve grown to love!

Ryan Ray, styled by Love & Splendor, via Style Me Pretty

Kristin: Once again, we will be crisscrossing the state of NC – spending a few days with my family in eastern North Carolina at my ‘Nama’s house before heading back west to spend time with Kyle’s family. It will be a bit of a different Christmas this year, as it will be my first Christmas Eve spent without my parents and baby sister. This is a definite challenge of getting married, but I am excited to finally get a chance to experience KPW’s family traditions for this holiday. Not to worry – my family’s annual Christmas Cookie Competition is still taking place, and I have my recipe and apron ready. I am hoping to snag the crown back this year, after finishing in second place last year.

Haley Sheffield via Ruffled

Emily: Like Kristin, my first married Christmas is coming with some “firsts”… and a whole heap of travel. For the first time in my 25 years I will be spending Christmas morning somewhere other than my childhood home. My family (mom, dad, two sisters, and one brother in law) are traveling South to spend Christmas with John and me. Then everyone but John (he has to stay home and work — boo!) will fly north to Maine to celebrate with my Mom’s family. Then — wait for it — we’ll all drive down to Connecticut on the 28th to celebrate with my Dad’s family (lunch) and our best family friends (dinner). THEN, late that night, I’ll pick John up at the airport, and he and I will spend the weekend with his family (mom, dad, sisters, brother in law, and boyfriend) before flying back to NC on Sunday. Whew!! It might be crazy, but I’m looking forward to it all :)

We hope those of you who are celebrating have a very merry time with your loved ones. I know I’ll be giving mine an extra squeeze this year!

As for the blog, we’ll be quiet tomorrow but back with our highlights from 2012 starting on the 26th and continuing through next week!

P.S. I hope you love these little bits of Christmas inspiration! All sans snow, as we do it in the South :)

Michelle March, Haley Sheffield, and Lavender Joy Weddings are all fabulous members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

The Southern Weddings gals are all working from home today as we prep to celebrate the holidays with our families. Our hearts and prayers are still with everyone in Connecticut and those affected by Sandy Hook. It makes us want to pack up our cars and hug our parents, siblings and kids all the sooner. The office has been quite festive with our packed tree full of ornaments from our swap, getting us in the mood for December 25 celebrations.

P.S. Because we’ll be out of the office and spending time with our families, all orders from the Southern Weddings shop will ship when we get back on January 3.

We finished off our 12 Days of Southern Weddings Christmas giveaways this week. Did you enter all of them? Be sure you do before December 25 when they close!

Day 1: Perch Paper Company
Day 2: Monogram Works
Day 3: 1 Canoe 2
Day 4: Design Darling
Day 5: Moon and Lola
Day 6: Shop Memento
Day 7: Durango Boots
Day 8: Embellish My Day
Day 9: Bella Bridesmaid
Day 10: Tipsy Skipper
Day 11: Lilly Pulitzer
Day 12: Southern Fried Paper

We adore this holiday inspiration shoot — perfect for translating holiday motifs into Southern charm, snow or no snow.

Big thanks to all y’all who came out to our Gingerbread Barn Building competition a couple of weeks ago! It was a huge success and we were blown away by some of the barns y’all created. See the full recap here.

Real Weddings make our hearts happy

Caroline + Ben’s Southern garden wedding was a classic soiree that relied on the love and talents of friends and family. See it here.

Eva + Neil’s wedding seamlessly married their backgrounds with their Southern style. See it here.

Planning your honeymoon and a big fan of Nordstrom like we are? Take a look at Nordstrom Weddings’ new Pinterest Contest. You could win a $4,000 Nordstrom gift card and a five-night honeymoon at any JW Marriott resort. Check out this site for details.

Before y’all head out to eat gingerbread cookies and drink eggnog, be sure to check out today’s Facebook Friday! Lucy O Photo shares a sweet engagement session with us.

Have a lovely Christmas weekend, y’all!

Once again, y’all wowed us with your creativity and Southern style! The 2012 ornament swap was our largest yet (about 80 participants!), and by all accounts it was a huge success. We wanted to take a minute to highlight just a few of the lovely balls, baubles, and pieces of bling that made their way to our office over the past few weeks…

Group shot! Between these two photos, we covered most of the goodness that rolled in, though we missed a few stragglers that arrived earlier this week!

And not that we play favorites, but here are a few of the particularly Southern beauties that we thought needed a second look:

From top to bottom we have Lindsay, Katelyn B., Vanessa R., Lauren W., Laura S., Kelly C., Katie, and Emily M. to thank for these gems! The gators were my personal favorite :)

Now that the holidays are almost here, we’ve divvied up the office haul and brought these beauties home to hang on our own trees! (We’re also tickled by the fact that Lara’s nanny’s initials are SW — perfect, no??)

We hope y’all had fun – and that you’ll be back next year! :)