Ohhhh, Madelynne. Y’all, I seriously feel like I know this gal. She was one of our lovely Southern Brides of the Month (post here!), she’s a Southern Bride Blogger, and in between, she’s been a devoted SW reader and frequenter blog commenter (love that!). So when Stephen DeVries sent me her wedding photos, I kind of knew we’d be featuring them even if it turned out she wore a paper bag to get married to Corey. Which she didn’t, but still. And was anyone surprised when she returned her interview back within 24 hours? Not I! :)

People underestimate the amount of work that goes into invitations and save the dates when you do it yourself. Designing and assembling invites was EXHAUSTING! It took us about a week to finish, even with my family’s help one day.

Describe your wedding flowers: My bouquet contained billy balls, yellow ranunculus, dusty miller, white hydrangeas, coral roses, yellow and white peony, and succulents. The bridesmaid’s bouquets contained white and green hydrangeas, white tulip, yellow calla lilies, hypericum berries, dusty miller, billy balls, and yellow ranunculus. The groomsmen had yellow ranunculus and billy balls, and the groom had a billy ball, dusty miller and jade plant. The arrangements had most of these flowers along with gerbera daisies, spider mums, yellow tulips, bells of Ireland, yellow lilies, and assorted roses.

How much do you love Madelynne’s face when she saw Corey’s wedding gift to her? Happy girl :) We each had two most memorable moments from the wedding day. Corey says the first look, where he cried like a baby seeing me, and he also loved standing in the back of the church, looking through the window to watch the church fill up with all the people we love. My first was when we exchanged gifts. He wrapped my gift in a Toms shoebox so I thought he was giving me Toms; when I opened the box and there was a Tiffany box in there. I died! My second was when the doors opened to the church as I was about to walk down the aisle; it was the biggest rush of excitement. It wasn’t until that moment that it hit me we were actually getting married!

Love that red lipstick!

Let’s talk about Madelynne’s wedding gown for a minute. I found it within weeks of getting engaged at a local consignment store. My mother and I decided to breeze in there one day with zero expectations. There was a Carolina Herrera gown about 75% off that had never been worn, fit almost perfect, and was the most stunning silhouette. There were tears, but I was very nervous to buy it since the wedding was so far away. I put it on hold, checked out David’s Bridal, and drove back to school the next day. I called my mom while I was on the road (drowning in my own thoughts) and told her to go buy that thing! I made one slight modification to the neckline, changing it into a sweetheart, which made it absolutely perfect.

I love the above photo so much! So much anticipation. Good job, Stephen DeVries :)

Did you write your own vows?We chose to do traditional vows, just like our generations before us had. My grandmother and late grandfather got married in the very same church in the 1950s!
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We had 1 Corinthians 13 Verses 4-7 and Colossians 3: 12-17, my two favorites.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. We used traditional music for the ceremony, including “Edelweiss” for the grandparent’s processional , “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” for the wedding processional, “Trumpet Voluntary’ for the bride’s processional, and “Wedding March” for the recessional. Our first dance was to “Let it Be Me” by Ray LaMontagne.

My mother made all of the paper flowers hanging at the reception, the chevron table linens, the pew flowers, the send-off shakers (with the help of her teacher friends!), the bridal party’s earrings, the gift card box, and the C+M logo. She worked so very hard and it made the wedding so much more special. My husband and I designed the programs, RSVP cards, invites, reception signage, and save the dates. We also spray-painted a ton of things to fit our color scheme!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? The food was the most Southern part! We had BBQ pork and chicken, baked beans, mac and cheese, potato salad, cheese biscuits, lemonade, and sweet tea. Other Southern aspects were the inclusion of a groom’s cake, the whole bridal party wearing pearls, giving handkerchiefs to all the grandmothers and mothers (I held one too), having everything in downtown Birmingham, and having koozies as our favor, since those are an SEC tailgate staple.

The wedding cake was lemon with lemon buttercream and had the zig zag motif from our invitations on the third tier. The groom’s cake was alternating tiers of chocolate and strawberry with vanilla buttercream. His cake had an argyle pattern on the third tier that matched his socks.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met trying to get into the cutthroat architecture program at Auburn University. We bonded over late nights, sitting by each other in class, iPod sharing, riding Tiger Transit (Auburn’s public transit system for students), and eating Zaxby’s and Momma G’s. We were in the ‘friend zone’ for about 6 months until I dropped the bomb on him on my birthday in 2007 that I was hopelessly in love with him. We never looked back!
Describe the proposal. I came to Auburn one weekend to visit him since I was doing an off-campus thesis. He had gotten the ring earlier that week and had NO idea how to propose. A light bulb went off in his head that he would make a faux wedding blog with a proposal at the end. Anyone that knows me can vouch for the fact that I am 100% obsessed with wedding blogs! He had to hack into my Gmail and subscribe me to the blog so I’d click on it when I did my nightly blog browsing. Appropriately, I was watching The Bachelor and browsing my blogs on my phone when he got up and ran into his bedroom to grab the ring. I got excited when I got to this post where the girl had my name and my favorite wedding colors. By the time I realized what was going on, he was in front of me on one knee. Needless to say I was totally shocked. It was so perfect, just the two of us together, which is exactly how I had always wanted it.
In what month did you get married? April 14, 2012 on a perfect sunny day.
How many guests attended your wedding? About 225.
Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? Absolutely yes! It was a wonderful decision for us. We got out all our emotions and nerves when it was just the two of us. I’m so glad we did a first look because when I walked down the aisle, I was so distracted by all my sweet friends and family smiling at me that I didn’t even look at him until I got to the end of the aisle!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The groom’s favorite detail was the family wedding portrait display at the reception. My favorite details were the bouquets and the reception site/décor.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? On the low end of the $25,000-$50,000 range.
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Definitely the photography. Stephen DeVries absolutely blew us away. He truly captured the essence of our day. We were also really happy with the live musician. Odie was fantastic and fun.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding?
1. The more you plan the day out, the smoother it will go (think lists!)
2. It was worth every penny – I am GLAD we didn’t elope
3. It helps tremendously to have someone around who’s been married in the recent past (aka: my sister and matron of honor)
4. Be selfish – ask for help –you will be happy you did!
5. First look is great – you can get out all your emotions without everyone watching.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are living and working in Atlanta, taking it one day at a time! We have a Boston Terrier puppy coming in August – a gift of my husband’s sweet family, and we can’t wait! We ultimately want to end up in Nashville and I would LOVE to work in the wedding industry! We want kids in maybe 4 or 5 years.

Stephen DeVries is a fabulous member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Apparently flower girls are just begging to be monogrammed. Seriously, y’all! Because in my experience, pretty much any fabric expanse on a Southern flower girl is adorned with a set of initials quicker than you can say biscuits and grits – see here and here for evidence. In case any of you ladies are still looking for inspiration for getting your monogram on, look no further than this adorable gal, sent in by Brita Photography!

Adorable!!

Now tell me: Who out there is monogramming her flower girl(s), and where are you putting said monogram? Spill, please!

Confession: I actually made this inspiration board a few months ago, but decided to wait to post it until it really felt like summer out. We’re not quite there yet in North Carolina, but I couldn’t wait any longer! This board (and wedding!) was inspired by the crab boil photo and all its delicious reds, yellows, and oranges. Rent some wood plank tables, mix together some fiery wildflowers, and hire a bluegrass band – done and done! Well, almost :)

Credits:

Crab boil photo by Melissa Schollaert via Southern Weddings, sweet tea drinks photo by Lauren Brooks via Style Me Pretty, strawberry shortcake wedding cake photo by Cyn Kain via Southern Weddings, rustic bar photo by Carly Bish via Ever Ours, bright bridesmaid dress photo by Nancy Ray via SMP, rustic sign photo by Melissa Schollaert via Southern Weddings, wooden tables photo by Jill Thomas, bluegrass band photo by Belathee via Design*Sponge

P.S. Does this sound like your idea of a good time? Then I think you’ll like these posts:
A wedding with some awesome Southern food
A low country boil rehearsal dinner
A casual + rustic wedding

Melissa Schollaert, Cyn Kain, and Nancy Ray are fabulous members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

I am having an outdoor, tented wedding. I’ve always wanted an outdoor, tented wedding. But truthfully? It scares me a little.

My wedding is not being held in perpetually sunny California. It’s also not being held in the warm, stable South. Nope, it’s being held in temperamental, often stormy New England. And on the weekend of our wedding day last year? Hurricane Irene came to town. That’s enough to give any gal a few gray hairs!!

I know that nothing I do, including – or especially! – worrying, will change the weather on that day. And I am fairly confident that if we do get less-than-perfect weather, I’ll be able to hold it together and have an amazing time regardless.

Eric Barry

But if the worst were to happen – let’s say Irene’s sister showed up as an uninvited guest, and we were actually forced to cancel or postpone our reception – I know it would be a great relief to have purchased wedding insurance. We did this for my sister’s (outdoor) wedding, and we’ll likely do it for mine, too.

In the grand scheme of most wedding budgets, $75-$200 (the cost of the average WedSafe policy) is, truthfully, a drop in the bucket. And because the things that wedding insurance insures you against – postponement due to severe weather, accidents, or sudden illnesses as well as financial loss due to unforeseen glitches like a no-show vendor, lost photographs, or a damaged wedding gown – can be extremely expensive, I imagine wedding insurance would begin to look like even more of a bargain if something were to go wrong.

Lisa Rigby

WedSafe also offers wedding liability insurance, which is required by many venues, and protects you if you’re held liable for property damage or bodily injury, as well as alcohol-related incidents. Many caterers will have insurance that will cover you in most cases, but if you’re having an at-home reception or a reception at a nontraditional location, wedding liability insurance could be exactly what you need.

We feel comfortable recommending WedSafe to you because they’ve been in business, and specializing in weddings, since 1999. Their instant pricing is also hassle-free and super easy to obtain – no need to create a log-in, provide personal information, etc. We love that! If you think wedding insurance might be the right choice for you, I’d encourage you to read more on their site and look into getting a free quote!

Y’all, if there is just one thing we could have you take away from months (or years!) of reading this blog, it would be this: the marriage is always, always more important than the wedding. Yep, we LOVE pretty details. We do, we can’t help it! And we know you probably do, too!

What we’re trying to say is, no matter how much inspiration we provide for the gorgeous centerpiece, the exquisite wedding gown, or the picture-perfect favor, what we do to help you plan a meaningful wedding day that honors the right things and lays an unshakeable foundation for your marriage will always be infinitely more important. And that’s why we’ve created the Sweet Tea Society, to remind us all what’s truly important in weddings. This is what we believe:

We don’t do this perfectly all the time — no, ma’am! But we try harder every day to make this who we are and where our heart is, and we would be honored if you’d join us! Feel free to snag a badge if you’d like to become a member of the Sweet Tea Society, and keep an eye out for a few new blog features we’ve got in the works!

Won’t you join us?

P.S. Kudos to Brooke from Curious & Company, who designed and illustrated our badges and the top of our manifesto! Nicole did an amazing job laying the rest of it out!