Emily, SW’s Creative Director, is a Southerner stuck in a Northerner’s body (though she can’t kick her New England love affair!). She enjoys the color pink, is obsessed with china patterns and exploring mundane points of etiquette, and could devour French bread all the livelong day. She loves the ocean. As a “wedding nerd,” she’s a sucker for swirly calligraphy, fluffy garden roses, weddings under the stars, and classic white cakes. She lives in North Carolina with her brilliant husband and two pretty kitties, and she wants to be Tami Taylor when she grows up.

Hometown: Gales Ferry, Connecticut (right near Mystic)
Alma Mater: Wheaton College
Major: English, with a concentration in Creative Writing
Birthday: February 28
How I got into weddings: When I was little, my Mom and I used to sneak into the balcony at our church to snoop on wedding ceremonies.  Not surprisingly (with that history), I knew since middle school that I wanted to work at a wedding magazine.  Curious how I came to work at SW?  You can read that story here.
Favorite food: Anything Indian. And Kraft macaroni and cheese.
Favorite color: PINK
Favorite non-wedding blog or site: Right now, Little Green Notebook. I think everything Jenny does is genius!
Favorite part about working at SW: I love the independence. I am (mostly) free to decide what a given day’s priorities are, how to handle situations I find myself in, and what I want to work on when.

You would be surprised to know: I LOVE government action/conspiracy movies and TV shows. 24? Air Force One? I’m so there. I also love donuts (they are perhaps my favorite dessert).
I am committed to: enriching relationships. My friends seem to be spreading farther and farther across the country, and I love finding new ways to stay connected, whether that means weekly letterpress letters with my pen pal Molly or swapping custom CD mixes with my high school friends.
I love: my family. I can’t even begin to describe to you how awesome I think my family is.
I know: “You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love.”
My motto: “Learn something new, do something kind, and see something beautiful.” Rinse and repeat once a day. Courtesy of my great aunt.

If money, time, and space were no object…

Tanja Lippert would shoot my wedding. I adore her, and would hire her again and again!
Rebecca of {Duet Weddings} would help me pull all the details together.
My Mom’s Dad would be a VIP guest. He died before I was born, but I hear he loved a good party. I plan to throw a good party.
I would wear the “Brisa” by Christos. Luckily for me, I got to wear my dream dress at my actual wedding! I would have happily worn a number of Christos dresses.
We would hold the ceremony at a small seaside church with a center aisle and the reception at a large private home with a rolling green lawn stretching toward the ocean.
Tia Reagan would get me prettified. She and Tanja are a dynamite pair, and I’ve never felt more beautiful than on my wedding day!
Jennifer at Salt Harbor Designs would make me a gorgeous bouquet of garden roses, peonies, ranunculus, dahlias, hellebores, gardenias, clematis, camellias, and lamb’s ear.
We would eat fancy pigs in a blanket as appetizers. And mini cups of macaroni and cheese (see above, re: favorite food). And mini lobster rolls, for John.
My cake would be tall, with white-on-white designs. And delicious on the inside.
Our first dance song would be “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin.
Guests would then boogie/waltz/sock-hop to an amazing swing band.
We would honeymoon in the Greek Isles or coastal Italy.
My china pattern would be a mix of Kate Spade “Gardner Street,” Martha Stewart by Wedgwood “Garland Moss,” and Pickard Signature Collection “Monogram.”

In a nutshell:

Big wedding or small wedding? Big wedding. Though, if you can believe it, that will probably mean just family and our closest friends — John and I both have BIG families!
Band or DJ? BAND. No question about it.
Camping or glamping? Glamping. I love sleeping under the stars, but I also love mattresses.
Cake or pie? Warm chocolate cake with smashed raspberry filling
Breakfast or dinner? Dinner, especially dinner parties.
City or country? Country, country, country. I plan to own a farm sometime in the near future.
Mountains or ocean? Ocean. Make that a seaside farm. I’m thinking Maine or Connecticut?
Seersucker or gingham? Madras.
Boots or sneakers? Tall, brown leather boots.
Night owl or early bird? Neither. I really love to sleep.
French fries or milkshake? Both. Together. As often as possible.

Image credits, top to bottom: Tanja Lippert, Millie Holloman, Jenna Cole, Tanja Lippert