1. Marissa’s sock bun got fancy! Yes, she #putabowonit!

2. My little strawberry plant is doing well and sprouting out teeny berries!

3. Emily adored this punny mailing all the way from Owlabama.

4. Lara spent her April writing her first book proposal!

5. “It SNOWED! In April. IN the South,” said Kristin. “I made the most of it and put on my boots and put out a bowl to catch snow to make snow cream”

6. April was Southern Weddings’ birthday month. My desk was filled with all five volumes and lots of math while we calculated stats for our birthday graphics (here and here).

7. NC exploded into bloom in April, and we didn’t have to go farther than our office front door to find pretty flowers! This snap was taken on Emily’s midday walk.

8. Lara is changing her name! Deciding on her middle name has proven to be one of the hardest decisions.

9. Marissa about died when she received her monogram bracelet from Stacy Brown Designs! It’s monogram heaven!

10. For Emily, much of April was taken up by her honeymoon to Nevis one of her favorite snaps!

11. Marissa sent many handwritten notes this month with her adorable new notecards! (Lettered by our own Emily Thomas!)

12. Kristin celebrated a very big birthday with sweet friends and a delicious cookie cake (her favorite).

13. Kristin indulged in a midnight snack in the form of a yummy Krispy Kreme doughnut!

14. Emily and John planted their balcony veggie/herb garden.

15. Lara and Ari told the story of their marriage and how love never fails during the Amazing Life Together webinar.

16. Lara and Grace took a trip down the road to visit some farm friends!

17. I hosted friends at my house for a weekend and played hostess by whipping up brunch!

18. Marissa officially became a Lululemon convert. She especially loves their manifesto on what’s most important.

What did y’all do in April? What were the highlights of your month?

Hello, belles! Nicole and I have spent the last two days in sunny (thank goodness!) South Carolina shooting an editorial for the next issue. It’s been a V6 whirlwind around these parts, actually – we wrapped a shoot in NC last week, we have another scheduled for next week, and are just diving into planning two others for June! You won’t hear a peep of complaint from our lips, though it makes us positively giddy to piece together beauty we know will eventually make it onto the printed page!

Before too much time gets behind us we wanted to give y’all a little peek at what we’ve been up to. We were lucky to have Graham Terhune on hand to snap behind-the-scene shots on the actual shoot day, but our instagrams will have to tide you over until V6 debuts!

Like so many of our photoshoots (yesterday’s, too!), this joint was the first stop of the day:

We were thrilled to have the chance to work with Katie Stoops again, of course. You may recall she photographed our Williamsburg and Richmond features from past issues!

That’s our intern Jessica up there with Katie, Nicole, and me!

Happily, shoot prep always leaves pretty and tasty! extras around the office. Don’t mind if I do…

I’ll leave you with my favorite snap from the day: This was Ms. Katie taking photos of the pretty we had created, but doesn’t this scene look worthy of capture, too? Such an amazing field of clover we had never seen anything like it!

That may be the last sneak peek you get from our first V6 shoot, but we have more surprises for you! Before you get too antsy with anticipation, we have a fun giveaway for y’all! Our good friends at High Cotton happily gave us a couple of boys bow ties to use for some special gents in this shoot. We couldn’t wait to do a V6 giveaway!

To enter, leave a comment below telling us about the best biscuit you’ve ever tasted and which bow tie you’d love to win. Will it be the Red and White Mini Dot bow tie or the Nantucket Seersucker Stripe bow tie? Tell us before this giveaway closes at midnight on May 22.

If you’re not already, be sure to follow us on Instagram as we spend the summer prepping for V6! We’re here: Southern Weddings, Lara, Emily, Nicole, Marissa, and Kristin.

P.S. Vendors, interested in joining in the fun? We’re working with lots of sponsors already for V6, and would love to have you, too! Email Marissa (marissa at iloveswmag.com) or fill out this form for more info.

Graham Terhune is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

From Marissa:

1. Kristin loves monograms just as much as I do.
2. She uses the term “cheeseburger hungry.”
3. She rocks cowboy boots and pearls to the office.
4. She has a heart for helping people realize their full potential.
5. She’s always game to join in on 90′s music singsongs.
6. She focuses on finding joy through gratitude, and helping others do the same.
7. Even though we live hundreds of miles apart, Kristin has become one of my best friends, which just shows how big her heart is.

From Nicole:

8. Kristin has an amazing Southern drawl.
9. She says “squeeze” instead of “hug.”
10. She loves Carolina about as much as I do.
11. She sends handwritten notes for any ole occasion, including just when she’s thinking of you.
12. She makes everyone feel comfortable as they are and treats them like a good friend.
13. She is super organized (and an Excel pro!) and she loves office supplies and the start of school, too (even though she’s no longer in school).
14. She always brings cookies when she visits the Chapel Hill office, and they are always delicious.
15. Kristin has a big, open heart and is constantly loving on everyone.
16. She rocks spring colors any time of the year.

From Emily:

17. This girl has never met a stranger. You feel like her best friend after just five minutes with her.
18. She has amazing hair!! Always. Super jealous of this fact.
19. Kristin takes her marriage seriously and is open about the sweet things she and Kyle do for each other.
20. Her excitement is contagious. She loves to be excited, especially for other people!
21. She loves to learn, and has soaked things up like a sponge since starting at SW. I feel like she’s always been a part of the team.
22. Though Kristin is incredibly well-dressed and -accessorized, she’s not too cool to sport some ridiculous pajamas or an all-out Christmas apron.
23. She’s generous with her hair teasing knowledge.

From Lara:

24. Kristin is driven and unafraid! She came up to me the first time I met her, at our first Gingerbread Barn event, and said, “Hi, my name is Kristin. I love reading your blog, I’ve had you in my prayers (I had just given birth to Grace) and I would love to work for you.”
25. She is passionate. Her energy and zest for life are contagious!
26. She is a visionary, always looking ahead to grow our company so we can help more couples celebrate love.
27. Kristin’s love of the South and her family lights my heart on fire!
28. Gracie loves her. : )
29. Kristin baked us chocolate chip cookies when she came for her first interview. She is a great baker!
30. I trust her. In every sense of the word. She has become a great friend and support and I love her dearly!

We love you, KNW! Happy 30th!

1. Emily’s Great Day mug and lots of to do lists filled her desk as she prepared for V6 shoots!

2. Lara, Ari and Grace took advantage of the warmer temperatures and visited the belted goats at Fearrington.

3. Kristin celebrated family birthdays at Lexington BBQ with some seriously delicious Southern delicacies.

4. Marissa took her office outside in order to pretend it was the South!

5. I added some very cool new office supplies to my collection: 80′s Glam Sharpies!

6. Kristin traveled to the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, NC, to cheer on the Tar Heels with her hubs, Kyle. (Go Heels!)

7. Lara and I worked on fun shop goodies and new projects.

8. I went to Downtown Raleigh for First Friday and came across this gem. It’s North Carolina inside a mason jar on a onesie!

9. Marissa and her handsome husband attended a Spring Training team BBQ for the Padres.

10. Lara did some painting for her shop!

11. Receipts times two from Emily’s Easter weekend. “Paying for the person behind us in line is one of my favorite traditions,” she says.

12. Marissa celebrated spring with a little floral bow business! Too cute, we say!

13. Kristin and Kyle drove down to North Carolina for Easter weekend. “I was bouncing off the walls of the car on the way down the mountain,” said Kristin. “I was so excited to spend time with my sweet family!”

14. Emily made a chocolate peanut butter cheesecake for Easter dinner dessert. According to Em, it was as good as it sounds!

15. Polka dots + pink nails made working on tax prep with Lara so much more fun for Marissa! At least, that’s what she told herself :)

16. Lara, Emily and Gina hosted a successful Making Things Happen conference with some amazing ladies!

17. With warmer temperatures around the corner, I picked up my first strawberry plants with my dad!

18. Lara and Ari celebrated 7 years of marriage! Yay!!

What did y’all do in March? What were the highlights of your month?

This girl! Katharine and I started working at SW just days apart, and for our first two years, we were inseparable. I know her witty writing, timeless style, and love of candy have not been forgotten among the SW faithful! A little update from Ms KTW herself:

My handsome groom and I have navigated a few big changes and celebrated a number of milestones (most notably our first and second wedding anniversaries!) over the past couple years. Kyle and I loved being classmates so much in college that we decided to brave business school together. Our biggest lesson so far? If a marriage can survive graduate school, it can survive anything! We finish our MBA program this May, and I’m especially grateful to share another graduation with my best friend. In June, I’m making my first big move since 2009 to work as an internal consultant for Bank of America at company headquarters in Charlotte. Kyle will graduate from medical school in 2014, then plans to join me in the Queen City as a healthcare consultant for McKinsey & Co. In our free time, we enjoy blazing through our Netflix queue (me), performing at karaoke bars (him), and running the Duke trail (us).

P.S. For those of you who remember my candy addiction, my current favorites include gummy frogs, fruit runts, bottle caps, and Germany raspberries. Yum!

You know we love us some redheads around here! Happily, as you’ll see, we still have a healthy dose of Whitney in our lives!

So much has happened since my last day at SW! As many of you know, after four years at Southern Weddings, I decided to make the big move to New York City. Sometimes, though, the world has different plans. After 8 months in the city, I made my way back down to North Carolina to be close to my loved ones after a family emergency. My time in New York made me realize how very lucky I was to have grown up in the South, and if I had to move away to make that discovery, that’s okay! Now, I’m working as an event planner with A Southern Soiree and also handling the social media for Making Things Happen. I live in a pretty little yellow house in Raleigh with a cute new puppy, and I’ve never been more content.

Our office’s average style quotient definitely went down a few notches when we said goodbye to Sierra, and I think our sweetness levels did, too. We miss our favorite sorority girl, but are so proud of the life she’s made in Tennessee!

The week after graduation, I moved to Nashville and have been working as a news and features designer at Gannett’s Design Studio (small world – I put Lara’s mom, Celia’s column in the Pensacola paper!). In my off time, I shadow at Sony RED Entertainment, a promotions/distribution division of Sony Music (ran into former Bachelor contestant, Kacie B., at one of Jason Aldean’s #1 parties!) and work as an extra in for ABC’s Nashville (any of y’all watch??). Living in Music City, I go to plenty of shows (The Black Keys and Band of Horses are next on my list) and have been training for my first half marathon at the end of April.

Now, onto the gals that are still here!

On April 1, 2008, I was launching the SW blog and magazine at our very first launch party! Looking back at these images, it’s surreal to me. To go from that day 5 years ago, to this is just… it leaves me speechless.

On April 1, 2008, I was a junior in college. I had already been accepted to my summer internship at The Knot, and was probably nervously searching for housing in the city! John and I had been dating for a few years, and though I had my Martha Stewart subscription, I was just starting to discover wedding blogs…

In April of 2008, I was engaged to my now darling husband, and happily planning my very own Southern wedding. I was working as a corporate Account Executive for a cluster of radio stations in the Miami Market (and wearing all black suits, pearls and high-heels everyday!). I actually have the attached photo framed in our home, as it’s one of my favorites! This is BDK and I headed out for St. Patrick’s Day in 2008. As you can see by his outfit, it’s one of his favorite holidays! ;)

In April 2008, I was in Charlotte, attending my senior year of high school. I had just finished up a theatre show called “General Gorgeous,” where I played a superhero’s wife (ha!) and was managing our annual musical, “Cinderella” in addition to working on the senior issue of our school newspaper. I was also probably shopping for prom dresses :)

On April 1, 2008 I was weeks away from a milestone birthday and Kyle and I had just purchased plane tickets to fly to San Antonio for the NCAA Final Four. Our sweet Tar Heels were set to play that upcoming weekend and we decided to drop everything and travel to Texas. Unfortunately the games didn’t go as planned, but I was able to cross two things off my forever goal list – visit Texas and see the Tar Heels play in a Final Four.

Have you met our office mascot, Henrietta? Since she came to us in 2012, she was probably pre-egg in 2008. (Which would be… chicken?)

Wherever y’all were in 2008, we’re glad you’re here now! And this seems as appropriate a time as any to remind you that if you have some sweet graphic design skills, we think you should apply to join our team!

1. Marissa posted her favorite new shirt from Petal Boutique. It’s business in the front and a party in the back, she says!

2. I pulled out my Pantone swatches to do some color matching for a new product in the shop. Can you tell which print I was working on?

3. Kristin and the SW gals celebrated sweet Marissa’s birthday with a dance party and a cupcake. This is one of K’s favorite pictures ever. (Thanks Kat Harris!)

4. Lara launched her brand new site! See it here y’all.

5. Marissa’s suitcase was a bit over packed for her trip out west, so this Southern girl had to wear her winter coat through the airport!

6. Emily has been loving her tending list and notepad from the new Lara Casey shop.

7. Emily and John celebrated Valentine’s Day with dinner at home and a first viewing of their Inkspot long-form wedding film.

8. Valentine’s Day was delicious in the office thanks to a treat from our intern, Jessica. She gave us heart-shaped biscuits and jam!

9. Kristin and Kyle celebrated Valentine’s Day with a picnic on the floor of their living room using a quilt made by Kristin’s great aunt (a gorgeous wedding ring quilt, oh my stars)!

10. Marissa and her husband got a big laugh out of their last name being on the Padres pronunciation guide for Spring Training. (It’s pronounced “close,” not “clo-ess.”)

11. Grace surpassed walking and started running a lot!

12. Emily was very happy about our closet overhaul and organization day. It now houses all of our pretty new prints!

13 In addition to their wedding film, Emily and John also received their disc of wedding images from Tanja. She included some gorgeous prints with hand-cut mats.

14. Kristin shared her love story with our amazing readers! Yay!!

15. We had plenty of exciting staff meetings this month as we reviewed our January goals and discussed ideas for V6!

16 Kristin spread some love to celebrate Emily’s birthday and sent a pile of goodies to The Birthday Party Project. (See Emily’s post on it here.)

17. We all appreciated the Southern charm dripping from the lovely cotton wreath on Lara’s office door.

18. My boyfriend and I watched our rival alma maters play against each other in basketball. The Tar Heels won. :)

Tell us: What did you do in February? What were the highlights of your month?

Erin made heart-shaped strawberry biscuits for her husband on Valentine’s Day; McKenzie made delicious-looking pancakes for her sweetie; Sam left a sweet note on her fiance’s car when he was having a bad day; and Kristin sent a surprise package to The Birthday Party Project in honor of my birthday!

All together now: awwwww!

In case you’re not familiar with the concept of a Southern Doin’, I’ll recap for ya: A Southern Doin’ is any sort of a Southern activity. There’s no official panel of judges that decides whether or not something is Southern; you get to decide for yourself whether your Doin’ falls under the spirit of the South! We came up with Southern Doin’s because even in the midst of V5 craziness, we didn’t want to forget to get outside our office and remember all of the things we love about the South. (And there are oh so many things.)

We’re ratcheting things up a notch this year with our Southern Doin’ monthly challenges. Each month we’ll pick a Doin’ prompt and post it here — something to encourage y’all to go, do, make, explore, discover, and love in the spirit of the South and the Sweet Tea Society.

We’ll be Doin’ right alongside you, and we’ll all try to remember and use the #southerndoin hashtag, alrighty? Then, we’ll come back here and post a little recap on the blog of our favorite tweeted, instagrammed, or Facebooked Doin’s before we post the next month’s challenge.

But enough explanation — time for the challenge! The Southern Weddings office has been all abuzz over the impending arrival of spring, so for March’s #SouthernDoin Challenge, snap a photo of a sign of springtime in the South! Maybe you’ll spot daffodils or camellias on your after-work walk. Maybe you’ll sit outside for the first time this year at your favorite Southern eatery. Maybe you’ll spy some adorable baby farm animals (you know we’d love that one!). Whatever it is, we’d love for you to share it with us! We’ll be sharing our favorites next month right here on the blog.

Are you in? Sound off in the comments! And happy Doin’!

P.S. Suggestions for future challenges are welcome! Just leave a comment below or feel free to email me.

Here’s how: Since it’s the very last day of February, that also means it’s the last day to jump on board with our February #SouthernDoin Challenge. Our Emily is one of the best gals you’ll find around these parts and she’s got a heart of gold when it comes to giving back. We love this gal’s passion for kindness, love and community. We’d love for y’all to honor this lovely lady’s birthday with something sweet. Nope, not with a cupcake or some red velvet cake, but with a random act of kindness or a surprise sweet gesture for someone you love. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #SouthernDoin and wish this pretty girl the best birthday yet!

Happy Birthday, Emily! Lots of love and hugs, Marissa, Lara, Nicole + Kristin

Nancy Ray

Every Southern Weddings intern opportunity is a bit different, but here are some of the things you can expect to experience:
– Sitting in on and contributing to weekly staff meetings and brainstorming sessions
– Learning the basics of and working with a WordPress blog and the Adobe Creative Suite
– Writing a post on the blog and/or copy for the magazine
– Researching images and products for posts and editorial shoots
– Assisting on site at editorial shoots
– Building galleries on the SW site
– Getting a firsthand view of how a bustling magazine, blog, shop, and small business run with a small staff of women

Sound like you? Please fill out this form by Sunday, March 3 at 11:59pm. Please let us know in the comments if you have any questions. Please do not email your application to us or email us to confirm receipt. We will be in touch with applicants who we think might be a good fit within two weeks of March 3.

This position is unpaid, but we are happy to work with you to get college credit if that’s something your school offers. We know this will be a great learning opportunity! If chosen for the internship, we will need you to work in person at our Chapel Hill office, but any college student who can get themselves to Chapel Hill for the summer is eligible to apply.

We can’t wait to hear from y’all!!

Have you caught the love letter bug? Check out More Love Letters, an organization after our own hearts. Their goal? To turn your best love letter into a lamp to light the path of someone who needs to read it. Find out more here.

Y’all jumped right on the hashtag bandwagon, which we absolutely loved! So much so, that we thought we’d ratchet things up a notch this year. Enter: Southern Doin’ monthly challenges. Each month we’ll pick a Doin’ prompt and post it here something to encourage y’all to go, do, make, explore, discover, and love in the spirit of the South and the Sweet Tea Society.

We’ll be Doin’ right alongside you, and we’ll all try to remember and use the #southerndoin hashtag, alrighty? Then, we’ll come back here and post a little recap on the blog of our favorite tweeted, instagrammed, or Facebooked Doin’s before we post the next month’s challenge.

But enough explanation time for the challenge! For February, your #southdoin challenge is simple: We’re all about giving a little sugar here in the South, so this month, surprise someone you love by doing something sweet. Maybe you’ll vacuum the entire house even though it’s your fiance’s turn AND bake him his favorite cookies. Maybe you’ll wake up extra early to shovel the walk and scrape the ice off your roommate’s windshield before she has to go to work. Maybe you’ll have flowers delivered to your Mama’s work on a random day JUST BECAUSE YOU LOVE HER. Whatever it is, it’s up to you!

We are SO honored and happy to have had you all along for the ride, and can’t wait to see what 2013 brings! If you have a blog and have posted a year in review, feel free to leave the link in the comments we’d love to come see what y’all have been up to!

From Kristin: Happy Birthday, Lara! I hope this day is full of magic and sparkle and a lot of Gracie giggles. Enjoy this day. I hope you feel wildly loved and celebrated. (And I hope your celebration involves a big slice of red velvet cake!!) I know that this last year has been chock full of some serious amazing and my birthday wish for you is that you experience even bigger amazing for the next 365 days! Sending you big, big birthday hugs! xo, Kristin

From Nicole: Lara, I am so grateful that we’ve gotten to spend more time together this year. From late nights doing layout to picking tomatoes, I’ve learned so much from your wild ideas that come to life in amazing ways. I hope this year brings you so much happiness (and gold foil and chickens)! xo, Nicole

From Emily: Lara, I am so glad you got to celebrate with your family one day early, because I know nothing could make you happier on your birthday! I hope the year to come is filled with amazing #southerndoins and much Southern love. We’re all excited to see where it takes you! xo, Emily

From Marissa: Dear Lara, happy, happy birthday! I hope you know how much you’re loved by all of us, and by God. I hope your day is filled with joy and lots of gold glitter (the kind that stays in your hair for days and reminds you just how much fun you had!). And I hope that every year you can look back and think it was your best year yet! xx, Marissa

Please join us by leaving your birthday wishes for Lara in the comment section below!

Haley Sheffield

Nicole: This Christmas, I’m down in Charlotte, spending time with my sister, brother-in-law-to-be, dad, mom and step dad. My mom has graciously saved all of the Christmas baking for my arrival, so a large amount of my time has been in the kitchen rolling out dough. Of course, we’re also taking breaks by drinking copious amounts of sparkling grape juice and chocolate and watching The Family Stone. I’m also really excited to be reunited with my two best friends, who are also home for Christmas, and with my puggy nephew. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s festivities, watching my dad’s face when he opens his gifts and spending time with my mom on Christmas Day. It’s her favorite holiday and it makes her so happy to have her kids together (brother-in-law-to-be and furry friends included).

Ryan Ray, styled by Lavender Joy Weddings, via Wedding Chicks

Lara: Ari, Grace, and I will be headed to my hometown of Pensacola, Florida, to spend the holiday with my parents, Grandma Bunny and my brother, Stephen, who just finished his master’s degree… so we will spend lots of time calling him “Master Stephen” this Christmas. He is already enjoying this new title. This is an unexpected change of plans for us, so my parent’s house will need some holiday decorating (they were originally planning to come here to Chapel Hill). So, I may stuff a suitcase with tinsel and all the tree trimmings! I am very much looking forward to hugging my family I could care less about anything under a tree this year, I just want some bear hugs. OK, and some turkey and sweet potatoes.

Michelle March via Southern Weddings

Marissa: This year, BDK and I will be spending Christmas with my side of our family. We’ll be in South Florida, wearing Jack Rogers and sundresses (well, I will be, not BDK!). Even though it’s a little crazy to celebrate Christmas when it’s 80 degrees out, I’ll be thankful to see my family. Christmas Eve will be spent trying to stay up late enough to make it through midnight mass, and then on Christmas Day my mama will make a delicious linner (lunch + dinner) complete with homemade pumpkin cheesecake and her famous green bean casserole. Oh, and A Christmas Story will be on the television ALL day long. It’s a BDK tradition that I’ve grown to love!

Ryan Ray, styled by Love & Splendor, via Style Me Pretty

Kristin: Once again, we will be crisscrossing the state of NC – spending a few days with my family in eastern North Carolina at my ‘Nama’s house before heading back west to spend time with Kyle’s family. It will be a bit of a different Christmas this year, as it will be my first Christmas Eve spent without my parents and baby sister. This is a definite challenge of getting married, but I am excited to finally get a chance to experience KPW’s family traditions for this holiday. Not to worry – my family’s annual Christmas Cookie Competition is still taking place, and I have my recipe and apron ready. I am hoping to snag the crown back this year, after finishing in second place last year.

Haley Sheffield via Ruffled

Emily: Like Kristin, my first married Christmas is coming with some “firsts”… and a whole heap of travel. For the first time in my 25 years I will be spending Christmas morning somewhere other than my childhood home. My family (mom, dad, two sisters, and one brother in law) are traveling South to spend Christmas with John and me. Then everyone but John (he has to stay home and work boo!) will fly north to Maine to celebrate with my Mom’s family. Then wait for it we’ll all drive down to Connecticut on the 28th to celebrate with my Dad’s family (lunch) and our best family friends (dinner). THEN, late that night, I’ll pick John up at the airport, and he and I will spend the weekend with his family (mom, dad, sisters, brother in law, and boyfriend) before flying back to NC on Sunday. Whew!! It might be crazy, but I’m looking forward to it all :)

We hope those of you who are celebrating have a very merry time with your loved ones. I know I’ll be giving mine an extra squeeze this year!

As for the blog, we’ll be quiet tomorrow but back with our highlights from 2012 starting on the 26th and continuing through next week!

P.S. I hope you love these little bits of Christmas inspiration! All sans snow, as we do it in the South :)

Michelle March, Haley Sheffield, and Lavender Joy Weddings are all fabulous members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Group shot! Between these two photos, we covered most of the goodness that rolled in, though we missed a few stragglers that arrived earlier this week!

And not that we play favorites, but here are a few of the particularly Southern beauties that we thought needed a second look:

From top to bottom we have Lindsay, Katelyn B., Vanessa R., Lauren W., Laura S., Kelly C., Katie, and Emily M. to thank for these gems! The gators were my personal favorite :)

Now that the holidays are almost here, we’ve divvied up the office haul and brought these beauties home to hang on our own trees! (We’re also tickled by the fact that Lara’s nanny’s initials are SW perfect, no??)

We hope y’all had fun – and that you’ll be back next year! :)

The print is available here. We’ll ship out every order we get before 4pm today this afternoon by Priority Mail, so we HOPE they’ll arrive in time for Christmas!

If you’d prefer to donate directly, there are a number of ways to do so. The United Way has set up the Sandy Hook School Fund. The Red Cross is also providing aid, and donations can always be made to them through these channels.

We also wanted to call your attention to the #26ACTS movement started by Ann Curry that has been going around lately. We can’t think of a lovelier way to honor the victims than by doing an act of kindness in their honor, and we’d encourage y’all to try it out this week and weekend. If you need a few ideas, I wrote a little post on my blog here with some simple ways to pass along the love.

We’ve met so many new friends and had a wonderful time visiting with many of the remarkable vendors that have made our latest issue such a success. It has been a very inspiring week! I was happier as a pup with two tails to be invited to speak here and happy as a pup with three tails to share about how we do things ’round here at Southern Weddings.

Photo by Scott Clark and Chellise Michael with Elan Artists

Y’all know we do things a little differently. We’re small… and mighty… and Southern. We do all the layout, shipping, shoot creation, cleaning up after our messes and everything ourselves. We’re a tiny team with more passion than a hen has feathers. But, I didn’t talk about just us in my speech… I talked about YOU.

You are why we are here. You cheer us on and write us encouraging notes and share our magazine with dear friends and we sincerely wouldn’t be where we are without our very loyal readers. So, I wanted to just say a quick thank you. I wish I could jump through my screen to hug each of you, too. Thank you for believing in us and being our cheerleaders. Thank you, most of all though, for LOVING.

It’s because you love your fiancé’s and husbands and families and this magical place we call home so much that we are inspired every day to do what we do and we have so much goodness ahead! We love y’all! You sweeten our tea!

Y’all, we have seen and experienced our fair share of crazy things throughout five years of self-publishing this magazine. But let me tell you, not ONE has topped a photo that was sent to us by Miss Mary Ann in Jackson, Mississippi two weeks ago. The photo she sent was of a gorgeous copy of Southern Weddings on the shelf in her local grocery store fairly standard, you might think but this one (oh this one)… it didn’t have a title!! That’s right, not a speck of gold foil was to be seen, just five pretty ladies with nowhere to call home.

So, amidst our bewilderment, we (proudly?) introduce you to Southern Weddings V5: Collector Edition!

Yep, these are in very limited supply, folks! (Or, at least we hope so!!) We’re still trying to get to the bottom of how these semi-nekked gems made their way to newsstands, but we’ve surmised they missed a step somewhere in the printing process. Thanks to Mary Ann and Morgan, who also emailed us, we know Collector Editions have been spotted in Jackson as well as Houston.

But, since we’re still trying to get to the bottom of this mystery, could y’all do us a favor? If you’ve spotted some nekked SWs, could you shoot us an email letting us know where? We would be so grateful!

Until then, we hope those of you who’ve found the special copies enjoy their uniqueness! Who knows? Maybe they’ll show up on eBay someday! :)

P.S. We guarantee that any copies sent out through the SWPS will NOT be Collector Editions! Order yours here.

MARISSA: Heavens, y’all! I don¹t even know where to start! 2012 has been a year full of amazing blessings and incredible challenges – and I’m so grateful for them all! I am so thankful for the talented women I am not only blessed to work with everyday, but am able to call my friends. L, E, E, N + K, thank you! For our sweet readers, and talented clients. For my loving family – especially my mama, who is always there for me no matter what. For my handsome husband, BDK: you are the definition of a Southern gentleman, and my dream come true. Lastly, for God’s incredible grace. Without that, I am nothing.

This year, I’ll be spending Thanksgiving with the Kloess side of my family. Since I come from a small family, spending the holidays with this crowd is always a joy! Let’s just say we are one big ol’ Southern family – so big the dinner table has to be made of card tables and random chairs! Traditionally, my FIL deep fries a turkey in the backyard, and we celebrate with all the fixin’s, from homemade pecan pie to sweet potato casserole. I can’t wait! Even though I’ll miss my family and our traditions, I’m so thankful to have such wonderful in-laws to spend the holidays with.

NICOLE: This year, I am overwhelmed by how much there is to be thankful for! I’m so grateful for a loving family that gives me strength and some hilarious stories to tell and for terrific friends and a boyfriend who make me feel at home no matter where I am. I’m grateful for an amazing job that has filled my days with creativity and love and for a degree from the best University on the planet. Lastly, I’m grateful for my mom’s cooking, pug faces and Pantone. I’m heading to Charlotte today to bake pies and celebrate the holiday with my mom’s side of the family. Inevitably, there will be much debate over what to include in our Christmas lists and a lot of planning for my sister’s October 2013 wedding!

ALEXIA: I am thankful for my wonderful family, beautiful friends and unforgettable experiences at Southern Weddings this semester. I am also grateful for sweet tea, starry nights, cowboy boots and red velvet cupcakes. I am spending Thanksgiving at my grandparents’ house surrounded by family, laughter and of course a little pumpkin pie :)

EMILY: As usual, my gratitude cup overflows, which is something I’m grateful for in and of itself! I am so very thankful to call John my husband (after seven years of having a boyfriend – ha!) and for the person he is; for my parents, my siblings, and my parents and siblings in law (or, my parents and siblings in love, as one of my friends likes to say); for a God who in ALL things works for the good of those who love Him and for a church family that reminds me of that; for my sweet kitties and our warm house; for the health of those I love; for the blessing of living in this beautiful, amazing country; and for my job that I love so very much, and the amazing ladies with whom I get to work. Also, chocolate chunk pecan cookies. Yep, definitely thankful for those.

This year John and I are hosting Thanksgiving in North Carolina for my parents and one of my sisters. We’ll be a small group with entirely too much food, but I don’t really consider that a problem :)

KRISTIN: Thanksgiving 2012 marks my first married Thanksgiving, and I am looking forward to celebrating with my favorite husband and our amazing families. It is a well-known fact that I love ALL holidays and love to celebrate in BIG ways. On Thursday we will be crisscrossing the state of NC to celebrate, and I am responsible for bringing official ‘dishes’ to both meals as a reward for getting married (my late Grandma Jewell’s green bean-corn casserole serious deliciousness and a family tradition for my family and a sweet potato casserole for KPW’s). Thanksgiving day is sure to be overflowing with family, laughter, all my favorite foods*, and a nap, along with countless chances to reflect on all my many blessings.

During this sweet season of Thanksgiving I am reminded of the never ending listing of things that I am thankful for including, but not limited to, continued daily grace, my husband and our freshly-made marriage, our family, health, the SW family, the sunshine, and being able to find joy in each day. Hope y’all have a blessed Thanksgiving. Bring on the mashed potatoes!! PS: *Seriously. The food. We served Thanksgiving dinner at our wedding reception because it is our absolute favorite meal. I can’t wait.

Because we knew our office supply of magazines was going to arrive later than usual due to Superstorm Sandy, we tried to do even more prep work than usual, including pre-stamping envelopes, folding and taping up boxes, and stocking up on packing tape. Whoo!

Before we knew it, magazine delivery day had arrived!! A massive truck pulled into our neighborhood, and the driver turned out to be the same guy that delivered our order last year. The first thing he said? “A year is not enough time in between these visits.” We know it was said with love, y’all.

I’m sure he appreciated how many photos we insisted on taking of the process.

Happily, we had Miss Grace to help us haul the 7.5 pallets of magazines (18,000 POUNDS, y’all. 18,000 POUNDS!!) up the driveway. Even more happily, Lara’s husband, Ari, arrived unexpectedly midway through the ordeal! I think the delivery guy almost cried when Ari rounded the corner, he was so happy to see him. What, mister, Nicole and I weren’t exactly the help you were looking for?

Those two photos of Grace pretty much kill me, by the way. Doesn’t she look like a little figurehead in the first one? Very helpful.

Once we’d huffed and puffed our way up the driveway and each pallet was tucked safely into our “shipping department”, we got to work moving magazines from one set of boxes and into another! All hands on deck! And by all hands on deck, I really mean it! All other non-essential activity stops in the office while the SW gals bust out those first several hundred orders. Susan, Grace’s nanny, even chipped in at naptime!

Once we had a good number of orders ready to go, we started loading cars! Luckily Lara and I both have small SUVs, so we were able to squeeze quite a few into our initial load.

Oh yes, the actual postal service is always delighted to see us coming. They graciously let us unload in the back (cool!).

That’s just a small portion of our haul!

The other gals then abandoned me at the front desk (just kidding I sent them back to the office to pack up more mags!) while the cashiers processed our boxes upon boxes. Our total across three credit cards for this initial visit? Get ready for it $2,500. Yep! I snapped this photo and texted it to Lara when we hit the first $1,000 :)

Once back at the office, I took what has to be one of my very favorite annual photos second only to the photo I make John snap of me grinning next to the first copy of SW I find in the store. Why, it’s the world’s longest receipt!!

And that, my friends, is the story of the Southern Weddings Postal Service, V5 Style. I sincerely hope that we’ve succeeded in getting your order out to you in good time and great condition! If you haven’t had the pleasure of placing your order yet and can’t find a copy in stores, be sure to do so here!

P.S. SWPS V2 and SWPS V4!

Our first stop of the morning was at PieBird in Raleigh to pick up two dozen delicious pies. Packing them into Emily’s car safely was a feat, but they made it to our office in Chapel Hill in one piece!

Setting the table for this shoot was like preparing for Thanksgiving, y’all! It felt like Thanksgiving, too, when we all sat down to eat. Yummm.

Are y’all seeing these angles? Joey and Jessica were shooting in Lara’s living room, letting us get a little creative with the space.

We were so lucky that Toni and Chris at Heart Stone Films could join us to capture some behind-the-scenes action and that Heidi and Melissa from the Carolina Inn were on hand to do some amazing food styling.

A food shoot ain’t complete without the SW ladies donning aprons!

Are y’all ready for more? Check out this adorable video from Heart Stone Films!



Cyn Kain is a fabulous member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Ready to order your copy? Be sure to place your order here before noon if you’d like to receive your copy this week!

1. Emily and John ventured to some waterfalls while taking a weekend trip to Asheville

2. Lara, Grace and Ari went to the McKee Farm corn maze!

3. I waited in line for a fried chicken biscuit from Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen a Chapel Hill must!

4. Lara surprised Emily and I with some Krispy Kremes as we made our final edits on V5.

5. I ran the Color Me Rad 5K with my sister and Dad.

6. Emily, in the thick of the name change process, gathered up materials for the social security office.

7. I went to the State Fair and got to the top of the Ferris wheel just just as the fireworks show began.

8. Kristin celebrated the start of fall with some homemade chicken vegetable soup.

9. Emily, also in the mood to celebrate fall, whipped up some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins on wedding china! (She gladly shared the recipe with us here.)

10. Kristin celebrated her eighth first-date anniversary (photo from first date weekend, October 2004).

11. Marissa unpacked from Bridal Market and repacked to move! Yes, that is peanut butter in her suitcase.

12. Kristin spent a gorgeous Saturday morning at the State Fair tasting a pile of yummy (mostly fried) Southern treats: ham biscuit, fried pickles, fried snickers, roasted corn and more!

13. One of the one million gorgeous gowns Kristin saw during Bridal Market in NYC. This one is by Ines Di Santo.

14. Emily and I spent a couple of days proofing V5!

15. Marissa had dinner in NYC with Kristin, Kat Harris and former SW editor, Whitney. Once an SW girl, always an SW girl!

16. We carved a Southern pumpkin, y’all! This guy even has a dapper bow tie.

17. Lara went on a trip across the U.S. for Making Things Happen and flew over beach, canyons and snow.

18. Emily painted some golden pumpkins as her crafty project of the month.

Tell us: What did you do in October? What were the highlights of your month?

See what happened in past months:
September
August
July
June
May

From our last visit to a CAFME (Carolina Association of Future Magazine Editors) meeting!

2. Know the industry inside and out. SW is a small company, and there’s not as much time to get a new employee up to speed as there might be at a larger company. We have the luxury of choosing from many talented candidates, and odds are, 9 times out of 10 we’ll go for the one that truly LOVES weddings simply can’t get enough of them. The type of person who thinks about and talks about weddings even after the work day is done. If you’re interested in a job in the wedding industry, I’d suggest becoming familiar with all of the major magazines, and reading a number of wedding blogs and developing an opinion on all of it. A personal perspective is something we definitely look for at SW!

Soaking things up from the outside is awesome, but hands-on experience is by far the best thing you can do for your resume and job prospects. Take on as many meaningful internships as you possibly can, and learn everything you possibly can from them! Make as many contacts as you can, too, and don’t leave them behind once your internship is over. You’ll never know who you might meet, or who might be hiring (or who knows someone who is hiring) down the road.

3. Remember that details MATTER. Spell our names correctly. Spell everything correctly. Punctuate your sentences correctly. If you’re not taking the time to spell check an email as important as this one, why would I assume you’d spell check any other email as an employee? Most importantly, be sure to use “wedding words” correctly, like stationery v. stationary and aisle v. isle. Yikes!

4. Be aware that we look at everything. You may have only sent us your resume and a cover letter, but if we’re seriously considering you for a position, we will evaluate everything we can get our hands on: Twitter account, Pinterest profile, personal blog, etc. These extensions can be an asset to you (your Pinterest boards can show us what great style you have, your personal blog can show us your writing skills and grasp of current trends), or they can cross you right off our list (yucky language or unprofessional posts on Twitter, a blog that reflects a lack of familiarity with the wedding world).

Nicole and me in the office last week!

5. Keep in mind that the traditional rules don’t always apply. This is where it gets tricky, and where I think there’s a very fine line to getting it right. For a company like SW, which does not have a corporate environment and is a very personal brand, we like to see who you are in your application, because who you are determines, in part, who we as a company will be. When we issue our call for interns, we invite you to be conversational and creative in your application. Don’t, however, fall into the trap of thinking we’re looking to hire a new best friend… which leads to my next point:

6. Be careful if you’re a superfan. I can’t tell you the number of emails I get from gals who LOVE, LOVE, L-O-V-E Southern Weddings, or weddings in general. Obviously, I understand! I was (and still am!) one of you! The truth is, though, I’ll be able to tell very quickly if you’re really a superfan, or if you’re just saying you are because you want the job, but really you’re telling that to every publication :) One easy way for me to tell? Whether or not your name is already familiar to me when your resume lands in my inbox. True superfans have been commenting on the blog and interacting with us via social media for months, if not years! So if you really are a superfan, awesome! If you’re a fan, but maybe not a superfan, that’s okay, too! There are many other assets we look for in potential employees, and we’d always prefer you be honest about who you are and what you bring to the table.

Of course, authentic face time is always helpful, which superfans thrive on! We actually met Kristin for the first time at last year’s gingerbread barn event (which we’re repeating this year, FYI look for details soon!), and though there were MANY other reasons that contributed to her eventual hire, us having met and loved her in person did give her a leg up!

7. Get really good at emailing. Finally, if there’s one tip I could pass on not only for the job search but for life after the job search, it would be to get really good at emailing. My job is 90% emailing. Though the SW ladies all have widely varying skill sets, I would say one thing that unites us is our ability to craft a good email: personal and friendly while still being professional, tuned to our audience and our relationship with the addressee, and striking the right tone through grammar, word choice, and the perfect sprinkling of exclamation points (something Marissa is still working on – ha!). Emails MATTER, especially when they are the way you communicate with 95% of your relationships. It pays to get good at them!

We so hope this was helpful! Keep in mind this is simply our perspective, and that the “rules” vary widely from company to company and industry to industry! If you have additional questions or tips, feel free to leave them in the comments. Because I know someone will ask, yes, we do gladly offer internships to current college students: generally 1-2 interns in the spring and fall, and one intern in the summer. If you’re looking for other opportunities, I would highly recommend FindaWeddingJob.com, a job board geared specifically to the wedding industry.

Our creativity was fueled by Callie’s Biscuits (cinnamon is the office favorite!). Seriously, y’all, those things are out of this world!!

Happy Halloween, friends!