Florida bride Ali needed just one word to sum up her Kampong Gardens wedding: magical. We couldn’t agree more. This wedding is Southern sophistication at its finest, y’all! My breath was gone after just one look at Belathée Photography’s timeless images and those luscious white peonies. courtesy of Parrish Designs. And then I saw the attire. I have a feeling we’re going to be hard-pressed to find a better dressed groom than Mook with his cream jacket, crisp black bow tie and – wait for it – those shiny, shiny gold buttons! The bride, not to be outdone, wowed in an asymmetric Vera Wang gown and classic lace-trimmed veil. Put these two in a real life fairytale, folks. I’m in love.

P.S. Wondering why there aren’t so many photos from the ceremony? Thanks to a sudden downpour, the couple and their guests dashed outside to exchange vows, then dashed back in to seek cover. Hardly any time for photos!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met at Casa Tua in Miami in December 2008.
Describe the proposal. Mukang reserved the rooftop of the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York, and asked me to join him there so I could meet his cousin visiting from Korea. It turned out to be a lie, as he had planned the most perfect proposal!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: There is just one adjective: magical.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The place cards and the flowers.
Describe your wedding flowers: We used white peonies with pink and white orchids and a soft silvery leaf. We also mixed in hot pink peonies with purple orchids.
Describe your wedding cake: We served a simple coconut cake.

We loved the jewel-tone palette Ashely + Paul incorporated into their intimate ceremony, but have to say the pops of blue – from the groom’s blazer to the handmade straws – made us fall in love with this Florida wedding all over again. For assistant textile buyer Ashley, the blue fabric swatch-inspired escort cards could not have been a more perfect – or Southern! – touch to their Palm Valley Gardens celebration. Another detail we love? Lori Parker’s rustic blooms are a spot-on complement to the burlap table runners, designed by planner Jennifer Corrente. For a sweet ending to their Florida nuptials, the newlyweds treated guests to a do-it-yourself s’mores station. Umm, yes, please? Hugs to Jenn Hopkins Photography for brightening up our Monday!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I knew what style and fit I wanted, and fell in love with two beautiful gowns. I went back and forth to each boutique twice before making my decision. I ended up choosing a lace, fit-and-flare Legends by Romona Keveza gown because of the unique neckline, and I could not have been more thrilled with my decision!
Describe your wedding flowers: I had so much fun picking out the flowers. My florist was able to bring out the garnet and gold of the bow ties and add some cotton bolls from her own family farm! We also avoided using plain glass vases and opted for Mason jars wrapped in birch wood to keep with the rustic feel of the day. I wanted my bouquet, however, to be classic, white and beautiful, and it was.
Describe your wedding cake: It was Funfetti with garnet and gold sprinkles!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Only being able to invite a small group of friends. It was such a wonderful day for us, and we wished we could have invited everyone!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? The father-daughter dance. My step-dad married my mother when I was just five-years-old, and he has been my father every since. We had a friend of ours play “He Didn’t Have to Be” by Brad Paisley. It was the most emotional moment of the night.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are spending our first years of marriage in New York City! We are loving this experience of trying new things and making new friends, and doing our best to bring the South to the big city!

Wed in sunny Florida’s Palm Valley Gardens, Seminole sweethearts Ashley and Paul made sure their beloved Florida State’s garnet and gold made a fashionable showing at their big day. The groom paired his spirited bow tie with the bride’s Badgley Mischka heels for a rich, jewel-tone palette. A+ for school spirit, y’all! Ashley donned a Romona Keveza gown and toted a monochromatic bouquet by Lori Parker to contrast her maids’ colorful blooms and Alfred Sung frocks. Photographer Jenn Hopkins was standing by to capture every detail of the outdoor ceremony, planned by Jennifer Corrente.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We attended the same small high school and both went to Florida State University, but at different times, so had never met. We even lived in the same neighborhood! Paul and I finally crossed paths when he and my step-dad were playing golf together. They played together a lot, but this time I was actually home from school to meet him. (My step-dad apparently had been trying to put this together for quite some time). We ended up spending an afternoon playing golf, which was followed by dinner, and we’ve been together ever since. Sometimes father does know best.
Describe the proposal. It was game day in Tallahassee. Paul and I drove in to watch our Florida State Seminoles take on the Boston College Eagles. The day went by and the Seminoles won, which was nothing out of the ordinary, but, later at dinner, Paul asked if I would like to walk around campus since he hadn’t seen it in a while. We went over to Wescott Fountain, where Paul informed me that his grandmother had a brick laying on the ground with her name on it. As we searched, I turned to look at him, and there he was on his knee with his grandmother’s ring in a box asking me to marry him. What was even more special was that his cousin was hiding in the bushes and made sure to catch this special moment on camera.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Romantic, rustic and God-centered.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: I have three. We moved to NYC after the wedding, so my Grandfather performed “New York, New York” at the reception for us as a going-away song. Another detail that meant a lot to me was having a locket my grandparents had given me wrapped into my bouquet. They passed away when I was in high school, and I wanted to make sure they were still a part of this special day. And lastly, one of our friends from Bible study is a worship singer, and he sang “Here We Are to Worship” during the ceremony for our first communion as husband and wife, and it was wonderful for those in attendance to be able to take part in this act of worship.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Only in the South could you have an outdoor wedding in February. The weather could not have been more perfect. We also made sure to put cotton and Mason jars everywhere! And of course, we had to incorporate our college colors (garnet and gold) into our overall theme. Go ‘Noles!

If Lara hadn’t just replenished my office candy supply with Easter goodies galore, I’d be jonesing for a major sugar fix right about now. Sarah boasted the highlight of their festive reception at the Belle Meade Plantation had been the lavish dessert bar, and she wasn’t kidding! Dessert Designs provided the three-tiered confection that doubled as the couple’s wedding cake and the sweet spread’s main event – yum! Emily loves the fact that Sarah + Tyler wed in a real life horse barn and celebrated in the adjoining carriage home, complete with hay bales and mounted bridles. (I’ll spare you the obvious bridle/bridal pun, because I’m awesome like that.) Hats off to photographer Brion Hopkins for this rustic Tennessee wedding!

Describe your wedding flowers: My bouquet was filled with narcissus, white sweet peas, star of Bethlehem and blue privet berries, surrounded by magnolia leaves and tied with a striped burlap wrap with pearl buttons. I adored it! To me, it was an ideal mix of earthy/elegant, high/low elements.
Describe your wedding cake: Our wedding cake was just one item on our dessert table, which included cookies, carrot cake cupcakes (Ryan’s favorite), caramel and candy apples (my favorites), bags of caramel corn and horseshoe-shaped chocolates, so we chose a relatively small three-tiered cake. The cake was covered in ivory fondant icing and decorated with a simple sugar magnolia.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Finding time to do everything! Ryan and I both have busy careers, and, I admit, I’m a bit of a control freak, so I did not exactly delegate any wedding planning tasks. I do not, however, regret any of the countless hours I spent shopping for perfectly mismatched accessories for the bridesmaids, scouring antique stores for picture frames to turn into chalkboards, rubber stamping burlap sacks to hold dessert table treats, etc., because our wedding truly reflected our personalities and style. Plus, I actually enjoyed every moment of it!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Aside from saying our vows to one another, my favorite moment was walking down the aisle with my father. The stables looked almost magical, I was surrounded by my family and closest friends, and I was moments away from marrying the man of my dreams. I remember thinking, “This is the happiest day of my life.” Ryan says that his most memorable moment is when he first saw me in my wedding dress. Yeah, he’s a keeper.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Yes, we wrote and memorized our own vows, and did not say or read them to one another until the ceremony. My favorite line from Ryan’s vows to me was his opening: “For years you were just a dream and a prayer. Now that I have you, I will never let you go.” Ryan’s favorite verse was when I said, “Where you go, I will go. Who you become, I will become the complement.” We’ve placed our vows at the very front of our wedding album and plan to repeat them to each other every year on our anniversary.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Right now, Ryan is interviewing for his fellowship in hematology/oncology, so it is exciting to see what possibilities that will bring. Other than that, I’m hoping to start referring to myself by my married name on a more consistent basis. Some habits die hard, I suppose!

Some of our longtime readers may remember this cute couple. Sarah + Ryan were the winners of the mega-popular photo contest sponsored by Brion Hopkins back in 2010, and we couldn’t pass up the chance to feature their dream wedding at the Belle Meade Plantation. The bride happily donned the Melissa Sweet “Prague” gown she first fell in love with online, but it’s her snazzy Hunter boots – and sweet smile – that really complete her wedding day look. (Her more formal but equally adorable glittery kicks are a J. Crew find.) Y’all seem to love chic sweater ensembles just as much as I do, so you’ll probably swoon over Sarah’s cardigan-clad bridesmaids in matching J. Crew ensembles and carrying rustic bouquets from The Enchanted Florist. Mary Alice Sublett of A Delightful Day offered day-of coordination, and Brion Hopkins (naturally!) photographed the lucky newlyweds.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We actually met at Robert’s, a Nashville honky-tonk one week after Ryan moved to Nashville to begin his residency at Vanderbilt. He asked me to dance, I said “yes,” and the rest is history. What can I say? Ryan’s a great dancer.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Heartfelt, fun and perfect.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Ryan’s favorite detail was the dessert table. He’s the decisive one, I guess, because I can’t name one specific detail that was my favorite. I loved everything about the day: the invitations, the ceremony programs, the acoustic guitar/vocal solo during the ceremony, the bouquets, the décor, the lighting in the stables and, most of all, the sheer joy on every single person’s face.
What was Southern about your wedding? Our wedding was very Southern! Our ceremony took place in the horse stables of a Southern plantation, followed by a reception in the adjoining carriage house. We hung magnolia wreaths on every window, and used magnolia leaves as a main element in the floral decorations. For extra seating at the reception, we covered hay bales with ivory quilts and throw pillows. We served mac & cheese out of mason jars, to which I affixed our monogram and tied the lid with a twine bow, and Tennessee brisket. Even our band was very Southern, playing songs that allowed our greatest friends and family to two-step well into the night.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I knew that I wanted an understated and ethereal, yet elegant, wedding dress, which is actually really difficult to find! I looked at what seemed like thousands of dresses in magazines and on websites, and found just one dress that I absolutely loved: Melissa Sweet’s Prague dress. Only one store in Nashville, The Bride Room, carries Melissa Sweet, so I called to see if they also had the Prague. The Bride Room did not have the dress, but they requested it from Melissa Sweet’s showroom and shipped it to Nashville for me to try on the weekend that my mother was visiting. It was the first dress I tried on and, although I tried on other beautiful dresses, I knew all along that I was going to wear the Prague on my wedding day. I am so thankful for the girls at the Bride Room for finding the perfect dress for me!