Oh my word. Y’all are going to love this sweet couple, and I think you’ll especially love the video messages they sent to each other the morning of their wedding which Caravan Cinema Co. kindly included in their highlights film for our enjoyment. If you’re already married, I think they’ll bring you right back to the rush of emotions from the morning of your own wedding (I know they did for me!). If you’re not yet married, you’ll probably get butterflies in your stomach and a happy little smile on your face just picturing it! Please enjoy…

From the bride, Carly:

There is something about video that brings a day to life even more than photographs can themselves. For this, we are grateful that Jon and Jacob at Caravan Cinema Co. captured our day so we could hang on to it a little tighter for years to come. My dad said this short film was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and that he could watch it 1000 times over again — and we feel the exact same way. Caravan captured every Southern, rustic detail and each meaningful moment that happened in between frames in a way that would not otherwise have been captured. And, it is so “Carolina,” which is special to us, as Chapel Hill is where our unexpected love story all began.

Thank you so much, Caravan! Have a wonderful weekend, belles!

It’s been quite dreary in our area this week, with rain stickin’ around like honey on your fingers. Thankfully, we’ve been quite distracted with the images on our blog.

We were happy to welcome some dinner party inspiration this week, especially when it’s as lovely and inviting as this get-together from Gibson Events. We picture it translating into one fine engagement party or rehearsal dinner.

Southern blooms hold a big piece of our hearts. We love the bouquets dreamed up for this V5 feature and how they represent the many parts of our home.

The best way to end a week of rain is with a shoot full of sunshine! We adore this bridesmaids shoot the day before the wedding — a perfect way to relieve stress with your gals and get some great photos from the fun.

Real weddings, we love you so!

Fay + Jon’s dock ceremony and farm reception gave guests a glimpse into the place where they fell in love. See it here.

Joanna + Paul’s casual wedding was meant to feel like a party in their backyard. We think the colorful details pull it off. See it here.

Erin + Michael’s lakeside wedding from V5 stole our hearts with the many details that showcased the couple’s life and passions. See it here and here.

Haley + Patrick’s wedding was another one with a warm dinner party-feel. We love their rustic-meets-elegant tented reception. See it here.

Great news!

We are thrilled to welcome the launch of Pressed Cotton, a shop full of lovely items for the finest Southern gatherings! Happily, they’re also found in our General Store. Be sure to head on over to see what’s new.

Don’t forget! Our fab editor Marissa will be answering all of your questions in the Donna Morgan Facebook Chat today at 12:30!

Be sure to keep your eyes open on the blog next week — we’re featuring Emily’s wedding from V5!!!

Have a fun weekend, y’all!

Happy Friday, belles! I can’t think of a better way to end this (kind of gray and cloudy) week than with this bright and sunshine-y session from Ben Sasso! Nichole and her bridesmaids met up with Ben the day before her wedding for what he calls “outrageous fun.” A wedding is of course about celebrating the love between two people, but it’s also a celebration of the rich relationships you two have cultivated throughout your lives. What an amazing way to celebrate that, create a treasured keepsake, and burn off some pre-wedding jitters all at the same time!

I hope y’all find some sun this weekend!

Ben Sasso is a fabulous member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Oh my word. Haley + Patrick’s favorite part of their wedding was seeing all of their hard-planned details come together in one place. The result is a warm and welcoming night under the stars — a wedding that mimics what I imagine the night of the proposal was like! I can see why this was their favorite part! I’m loving how intimate their wedding feels — from the rustic seating at the ceremony to the dinner party-like atmosphere at their reception. While transforming the venue was no easy feat, we think it was well worth the extra attention.

We’re giving out big hugs to Heather Roth who shared this day with us!

Y’all, I’m just gaga over those sequined ruffles in Haley’s dress. She had actually picked out a different dress before spotting this one, but as soon as she left the store, she couldn’t get this beauty out of her mind! “I went back and tried it on again and became obsessed with it!”

Describe your wedding flowers: I wanted something simple and natural for my bouquet, so our florist used whites and greens and incorporated kale, which was my one request — I love how it looks. For the tables, I wanted to use fall colors and have a rustic feel to it. She nailed it and the flowers turned out better than I ever imagined!

Did you write your own vows? We didn’t write our own vows but we had an amazing officiant, Ruth Ellen Hasser, who gave us tons of options so we were able to make the ceremony personal and pick out vows that really meant something to us.

Our wedding ceremony and ceremony dinner were both outside. We wanted it to feel very rustic and warm for our family and friends. The ceremony night was very laid back with great wine, amazing food, candles and lanterns everywhere and out in the country, where we could enjoy a perfect night sky.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Location. We really wanted the whole thing out at the farm, but it is in the middle of nowhere! We had to change our plans to make it easier on our vendors and guests. We are so glad we did though because it turned out perfectly.

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Our ceremony dinner. We had an amazing chef, Lou Rook III from Annie Gunn’s, who came down and made an amazing five course game-themed dinner with wine pairings. He incorporated boar cheek sliders, squab, elk shoulder, rabbit, and even turtle soup! I have to admit I was a little nervous, but it was amazing!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert: For our cake, I wanted something simple and elegant. We chose a white buttercream cake with a flower that had cascading petals down the cake. We did two flavors, chocolate with raspberry and mocha filling and white cake with hazelnut and tiramisu filling!

And be sure to check out Haley + Patrick’s beautiful film by Love Bird Studios!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met at the opening for a new rooftop lounge. Patrick came up and introduced himself and that was it!!
Describe the proposal. We were enjoying a gorgeous fall night out by our fire pit. Patrick waited until I fell asleep (he knows me well, I always fall asleep!), and when he woke me up he was on his knee with the ring in his hand. It was so perfect and us!
In what month did you get married? October
How many guests attended your wedding? We were married in Houston, where Patrick and his family have a farm. There were 20 people there. We then had our reception two days later back in St. Louis, where we celebrated with 100 close friends and family.
Did you decide to do a “first look”? We decided against the first look. There was something so romantic to us about waiting until the ceremony to see each other.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. Our first dance was to “At Last” by Etta James. After our dance, we had fireworks go off, to which the band played Katy Perry’s “Firework”!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: That we got married :) We loved seeing everything come together and all of our ideas put together to make the perfect two nights!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing each other for the first time!
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? I’m so glad I had such an amazing wedding planner. Especially the day of, I was so relaxed knowing I could trust her and was able to enjoy every moment of our day.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? To continue to enjoy our little family!

Erin + Michael buried a bottle of bourbon in the backyard before the wedding in order to bring good weather. It worked! The couple was greeted with temperatures in the mid 70s and sunny skies — the perfect setting for their designed and delightful reception. A game of cornhole and a koozie-wrapped beverage are infinitely better when the sun shines, in my opinion. Of course, after partying away at Erin’s parents’ home, the newlyweds dug up the bottle and brought it with them to the after party!

We are thankful for Melissa Schollaert for sharing this wedding this us and capturing the many happy part of the big day. I won’t spoil it all for you — scroll down and fall in love!

We held the reception under a tent on the property and carried over the concepts we established at the cocktail hour and ceremony with more natural and personal details. Each dining table had its own identity with centerpieces consisting of quirky thrift store and “attic” finds like candleholders, lanterns, old tins, bottles and other chotchkies. As a nod to my interior design background, guests found their table by fabric swatches which were used in the laser-cut table numbers and custom runners under each place setting that were made of the same fabric pattern. To tie in the outdoor setting, we used burlap potato and coffee sacks as chair covers and created a lighting installation with paper lanterns and tree limbs we found in the surrounding woods. Michael and I also have a huge connection through music. We spend so much time together enjoying live shows, so we knew that we had to have a live band — they had to ROCK and that they did! Nationwide Coverage kept the party going and people on the dance floor. Of course, it wouldn’t be a rocking party without a full bar and beer boat. Guests were able to self-serve beer and wine, and hi note created custom bottle openers and koozies as grab-and-go favors. With the help of our friend and officiant, Adam, we were able to have our very own bottled brew at the wedding. I absolutely loved custom the branding and label Michael created for it – it was a huge hit!

Briefly describe your wedding flowers: I wanted really bold, graphic florals for my wedding, but I also wanted them to feel very wild, like you picked them out of your backyard and stuck them in an old coffee tin. Angie from Birch Blooms overwhelmed me with her stunning work! Not only is she the cutest, sweetest and most excited florist I know, but she even surprised me by draping florals from the ceiling — I still tear up when I think about it. The flowers were the icing on the cake. They made all of our hard work designing and planning come to life!

What was Southern about your wedding? For starters, it was in Alabama! Alabama is a really beautiful, lush state, so having it outdoors overlooking Lake Logan Martin really capitalized on the Southern charm of our venue. The South is known for its hospitality, and our wedding was no exception. We were really fortunate to have family members and friends who contributed time, money and a whole lot of elbow-grease to our wedding day.

What was the biggest challenge you faced when planning your wedding? The VENUE! It is not easy planning a wedding at a private home. There are so many things you have to think about in addition to all the other details a wedding would have at a traditional venue — power circuits, garbage, restrooms and cleaning up the next day! It was a great accomplishment to pull it all off!

Tell us a bit about your first dance. (From the groom) Our song was ‘Harvest Moon’ by Neil Young. We both love his music and definitely have a musical connection with this tune.

We paid homage to our love for food with a custom menu from Alan Singleton that consisted of our favorite family recipes. In lieu of a traditional wedding cake, we asked our talented friend, Betsy Distler to create a small personal cake for us. Then, guests were able to enjoy bite-sized versions of our cake flavor and other delicious pastries, as well as our favorite childhood candies.

Bride’s favorite detail of the wedding: I was really proud of how the laser-cut doilies turned out. They made such an impact underneath each guest’s plate.
Who was one of the most special guests at your wedding? My Aunt Beth. She lives in Australia and was unable to attend, so several of my friends who helped with the wedding Skyped her in so she could be a part of our special day.
What range did your budget fall into? $25,000
Did you have a cocktail hour? (From the groom) Because the sun sets so late in May, we opted to have our cocktail hour prior to the ceremony, so folks could have a snack and cold beverage before the festivities began. Our good friend Felix created a Brat and Burrito bar to honor two of my favorite foods. We also had Erin’s mom’s famous margaritas by the pool. Guests were able to enjoy themselves lounging by the water or playing games in the yard. Our main goal was for everyone to have a blast!
What was the funniest moment? What was the scariest? (From the groom) One of the funniest and also scariest moments was when we read our vows to one another. We both couldn’t even look at them before the ceremony without getting emotional. When the time came, we were both really nervous, but after the first laugh, we were great. Our guests’ dance moves came in a close second for funniest moment.
Were there any family traditions you included in the reception? No traditions per se, but we did have an amazing caterer who took our favorite family recipes and recreated them into a fantastic spread for our buffet.
Did you try anything new or untraditional? Our whole wedding event was the epitome of untraditional, but everything we did was extremely personal and thoughtful, so with that, we created our own traditions.
Tell us about your grand exit. Having our ceremony and reception overlooking the lake, there was no better way to exit than by boat with a little fireworks show to send us off into the night.
What is the one thing that made your wedding different from anyone else’s wedding? It was at the home I grew up in. No one else has ever been married there and probably never will – that is pretty special.
Did you take a honeymoon? If so, where? (From the groom) We are saving up for a first anniversary trip to Italy and Sicily. Erin studied there for a semester in college and it is where I trace my roots back to, so it will be a special place for both of us to visit.
What advice would you give to someone planning his or her wedding? Have a plan, have a budget and STICK TO IT! You will enjoy your big day so much more if you heed this advice.
Who was your favorite vendor and why? All of my vendors are close colleagues and friends, so they are all my favorites, but the one person other than Michael that was integral to making it all happen was my mom. She worked with me every weekend for months designing and planning, tackling the biggest challenge of our lives: to pull off a wedding at her house. I also have to give kudos to Melissa, our photographer. She is one of my very best friends and she spent so much time and effort, weeks at a time, coming to help me work on the wedding.