Today’s etiquette question MIGHT just be the one we receive most often, if you can believe it!

This query is actually SO popular that we answered it more than two years ago, but since we still get emails about it all the time, we thought we’d take another stab! Our latest black + navy query comes from Lauren:

Hi SW ladies! I am getting married this September, and would love for my bridesmaids to wear navy dresses (haven’t decided short or long yet). We’re going for a more formal feel, so tuxedos for the men is the obvious choice, but I don’t know if navy blue and black will clash when everyone is lined up together?? It’s definitely a smaller detail, but I’ve been going back and forth for the past few weeks and would love an outside opinion. What do y’all think — is the navy + black combo acceptable? Thank you!!

Haley Sheffield

Let’s set the record straight once and for all: navy and black do NOT clash, and a tuxedo looks smashing with almost everything. Your bridal party will look fabulous together! However, we would recommend sticking with as classic a tux as possible to keep the look clean-lined: no vest, a black bow tie, and a black cummerbund.

Amanda Joy Photography

If you’re worried about the bridal party looking like a dark blob in photos, perhaps have the guys take their jackets off for a few group portraits — the white shirts will help brighten the overall look.

Leslie Hollingsworth

Of course, a tuxedo isn’t the only option — black suits, gray suits, the fabulous navy blazer + khaki pant combo, or seersucker suits can all be dapper choices, depending on the time of year you’re getting married and the formality of the celebration.

Josh McCullock and Gibson Events

Each option will definitely create a feel of its own, so think hard about what sort of mood you want to set. Rest assured, however, that whatever you choose, the gents will look exceedingly handsome.

Robyn Van Dyke

Readers, weigh in: Are your girls wearing navy dresses? If so, what will the men be wearing? Would you pair navy and black? Have another option we haven’t thought of? Leave it in the comments below!

Gibson Events, Haley Sheffield, Josh McCullock, Leslie Hollingsworth, and Robyn Van Dyke are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Howdy, friends! We are gearing up for our next round of Southern Weddings V6 editorial shoots, and are hoping some of our local readers might agree to join us this time!

We’ll be in Chapel Hill, NC on Tuesday, July 9. We’re looking for several people for this particular shoot:

– a bride and groom, preferably both blonde
– bridesmaids and groomsmen
– a few young kids (girls and/or boys, ages 4-8)
– an older couple or two

Feel free to nominate yourself, yourself and your husband/fiance/boyfriend, the kids you used to babysit for, or your parents! :) We would LOVE to encourage all hair/skin colors to get in touch! If chosen, we will need you to be available on site from about 1 – 8pm. We might start later or end earlier, but want you to be prepared!

If you’re interested, please send an email to howdy (at) iloveswmag.com with the subject line V6 NC Model Call. Be sure to include a recent headshot (no need for professional photos, we just want to see your lovely face!), a few candids and your height. We promise it’s going to be a blast!

Hello, belles + beaus! We’re using some Sundays to share images that show what the Sweet Tea Society is all about – getting back to the root of weddings, remembering why they happen, and celebrating the emotion and love that drives them. Enjoy!

Donnan Photo

From the bride, Adriene:

From the start, my husband and I wanted a wedding that would not only celebrate our love for each other, but also celebrate the love we have for our precious family and friends. I was both humbled and overjoyed that so many of our loved ones carved time out of their busy schedules to attend! The moment that this photograph was taken was right before I linked arms with my brother to walk down the church aisle, and I was feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. For the first time in my life, I was about to be in a room filled with everyone I’ve ever loved. When my brother came to tell me it was time, I remember feeling so abundantly blessed to have the opportunity to walk past everyone who has ever held a piece of my heart and straight into the arms of the man who will hold it forever.

You can see more from Adriene + Ashton’s wedding here!

Like many of y’all, my husband and I promised ourselves to each other “in sickness and in health” at our wedding. Thankfully, we haven’t had much cause to live up to the first part, but I’m always moved by those couples who have. Especially ones like Jewel and Ben, who’ve weathered some pretty scary circumstances even before they officially wed. I think you’ll enjoy their story — a great reminder that the real beauty of a wedding is a lifelong partner who will stick with you through thick and thin.

Thank you to Vicki Grafton for the breath-of-fresh-air images!

For our entire relationship, Ben and I have disagreed on the story of us: how, when, and where we met will go down as one of life’s great unsolved mysteries. We can both agree, however, that Ben’s sister Sydney is responsible for setting us up. About two to three months before I graduated high school, I had been complaining to Sydney about how desperate I was for a prom date when she suggested that I ask Ben to my prom. He seemed nice enough, so I asked him, and he said yes. Fast forward about seven years later, and Ben was down on one knee asking me to be his wife.

About six months after the proposal, I had a routine appointment with my nephrologist (kidney doctor). I was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (a type of chronic kidney disease) when I was 16 years old, so I’d been seeing my kidney doctors every few months for the past 10 years. A few weeks before Thanksgiving in 2012, my kidney doctor advised me to go on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. Ben and I thought we’d at least be able to make it through the wedding and maybe a few years of marriage before I needed a transplant. Wedding or not, my kidneys had plans of their own. From December 2012 to May 2013, my kidney function fell from 15 percent to 5 percent.

Patients on the organ transplant list wait an average of five years before receiving a kidney from a deceased donor, and roughly 80 percent of people waiting for an organ transplant are waiting for a kidney. This past April, it was beginning to look more and more like I wasn’t going to get a new kidney in time for the wedding. I started preparing for dialysis, but on April 17, the transplant center notified me that my dad had been approved to donate his kidney to me! My whole family and Ben were relieved, excited, nervous, anxious, and hopeful that the surgery would be a success and that I’d finally be healthy.

On May 3, my dad donated his kidney to me, and the doctors said it worked right away! Since then, I’ve been feeling great, I’m no longer addicted to coffee, and Ben and I are so happy that I can enjoy the wedding as a healthy bride! And my dad is doing just fine, as well. Dad saved the [wedding] day!

Jewel and Ben are getting married this weekend, and we couldn’t be more thrilled for them! Be sure to leave them some love in the comments! Also, how perfect is this post for Father’s Day weekend??

P.S. Did you know we feature an engagement session every Friday on our Facebook page? Check it out!

We all know a lot of advice is offered — seemingly from every quarter — when you’re engaged. Some of it you keep, and some of it you accept with a smile and then politely disregard. The best pieces of advice, though, the nuggets of truth offered from those closest to us, shape our lives in amazing ways, whether offered during an engagement or not. In honor of Father’s Day, we thought we’d share some of our favorite pieces of advice we’ve learned from our own dads.

From Lara:

My best advice from my dad came engraved on a silver keychain one Christmas: “Fortune favors the bold and scorns the timid.” My dad is a gentle, kind man with a heart of gold. He always wanted me to be an artist, and encouraged me to use my creative talents. I’m so grateful for that, and for this engraved encouragement that has since pushed me to be bold for what matters most.

From Nicole:

My dad has given me a lot of wonderful advice in my lifetime, but the two pieces that have stuck with me the most were actually in the form of declarations:

1. Yangs never give up. (Pretty sure this one was given to me when I was five and trying to fix something I broke.)
2. Yangs keep their last names. (Also given to me when I was five.)

My sister and I joke about these two things a lot (we like to repeat them to each other while imitating my dad — with love), but they’re the two pieces of advice that have molded our outlook on life and our individuality as well as our independence and capabilities.

Martha Manning

From Kristin:

Growing up, my daddy was lucky enough to be the only guy in a house house full of crazy, loud, Southern women. He is a graduate of NC State University and a die-hard Wolfpack fan – so I nearly broke his heart when I decided to attend his rival university (UNC-Chapel Hill). But here lies the beauty of my father and his advice:

“You can do anything, ANYTHING, you just have to try your best“. And he always followed that with, “and I will be behind you 100%, rooting you on and doing everything in my power to make your dreams come true.”

He proudly attended my graduation, wearing a Carolina blue & white striped tie, and calls me regularly to check in and just ‘say hi.’ He has individual pictures of his three girls (my mama, sister and me) in his wallet and will proudly show them to ANYONE he meets. He is so proud of his family. One day, I hope that I am able to share this same encouragement, support and deeply rooted love of family with my children.

From Sara, our intern:

Along with the majority of his personality traits, there are endless pieces of advice that my dad has directly and indirectly passed on to me over the years. My dad is living proof of the phrase that there are no strangers, only friends he has not yet met (standing true to the idea of Southern hospitality!). His outgoing nature and love of life have led me to structure my days around four simple words that he used to shout from his office as I left for school each morning: “Attitude is 80 percent.” Most days, I still get a text saying the same thing, and I am so grateful.

From Morgan, our other intern:

I, like most Southern girls, truly think my dad is the best man in the world. The best advice my dad has given me came in the form of a simple phrase: Be good to each other. Though this was usually applied as a mediating phrase spoken to my sister and I during the midst of a disagreement while growing up, I have remembered the phrase and remind myself of the advice daily. Daddy saying “Be good to each other” has taught me to love, to be sweet, and to live a kind life considering other’s circumstances and feelings in an effort to “be good” to them.

Tanja Lippert

One of the phrases I remember my Dad saying most often is, “if you’re going to give, give graciously.” This line was likely precipitated by me shoving a toy at my sister if I was forced to share, or stepping aside from my turn on the swing with a begrudging huff. As I grew up, though, it took on a deeper meaning than a simple response, reminding me to be grateful, to have a generous heart, and to do more than was required of me, even if I didn’t feel like it. My dad taught me that what matters isn’t just IF you do it, it’s HOW you do it. One of the things I strive for most in life is to be a gracious person, and I’m guessing that urge can be traced back to one of my Dad’s favorite lines.

How about you, readers? What’s the best advice you’ve ever received from your dad?