It’s the middle of May in North Carolina, which means the jasmine is in full bloom! And oh boy, with this Southern stem, you can smell it before you can see it!

First, though, a little lesson about dainty flowers on vines that smell amazing, because we enjoy several of them in the South! The beauty above is honeysuckle — its blooms are a little more trumpet shaped, and turn from pink before blossoming into flowers tinged with orange, yellow, and white.

This gal is jessamine, also known as Carolina jessamine. It has extremely prolific golden yellow blooms that blossom at the end of winter.

The Southern Stem we’re chatting about today, however, is jasmine. The version we most often see down here is Confederate or star jasmine, which has very delicate creamy white blooms. These ambitious vines can grow to be 10-15 feet tall, at a rate of 12 to 24 inches per year!

Jasmine front door via Design Mom

The jasmine that’s most common in weddings, though, is a bit different — pinker and wispier.

Tanja Lippert (bouquet by Blush Floral Design)

I love it so much I used it in my own wedding bouquet!

Stephanie Williams, from Martha Stewart, Sean Money and Elizabeth Fay via Southern Weddings (bouquet by Tiger Lily Florist), Jesse Ryan via Southern Weddings (bouquet by Pollen Floral Art), and Jose Villa via Southern Weddings (bouquet by Flowerwild)

I’m certainly not the only one, though! I think brides love jasmine because its tendrils add an airy garden vibe to an otherwise formal bouquet — just the right note of “hand-picked.”

Martha Stewart, Landon Jacob via Southern Weddings, Christian Oth via Southern Weddings

I love when jasmine is included in centerpieces, because it seems to make the arrangements live larger than they are, since the dainty tendrils stretch out across the table.

Karen Mordechai (centerpieces by Ariel Dearie Flowers), Tory Williams (centerpiece by Rachel Mercier via 100 Layer Cake), from Martha Stewart

Speaking of spreading out, if you’re a jasmine fan, you must check out this installation created for a past Sunday Suppers dinner. Magical! Can you even imagine what that room smelled like??

Ariel Dearie Flowers (photo by Karen Mordechai)

Finally, I couldn’t find any cakes with jasmine vine, but I thought this stephanotis vine confection was great inspiration for what could be! And the wreath with jasmine vine was simply too pretty to leave out.

Wreath by Garden on the Square via Martha Stewart, cake from Martha Stewart

Tell me: Are you planning to incorporate jasmine vine into your bouquet? Do you have a hard time keeping all of the sweet smelling Southern blooms apart?

When Emily and I first saw the images for Ashley + David’s wedding, we swooned over their amazing dance moves and gorgeous (and I’m assuming out-of-this-world delicious) cake. But after reading their interview, the only thing I can think of when I look through these images is the sweet scene that A + D shared one winter night when David proposed. “We were in my family’s big red truck, driving around David’s neighborhood looking at Christmas lights with our dog Gremlin. David had the ring in his pocket and just leaned over and whispered, ‘Will you marry me?’ David teases me because I responded by saying ‘Are you serious!?’ But I definitely meant it in the most excited way possible.” I love that you can see how sweet and intimate their relationship is in their proposal story and in these photos from Caroline + Ben.

Our first look let us have some time together before all of the rush of the wedding set in. We also wanted to be able to join our guests at the cocktail hour after the ceremony, so we wanted to do most of our pictures beforehand. It turned out to be a very intimate and memorable moment for both of us.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
My mom and I went wedding dress shopping together, and David’s mom joined us for the second day, which was wonderful. It was toward the end of summer when we started looking, and I was about to head back up to law school at Harvard, so we took two days and just went everywhere. I had some idea of what I wanted; I knew I wanted something fitted and easy to move in, and I knew David would love a more fitted dress as well, so I didn’t really consider a “princessy” gown. I narrowed it down to a more flowy, bohemian dress and the beautiful Rivini Chantilly lace and organza gown that I ultimately chose. I knew the Rivini dress was the winner when I looked at my mom after I put it on. Once I put on the veil, she really started to tear up! Once my dress was ready, my parents and I drove out to our family lake house, and my dad (a very talented photographer) shot my bridal portraits on our family boat, my waterski in my hand. It was a cold and cloudy day, but I’ll never forget how fun it was. The photos were amazing!

Describe your wedding flowers. 
We wanted our flowers to have a natural and rustic feel, and overall we went for loose and textural arrangements of earthy but bright pops of pink with more muted pinks, greens, lots of succulents, and sprigs of wheat and lavender. The pops of pink color in the bridesmaids’ bouquets really stood out against their blush-colored dresses. My bouquet was hand-tied and featured ivory hydrangea, bright pink garden roses, blush ranunculus, green millet, lavender, dusty miller, and champagne spray roses. The stems were tied with a wide burlap wrap, which was overlaid with a piece of lace from my mother’s wedding dress. We had two types of table centerpieces. The first was an arrangement of three mason jars of varying sizes with a textural mix of pink stock flowers, limonium, Queen Anne’s lace, ranunculus, and bright pink, open garden roses. The other tables had a low wooden box in the center, filled with moss and flowers similar to those on the other tables. Our favors and place cards for the evening were individual potted succulents, wrapped in burlap.

The ceremony was really important to us, and we wanted our musical choices to reflect our relationship and personalities. We had a string quartet play at the ceremony, but we mixed it up a little and didn’t go with too many classics. They played “Bittersweet Symphony” during the seating of the families and “Pachelbel’s Canon in D” for the processional. My dad and I walked down the aisle to “Stolen,” by Dashboard Confessional, a song that has special meaning for us because we listened to Dashboard Confessional together often when we were in high school. David has a deep love for Lady Gaga, so our recessional was a fun instrumental version of “Bad Romance” that got everybody up and ready to party.

Did you write your own vows? 
We did write our own vows, and we are so glad we did. It made the ceremony so special to us. David really got everyone laughing when he vowed to remove my glasses, books, pens, and computer from the bed every night. I often fall asleep working or reading a book, and David’s always there to take everything out of the bed and put it in a place where it won’t get damaged after I fall asleep.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
My brother read “A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Munkton, and our good friend Joey read “I carry your heart” by e.e. cummings.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
Before we got married, David spent two years restoring a historical airplane from WWII. As a surprise for our guests, the airplane, a B-17, made a dramatic flyover just before the ceremony. It was a moment that everyone will remember, and the flight crew joined us at the reception in their vintage flying gear. We also loved our getaway car. David’s dad worked for over a year to restore the family’s old 1939 Ford. David’s parents used that car as their getaway car, and it was so special to continue the tradition. Plus, the car looked amazing after all of David’s dad’s incredible work!

Our wedding was all about love, friends and family, good food, and a good party — it’s hard to get more Southern that that! Vista West Ranch, where we got married, is a beautiful finished out barn with this spectacular Hill Country backdrop. We wanted to really embrace the venue, so we included lots of rustic Texas touches– succulents, burlap, cowboy boots, etc. Our menu was also inspired by our love of good Southern cooking. We had smoked quail nachos and fried green tomatoes as passed hors d’oeuvres and served buttermilk fried chicken with Gruyere mac and cheese as our main course. Our wedding was a celebration not only of our future together, but also of the history we share. We got married almost exactly ten years after our first date, and we wanted to incorporate the many adventures we’ve shared into our wedding. My dad worked for months to compile over a hundred photos of us with family and friends through the years. These were pinned to clotheslines hanging in the trees at our cocktail hour, for all the guests to see.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
Budgeting is hard. Weddings can cost a lot of money, and sometimes you wonder whether it’s worth it to spend so much on a single day. My parents were amazing and gave us a very generous budget, but we were trying to save some of that money to put toward a house down payment. We didn’t go absolutely crazy with wedding costs, but, of course, we spent more than we initially planned. Fortunately, it was such a special day, and one that so totally reflected our personalities and our love for each other, that we both feel without a doubt that it was worth it.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. 
Our wedding cake was a white sour cream cake with delicious raspberry filling. It was decorated to resemble a toasted marshmallow. Our groom’s cake, which was bittersweet chocolate with caramel filling, featured a replica of the B-17 bomber that flew over our ceremony, complete with our dog Gremlin (in flying gear!) on the wing. We also had several flavors of mini-pies displayed on old wooden crates, in all our favorite flavors — blackberry cobbler, key lime, chocolate cream, and fried peach!

Can’t you see why we swooned over the image below?

We did an Argentine tango for our first dance, which was a ton of fun and required lots of dance lessons and practice! My dad and I did our first dance to “My Girl,” by the Temptations, which we because it’s the song played when the father and daughter play basketball in one of our favorite movies, “Father of the Bride.” David and his mom danced to “It’s a Wonderful World.”

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
We met in high school and went on our first date on October 4, 2002. We’ve been together ever since. We are very different people, but we are extremely good for one another. We have shared so much of our lives that it’s hard to even imagine what it’s like to not be together!

Describe the proposal. 
David proposed in a very sweet and simple way. We were in my family’s big red truck, driving around David’s neighborhood looking at Christmas lights with our dog Gremlin. David had the ring in his pocket and just leaned over and whispered, “Will you marry me?” David teases me because I responded by saying “Are you serious!?” But I definitely meant it in the most excited way possible.

In what month did you get married? 
October

How many guests attended your wedding? 
200

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$50,000-$75,000

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
We splurged on the food and the photographer. Both paid in spades. Our guests were so happy and full, and we have plenty of amazing photos to prove it!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
It’s hard to pick. Mostly, we loved having all of our friends and family there to celebrate such a special time with us. It was amazing to look around and just feel surrounded by love.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Just have fun, be creative, and let your personalities shine through. Several of our guests told us that ours was the most personal wedding they’d ever been to — that it was just so “us.” That’s a real point of pride for both of us, and it’s what made our wedding unique. Also, pick someone whose style/taste/decision-making you trust and enlist their help! My mom is amazing; she understands my style, she’s super organized, and somehow she managed to fit in a billion wedding-planning tasks despite her busy doctor schedule. I was studying for the bar exam for several months before the wedding, and she was an absolute lifesaver during that time, as well as the weekend of the wedding.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We look forward to lots of future adventures together! David is currently building an airplane in the garage, and we can’t wait to travel all over the country in it!

Did y’all feel like this week went by really slowly? It was a great week in the Southern Weddings office. We’ve been getting lots of fun props in for our upcoming V6 shoots and have been designing some pretty new things for Lara’s shop! Still, I think, something about this week took its time. That’s okay with us, though, as it allowed us to soak in all the beautiful weddings we featured!

We’ve been enjoying everyone’s opinions and experiences in the middle name vs. maiden name debate. Though some Southern traditions dictate replacing your middle name with your maiden name, we like that there’s more flexibility these days. Weigh in here.

Pollen has officially taken over Chapel Hill, but we can’t be too depressed about it since it means flowers are blooming! We are very lucky to have beautiful blooms like the azalea in the South.

April’s Southern Bride of the Month is getting married tomorrow, y’all!! We loved hearing about Sarah’s wedding, so be sure to give her some love and offer up some advice for her biggest question.

We can’t get enough real weddings!

Lauren + Michael’s wedding was bold and beautiful — proving to us that winter weddings can be full of color and life! See it here.

Jessica + Chris may not have met in a traditional way, but their wedding deeply wove in traditions that honored family. Take a look here.

Shannon + Victor’s wedding is definitely swoon-worthy. The mix of classic and contemporary was the perfect way to style a wedding based off the couple’s personalities and their celebration of family. See it here and here.

Caitlin + Jared approached their wedding with the mindset that “less is more.” We love the way their Southern touches look against the plantation backdrop! See it here.

A big hug and congratulations go out to all the belles and beaus who are getting married this weekend!!

Before y’all head out to celebrate the weekend, be sure to stop by our Facebook Friday for an engagement session by Katie Lamb.

Happy weekend, my friends!

Y’all! April’s Southern Bride of the Month is getting married THIS WEEKEND! Make sure to give her an extra hearty SW welcome, considering all that’s going on in her world this week. Meet Sarah!

Hi! What’s your name?
Sarah Scott

What’s your fiancé’s name?
Josh Peters

Concept-A Photography

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story.
When I first moved to Atlanta in fall 2009, I was waiting a few months for my job to start and living with my brother, who traveled all week for business. Since I didn’t know anyone else, I decided to get out and explore Atlanta and all its different neighborhoods on my own. I met Josh at a sushi restaurant in Virginia Highlands about a month into my time in Atlanta. I thought he was so cute and so nice! We were pretty much inseparable after our first meeting. A few weeks later, we took our first trip together, to Savannah (where we are now getting married!), and that’s when we both knew it was love!

Now tell us alllll about the proposal.
By the summer of 2011, Josh and I were pretty serious and saving up money for our future plans. We talked about getting engaged first and then buying a house, sometime that fall after his sister’s summer wedding. We started looking at houses “just to get an idea” early that summer, and found the house of our dreams on our first trip! We looked at about 15 more houses, but there was nothing else like it. We decided we couldn’t pass it up, even though I had really wanted to be engaged first. On August 28, 2011, the day after the previous owners moved out, we went over to the house with champagne to walk through our empty house and celebrate being homeowners. Josh proposed on the front porch then carried me over the threshold, so we were engaged before moving into the house after all!

Concept-A Photography

When’s the big day?
April 20 (2 days!!)

Where might you two be tying the knot?
Gorgeous Savannah, GA! The ceremony will be at Christ Church Episcopal, and the reception will be at the Mansion on Forsyth Park.

The Mansion on Forsyth Park by Anna and Spencer

How did you pick your ceremony and reception venues? What do you love most about each space?
It was really important to me to be married in an Episcopal church. I also love the history of Christ Church — founded in 1733, the first church founded in Georgia, with the current building built in 1840. We feel very lucky to be getting married there. I also love the ballroom in the Mansion — very classic, with crystal chandeliers and gold leaf! And there’s even a chandelier in the marble courtyard for the cocktail hour! We both especially love the Mansion’s central location across from the big fountain in beautiful Forsyth Park, which is filled with azaleas and Spanish moss.

Tell us a little bit about the wedding you’re planning: style, theme, feel, colors?
It’s going to be a very pretty, very classic Savannah wedding! At first I was going for a very elegant/ understated look, with champagne, ivory, and blush hues, but I’ve progressively added more sparkle and brighter pinks to the mix, as well. We’ll have champagne linens and bridesmaid dresses, tons of pink flowers, lots of the color gold everywhere (both in the Mansion ballroom décor, and in our details) and lots of candlelight. We will also have an awesome jazz band that’s originally from Louisiana (like me!) and a big white cake with magnolias on it. Our ceremony and most of our reception details are pretty traditional, but everything we’ve chosen is very meaningful to us, as well, and an expression of our love for each other. I think (hope!) our guests will feel that a lot of love for them went into the planning as well. I can’t wait!

Caroline Ghetes via Ruffled

Who or what has been most helpful and/or inspiring in the wedding planning process?
I think what’s most inspired us is the city of Savannah itself… we want our guests to get a feel for all of our favorite parts of the city at our wedding — our church in one of Savannah’s old squares, our reception in Forsyth Park, and an awesome jazz band, shrimp and grits and oysters at the reception! Other Savannah details include pralines and taffy in the welcome bags, transportation in a Savannah tour trolley, and before the wedding, a ladies’ lunch in City Market, a beer-and-oysters brunch for the men on River Street, and drinks at our favorite Savannah pub!

Blush rosette linen photo by Teran Photography and monogram uplighting photo by Patricia Lyons

How have you involved your “community” (friends, family, etc.) in the wedding planning process?
Josh’s mom and sister, my sister, and my sister-in-law (brother’s wife) all live in Atlanta, and have been so helpful to me at all stages, from traveling to Savannah to visit our venues, to making drink stirrers on craft days, to stuffing welcome bags and tying ribbons around 90 satin napkins! We’ve also planned for our good friends to have special parts in the wedding.

Has your vision for your wedding changed or evolved over the course of your engagement? If so, how?
Yes, it took us months to make up our minds between the Mansion and a smaller venue (our favorite Savannah restaurant), so I had two different weddings sketched out in my head -— the big ballroom wedding and the intimate restaurant wedding -— while we were still deciding. Once we decided to pull the trigger and go with the ballroom, I was able to dive into planning and develop that vision into the wedding we’re going to have. We are both so happy we decided to go for the wedding at the Mansion, and the wedding we’ve planned truly is going to be the wedding of my dreams. Also, generally, as time has gone on, I’ve gotten less stressed about making every detail unique and creative, and just had more fun picking out things that I like and that will enhance our guests’ experience. At the beginning, I wanted to incorporate every cool idea I saw online into our wedding, whether it really fit us and our wedding or not. I got a hold of myself, though, and reined in my wedding craziness to focus on us and only choose details that meant something to us and fit with our wedding.

Two of Sarah’s favorite bouquets: from Elizabeth Anne Designs on the left (photo by Photographix), and from Martha Stewart Weddings on the right

What part of wedding planning, if any, has made you the most anxious?
Sticking within budget, definitely! I dream a little bigger than we budget, but Josh has kept me grounded and helped us stick to a monthly payment plan. We succeeded at staying on-budget, and the closer we’ve gotten to the wedding itself, the more I realize that many of the little extras won’t really matter and that no one will miss the things we don’t end up doing.

What wedding-related decision have you been the most indecisive on?
Videography. We booked our photographer 14 months before the wedding, but just booked a videographer one month before the wedding because I couldn’t stop wondering whether we’d regret it!

Which part of your wedding have you been most intentional about planning?
The way we incorporate our family and friends into both the ceremony and reception. We’re having just our sisters and brothers as official bridesmaids and groomsmen (which is three on each side with Josh’s dad as best man), but I’m having my close friends walk down the aisle to music at the beginning of the ceremony and play other roles in the wedding. I’m also doing a few things to honor my mom, who passed away a few years ago. And at the reception, we will have a family picture table and meaningful songs for family played.

Beautiful table design by Laurie Arons (photo by Meg Smith) via Style Me Pretty

How has the budgeting been? What’s your best budgeting tip?
I wasn’t the best at it, but Josh helped me a lot and we did stay within budget. I’d say to get a good idea of your budget and make the big decisions before deciding on smaller expenses and details, and that details related to guest comfort are more important than details that look pretty (i.e., for us, trolley to transport guests and welcome bags stayed in the budget, but professional calligraphy ended up getting cut). And if you have a long engagement, wait to buy jewelry for your dress—I ended up with two sets I’m not wearing! And, since other brides end up doing the same thing I did, Ebay is a great source for accessories, even if you don’t want to buy used. I got both an unworn designer headpiece and a designer bolero for a fraction of the cost!

Have you picked your dress yet? How’d that go? What will you be wearing on the big day?
It was the first thing I did! I might have been googling wedding dresses even before we got engaged and might have found a picture of my dream dress. I thought it was out of budget and might not be available anymore, since it was a 2008 design, so was planning to look for something similar. But, shortly after I got engaged, the designer had a trunk show in town. I called, and they had the dress, and for a better price than I’d thought! My sisters and mother-in-law made me try on another dress first at the salon, and many other dresses after, but my dress was the second dress I tried on and it was perfect! I bought it right away, even though everyone told me to look around more, and I haven’t seen any other dress I’ve liked as well since!

Two of Sarah’s favorite hair styles: photos by Matt Edge on the left and Jose Villa on the right

What has been the best part of wedding planning? The worst part?
I’ve honestly really enjoyed the whole process — I love pretty things and details, and as a complete romantic, I’ve enjoyed having a year and a half to dream about the day I marry Josh. The best part has been that the planning really does allow the most wonderful day of my life -— when I’ll marry the man of my dreams — to last longer than just a day with all the planning and anticipation. The hardest part for me personally has been wedding planning without my mom, who passed away a few years ago. Not having her at this important time really makes me miss her sometimes. But my mother-in-law has stepped in and been a great help to me with a lot of the traditional mom-tasks, and my family and friends have been great, too.

What do you wish you would have known at the beginning of your engagement?
It’s okay if not every detail about your wedding is 100% unique, creative or blog-worthy, and while pretty details are important to the bride, they really aren’t so important to everyone else. It’s important to focus on your guests’ comfort, if you have to choose where to spend your money, and more important than anything is to focus on the love and the marriage that is the reason for the day rather than all the details of the event.

Definitely a guest-pleasing detail: Sarah and Josh’s magnolia wedding cake!

Any plans for a honeymoon? Where do you want to go and what will you do?
We are taking a mini-moon, a few days after the wedding just to decompress in the mountains. We’ll take an extended tropical island honeymoon later this winter; it gives us something else to look forward to!

Now it’s your turn to ask for advice – is there anything you’d like to poll the SW readers on?
A few things! Our german shepherd mix, Miss Mae, will be staying at the hotel and taking family pictures with us. I’d love for her to make an appearance at cocktail hour, but she might jump up on people, and that might not be appreciated (she is about 40 lbs). For those who’ve been to weddings with dogs, what have your experiences been? Is this cute, or annoying (or both)? Also, married readers, what is one thing I should make a point to do on the wedding day? Is there anything you’re really glad that you did that day to make it even more memorable, or anything you regret that you didn’t do? Thank you so much!

Thank you so much for joining us today, Sarah! We wish you all the best this weekend!! Readers, if you’d like to apply to be a Southern Bride of the Month, check out this post for all the details! If you’ve already emailed me, you’re still in the running for future months!

Today’s wedding took place in December, but it’s proof that winter weddings can be full of bold, beautiful colors (so you know it’s got my stamp of approval). I actually forgot this wedding was in December until I re-read Lauren + Michael’s interview! Their festive spin on traditional holiday colors is like a jolt of energy, just like these images from Landon Jacob are. Like true Southerners, Lauren + Michael made sure all of the wedding weekend events could be in downtown Columbia, the place they call home and where they fell in love. Despite their short four-month engagement (“We were ready to be married!” says Lauren), their big day is full of details that served as wonderful treats to their guests who came to celebrate (and plenty of actual treats, too). Big hugs to Landon Jacob Photography for sharing this sweet day with us!

I was really unsure of what I wanted for wedding flowers. I knew that I did not want the more traditional bouquets and centerpieces.  I wanted flowers that would pop and be a beautiful accent against the emerald green in the bridesmaids’ shawls. I saw an inspirational shoot that Jordan from Landon Jacob Productions had done where the colors were reds and corals.  I loved how there were so many different types of flowers, but how they truly blended together beautifully.  When I showed Sarah from Fern what I had in mind, she orchestrated beautiful bouquets, as well as incredible centerpieces!  The main flowers that were used were poppies, anemones, ranunculus (one of my favorite flowers!), peonies, tulips, and jasmine bay leaves.  My absolute favorite idea that Fern had was to include pomegranates in the bouquets and in the centerpieces.  The pomegranates were something I had never seen in a bouquet, but they were phenomenal!  It was perfect for the time of year that we had our wedding, and really added so much to each bouquet.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I made my first appointment at Bella Vista in Columbia.  I did not expect to find a dress in my price range, but still wanted to look.  Due to the short timeline, I had to buy a dress off the rack as there was not enough time to order one.  We picked out several dresses.  I know it doesn’t work this way for most people, but the first dress I picked out and tried on was honestly the one!  It did have one strap that I wanted to take off, but other than that, I loved it.  I wanted to be sure, so we looked at one other store, but nothing compared to this dress.  It was nothing like I thought I wanted, but I fell in love with it!
Did you decide to do a “first look”?  We did!  Landon and Jordan from Landon Jacob Productions suggested doing a first look, and allowed us to see many pictures of “first looks” that she had photographed.  After also talking with friends who had done a first look, we decided that it was what we wanted.  Our biggest concern was that it would take away from the moment when I walked down the aisle, but it actually built the excitement!  Another reason that we chose to do a first look was because we were concerned with losing light for pictures.  Seeing each other prior to the ceremony was great for us.  It gave us time together and calmed some nerves!  We would absolutely recommend it!

We wanted to choose songs for our ceremony that represented the ultimate purpose of our marriage: God’s display of His constant and perfect love for us through Jesus Christ.  I walked down the aisle to “Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go” by Ascend the Hill, which was a wonderful correlation of marriage and our relationship with God.  We chose to take communion with our guests as “Resurrection (He Lives)” by Joel Davis.  We had two extremely talented friends perform the music for our ceremony.  They played an original song as we walked back up the aisle.  We danced to “That’s Where It’s At” by Sam Cooke as our first dance.

I love this shot, below!! Even more than the sweet, happy kiss the newlyweds are sharing, I adore the faces of the guests behind them.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? My favorite moment of the day was when we had our first look.  There was so much anticipation, and I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed.  But once I saw Michael, it was like none of that mattered.  I was right where I wanted to be!  We had a few minutes to ourselves and I felt so calm and peaceful, but mostly excited!  I was reminded that I get to marry my best friend! We got to laugh, cry, and be silly together. It was great!

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Our black and white striped tablecloths!  It absolutely made that room!  We loved 701 Whaley from the beginning, but with the high ceilings and large windows, we wanted to find something to really pop in that room.  Jessica suggested looking into black and white tablecloths, and it was the perfect addition!  They were classy, yet simple!

The biggest challenge that we faced was the timeline.  We chose a shorter engagement (four months).  A lot of people thought we were crazy, but we were ready to be married!  The biggest detail with a short engagement was the venue.  We looked at a lot of different options, but due to the time of year and short timeframe, we ended up having to be flexible on the date.  We were blessed with being able to have our ceremony at Main Street United Methodist Church and our reception at 701 Whaley.  We loved it!  We wanted all of our events (rehearsal dinner, bridal luncheon, ceremony, reception) to be in downtown Columbia, and it worked out!

We felt so blessed to have our friend, Gwyn Marie Pevonka make a chalkboard mural for the reception.  She did an amazing job, and it was a fun personal touch!  We are so grateful that she offered to make that for us!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration?  What was Southern about your wedding? I really wanted to have barbeque at our wedding.  I love barbeque, and felt like it was the big Southern thing that I wanted.  A friend of ours had used Fancy That! Catering and suggested that we try it out.  I went and had one bite of their barbeque and didn’t need to look any further!  Fancy That! was great to work with.  They provided lots of options in our price range.  Along with the barbeque, we had baked chicken, green beans, a mashed potato bar, macaroni and cheese, fruit trays, and cheese and crackers.  It was amazing, and the perfect Southern addition!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert: We had a last minute change of plans with the cake, but ended up with a beautiful DIY cake by Jessica from Parkside Wedding Studio. I ended up choosing a small, round, two-layer white cake.  Jessica then decorated the cake with flowers from the wedding and edible gold flakes.  She did a better job decorating than any bakery I’ve seen by far!  For the guests, we ordered chocolate and vanilla sheet cakes.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met in the fall of 2005 at Anderson University.  I was a freshman, and Michael was a junior. Michael led an organization on campus that I began to attend in order to get to know people.  We became friends and served together in the organization which led to many trips together alongside friends.  When Michael graduated in 2007, he moved to Columbia, SC (my hometown) to help with a new church.  The lead pastor of the new church was actually the husband of my best friend. When I graduated in 2009, I moved back to Columbia, unsure of what my next steps would be.  We remained good friends while there.  People often made little jokes that we should date which we both continually blew off.  We insisted that we were just friends.  It wasn’t until the summer of 2011 that anything started between us.  We went on a trip to NYC over July 4 with another friend.  I was planning to move to NYC, but on that trip, I felt like it wasn’t the right time.  Coincidentally, it was there when I first realized that I had feelings for Michael.  Yet, it wasn’t until January 2012 that Michael worked up the nerve to ask me on our first date.  Technically, you could say I asked Michael to go to a work function with me first and he said, “yes,” but refusing to be outdone he then immediately asked me on a date for the weekend before.  We still debate over to who asked whom on the first date!
Describe the proposal. Michael did a phenomenal job making our proposal incredibly special for the both of us!  For months, he had me thinking that he was on a different time line, so I had no idea that it was going to be as soon as it was.  In September 2012, Michael and his family invited me to go to the opening game of Clemson University’s football season at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta against Auburn. The night of the game, Michael asked me if I would like to get a very early breakfast the next morning with my best friend who had moved to Atlanta — like 6 am early.  At first I thought it sounded a little strange, but shrugged it off and told him that would be fine.  The next morning on our way to our very early “breakfast,” I fell asleep in the car.  When I woke up, we were pulling up to the airport.  I asked him what we were doing and he said, “We’re going to New York for the day!” He had me fooled for months because we had talked about how fun and spontaneous it would be to go to New York City again, but just for the day. A proposal never even crossed my mind. We got to New York around 9:30, and took a taxi to the Upper West Side to have breakfast on the patio at Fred’s, one of my favorite little restaurants in Manhattan.  After breakfast, we walked around and then decided to go to Central Park. Central Park is my favorite place in Manhattan and, coincidentally, also the place where I first thought, “I think I like Michael!”  Knowing this, he took me on a walk for the “perfect view of the city.”  We didn’t find it, but we did find a beautiful meadow to sit in.  Pretty soon after we sat down, Michael told me that he had a gift for me, and he pulled out a Bible.  I had mentioned many times that I wanted a new Bible, and was so appreciative.  He told me that he wrote something in it, and at this point I start putting the pieces together.  As I frantically flipped through the Bible, he took it from me and turned to Ephesians 5 and read a portion of it, explaining that he wanted to commit the rest of his life to loving me and our family in the same way that Jesus has loved us.  He then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  Without hesitation I said, “Yes!”  We looked around, unsure of what to do next and were stunned that the world was still going on around us.  After calling several friends and family, we spent the rest of the day walking around the city, going to Brooklyn, and finally taking a flight back to Atlanta that night.  His parents were waiting to celebrate with us when we got back to Atlanta.  It was so much fun and could not have been more perfect!
In what month did you get married? December
How many guests attended your wedding? 250
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000-$25,000
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Relax and enjoy being engaged!  It will all get done, and what doesn’t get done no one will even notice.  Being engaged is so much fun, but can be stressful.  Just take things one day at a time, and decide what are the most important things.  And remember, you are marrying your best friend!  That’s the most important thing to work on — your future marriage.  The wedding details will come together!
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? We don’t have any big plans, just learning to be married and love each other well!