For forever, I dreamed of wearing a lace mermaid wedding dress. I had a modest budget so I found myself going to many stores to find the perfect dress. I tried on about 30 dresses in total. I finally found the dress while shopping with my mom and aunt at Bridalmart in Burlington. Bridalmart is this huge store and they have hundreds of dresses at many price points, but you have to pull them yourself. It can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you want! My aunt pulled and showed me the dress, but I was hesitant because I wanted a strapless dress and the fit was more trumpet than mermaid. I tried it on anyways and it was so beautiful. I was still skeptical, but my mom snapped many pictures. Looking at the pictures the days after our visit, I knew this was my dress!

Describe your wedding flowers. 
I wanted a color palette of cream, pink and peach. We used four types of garden roses, hydrangeas, ranunculus, spray roses, limonium and seeded eucalyptus. I think the funniest part was visiting my parent’s house the day after the wedding and seeing it packed with flowers.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? 
We did! I am so happy we did. Our photographer had us stand back to back and we exchanged a few words before turning around. We hugged and kissed and I was so happy. Like many people say, it was our only time alone that day. Also, it was our only opportunity for outdoor photos. We shot ours at the Raleigh Rose Garden, which was minutes away from the church. I have a large family and after the ceremony, we spent time taking the traditional family photos inside the church.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
I actually used Southern Weddings for readings inspiration. I would copy and save readings onto my computer that I liked! We ended up choosing Philippians 2:1-5. “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus”

We had very traditional songs during our ceremony because as a little girl I had always dreamed of getting married to these songs. Pachelbel’s Canon in D was the bridal processional, the recessional was Mendelssohn’s Wedding March. During the ceremony, we had two songstresses. Emily, who introduced us, sang Schubert’s “Ave Maria” and the Lord’s Prayer. Andrea, my good college friend, sang “Center of My Joy” by Richard Smallwood. We loved having our friends take part in our wedding ceremony. At the reception, Aaron and I danced to “I Was Made to Love You” by Gerald Levert. We were nervous about the turns in our dance so we whispered to each other before every turn to make sure we were on the same page! My dad picked “I’ll Write A Song for You” by Earth Wind & Fire for our daddy-daughter dance. If you read the lyrics, you’ll want to cry because it’s so sweet. Lastly, Aaron and his mother danced to “Stand by Me” by Ben King.

My grandmother loved collecting glassware, so I used her LE Smith Moon & Stars glasses and her milk glasses for centerpieces. I used her doilies and lace handkerchiefs for decor as well. Our hors d’ouervres were macaroni and cheese and “redneck martinis,” which are pulled pork in a martini glass with a hush puppy on top. However, I think the most Southern thing about my wedding was how much my family helped. My aunt was the coordinator, my godmother handwrote all of my place cards and my mother was responsible for everything else I needed! My dad also let Aaron drive his classic ‘55 Chevy for our transportation to the reception and as the getaway car.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. 
We did mini cupcakes for our wedding cake! It was fun because you could try multiple flavors. We had pumpkin, lemon, chocolate and vanilla. We had a mini-cake on top to cut that was pumpkin as well. After the cake was cut, we passed chocolate shot glasses filled with Kahlua and Bailey’s Irish Cream.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
All of the dancing. I wanted the wedding to turn into a huge party at the end and it did! We played Motown music during dinner and afterward transitioned to more current music. The dance floor was packed. Everyone was showing off their best dance moves, including some break dancing, a split and Aaron did the worm.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
In 2009, I returned home to Raleigh after graduating from college at Hampton University. I complained to one of my close friends, Emily, that I was bored and would like to meet someone. Emily told me that she worked with a guy who may be a good fit for me. She arranged a double date between herself, her boyfriend, Aaron and myself. Emily and her boyfriend ended up arriving over an hour late to the date so the first hour was just the two of us, complete strangers! We hit it off and the night ended with Aaron buying me Krispy Kreme donuts. The rest is history and Emily sang at our wedding!

Tell us all about the proposal! 
I love Zumba and my dad and I often go together at the YMCA. I would always encourage Aaron to come too, but he’d always decline. Finally on December 30, 2011 he agreed to come to a class with us. Usually it’s hard to find one man in a Zumba class so I had a lot of fun bringing two! After class, Aaron said he would like to continue working out with my dad. I headed home. (I lived with my parents at the time.) Later, Aaron surprised me by showing up at my door. Little did I know, but he had actually stayed at the gym to ask my dad for my hand in marriage! He asked in the locker room, which still think is funny. At my house, Aaron suggested we go for a walk and I agreed. I was so confused, and he was acting slightly different and had brought me huge bouquet of flowers. We sat down in my mother’s garden. Then Aaron got down on one knee and proposed. I was surprised and happy, I said yes! It was a few days after Christmas so my entire family was at home to share the good news with.

When did y’all get married? 
April 13, 2013

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
270

Did you write your own vows? 
We didn’t! I knew I could never eloquently put my feelings into words so we said the traditional words.

Did you have something borrowed, something blue, and something new? I borrowed my mother’s pearl bracelet (and I still have it, oops). My undergarments were blue and said “Bride” in rhinestones! And my dress was new!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Our budget and the guest list, which go hand in hand. We ended up having a huge guest list and going over budget, but it was definitely worth it. Even with 270 people, I felt like I was surrounded by my closest friends and family.

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
I love flowers, so I loved picking out the flowers with Dawn McCreary and collecting the centerpieces. The bouquets turned our beautifully and while I felt silly at first asking for a flower crown for the flower girl, it was gorgeous!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
We have so many memories. My favorite is standing back-to-back with Aaron in the Rose Garden, followed by being surrounded by all of our family and friends on the dance floor.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
If you can afford a day-of coordinator, consider it. My aunt and mom were wonderful and did all the work, but it would have been nice to have hired someone so they could relax and enjoy the day a little more. Besides that, don’t be afraid to ask friends and family for help. As I said earlier, my godmother wrote my place cards. I had a party to assemble the invitations. A friend from church addressed all of my invitations as a gift. Now that I know how much work goes into a wedding, I will definitely be ready to help my friends when it’s their turn.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We just moved in together, so I’ve been working on blending our possessions and decorating the house. We’re both focused on our relationship and our careers right now. I’ll be starting work as a resident physician in psychiatry at a local hospital in a few weeks and Aaron’s busy as an IT manager at software company.

Y’all know I’m a sucker for adorable pups, so add in cameos on paper goods, and a Krispy Kreme groom’s cake the details of Allison + Andrews make my heart sing! Beyond the sweet details, though, A + A’s “less is more” outlook on wedding planning reminds us what to focus on what is most important to us. “
Don’t lose sight in what you are planning. It’s not just a wedding, this is your marriage.”

Thanks to Happy Everything Co. for sharing this refreshing day with us!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
Andrew and I met through a mutual friend at a Georgia-Florida football game. We were both seeing other people at the time, but ended up reconnecting for next year’s game. I was not able to attend the game the next year, but after getting back in touch with each other a year later, we decided we wanted to get to know each other a little more. Living about an hour apart from each other, Andrew spontaneously decided he would surprise me one Saturday to take me on our first date. With only an hour notice, I rushed to get ready and plan our first date: pizza, beer, and a Wounded Soldiers benefit concert in a horse arena.
Tell us all about the proposal! 
Andrew’s family lives on a hundred-acre farm on Lake Oconee. One of our favorite getaways has always been riding horses around the property. One early Sunday morning, he told me to be at the farm at 9am sharp for an early morning ride. We started out on our typical route, and ended up in one of our favorite pastures where we had talked about getting married. Andrew helped me off the horse, and in front of a giant oak tree, got down on one knee and asked for my hand in marriage.

When did y’all get married? 
May 18, 2013

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
150

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
I found my dress at a sample sale at Bride Beautiful in Roswell. I had actually already purchased a dress in December, but a month before the wedding decided it just wasn’t the one. Luckily I had registered with theknot.com and they sent me an email advertising the sample sale and I jumped on it! I was so happy to have found THE dress at such short notice.

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. Andrew and I decided to have mostly hymns during the ceremony. We played “Amazing Grace,” “Come Thou Fount,” “It Is Well,” and “Jesus Paid It All.” I came down the aisle to “Be Thou My Vision.” Our first dance was “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” played by an acoustic band for a little more of a soft, romantic version.

Did you have something borrowed, something blue, and something new? My something borrowed was my sister’s veil, my something blue were my shoes that my sister painted. My something old was the garter that my grandmother made for my mother. My sister also wore it for her wedding. My something new was my dress.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
I absolutely adored our mason jar sugar cookie favors an idea we found in the Southern Weddings magazine! I found a picture of them in my very first wedding magazine and fell in love. My cousin made them for us, and they were such a hit!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The financial aspect of planning a wedding is always difficult. Andrew and I wanted to do everything as affordable as possible. Less is more for us. However, there will always be the little expenses you don’t plan for that add up quickly. Since we did do a lot of it ourselves, time was of the essence.

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
Less than $10,000

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
Our photographer! I knew that after all was said and done, the only thing left would be our pictures. They make me giddy every time I look at them.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
I remember pretty much every detail of the whole day, but our first look stands out the most. We were both so excited to see each other!

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Don’t lose sight in what you are planning. It’s not just a wedding, this is your marriage. It is your lifelong commitment to another. Make it personal and a reflection of the two of you, but don’t get caught up in tiny details. At the end of the day, what matters most is your love and commitment to one another.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We hope to get in as much traveling as our schedules will allow. Who knows, maybe I’ll start baking wedding cakes on the side!

While today’s lovely couple has been inseparable ever since they met, Lauren still didn’t catch a few of the more minor meaningful details Marshall included in his proposal (read below for the whole sweet story!). When it came to their big day, however, these two didn’t miss any opportunity to work in personal, thoughtful touches both for each other (a fun cigar bar!), and for their guests. With the help of their planner, Katrina at Come Together Events, they created a day that was truly a reflection of not only their relationship, but their family and friends, as well: “throughout, we tried to think of small, personal ways to show everyone who came how much we appreciated them.” Love that Southern hospitality!

Big hugs to Cunningham Photo Artists for sharing this gorgeous, classic day with us!

Eek, I get so excited every time I see a monogram dress patch!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress.
 It was the first one I tried on! I had pretty concrete ideas about how I wanted my wedding dress to look before I tried anything on, which could have easily created a lot of problems. Lace dresses seemed to be very popular at the time we got engaged, and I’ve always thought lace was very romantic and classic; but I wanted something just a little more unexpected. I had fallen in love with the beaded bodice of a gown I’d seen while dress shopping with one of my best friends for her wedding a year or so before, but I didn’t care for the fabric of the skirt. When I opened the bridal magazine that my roommate gave me the day after Marshall and I got engaged and saw a beaded bodice, Chantilly lace, and silk organza all in one dress, I knew it was the one! I immediately called my mom and she ran out to find the magazine. I searched online for stores in my area that carried that designer, and of course, none did in their regular collections. One boutique, Hayden Olivia Bridal in Charlotte happened to be hosting a trunk show the following month. I called to see if the dress would be available to try on, and they were kind enough to add it to the show inventory. We set up the appointment; I tried it on, and didn’t look any further.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
We met the weekend before we both began our first year of law school. A group of fellow 1Ls were meeting up at a local watering hole. I tagged along with some new friends, and Marshall was the first person I met. He challenged me to a game of pool that did not go very well for either of us, but we hit it off! We went on our first date the following weekend and have been together ever since!

Tell us all about the proposal! 
Throughout the whole day, Marshall did the sweetest things, only they were completely lost on me at the time. I didn’t realize until that evening that he had been attempting to hit all of the milestones of our relationship all day long. For example, he insisted that we go to lunch at the place we had our first date. Only that restaurant was not my favorite, so I kept suggesting others. He finally ordered it to go and brought it to me, saying that he was just really in the mood for it that afternoon. Before dinner, he was, again, unusually adamant about getting drinks at the bar where we first met. I, again, unknowingly kept messing up his plans. After a quick drink outside at the bar he was so set on going to, we left the patio area through a back entrance that rerouted us through a small courtyard. He proposed there, in this hidden green space beside the place we first met. It was very sentimental and romantic. He did a great job!

When did y’all get married? 
September

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
230

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
I Corinthians 13 Colossians 3:14-17

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. We chose Canon in D for the seating of the mothers and Grandmothers, Rigaudon for the bridesmaids, and Trumpet Voluntary in D Major for my walk down the aisle. For our recessional, we chose Allegro Maestoso from Handel’s Water Music Suite. We had many hymns play during our ceremony, like “Love Divine” and “All Loves Excelling for the Beauty of the Earth,” which was sung by our local children’s choir. It was magical.  Our first dance song was “La Vie en Rose” by Louis Armstrong. The father-daughter dance was “I Loved Her First” by Heartland, and the mother-son dance was “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
When I think of the South, especially in the context of a huge party like a wedding, I think of hospitality. Throughout our planning process, we tried to think of small, personal ways to show everyone who came how much we appreciated them. We hand wrote thank you notes on all 230 parting gift boxes and made a point during dinner to go to every table as a couple and say hello to each person who took the time to celebrate with us.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
Meeting each other’s expectations and making compromises. There is a lot of pressure on brides and grooms to do something new, unique, or “better” than the next couple. I found that I had expectations going into wedding planning that I didn’t even realize I had. We quickly found that we were so much happier and content planning our wedding when we stayed true to ourselves and prioritized.

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
Lighting. It’s relatively inexpensive and accentuates all of those things, big and small, that you’ve planned and paid so much for.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Consider your family and your guests. When we first started planning, I naively thought this day was all about Marshall and me. Weddings are such a family affair; it’s a big day for a lot of people. So, I would encourage brides and grooms to take the time to consider how to make those most important to them feel loved and included in their big day. And for your guests, I highly, HIGHLY recommend taking the extra time to assign seating. It may be extra work, but it will make each guest feel welcome and included in your day. It achieves so many things: acknowledges that you’re aware the guest has made the effort to attend your wedding, expresses a level of appreciation for their effort in that you’ve planned specifically for them, gives them a “home base” for the night (everyone needs a place to set their purse), ensures that couples and friend groups won’t be split up, guarantees your mother and grandmother a prime spot at the reception (your grandmother will want a seat, and she’ll want it to be a good one), and no one wants to eat standing up (not even a young person).

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We’re enjoying settling into our new life in Charlotte. We’re fortunate to be close to family and friends and in a city that we both love. Married life is off to a very happy and content start for us.

Amy + Bryan, Balitmore natives, might have a few Northern tendencies in their blood, but their wedding was full-on Southern. The two decided to tie the knot in Charleston, where Bryan surprised Amy with a getaway and a proposal, so there was plenty of reason to adopt the beautiful city as their own personal sanctuary. I adore that Amy + Bryan decided to go traditional on a few things the ceremony music and the white cake (with stunning flowers!), for instance but added their own twist with hot pink invitations and retro marquee signage. But these are all teeny details compared to the father-daughter dance. Amy’s dad wrote the song for their dance, recorded the vocals with Amy’s mom and played it back at the reception so the two could still dance together. How amazing!!

As Kristin would say, we’re sending Paige Winn a big squeeze for sharing this day with us.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
I had a hard time deciding on a wedding dress I had serious love for a few different dresses. Ultimately, my wedding dress had every component that I wanted. It was the prettiest dress that I had ever seen or put on my body. That was such a happy day and I still love it so much.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? We did a little behind-the-door chat. It was actually pretty emotional, and luckily Paige Winn still made our pictures look somewhat attractive! It was so nice to hear Bryan’s voice for a minute prior to our wedding.

Stems created the most gorgeous, beautiful arrangements. There are pictures of me crying when seeing my flowers for the first time! They were pink, girly, romantic, soft, colorful, and playful – just all around gorgeous. All of the bridesmaids had variations of hot pink, white, and light pink flowers with each of the bouquets wrapped in different shades of pink ribbons. My flower girl wore a flower halo that she donned proudly and looked so beautiful in. My bouquet was an amazing display of girly pink wonderfulness, wrapped in a piece of lace ribbon from my mom’s wedding dress. The guys all had white flowers wrapped in pink ribbon, and they looked so handsome wearing them. There were displays of single flower arrangements on the tables in antique containers, and mixes of color blocked arrangements on other tables. It was fab!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
Possibly my five-year-old niece telling me, “When the wedding comes, the wedding comes.” I’m still trying to dissect that deep advice. Another memorable moment was the look on my future husband’s face as I walked down the aisle. So incredible.

For my walk down the aisle, I chose Canon in D, a song that I had always envisioned myself walking down the aisle to; I think it is the most beautiful classical song. Way to go Bach! We decided on Brad Paisley’s “Then” for our first dance. We were debating some other songs for our first dance, and then this one sort of took me by surprise. I would hear it on the radio, and it would make me cry and think of our wedding day. I love when he talks about taking his fiancé to the place where he first met her to propose. Even though Charleston was not where we met, it was where we got engaged and the place where we were going to say our vows. It just felt right. My dad wrote me a song for our father-daughter dance. My mom and dad sung it and recorded it together so that we could play it at the wedding and my dad and I could still dance together. It was so sentimental, and more special than any other song I would have found.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
We went about as Southern as us Northerners could possibly get, from the all-you-can-eat Sticky Fingers sweet potato casserole and pulled pork at our rehearsal dinner, to the shrimp and grits and hush puppies at our reception. We had stations, farmhouse tables, vintage china, and mint julep containers for flowers. We wanted it to feel like you were in the South, and wanted it to just be really unique and fun.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Stay calm and be patient and polite. Also, know that it is all going to be worth it, and that the day will be better than you could have ever imagined. Have FUN. Lastly, if  at all possible, hire a wedding planner.

Our wedding cake was a four-tier cake with cascading ombre flowers ranging from hot pink to white. Each layer had a different kind of frosting. On the top of our cake were two little hand crafted clay birds. It was almost too beautiful to eat!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
I think it would have to be our sparkler exit. We couldn’t believe our wedding was ending, but all of our friends and family were lined up with sparklers waiting for us to leave. As we were leaving, fireworks were going off for the RiverDogs baseball team. It was magical. We could feel the love from everyone, and loved exiting into an old fashioned London black cab. We would probably pay good money to be in that moment one more time.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
We met in the huge Baltimore blizzard of 2010 after a few too many drinks. We randomly met each other in the street and had an instant connection, sort of a “right place at the right time” situation. We then went sledding at 3 a.m.! Our first official date came a few days later at my favorite Mexican Restaurant. The rest is history.

Tell us all about the proposal! 
The proposal took place in Charleston. I thought that we were taking a little trip to Connecticut to visit Bryan’s family. Literally at the gate for Charleston, Bryan jokingly asked me if I wanted to go there instead. I said that I did, and he told me to look at my boarding pass. After realizing that he had planned a surprise trip, I asked him if he was going to propose (sorry Bryan!). He told me that he wasn’t, and the next thing I knew we were on our way. After a brief shopping trip on King’s Street for shoes that were not Uggs and clothes that were not sweaters, we made our way to our hotel room. Bryan had a big “Will you marry me?” sign hung on the wall and had flowers all around our hotel room. Then he was down on one knee! I was so shocked!

When did y’all get married? April 12, 2013

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
120

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
E.E. Cummings- I carry your heart. 1 Corinthians 13. Each read by our aunts.

Did you have something borrowed, something blue, and something new? My something blue was my “I Do” stickers on the bottom of my shoes – a must have! My something new was my wedding dress, and something borrowed was the lace from my mom’s wedding dress.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
The distance and the travel. Thank goodness for the amazing Lizz Akerman at Southern Protocol. She made the process easy, but it was still challenging being so many miles away and communicating via phone and email.

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
Lizz Akerman at Southern Protocol. She gets the job done and is so amazing and talented at what she does. We could not have done any of it without her. We are also a little bit obsessed with Paige Winn, and happen to adore Anne Bowen at Stems, Scotti Kline, and Sarah Murdoch at 428 Main.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We are looking forward to buying our first house at some point in time and having children, and maybe getting a golden doodle. We’re also going to continue to have more adventures that begin with an idea as crazy as two kids from Baltimore getting married at a plantation in the South. Lastly, we are looking forward to just spending time with our amazing families and with each other.

Paige Winn is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Tell us all about the proposal! 
We traveled to China and Thailand and he got down on one knee and showed me a picture of the ring on his cell phone! Welcome to the world of technology!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
Raising the flag together! It was a surprise for both of us and seemed to mark the rise of the occasion!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
The location. It was in my parents’ backyard and it was gorgeous! There is a picture of the wedding with all the guests sitting and the bright blue sky and a bird flying overhead magical.

When did y’all get married? 
September 22, 2012

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
About 350

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? 
Yes, we wanted our first look to be in private and to be able to spend a few peaceful moments together before the rush began.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
”Our Deepest Fear” by Marianne Williamson

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. 
We used Ave Maria, simply because it is beautiful.

Did you have something borrowed, something blue, and something new? Yes! A blue wedding dress, a fancy heart shaped diamond earring and a diamond necklace that belonged to my granny and great granny. The flowers in my hair certainly count as new and fresh!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
The people and the kindness and politeness that comes along with the South.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
Burying a bottle of whiskey in the backyard in hopes that it would not rain. It was harder to dig that hole than we thought!

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$75,000-$100,000

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
Our wedding planner was awesome! He covered every last detail, set up the flower vendor, the food, the band, and the photo booth.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Get a wedding planner. Also, meditate or do something calm and relaxing the morning of the wedding. Every hour, stop, breathe and take in all the details because the day goes by VERY quickly and then it’s done.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
Having a baby Ripple!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
I already knew what I wanted. LACE! It was really important to me that I found a dress that I loved and worked well with the overall look/style of the wedding. We already had our venue booked so I knew I wanted something that had a vintage look but was also on the search for something unique. I tried on about 15 lace dresses. None of the dresses I found were exactly what I was looking for. On my fourth bridal store visit, I was about to call it quits when I walked by a lace dress that didn’t really meet the description of what I wanted. It caught my eye and I asked if I could try it on. As soon as I had it on, I knew it was the one. It fit me like a glove and it was so unique! The lace was gorgeous and I loved that there was a nude under layer. It wasn’t a traditional white dress and I loved it. When I topped it off with a butterscotch veil and embellished belt, I knew the search was over! I wish I could wear it again!

I wanted the bouquets for my bridesmaids to contrast since their dresses were pink, so a small bouquet of white roses and peonies was perfect. For my bouquet, my florist did a similar bouquet of roses and peonies in variations of whites. It was exactly what I wanted! I really wanted a vintage/romantic look and because I’m a “less is more” person, the monochromatic flowers were exactly my style and didn’t take away from the details of my dress.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
I think there were two elements that really brought out the Southern feel. One was the location. There is a Civil War battlefield that you pass when approaching the venue. This is where the Battle of Bristoe Station took place on October 14, 1863. The other Southern detail was our venue. The manor house was built in the early 1900s and acquired by Bristow Manor Golf Club. The house just has so much Southern charm and really represents Virginia!

The best part of our ceremony was the wine box ceremony. Rather than writing our own vows that everyone would hear, this allowed us to be more private with our feelings and write a note that would remind each other on our anniversary how much we love one another and bring us back to our special day. It will become a great tradition we can have with each other year after year. Our reading explained it all: “The wine box contains their favorite bottle of wine. Into the box, they will place two love letters they have written to one another. On their first anniversary, they’ll open up the box, share the wine and read their love letters to each other. Sang and Kelly, on that first anniversary as you drink the wine, may that little bitter bite of the wine symbolize the challenges you have faced. Let the sweetness of the wine symbolize the joy and happiness, hope, love, and goodness of your marriage. At the end of your one-year celebration, write a new love letter to each other and close it in the box with a new bottle of wine. And on the happy occasion of each anniversary, open the box, read your love letters, drink the wine, and add new letters to the box. As time passes, let the letters give you and your children a record of your years together and serve as a living document of the growth and depth of your ever evolving relationship. As you now seal you box with the wine and letters, so shall your lives now be one. From now on your thoughts will always be for each other rather than just your individual selves. Your plans will be mutual, your joys and sorrows both will be shared alike. Let this moment strengthen your marriage now and forever more.”

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. I think the hardest decisions I made were about the songs! Unfortunately the music Sang and I like doesn’t make for good wedding music. I walked down the aisle to the traditional Pachelbel’s Canon in D. I used to love playing that song on my violin when I was younger. I don’t feel like we had an extremely traditional ceremony, but I think that song really made me feel like a bride. For our first dance song, we chose Jason Mrax’s “I Won’t Give Up.” A lot of people think it’s a negative first dance song, but Sang and I had a few challenges during the year and a half we were engaged that really tested our relationship. It was very appropriate for us. Our DJ selected our recessional song, which was “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder. I loved it!

I wanted other features of the wedding to be the focus, so I wanted to keep the flowers simple for the reception. I choose give or six white or light pink hydrangeas and put them in vases that I purchased from Ikea and added my own touch of lace and ribbon at the base of the vase.

We decided early on that a wedding cake wasn’t our style. At every wedding we have been to, people didn’t each much of the cake. A friend of mine loves to bake and makes the most amazing desserts! I asked her if she would be interested in baking the desserts and doing a spread of different options. I showed her other elements of the wedding so she had an idea of how things were going to look and then I let her have complete creative freedom! She did an amazing job!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I had a great time planning our wedding; I am very decisive and knew what I wanted. The biggest challenge was getting over what I couldn’t control: the weather. The entire week leading up to the wedding, they were calling for rain the entire day. However, on the day of, we just barely missed the rain. It made for beautiful pictures once it did start raining. It’s good luck, so they say!
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
I was really laid back throughout the process. I let my bridesmaids wear their hair how they wanted and wear whatever jewelry they wanted. I did not even care if Sang didn’t want to wear a tie! It made the process really enjoyable for myself and for everyone involved. Don’t be a control freak let your vendors do their jobs and trust their knowledge and ability!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
We met while working at my first job out of college at an architecture firm in Old Town Alexandria. Sang worked in the IT department and I was working as an interior designer. On my first day while Sang was setting up my computer, we chatted about his last night’s plans. Apparently it was love at first sight for me! I thought he was so attractive and wanted any reason to talk to him. I even faked computer problems so I had an excuse to message him on our inter-office messenger. He eventually asked me out for a drink after work one day and we’ve been inseparable ever since!
Tell us all about the proposal! 
He proposed in October of 2011. We had discussed getting married and even went and looked at rings a few times. I felt like I was patiently waiting for the proposal, but when it actually happened I didn’t believe it! We went out on a Saturday night in DC to a restaurant called Acadiana’s. We got really dressed up but I had assumed we were just going to go out after our dinner. One of our friends who worked at the restaurant was our waitress that night, so we got special treatment. She brought us champagne and appetizers we didn’t even order! I thought we were just VIPs for the night. Little did I know the two had it all planned out! Shortly after we finished our appetizers, Sang started to tell me how much he loved me and how happy he was. It was sweet but seemed standard for a romantic evening out. He started to fumble through his pockets and that was when I felt my heart racing! I knew this was it! I knew what he was looking for! He pulled out the little velvet box and opened it. That’s when he asked me to marry him! I was in such shock that the first words I said were, “Is this a joke?” as tears rolled down my face! Of course I followed that up with a big “YES”!
When did y’all get married? 
May 11, 2013
How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
125
Did you decide to do a “first look”? 
I actually would have liked to, but time just didn’t allow us.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
It’s hard to choose just one element! I really would say the 1800s style manor house was our favorite detail! It really drove the overall look and style of the evening, from the dress down to the table linens and the vintage skeleton key escort cards.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$25,000-$50,000
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
There are a lot of important elements to a wedding and everyone that day played a special role in making that day memorable. I’m happy we had Sam Stroud Photography there. The photos are the memories that we will have years down the road and I think he is very talented and such a pleasure to work with! I think he got every shot I wanted!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
When I was walking down the aisle, I could see the tears welling up in my soon-to-be-husband’s eyes. He’s such a tough guy I would have never thought I would see him tear up. It was the best moment ever to know that our special day would have that effect on him. It melted my heart!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We want to enjoy life as a married couple for a few years! We plan on playing lots of golf and traveling to Korea before starting our family!

Describe your wedding flowers. 
Our wedding flowers were definitely a do-it-yourself project! We ordered yellow craspedia, white scabiosa, red gerrando daisies, and thistles. The boutonnieres were craspedia and feathers. We also gathered Queen Anne’s lace for arrangements at the reception. We planted wheatgrass in barnwood boxes my dad had made to go on the tables at the reception to tie in with the grass in the field. We planted a swath of red poppies along the side of the barn, and they were blooming gorgeously just in time for the wedding! A really special little detail to me was that in the sea of red poppies, there was one little sweet pink poppy that mysteriously came up. My Nannie (grandmother) had always planted those same pink poppies so it was like a little piece of her was there!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
There were so many! My dad made chandeliers out of mason jars to hang in the reception barn that were amazing. I’m still using the barnwood boxes he made, too. I loved the feathers on my dress, and how we incorporated chicken feathers throughout the flower girls threw chicken feathers instead of flower petals and when we left, everyone threw feathers instead of rice! We had some beautiful real chickens in a pen at the reception for kids to feed. Also, we had our rings placed inside blown egg shells and cracked them open when the time came to exchange them (much to the surprise of our guests!). It was nice to have a funny little lighthearted detail in the ceremony!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
My cousins had grown up with Zane, so I had always heard about him but had never actually met him until we were 17 and 18. The moment we met, I was sitting on a bench with my cousin and he very sweetly stood so the sun wouldn’t be in my eyes a real Southern man! It was just a few weeks before we both knew we would get married one day. We dated (long distance the whole time!) for four and a half years.
Tell us all about the proposal! 
It was over Christmas break and we were at my parents’ house (down the road from my grandparents’ farm). Early one morning, Zane asked if I wanted to go for a walk out in the field. I was really tired but he was so intent on going on a walk, so I went. We walked through the beautiful dew-covered fields to a big oak tree that I have always loved. He had hung several vintage lanterns in the tree and they were gently swinging in the breeze. As we neared the tree, I knew it was about to happen. Then he turned around, got down on one knee, and pulled a little white box out of his pocket and asked me to marry him. It was the perfect moment! We had openly talked about getting married and we knew we would get married, but he still made the proposal special. I was so glad we got to tell my Nannie that we were engaged! She passed away a couple of weeks later. She had always said Zane was easy to love! We ended up getting married near the site of the proposal on my grandparents’ farm in their hayfield with the reception in their old chicken house, the barn.

When did y’all get married? 
May 16th, 2009 at 9:30 am

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
About 200

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
No readings really. We were thankful that one of our ministers said a prayer and our friend officiating the ceremony said some really nice things.

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them.
Planning the music was Zane’s department! I thought he did the best job of it and made it so special. We really didn’t use any traditional wedding music. He found songs that fit us and the feel of the wedding beautifully. The wedding party walked in to Norman Blake’s “Fields of November” and the recessional was “Greenleaf Fancy,” both of which were played at Zane’s parents wedding as well! We are thankful to know some really talented musicians. My uncles and cousin, as well as Zane’s sisters and brother-in-law all performed. My dad and I walked in to Jerry Douglas’ “A Tribute to Peador O’Donnell,” which I think is one of the most beautiful and moving instrumental songs there is! We had a really meaningful hymn printed on the program that all our guests sang together. Zane’s sisters and brother-in-law sang, “As Long as There’s You” by the Cluster Pluckers. We looked for a long time for the perfect wedding song and when we heard that, we knew it was the one! I think they did a beautiful job. We also included cards in our invitations to all of our musically inclined friends to bring their guitars, dobros, fiddles, and mandolins for the reception and had some bluegrass picking under the trees.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
Our biggest challenge was definitely finding the time to get it all done! Zane and I were both in our last year of college we graduated one weekend and got married the next weekend. With finishing school, finding jobs, moving 600 miles away, and wedding planning, we had a lot going on in a few short weeks, especially for a predominantly DIY wedding! Thank goodness for my amazing parents who did so much work to get everything done!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
There were so many! The whole day was amazing, but I think we most remember the feeling of walking back down the aisle and actually being married!

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Our advice is without a doubt to do what’s “you!” If traditions are meaningful to you, by all means do them. If they aren’t meaningful to you, create your own traditions! Don’t do anything just because “that’s how it’s done.” You’ll be happiest (and your guests, who love you, will be thrilled too) if your wedding is an expression of you as a couple. We love all things farm-related, so we went with that because that’s where we are the happiest. Some of our friends love skeet shooting, so at their wedding we threw (empty) shotgun shells instead of rice I loved that because it was so “them!”

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
After our wedding, we honeymooned in the mountains of Montana (which is so gorgeous in the spring!). Zane had found a job in Virginia Beach, VA, so we moved up here. We are now living in Portsmouth, VA and have two sweet kids, Camden and Lark. We live in the city now, but hope to live on a farm again one day!

A bright spin on Virginia fall colors make Megan + Joe’s wedding stand out on a computer screen, but what’s special about this wedding is how much of the details were brought to life with the creativity of the bride and the helping hands of dear friends. Little hints of family and that good ole Southern charm were planted all over M + J’s wedding in the handmade signage (made by the bride’s grandfather!), the monogrammed flower girl sashes and the burlap details. I love that Megan’s gown was a custom creation designed and sewn by the same woman who made all of her homecoming and prom dresses! Big hugs to Kate Triano for sharing this day with us!

My dress was designed and made by a family friend (Kim Trombly) who also made my homecoming and prom dresses when I was growing up. When I got engaged, I knew she had to make my wedding gown! We spent about three months trying on dresses and getting an idea of what I liked. She sketched an endless amount of dress designs and once we were happy with it, we set out looking for fabric. We traveled to New York City in August 2011 in search of lace and fabric. We found both at the very first store we walked into! Kim worked on my gown for a little over 100 hours total and it was worth every bit of that. The lace was all hand sewn and cutout, so there were no gaps of empty space and she even had my wedding date embroidered in blue on the inside of my train! She also made my headpiece, which was a flower made from my dress fabric with my lace cutout and placed around the flower! I absolutely loved it! Throughout the whole process, I had total faith in Kim and knew the end result was going to be perfect!

Describe your wedding flowers. 
They were absolutely amazing! I wanted our wedding to have a rustic feel with slightly modern details all brought together by Virginia fall colors. I had the hardest time finding linens that I liked and I happened to stumble upon the yellow chevron fabric and napkin fabric while at the fabric store. I immediately texted Kim and asked, “What if we make table linens?!” With arms wide open, she dove headfirst into my crazy idea no matter if it meant sitting at her sewing machine for additional hours. The florist fell in love with the colors and patterns of our linens and did a fabulous job with my flowers. I wanted flowers that were loaded in texture and had unique elements. We used dahlias, red James story orchids, orange and green coxcomb, yellow billy balls, succulents, ranunculus, amaranthus, scabiosa pods, celosia tips, gerbera daisies and fiddle head ferns. My bouquet featured burlap ribbon that Holly found in Holland! All of the flowers were so full and luscious and completely embodied the theme of the wedding!

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Yes. After debating back and forth, we did decide to do a first look. We wanted those special first look photos between the bride and groom without an audience, even though we had an audience watching us from inside the estate!

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
Colossians 3: 12-17 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8, 13

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. 
We had a local string quartet during the ceremony and cocktail hour. Since our ceremony was traditional, we had them play very traditional ceremony wedding music. Cannon in D played during the seating of the parents and the bridal procession. Bridal Chorus played during my entrance, and the Wedding March during our recessional. We had a nine-piece band for the reception that was awesome! They played everything! We sent them a CD of our first dance, father-daughter and mother-son dances and they learned the music in a month for our wedding! Our first dance was to “God Gave Me You.” From the moment I first heard this song, I always told Joe that it would be our wedding song. It has the most perfect lyrics! The father-daughter song was to “I Loved Her First.” I told my dad the day this song came out years ago that we would dance to it at my wedding. He absolutely loved it. He even used it at the end of his speech, telling Joe, “as the song says, always remember I loved her first!” For the mother-son dance, we played “A Mother’s Song.” Joe’s mom had searched forever for a song because she wanted it to be special and finally found this one. So cute!

Did you have something borrowed, something blue, and something new? Yes! My something borrowed was Joe’s grandmothers’ wedding ring that I wore on my right hand. She passed away seven years ago and left it to him. It was supposed to be my engagement ring, but Joe decided that he didn’t want to alter the ring at all, so he got me something different. To this day, I wear his grandmothers’ ring on my right hand—it fits perfectly! I also had a borrowed pearl bracelet to wear, too. My something blue was a pair of earrings as well as the wedding date embroidered on the inside of my train. My something new was a pair of Jimmy Choos! They had the perfect amount of sparkle and made me feel like a princess the minute I put them on!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
The burlap and chevron runners along with the napkins were our favorite detail. With the Kim’s help, we cut, frayed and sewed all the runners and table napkins for the wedding. Even though it was a fairly simple part of the wedding, it’s something we were able to do together that completely changed the look of the otherwise plain white tablecloth and white dish setting for the table. The napkin fabric was so unique we were sure no one would have a table setting quite like it!

We had SO many Southern details! We had lots of burlap draped in the barn, on the tables, on the candy bar, on the lounge area and in the burlap balls! We included our signature drinks served in mason jars with red stripe straws. To tie in with our rustic feel, my dad brought in old fence boards that had fallen down on our farm. My 86-year-old grandpa is very artistic and he actually hand painted all of our signs for the wedding. I LOVED this detail. In addition, Kim put monograms on my flower girls’ dress sashes and she made bowties and suspenders for the ring bearers out of the bridesmaid dress fabric! Our wedding was very Southern as it was held at an old stone estate on the bluffs of the Potomac River. In addition, the reception was in a barn draped with burlap and Edison lights! It made for a Southern, yet intimate venue. The menu was truly Southern, as we did not want a traditional chicken/steak dinner option. We decided we wanted to do something different and ended up doing a Southern barbeque. Our guests absolutely LOVED it. Everyone raved about the food. To this day, we still have people say to us that they have never had barbeque that tasted as good as it did at our wedding. Lastly, we had a cigar bar that was revealed about two hours into the reception. They were hand rolled on-site and everyone loved being able to enjoy them outside the barn, while still enjoying the band. Kim and I created a hay bale lounge area for people to sit and enjoy their cigars and drinks. It was a huge hit!

We wanted to do something different than a traditional wedding cake. Since we both love cupcakes, I thought it might be a fun and unique idea to have a giant cupcake as our cutting cake! I found a local baker who, with my help, came up with the perfect design for our cupcake! We had a giant cupcake placed on top of a small square cake that featured a yellow chevron pattern. She then made a burlap pennant banner that read “Mr. & Mrs.” and hung from two sticks above the cupcake. We actually cut the square cake and saved the giant cupcake for our one-year anniversary! For guests, we had four different flavors of Georgetown Cupcake — our favorite cupcake bakery!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
We met through mutual friends at a local restaurant called Magnolia’s at the Mill. We both had moved back home from college. Joe was studying for the CPA exam and I was back in school for nursing. Despite having gone to rival high schools within 10 miles of each other, we had never met. Joe had told our mutual friend he had a crush on someone and I actually got mad until I found out it was me! The rest is history from there!

Tell us all about the proposal! 
Joe planned to propose outside at our favorite Loudoun County vineyard, Sunset Hills. Unfortunately, while we were inside tasting it started raining outside and his plans for an outdoor vineyard proposal were ruined! After enjoying some wine, we planned to head to Joe’s parents for dinner. He had already let his parents and mine know his plans, so when we arrived they would all be there, expecting us to be engaged. Joe ended up pulling the car over on a country road on the way to his parents and asking me to get out to look at something, he got down on his knee outside in the rain to propose!

When did y’all get married? 
September 22, 2012

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
175

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Letting vendors take over and trust that they would design something that matched my vision.

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$50,000-$75,000

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
If you ask Joe, the band. If you ask me, I’ll say Kim and the florist. Without Kim, I wouldn’t have had a wedding gown or headpiece, table linens, flower girl dresses, ring bearer outfits, burlap balls, and so many other small details! Without Holly, I wouldn’t have had the beautiful flowers that tied the wedding together.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
The moment when Joe and I were standing at the alter saying our vows to each other. We were making a commitment of a lifetime and nothing made it more special than being surrounded by our closest family and friends on a beautiful day in a beautiful setting.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can always make it. Never give up. It’ll all be worth it in the end.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We just bought a house and are finally starting to settle into it. We look forward to traveling different places in the world before we have kids. We’re going to Italy for our first anniversary! Within the next five years, we hope to start a family and have them baptized in outfits made by Kim! We have extra fabric and lace from my gown left over and she said she would make me baptism outfits when we have little ones!

Atrendy Wedding and Holly Chapple are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
We’re both botanists. As you might imagine, there’s not a lot of us, so we’re a pretty tight-knit group. I first met Chris when I started studying botany in 2008. My adviser at the time had dragged me along on a trip to study some privately owned woods in Nashville. He had also invited Chris out. We were intrigued by each other even then, but always kept it to ourselves because we were in relationships at the time. Throughout the years, we would run into each other at meetings and seminars and correspond about various work-related things, but never hung out. It wasn’t until last year that we REALLY got together. I had been a student on a field school in Madagascar. In May, I had spent a month and a half camping in the highland rainforests of Madagascar to study lemur feeding ecology (they eat a lot of plants.) I was so overwhelmed by the experience that upon my return home, I was dying to spend some time in a familiar place. I knew Chris had a map to an unmarked area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so I emailed him to inquire about sending me a copy. I was surprised when he offered to just take me personally instead! Since we were both botanists, I didn’t want to read into it too much, so I tried not to let on how nervous I was to meet up with him. The first night we hung out, it didn’t take us very long to find out that we were finally single. In fact, it turned out that we had been interested in each other for years. He immediately booked the rest of our weekend at Dancing Bear Lodge. We spent the rest of the weekend exploring the mountains and hiking together. Our last trip that weekend was to Cades Cove, and on our way out I remember distinctly looking over at him while he was driving and I was just struck with happiness and the overwhelming feeling that I would be with him the rest of my life. A little later, I found out he was also thinking the same thing then. We married less than a year later!

Our whole wedding was extremely non-traditional. Since it was a semi-destination wedding, we wanted our friends and family to be able to get back home in time to get ready for their real lives. Therefore, we had the reception on Saturday night and got married at noon on Sunday. My dad had been hassling us about schedules so much that weekend that by Sunday, I was just over it and wiped out! My dad was about to have a heart attack when he walked into our cabin and saw me in my pajamas and my hair in a towel! Instead of stressing out, I think we woke up and I got ready in 30 minutes while Chris made breakfast. We drove to the church together in his pickup in the pouring rain. My parents were early and already there, and we walked in together under an umbrella.

Did you have something borrowed, something blue, and something new? Borrowed: Our umbrella! My mom happened to bring a clear umbrella because of the storm. We ended up using it as a major prop in our photos. Blue: My shoes and earrings were blue and set the theme for the rest of the wedding. Chris and my father coordinated blue punches of color in their ties, and my flowers were tied together with blue ribbons. The wedding favors that my mom created were sunflower seeds and chocolate in brown envelopes tied together with blue ribbons. Something new: Our outfits! Of course, my dress was new, and Chris’ suit was all new.

My dress was by Maggy London from the Nordstrom Wedding Suite. At the time, I was in classes and it was midterms. I was flustered and feeling the crunch to find a dress, but between studying and work I hadn’t had time to go try dresses on. Browsing the websites of local boutiques wasn’t helping and I was increasingly frustrated and sad with the whole process. Chris simply Google searched “Simple Wedding Dresses” and after about a 30 second browse on Nordstrom’s website he asked, “How about this one?” It was a simple Maggy London dress that came just above the knee and had a halter neckline. It was gorgeous and I immediately knew it was the right one. My mom ordered it the next day. Unbeknownst to me, they only had one in my size left and somehow it got LOST IN THE MAIL! It was during midterms, so my mom didn’t tell me for fear of stressing me out. It was found and when it finally got to the house, my mom called to let me know. I called Chris and his response was “Oh, so they found it?” To which I replied, “What do you mean THEY FOUND IT?!” The cat was out of the bag, but at that point, it was just funny.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We’re horrible with sentiment, so we left the writing up to the Reverend. Early on, Reverend Cahelo interviewed us and asked for some direction. About a week after, she sent us some options to pick and choose from, kind of like a “mix and match.” She did a wonderful job!

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
We kept the ceremony extremely short and sweet. Rev. Cahelo said a few words at the beginning, but they were entirely her own. We asked mostly that our friends and family be honored during the introduction, since they are such an important part to our lives.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was getting our friends and family together. When we first were planning the wedding, we thought travel would be too difficult for some of our friends and family, but closer to the very end we were surprised to find out that many could attend! Before that, because I’m in school in Chattanooga and Chris lives in Nashville, our friends and family had never met. It could have been awkward and horrible, but they all got along splendidly and had a great time talking to each other! Since we had the dinner before our wedding, everyone had a chance to get to know each other on a meaningful level. On the day of our wedding there was no segregation of the “bride’s side’ or “groom’s side.” I think it was a perfect start to bringing our lives together as husband and wife.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
Most obviously, we’re both Southern. I’m a Tennessee native and he was born in Kentucky and lives in Tennessee. We got married at Cades Cove in the Primitive Baptist Church. It plays a very important role in Southern History as an early settlement for pilgrims looking for prime agricultural land.  Lastly, the wedding was simple. The South is torn between a beautiful dichotomy of being over-the-top, but also keeping it to the point. We kept it to the point and we kept it relaxed. The rain was over the top!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
There’s so many, but what stands out as the overall zeitgeist of our wedding is possibly the rain. It was a downpour and had been raining for two days. It was no matter though it made everything just that much more fun and beautiful. One of the last photos we took was outside while the storm was at its worst. Chris and I are standing on a log and we’re face-to-face and smiling at each other and I have my hands over his head and he has his arms around my waist. We’re soaked, we’re surrounded by flooding rain, but we’re totally in love and we don’t even notice. Every time I see that picture it evokes a deep sense of happiness and love, and that chemistry between us is the reason we’re together in the first place.

Tell us all about the proposal! 
It was the most genuine event! I was on break from classes and we decided to spend a few days taking a road trip to St. Louis, MO to visit the botanical garden (a mecca for botanists.) Chris had found this beautiful restored apartment to rent for the weekend in a historical house. I don’t recall exactly which night it was, but we had been spending the day at the gardens and were just lying around that night reading and watching TV. He suddenly became very emotional and asked me to be his wife. It was lovely! He hadn’t planned on it, so we didn’t have a ring. Just our words. We couldn’t have been happier.

When did y’all get married? 
Sunday, April 28th, 2013.

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
20

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. 
We went sans-music for the wedding ceremony itself. However, at our wedding dinner the night before, we let our friends and family be the DJ’s by using Spotify hooked up to a nice sound system. We’re all music geeks, so we had a blast coming up with playlists! There was everything from Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel. It was so much fun!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I’m still finishing up school in Chattanooga and Chris works in Nashville. Neither of us could really focus a lot of attention to actually planning a wedding, and furthermore, when we did have the time, it often wasn’t at the SAME time. Communication was difficult during the process and we were lucky that my parents really took over and helped us out. My mom was great at thinking of things we needed (wedding favors that she created herself!) and my dad was great at managing the events.

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
Less than $10,000

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
Leah, our photographer. We looked at many photographers and they were all in about the same price range, but her quality was incredible. She isn’t a wedding photographer; she’s an artist. Chris and I are scientists (awkward scientists). We don’t spend time in front of a camera, but we definitely appreciate good photography. She worked with us and made us feel comfortable, but more than that, she took the photos to the next level. She captured not only us, but everything that made that day so amazing. She’s stealthy, too! There are moments she captured that I wouldn’t even remember, and we didn’t even know she was there!

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Parsimony! Keep it simple. It was beautiful and fun and we didn’t drown in the details of it. It allowed us to focus on what mattered ourselves and our friends and family. Before you plan, sit down and make a list of your priorities surrounding the wedding itself and the reason you’re there together in the first place. We love good food and drink and we wanted lasting memories, so we prioritized spending on catering and our photographer. Then, bringing our friends together was a priority, so the next big thing to deal with was finding great cabin rentals. Dogwood Cabins was perfect and we would recommend them again! Everything else consisted of small details, but what matters is the big picture.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
I’m finishing up school. Now that we’re married, it just makes it that much more emotionally taxing to be separate from each other. I’m on track to graduate in December, at which point we look forward to enjoying the simple things that are often taken for granted. Sipping our morning coffee together, being there when he gets home, cooking dinner together. Even if we’re silent, our presence in each other’s lives is key and it’s extraordinarily difficult for us to be separated right now. We could have waited, but we don’t regret it. We belong to each other forever and we couldn’t wait any longer.

I loved our paper, from the save the dates to the programs and the welcome basket. One of my dearest friends and bridesmaids owns her own paper and design shop called Sweet Peach Paper, and designed most of the paper items. She created a custom emblem that was used throughout the various paper pieces. I think one reason the paper was so near and dear to me is because I got to tell a story through the various items! We included our favorite restaurants, shops and sights on the welcome basket tag for our out of town guests, a page of all our special traditions in the program and my grandmother’s famous grit recipe on the favor tag! It was so much fun being able to make all the paper details my own.

My other favorite detail was spending the entire wedding day at my parents’ house. It was really important to me to have a relaxing and stress-free day. All of my bridal party came over that morning and dear friends of my mother hosted and brought in food for us. We ate brunch, laughed, relaxed and soaked up more time together. Later, the hair and make up ladies came and the photographer met us there. The majority of my bridesmaids and house party girls live states away, so it was the most special time to have with them. I will never forget those memories! It was absolutely perfect!

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? Two of my dearest friends read from Colossians 3:12-14 and 1 John 4:7-11; 19. The passage out of 1 John was, for lack of a better term, the theme verse of our wedding and marriage. We know that only through Christ and his own sacrificial love, we are able to love one another. “We love because he first loved us” is the anthem we hope to proclaim through our marriage.

I’m really moved by how Lauren described their decision to write their own vows: she said, “Your vows are a verbal expression of the covenant you are entering into, and we wanted to be sure that our words expressed the intimacy, gravity and magnitude of our decision to enter into that covenant.” YES!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story.
 We have to admit, planning a wedding was the very last thing we anticipated when preparing to move cross-country! It wasn’t too long ago that we were living states away from each other, having never met and without a mutual friend in common! Devin’s from Tennessee; I’m from Alabama and neither of us had any desire to leave the great Southeast! Well, the Lord had a different plan in mind. (And we are so thankful He did!) In 2010, God placed a desire in each of our hearts to pursue a seminary education and by August of 2011, we packed up our bags and moved to Dallas, Texas to do just that! August 25, 2011 was our first day of class. We had both registered for Bible Exposition 101, spent every Tuesday and Thursday morning together but never crossed paths. Around the end of October, a mutual friend, convinced we would be perfect for each other and set out to make that change. In fact, he told Devin he’d found his future wife! Together with Devin, they planned a fun group outing for the sole purpose of us meeting. We hit it off that night and he asked me on a date for the upcoming weekend. Of course I said yes!
Describe the proposal. It was our seven-month anniversary and I was anticipating a fun night on the town celebrating. I had just returned from a trip to Alabama and was excited to spend some time with Devin. He told me we were going to go out for a nice dinner and to a movie we wanted to see. Lucky for me, I’d been in Alabama with family and it had been a while since I’d dressed up for something special. I was excited to put on a dress I’d never worn and spend a little extra time getting ready! The thought that tonight might be THE night had crossed my mind, but I stuffed it back down seconds later telling myself it was not happening for a few more months. When Devin picked me up he was completely cool and calm. We often walked through the many parks that surround my neighborhood so when he told me he found a new park and wanted to check it out before dinner, I didn’t really think anything of it. When we arrived at the park, I noticed a gorgeous gazebo and beautiful pond with a fountain. As soon as I got out of the car I saw a bouquet of flowers and some rose petals on the ground. At this point I was really confused! I was convinced he wouldn’t propose for at least a few more months so I was certain that this couldn’t be it! Devin says that as we started walking up to the gazebo I stopped and froze. I was in such shock and was trying to make sense of it all in my head! It’s such a surreal feeling! Devin managed to get me into the gazebo, said some really sweet and sincere things that I WISH I could remember, got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife! I was so in shock that I forgot to say yes! Of course, I eventually said yes. All of a sudden, I look up and out pops one of my dearest friends, Mary (who just so happens to be a photographer) who Devin secretly asked to capture the engagement. She literally hid in bushes in order capture the whole proposal. I was so surprised and so excited to have pictures from such a special occasion! After he proposed, we went to dinner, just the two of us, at our favorite little spot. It was such a sweet, sweet time to process things together and hear about how the plan had come into place! After dinner, Devin suggested we swing by my house and put the flowers in water before we headed out for more celebrating. I was completely SHOCKED when I opened the door and heard a roaring SURPRISE! Devin had gathered all of our friends together so we could celebrate with some of our favorite people. He knows me so well. We got the best of both worlds special time with just the two of us, and a sweet party with our friends. Devin really did plan such a sweet and special evening that I will never forget!

In what month did you get married? March

How many guests attended your wedding? 
300

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We decided to write our own vows! This was something that was pretty special to us. Your vows are a verbal expression of the covenant you are entering into and we wanted to be sure that our words expressed the intimacy, gravity and magnitude of our decision to enter into that covenant. The first few lines of our vows were the same and followed with our own unique words and promises. The first few lines of our vows read, “With great joy, I, Lauren, created in God’s image for His glory, and saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, pledge my deepest love to you I promise to love you not only with my words, but with my actions and trust.”
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. This was one of the very hardest things in the wedding planning process! I had always dreamed of walking down to one of my favorite songs, with a single voice, guitar and strings. So intimate and romantic! When it came down to it, though, I decided to go with instrumental versions of my favorite hymns and classical pieces on the organ with strings. I married in a beautiful sanctuary and the acoustics called for sound that filled the whole space…hence the organ and strings! Our mothers and grandmothers walked down to “Jesu! Joy of Man’s Desiring,” the bridal party walked in to “Canon in D,” and I walked down to “Trumpet Voluntary” (talk about big sound!). We recessed to Scott’s version of “Hymn to Joy.” One of the most special moments of the entire wedding was in the middle of the ceremony. We had a dear friend sing a beautiful rendition (accompanied by breathtaking strings) of “Bless the Lord” by Matt Redman. During the song, the entire wedding party gathered around us and prayed over us. It was such an intimate, special moment that we will cherish forever. We are SO blessed to have such dear friends who love us, pray for us, challenge us and encourage us.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
Our wedding was Southern through and through. I loved growing up in the traditional, Southern, Montgomery culture and wanted it to reflect the details of the wedding. Perhaps the most Southern thing about our wedding were the traditions laced throughout. We decided to marry in the First Baptist Sanctuary for many reasons. Not only is it stunningly beautiful, but I grew up in that sanctuary! I was baptized there, watched my siblings get baptized there and buried my grandparents there. To top it all off, my parents got married in the exact same sanctuary, standing in the exact same spot, almost 30 years to the day earlier. There is so much emotion and history in that room that we really couldn’t have chosen anywhere else to say “I do!” My something old was my grandmother’s pearls. She was such a special woman to me. I was fortunate enough to grow up in the same town as her and spent so much of my childhood with my special Grandbubby. I have never known a more poised, classy Southern lady. My something new was a beautiful blue topaz ring that Devin gave me as a wedding gift. He wanted to give me something that we could keep in our family for years and hopes that one day our children will be able to wear it. My something borrowed was an embroidered handkerchief that I attached to my bouquet. The same handkerchief has been carried by the women in Devin’s family for over five generations! It is embroidered with a blue “C” after his great, great grandmother named Cora. My something blue was a gorgeous diamond and blue sapphire pendant that I attached to my grandmother’s pearls. It was my great grandmothers, for whom my sister is named. Mary Grayson (my sister) was given the pendant on her 21st birthday and let me borrow it for the wedding. My mother gave Devin and me the silver goblets that she and my dad used on their wedding day! She monogrammed them with our new initials. Perhaps one of my most favorite traditions was that I gave my dad one of my grandmother’s old handkerchiefs and embroidered it with a special note. He carried it as his pocket square. We also had a shrimp and grits bar! How much more Southern does it get?
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
I definitely have to say our photographer! Ever since my freshman year of college, sitting in my dorm room with my best friends (and future bridesmaids!) when we would drool over the photo’s on Bryan’s website, I knew I wanted him to shoot my wedding. He was one of the first phone calls I made after getting engaged!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
There are three moments that are unforgettable. First, the moment in the ceremony when our wedding party gathered around us and prayed over us while one of favorite worship song was sung in the background. Tears were streaming down my face as I listened to our dearest friends, encouragers and challengers pray over our marriage, while holding hands with the man for whom I had just pledged my love. It was such a surreal moment. The other memory was when I danced with my dad. I am such a daddy’s girl and love my dad to the moon and back. Up until that day, he was the number one man in my life. (He is now happily number 2!) He is so very special to me and I loved sharing such a special moment with him. Lastly, I remember this moment at the reception. I was dancing with my new husband and looked around to see our family and friends dancing up a storm. I remember thinking how special it was to have everyone that we love in one place.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Planning a wedding brings out so many emotions! It’s so exciting yet can be stressful and exhausting. My advice is to remember the purpose of what you are doing. In all honesty, your wedding day isn’t really about a wedding at all – it’s about a marriage. Of course we celebrate because there is reason to! But inevitably, something won’t go as planned (The country club caught on fire at our wedding! But that’s another story for another day!), but you will still be married! Remember why it is you are doing all this planning in the first place! It’s about you and your fiancé and how God brought you together. Spend time reflecting on all He has done rather than stressing over the minor details! I got caught up in the planning madness a couple of times during the process and wish I had reminded myself in those times that this is not about my perfect fairytale wedding. It’s about making a covenant before God and celebrating what HE has done.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Devin and I are happily living in Dallas, Texas! He’s finishing up Seminary and I’m working for a church. We can’t wait to see where the Lord has in store for us!

My flowers were incredible! Kent Duffie of Designs by Kent did all of my florals (he was the florist for Carrie
Underwood’s wedding!). The girls had beautiful deep purple bouquets full of all kinds of different flowers, including roses, ranunculus, succulents, and so much more. I gave Kent full control to do whatever he wanted within my chosen colors and he blew me away. My bouquet had more white in it to set it apart. Our wedding planner, Chad’s Aunt Kaye of The Proposal, had these awesome frame collages made, and Kent put flowers in the corners of all the frames. Everyone was obsessed with them. We had flowers in mismatched containers (brass, crystal, milk glass, etc.) for centerpieces at the reception.

I just love Rachel’s gold belt! It’s a little hint of what’s to come at the reception.

I got my dress at Formally Yours in Lilburn, Ga. My sister got her dress there and had a wonderful experience, so it was the first place I went the day we went shopping. Me, my mom, and my sister made a day of it. We started at Formally Yours and I was debating between a couple of dresses, but couldn’t make up my mind. The owner was so sweet and told me to get some lunch and think about and call her if I made a decision. We went to another boutique and I found a dress that was beautiful, but just didn’t feel like “me.” We decided to go back to Formally Yours and try on the other dresses again. I had been torn between two beautiful lace dresses, but they felt too traditional. I ended up choosing a dress that was so different, but was absolutely perfect. We had a short engagement (five months) so I had to buy a sample off the rack. I honestly think it made it easier because I didn’t have to wait for my dress to come in the mail.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? 
I often second-shoot weddings with Anna, so I have been able to see firsthand how much easier wedding days can be if you get photos done before the ceremony. It was so nice to see each other and get excited about our wedding day. We were able to have plenty of time for portraits and were even able to leave our venue and drive down the road to have extra variety in our photos.

I had lots of special borrowed things for the wedding. I wore silk flowers in my hair that my mama wore in her hair at her wedding. I wore my sister’s veil during the ceremony and my grandmother’s jewelry.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
Walking down the aisle was so memorable. We had already seen each other, but in the moment I couldn’t help but to be overwhelmed with emotion. I started crying and my dad kept telling me jokes and to think of everyone in their underwear. I was just so excited to see Chad standing there waiting on me. We also thoroughly enjoyed our dance party, thanks to our DJ, Ali Fici!

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. 
Some of our very dear and talented friends played and sang during our ceremony. Seth and Claire Rice sang “lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat as the wedding party walked in. Jimi Bell sang the Jude Moses cover of “Book of Love” as my dad walked me down the aisle. At one point in our ceremony, Chad and I tied a square knot while Jimi sang “How Great the Father’s love.” When everyone was exiting, Claire sang “Let’s get Rich” by Ingrid Michaelson. It was the perfect happy song to end the ceremony

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
Our wedding would not have happened without Chad’s Aunt Kaye. We got married at her farm, and she just so happens to be a wedding planner and interior decorator. I couldn’t have lucked out any better if I tried. She was so great at coordinating vendors and making everything look just right. Anna, our photographer was INCREDIBLE. She is a dear friend and made our day so special. She and Lynnsey, her second shooter, were the best!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
Our wedding was on a big Southern farm. We got married at Chad’s aunt and uncle’s farm and it was the perfect Southern backdrop. Our reception was under a big old oak tree all strung up with lights and lanterns. Our favors were honey that Chad’s uncle harvested from the bees he keeps on the farm. We had peach cobbler and Blue Bell ice cream. Of course, there were all those Southern accents mingling in the air too.

Our entire reception was dessert-themed. We decided to get married late in the evening, after suppertime, so we just did desserts and drinks, and it was perfect. We had everything you could think of: parfaits, cookies, s’mores, cupcakes, peach and blackberry cobbler, ice cream and more.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
Chad and I met in a sculpture class during our senior year of college. We were both Art majors; I’m an Art teacher and he’s a graphic designer. The first day of class, I was sitting with my dear friend Anna (of Anna K Photography) and leaned over and asked if she knew who the outdoorsy guy with the moustache was. Chad was wearing these Merrell hiking shoes and had a serious-looking carabineer on his belt loop, but he had this goofy moustache and silly hat that made me think he had a good sense of humor. Apparently, he went home that day and told his roommates there was a cute girl in his sculpture class. It took me about a week to figure out his name, so in the mean time I started calling him “sculpture boy” to my friends and my mom. As I learned more about him, I realized that we had tons of mutual friends but had somehow never managed to meet. We kept up the secret mutual crush for a couple of weeks until he finally asked me out. The first time we ever hung out, we went to a party at a mutual friend’s house and danced the whole night. Once I got a glimpse of his dance moves, I was sold. I think he liked me because I made him laugh. Chad is a good egg, a true Southern gentleman. My family (who still calls him “Sculpture Boy”) was smitten as much as I was. The rest is history. We were made for each other.

Tell us all about the proposal! 
The proposal was a total surprise. I knew it was coming, but was caught so off guard when it did. Chad is from Eatonton, which is about a three-hour drive from where we live. We had just been up there the weekend before for a family function of his, and then he said he wanted to go up the next weekend for his best friend’s birthday. We left after work late Friday evening and arrived in Eatonton after 9. When we arrived, we went straight to his best friend Josh’s house. Josh and his brother were there, but Josh’s wife and his brother’s fiancé were gone “shopping.” I was bummed out to be alone with the boys (and feeling tired and yucky after a long workday). Josh suggested that we take his German Shepard, Jed for a walk, so the four of us set out. Josh and his wife, Bailey, live in downtown Eatonton, so we were walking around all the historic sites. As we walked down the sidewalk, I pointed out the Methodist church that Chad grew up in. Their original sanctuary is over a hundred years old and has beautiful stained glass. I was going on and on about how beautiful it was and that I wanted to see the inside because I never had. At this point, it was about 10pm, but when Chad suggested that we see if the door was unlocked, I hopped right up the steps. When we opened the door, I heard music playing and told Chad that we needed to go because we were interrupting something. He insisted that it was ok and kept trying to pull me inside. When I peeked around the corner, I noticed candles on the floor. I freaked out and told Chad that we had to leave “NOW! Because someone is getting engaged and we’re going to ruin it!” Remember how I said I wasn’t expecting it? Chad said, “Yeah babe, someone is getting engaged, now come inside!” He dragged me into the building and there were candles EVERYWHERE all down the aisles and across the altar. It was beautiful. Our friend John was in the corner playing guitar and singing a song. It was all a blur. The girls who I thought were out shopping had really been at the church lighting all the candles. Chad got down on one knee and told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him. It was perfect.

When did y’all get married? 
April 6, 2013

How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
About 130

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
Having everyone we love with us all day. How often do you get to have all of your favorite people in one place?!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The hardest part was controlling the guest list. We knew we wanted a smaller wedding, but it’s hard to cut people off when the time comes.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
RELAX! Before my wedding, everyone told me I was going to be so stressed out and that it would all be a blur. Having a great planner helped tremendously with the stress, but I also tried to remind myself to let the little things go. The only person who won’t notice if things aren’t exactly the way they’re supposed to be is you, so don’t worry about it. I had an incredible day and enjoyed every minute of it. If I had been stressed out over someone’s hair or shoes, I would have missed the joy of the day.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Right now, we’re just enjoying being newlyweds. We don’t want kids for a while, so we’re enjoying each other and have plans to travel as often as we can.

Anna K is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Oh y’all, you know a Real Wedding is going to be gorgeous when you’ve already swooned (multiple times) and you’ve only seen the first three photos! It’s even better when you’ve also cried while reading the bride’s interview! Be sure to check out Mary Simm’s most memorable moment below I know you’ll love it, too!

Mary Simms + Alex’s sweet South Carolina wedding was filled with family traditions, like the prayer her grandfather said before every meal, and handmade details like the amazing cross Alex made for their ceremony. When asked what was Southern about her wedding, she replied, “What wasn’t Southern about it!?” A girl after my own heart!

We SW gals are sending Jennings King some big ol’ hugs for sharing this lovely day with us!

Keep an eye on that monogrammed beauty there it will make its debut later in the evening!

I found my dress at the first place I tried gowns on. However, I wasn’t quite ready to commit… finding THE one is a big deal, plus trying on all these beautiful dresses was beyond fun! My mother and I went to four other stores and I tried on probably 25 other dresses before returning to the first place.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. The night after a mutual friend pointed out we had a lot in common and should go out Alex asked me to go to dinner with him on Folly Beach. I ordered the tuna and asked for it to be cooked rare, and from that moment on Alex says he knew he was going to marry me one day. We in fact did have a lot in common (including our love for a good piece of seafood) and have had many dates since then!
Tell us all about the proposal! A few of our close friends had already booked a Mediterranean cruise and had been begging us to join them for months. Although Alex and I had just got a new puppy a week before, we decided that we just could not pass up this offer. We booked our spot on the cruise along with our plane tickets the very next day. Getting ready for the long journey across seas, I was nervous and excited all at once: not only was this my first time going to Europe, but we were also going to be there for my 25th birthday! Our itinerary said we would be in Rome for two days, the first of which would be on my birthday. On July 18th, Alex and I and our friends decided that we would tour the city of Rome, beginning with a tour of the Vatican. There is a strict dress code for the Vatican, where men have to wear long pants and women should not have their shoulders or knees showing. Needless to say, it got a little hot walking around the city in 80 degrees after the tour of the Vatican was over. We all decided to walk over to the famous Trevi Fountain to toss in our good luck coins before breaking for lunch. During the walk over, I noticed Alex wasn’t talking very much and seemed like he was trying to catch his breath. He assured me nothing was wrong, that he was just hot and would be fine soon. We made our way through the crowd, down the steps and to the bottom of the Trevi Fountain where my best friend Gina told Alex and I to face her as we tossed our coins in so she could get a picture. It was then, as I was grinning from ear to ear, tossing my coin over my shoulder at the same time Alex was, that Gina screamed, “Oh my Lord! Mary Simms!!” I had no idea what she was shouting for until I turned my head to look at Alex, who was down on one knee proposing. It was hands down the best moment of my life. I was in a beautiful city known for its romance, surrounded by my closest friends, and the man of my dreams asking me to spend the rest of my life with him. I said yes, and the entire crowd began clapping. It was magical, to say the least.
When did y’all get married? March 2013
How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 175
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. A trio including a flutist, a trumpet player and a violinist played music before the ceremony started. We used “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” for the seating of the mothers, “Trumpet Voluntary” for the processional, Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus” for my processional, and Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” for our recessional. Our first dance was “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” by Van Morrison and our father/daughter dance was to “I’ll be there” by Jackson 5.
Describe your wedding flowers. Our flowers were absolutely beautiful: pink peonies, white roses, cherry blossoms, and white hydrangeas in large and small vases. Since our wedding was two days before Easter, we wanted our decor to be soft, but elegant.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? What wasn’t Southern about it!? We were married on an old dock on a historic, breathtaking Southern plantation surrounded by live oaks with hanging moss, cotton fields, oyster beds, and salt water. We also had a family prayer that was said before the food was served: “Lord, Bless us and Bind us, Put our Sins Behind us, and Hide us where the Devil can’t Find us!” My grandfather would say this before every meal, and it has been passed on to every family member. Alex built the cross we used as our backdrop on the dock. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. My aunt hand-sewed my new initials into the handkerchief that I used to wrap around my bouquet. We had a direction sign of our favorite places that we have traveled to over the years. The special thing about the sign was that each of my bridesmaids painted an arrow.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000-$50,000
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? It was all very memorable, but the one moment that I will cherish for a lifetime was when I arrived at Boone Hall in the car with my maid of honor. We were waiting for the go ahead from my wedding planner that we could get out of the car when I saw one of Alex’s groomsmen running down the road toward us. I had no idea what was happening, or why on earth he was not with Alex and the other groomsmen. The ceremony was supposed to start in less than five minutes! He motioned for me to roll down my window, and when I did, he handed me a folded up piece of paper and said, “This is from Alex. He says he loves you to the moon and back times a million and he can’t wait to see you.” (Alex and I say that to each other all the time). The tears were already starting to roll, and I contemplated for about a second whether I should read the letter or not, because I didn’t want to be a complete mess walking down the aisle. But I pulled my self together and read aloud the sweetest letter I have ever received. All of my wedding jitters were suddenly gone, and I couldn’t wait to get out of that car!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Alex and I are most excited to start building a life and a family together. We closed on our first house two weeks after the wedding, and are now getting all settled in. We have plans to travel as much as we can and continue to enjoy every day that God gives us.

Ooh! Events is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. 
Calan and I met 17 years ago when I was five and he was eight at The Storms Field. I cheered and he played football. Throughout the years, our families remained close, with my brother working under his dad at the fire station and our moms remaining friends. When I was 18, I was coaching at The Storms Field when I found out Calan was coaching there as well. We were close friends throughout the season (I thought he liked a close friend of mine) but I never thought we would start dating two years later. We’ve been inseparable ever since.
Tell us all about the proposal! 
I had been giving Calan “subtle” hints about the color, cut and style of diamond ring that I had been wanting for a few months before he proposed. My mom’s not a very good secret-keeper and kind of let the cat out of the bag the day he bought the ring. As a normal girl who can’t wait for surprises to just happen, I went in search for the box. Calan isn’t a very good hider, considering it was under the bathroom sink! He asked me later that night while lying on the couch and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
When did y’all get married? 
February
How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 
150
Did you decide to do a “first look”? 
Calan is a very shy person and wanted to do the “first look” from the moment our photographer told us about it. I am so glad we did because it got the pre-wedding jitters out of our systems and the pictures from that moment turned out to be some of my favorites from the wedding.
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
Corinthians 13
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. I love music so I played this part out in my head non-stop. I decided to have my bridesmaids walk down the aisle to “Till Kingdom Come” by Coldplay. It fit so perfectly and had a great beat for my best girls to walk to. From the start, I knew I wanted to walk down the aisle to “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri. If you’ve heard this song, you know it’s just amazing. Calan doesn’t like dancing, so when it came to our first dance I had to make sure it was quick and painless for him. I chose “That’s When I Love You” by Aslyn. It was probably the shortest love song I could find, but the words made me embrace this song even more. I’m so glad we went with it.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I think just staying on track and making deadlines. My mom was here with me to whip me into wedding planning shape, which helped a lot. I managed to make most of the deadlines we set for ourselves.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$25,000-$50,000
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? 
PHOTOGRAPHY!! Hands down. Stacy is amazing and I am so happy we went with her. In the end, all you’re left with is pictures. Let me tell you, I have some stunning photos.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Don’t stress the little things, and the sooner you get things booked and done, the better off and less stressed at the end you will be. At the end of the day, you get to marry your best friend, so no matter what just remember that.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We are going to be continuing renovations on our house (Anthropologie here I come!) and taking care of our two pups. Calan is in EMT school at the moment and will be starting fire school in the fall to become a firefighter. God has blessed us with each other, great friends and amazing families. Wherever he takes us, we will be happy just to be with each other.

If I could run off and marry a wedding, it would be this one. Margaret + Marty planned their New Orleans nuptials themselves, with a beautiful venue to springboard off of and a desire to vivaciously celebrate their new life together one read-through of their interview tells us that M + M love to dance! I’m absolutely smitten with how their wedding seems to have organically sprung up from the bricks at Race and Religious, but the Southern Weddings gals have agreed it must be Margaret’s radiant personality and lovely smile that top this wedding off beautifully.

Thank you, Heirloom Collective for sharing this day with us!

Two things: How amazing are Margaret’s shoes? I love that they’re a modest nude color with a spark of red! Next, how cool do these gals look below? I am impressed that Margaret’s ‘maids were able to find matching dresses from various stores like Asos, Modcloth and BCBG.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
I knew I needed something I’d be able to dance in. I didn’t want anything too trendy, or anything to looked to era-specific. I admired BHLDN dresses from afar until I found out I’d be going to Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, so I booked an appointment with them immediately! After trying on a few options, I put on my dress and never looked back. It was the first dress I did a twirl in, and that’s how I knew.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? We did decide to do a first look. Our ceremony and reception were at the same place, so we knew we would have limited time to admire each other’s looks and have some alone time.

I love this photo below! Heirloom Collective did a wonderful job capturing a calm and intimate moment before the ceremony. The colors are gorgeous, and I can only imagine the exciting things these gals are talking about while sipping on sodas and fixing each other’s hair.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
Song of Solomon 2:10-13, 8:6-7 and Colassians 3:12-17

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. We hired a traditional New Orleans brass band to play before, during and after the ceremony. Our original brass band fell through a week before the wedding, but thankfully our friends helped us pull together a band, and they were wonderful. The entire wedding party walked down the aisle to Trumpet Voluntary, and the recessional was “When the Saints Go Marching In!” We told the band to play whatever they wanted, and that was what they settled on. It was perfect. Our first dance, mother-son and father-daughter dances somehow ended up being disco themed: “Boogie On Reggae Woman” by Stevie Wonder, “Late in the Evening” by Paul Simon and “More than a Woman” by the BeeGees, respectively. It was awesome!

Y’all!! I just want to cry when I see this photo below. There is so much joy!

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
The venue! Our venue was a big chunk of our budget, but we couldn’t imagine NOT getting married there. And, having splurged on such a perfectly curated, eclectic place, we didn’t have to worry about decorating it too much. Our wedding would have a very distinct look (one we wanted) without a lot of work on our part!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
The most Southern detail and part our Northern guests loved the most was the reception-style dinner! I loved that everyone could mingle while noshing, and we didn’t have to worry about whom to seat where or whether there were exactly as many chairs as there were guests (there weren’t, and it was totally fine). Of course, our food was Southern. We served collard greens, black eyed pea salsa, pickled shrimp salad, cornbread, brisket, pulled pork, the works.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. 
Marty hates cake, so we went with pies for our dessert (and then Marty ended up being too busy dancing to try any! Sorry, Mart!). Our caterer created a bunch of different Southern-influenced pies, including sweet potato pie, an apple galette, and pecan pie, for guests to choose from.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
Definitely the dance party. I found our DJ, Otto Orellana, while at a bar with co-workers. We could not stop dancing! So, I asked him for his business card. The next day I emailed him (introducing myself as the girl who could not stop dancing) and asked him to DJ our wedding. He responded with, “Well, I don’t normally do weddings anymore but you and your friends seemed really fun, so sure!” And did he deliver! The dance portion of our wedding was the most fun we’ve ever had.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
We met in college. During our freshman year, we lived three floors apart and were introduced by mutual friends. We soon learned that we’d gone to brother and sister high schools, had some of the same friends, and had never met! Marty pretended that he needed help with his homework in order to get me to hang out with him. Soon I realized that he didn’t need homework help as much as he needed a dance partner.

Describe the proposal. 
We currently live in New Orleans, but we both grew up near Oak Park, Illinois. Every holiday season, we escape our family parties and go see a movie at Lake Theater, a classic art deco movie theater in Oak Park. On the day before Christmas Eve in 2011, Marty invited me to go see Mission: Impossible 4 (how holiday-appropriate!), but instead of going into the theater, he proposed. Afterward we headed to a bar on Madison Street to celebrate with friends and family.

In what month did you get married? 
March 2013

How many guests attended your wedding? 
115

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Our venue was pretty much a blank slate. We could choose the caterer, the bartender, the flowers, everything. While I loved that everything was completely customizable, it was also a challenge to cover all of our bases without a wedding planner (having tents on standby for rain, ordering compostable dinnerware, renting linens!). We did everything ourselves, down to making sure we had enough ice! But, the upside was that we could do everything our own way, to our taste.

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$10,000-$25,000

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Go with your gut when making decisions and customize your wedding to how you want it.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We went on a fantastic honeymoon to Paris, Croatia (the Dalmatian Coast) and Istanbul. Now that we’re back, Marty is graduating from Tulane School of Medicine and starting his residency at Tulane; I am continuing to work as a public interest attorney in New Orleans.

Kelly + Corey’s wedding blows me away in so many ways. Yes, it’s indeed a lovely affair, but it came together under the sweetest but challenging situations. Kelly is in the Air Force and Corey is in the Army. Though their proposal was a very welcome and loving surprise, it also occurred right before Corey departed for his station in Korea! Despite the distance, K + C put together a wedding that boasts the most meaningful details and traditions (don’t forget to read about Kelly’s dress!) and looks darn fun to boot! We are so grateful for Amy Arrington, who sent this lovely our way.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
My wedding dress was one of my favorite parts! My mom wore the same dress that my grandmother wore when she got married in 1960. I grew up saying I would never wear that dress! When it was my turn to get married, I was overcome with sentiment and knew that I was going to wear their dress. It didn’t quite fit me, so I took the dress to TK Designs in Atlanta and had the top of the dress remade. The skirt is still the original, and they used the same type lace from the skirt to create the top. I was so proud to wear my grandmother’s and mother’s 53-year-old dress and wouldn’t have had it any other way!

My bridesmaids were SO wonderful. They made my wedding planning process so easy, and my day-of so peaceful and calm. (They were running around like crazy people dealing with issues left and right! I had no clue!) They actually helped me do my own baby’s breath bouquets. They also decorated everything the morning of, while I was getting my hair done. The only flowers I had done professionally were two large ceremony arrangements and my bridal bouquet. I wanted something simple, green, and white. My florist did exactly what I had in my head and everything was simple, yet beautiful. I also wrapped an old family handkerchief around my bouquet for my “something blue.”

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Yes! At first, Corey and I wanted to do everything very traditionally. However our photographer told us reasons it may be beneficial. We thought about it and realized that it would create an easier transition to the reception by having pictures before. We also wanted to have that one moment alone on our crazy day. I am so glad we decided to have a first look because it truly did calm my nerves for the rest of the day!

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. 
We did the traditional song for the entrance, Canon in D, then the traditional Bridal Chorus when my Dad and I walked in. When we walked out, the traditional Wedding March played! These were all very important to me since I wanted a very traditional church ceremony. However, to make it more personal, we had everyone stand and sing “In Christ Alone” together so that we would be a reminded to live out a Christ-centered marriage. We had our extremely talented friend Marleigh sing “Amazing Grace” to remind us of how powerful the grace that God has given us truly is.

Did you write your own vows? We did! This was probably my favorite part of the ceremony. Corey is a wonderful writer and much better with words than I. His vows were so romantic, poetic, and intentional. Mine were more light hearted and fun. It totally described our relationship and people got to see who we really were by doing this. At the end, Corey said, “You are my moon, my love, my life.” Our big thing has always been the moon since we have always had distance between us. We both know that no matter where in the world we are, if we look at the moon, the other person could be looking at the same moon. We carried this over to the reception and danced to Frank Sinatra’s, “Fly Me to the Moon” for our first dance.
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
We had our good friend Alix read Romans 12 because it is an important reminder of how to love as an action, always! The pastor who married us was my youth pastor in high school. He made the ceremony so light and fun. Everyone was laughing one second, then crying the next. It truly was such a personal ceremony and we received many compliments about how it was so “us.” That’s exactly what we wanted!

I believe that in the South especially, we have such a pride for our military. The fact that we had such a traditional and military wedding is what I believe made it a Southern affair. We had a traditional saber arch that we walked through, and all the military men wore their dress blues. The ceremony was at the oldest Methodist Church in Savannah and the reception was at the Savannah Yacht Club right on the bay. These two venues truly encompassed Southern charm. We also had a trolley bring all of our guests back downtown after the reception to continue the fun! Savannah, Georgia, is one of the most charming and quaint towns you’ll ever visit. There was no way our wedding wouldn’t be a Southern celebration having it there!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
Corey is in the Army, and I am in the Air Force. Anyone who knows anything about the military knows this causes for some issues with being able to see each other. I was finishing up nursing school during the planning process and Corey was living in Korea. He saved up enough leave to take a month to come home, get married, and return to finish his tour. I would say my biggest challenge was not having Corey physically there to help with things. He proposed to me and then left for Korea one week later!

Corey and I are not huge fans of cake and pretty much put the task on the bottom of our list. I actually just went to Publix and asked them to create two cakes, one vanilla and one chocolate. We could not have been happier with that decision and we saved a ton of money by doing so! The cakes really turned out beautifully and tasted great, too! No one could believe that they were from Publix! We also included a Korean tradition in our cake toppers. In Korea, when a couple gets married, they receive wedding ducks that resemble peace, fertility, and faithfulness. Apparently ducks are one of the few animals that mate for life and never take a second partner. We loved adding in something from the culture where Corey is currently living.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
Corey and I met through the best man at our wedding, Mark. Mark and Corey were roommates in college. Corey visited Mark one summer and I got to know Corey better that week. We decided we liked each other and continued talking. I was quite non-committal but that summer when I went to my ROTC boot camp, Corey pursued me through the most beautiful, eloquent letters and I knew then that there was something different about this guy!
Describe the proposal. 
Corey had just finished flight school and was getting ready to leave for his first assignment in the Army in South Korea. As excited as we both were about this endeavor, it was also very sad since we would be separated. I was convinced we were not going to get engaged before he left, but one week before his departure date, he did it! We were visiting his parents in Savannah, Georgia, and he decided to take me on a walk on the beach. We had our first kiss at a certain lifeguard stand two years prior (almost exactly to the day!) where he got on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring! My best friends were hiding in the sand dunes taking pictures and ran out and surprised me afterward! Corey also had a big engagement party planned back at his parents’ house where all my college roommates and friends and my parents were waiting to surprise me again! It was a wonderful day.
In what month did you get married? 
March
How many guests attended your wedding? 
250
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
There were so many things I loved! One thing I loved was surprising Corey with an ice sculpture of the helicopter he flies, the Chinook. Corey is more than obsessed with planes and loved this! Another detail that truly made Corey and I feel like we were a prince and princess was having the Model A driven by my grandparents as our getaway car. My grandparents collect Model A’s, and ever since I saw those cars, I knew I wanted one in my wedding. They hauled the car all the way from Oklahoma to Savannah and made my wedding day complete! It was so wonderful to get in the car after the ceremony and drive around downtown Savannah and have all these people wave at us like we were royalty! It was a dream come true for sure!
What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$25,000-$50,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
One of the most important things to Corey and I are people. We love being around people and we both are very social. I knew that having a lot of guests come to the wedding would mean that I couldn’t spend as much on decorations or other things. I really do think that having all our friends and family be invited was more important than anything else I could have spent money on. The other thing that was important to us was the photography. I couldn’t have asked for a better photographer and am so happy to have spent the money on Amy Arrington! (She and her husband are incredibly talented and actually very reasonable for what you receive!)
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
It is so hard to choose just one moment. We had the most unique and hilarious speeches from our bridal party. My maids of honor did a rap that was so funny! Corey’s best man, Mark, had one of the greatest speeches of all time. We really have such talented and funny friends. Corey and I go on and on about how much we loved seeing all of our friends and family enjoying time with one another. The DJ was so great, and the dance floor was covered the whole night! We saw pure happiness in so many people and realized how blessed we are to have such wonderful, supportive people in our life.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Have fun! I actually miss the planning process because it really can be so fun! Choose things that you really care about and focus on those. Find a cheaper and easier way to handle things that aren’t as important so that you can spend more on the other things! Stay organized and rely on your mom or bridesmaids to help you, especially with day-of events. I was made fun of for this, but actually had schedules for each person with where they needed to be at what time. I didn’t have or need a wedding planner because of the help I got from all my girls and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
Corey and I are mainly excited about living in the same time zone! I am stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. Corey will be stationed at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs starting in July. People think we’re crazy for getting married when we knew we would be apart, but it’s what was meant to be! We believe we have a love that can conquer anything and if this is the hardest thing we have to deal with then I think we’re doing OK! We look forward to the time we actually get to live under the same roof. Until then, there’s lots of traveling in our future!

Amy Arrington is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Oh y’all! I’m so excited to share today’s Real Wedding with you. Not only is our bride absolutely cute as a button, but she is talented, and just as much a doll as she looks. Yes, it’s true, I know her! Today’s bride is one of our darling sponsors, and the owner of the fantastic accessory line MOLLYGEEdesigns! Oh yes, and Justin’s new wife!

I knew when I clicked into Molly Gee + Justin’s wedding that I’d be in for a real treat. Together with their uber-talented planner Kendall Poole (another fabulous sponsor!), and the creative styling direction of Lesley at Tulip, MG + J created a glamorous but comfortable celebration for five hundred people. Five hundred people talk about a big ol’ Southern wedding! I’m sure Molly Gee took her own advice when she said, “If the wedding doesn’t flow exactly as you planned, you are still marrying the one person you care the most about!” Exactly!

Big hugs to B. Mo Foto for sharing this sweet day!

Even though I work in the wedding industry, I had no idea what my dream dress would be! I fell in love with two completely different styles: a cafe Watters ruffled ball gown and a blush Allure lace and tulle mermaid style. I chose Allure and added my own tulle straps and beaded sash. I also styled the dress with a tulle veil and organza flower clip from my collection. What was supposed to be my farewell dress turned into my reception dress as well once the dancing started. I wore a 1950′s vintage tulle and lace tea-length party dress that I happened to find in Austin, TX for $40! I added my Russian netting headband and glittery gold heels as well.

Did you decide to do a “first look”?
 Yes. Justin and I both wanted to have all our photos taken before the ceremony and to relieve ourselves of those initial wedding jitters. I loved having a quiet moment with Justin to take in the day. Our first look is when it began to ‘feel’ like our wedding day.

My bouquet was wild and unstructured, composed of dusty miller, agonis, cafe au lait dahlias, antique lavender roses, pink astilbe, amaranthus, and thistle.  The stems were wrapped in a nude-toned antique lace. Each bridesmaid carried a different bouquet, but all had the same unstructured, wild feel.  Each bouquet was composed of a combination of dahlias, pink protea, thistle, caramel roses, and gold-painted seeded eucalyptus. Nude-toned lace and gold ribbon accented each bouquet.

I am having a serious swoon-fest over this simple pew tie! That lace is perfection!

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding.
 Since our ceremony was not held in a church setting, we had complete control over our music choices. Each song was very thoughtfully chosen and our amazing musicians made our day even more special. They were able to adapt to any song with their mix of acoustic guitar, cello, and mandolin. Prelude songs included Chris Rice’s “Untitled Hymn,” Tom Petty’s “Wildflower,” “Amazing Grace,” Alexi Murdoch’s “All My Days,” and “On Eagle’s Wings.” The wedding party walked to The Beatles’ “In My Life,” and then, my dad walked me down the aisle to an acoustic guitar version of Sondre Lerche’s “Family Theme.” It was a beautiful transition from the wedding party to my entrance. Our first dance was to The Arctic Monkey’s cover of “Baby I’m Yours,” which is totally us! Instead of hiring a DJ or band, we used a Spotify playlist and sound system for our reception. It was perfect, and we were able to include all our favorites!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Fresh Cut Catering created a delicious display of Southern comfort foods complete with a mashed potato bar and all the fixings (Justin’s main request!), and of course we had mint tea and cranberry punch.

The centerpieces were modern white vessels filled with wild arrangements of dahlias, pink protea, antique roses, thistle, and astilbe accented with gold-painted eucalyptus. The tables were accented with items such as mid-century brass candlesticks, rose-colored candle votives, silver mercury glass, and wooden tree stumps for a rustic touch.  White lace tablecloths adorned each table.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: There are so many wonderful details, it is hard to narrow down! I loved the overall decor of romance with a touch of vintage, especially the candlelit aisle for the ceremony. A beautiful dusty rose pink chandelier hung above and a draped cream curtain with tree branches on each side stood behind us.

I love the little painting of Molly Gee + Justin – what a fun piece to have in their home after their big day!

The bride’s cake consisted of a center, two-tiered cake, and two small cakes on each side, all in a textured buttercream icing. The cakes were a mix of traditional wedding cake, strawberry, and carrot cake. The cake topper was a set of white lovebirds, and blush dahlias decorated the sides. Justin’s cake was a rich Dutch chocolate, complete with chocolate shavings, strawberries, and a decorative W. Surrounding the cake were photos of our parents and grandparents on their wedding days as well as Arsenal premier soccer league memorabilia (Justin’s favorite team!).

The most memorable part of the reception was the dance party, and Justin and his brother even started a dance off. The photo booth was also a blast I handmade each decorative prop. The photos that came from the booth are very special. We even applied custom ‘Molly Gee and Justin’ labels to every beer and wine bottle (with the help of our friends) for a special touch!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. The Lord’s plan for our lives is so much greater than our own. Justin and I met a few times throughout college and shortly after. Just after graduation, I moved to New York to pursue a career in fashion, which is where I started my wedding accessory business. Around the time I decided to move the business to my hometown in Mississippi, Justin was making his move to Barcelona, Spain. I still remember seeing Justin for the first time in years and thought he was so good looking! When he said he was moving out of the country in one week, I was a little disappointed. When he moved back months later, I made the first move and gave him my number. I wasn’t pushy but showed my interest, which is when he took over from there.
Describe the proposal. 
It didn’t take us long to fall in love and know this was a serious relationship that was meant to last forever. Justin and I first talked about marriage in the spring of 2011. We knew we loved each other very much, but also wanted to be sure we were established in our professions before making such a big decision. Looking back, I now know that Justin wanted his main surprise to be the timing of the proposal. So, when he said sometime in 2012, I believed him! On December 23, 2011, my sister called to say she needed me to babysit my nieces while she finished last minute Christmas errands. She seemed flustered, but I figured it was just stress from a long ‘to do’ list. I called Justin to tell him my plans, and he mentioned taking me out to dinner that night. We decided he would pick me up at my house once I was done sitting. I take my dog, Fern, with me most places. So after babysitting, I parked in my garage, unloaded Fern and my other belongings, and headed inside. My first reaction? “Oh no! My Christmas tree lights exploded everywhere!” Fern tore through the foyer ahead of me, sliding on the dozens of candles that were set up and generally making a mess. I dropped my bags and just stared at Justin (who was on one knee) from across the room. He had to ask The Question from a distance, and finally said, “Can you please walk over here?” I, of course, said yes! It’s fun to find out the little details afterward, isn’t it? Justin requested my sister’s help in getting me out of the house for two hours, but in the end, only needed about 30 minutes to get everything set up! (He watched Christmas Vacation on my TV while waiting with his car parked down the street!) My sister relaxed at my parents’ house while baking Christmas dishes… not running errands!
In what month did you get married? October
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
We were on a tight budget and had to be very careful about spending. It was difficult to narrow down our must-haves and things we could live without. In the end, everything turned out perfect and we didn’t even notice some of our cut corners. The reception was a blast and the most important part was that we were now married and celebrating with family and friends!
What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$10,000-$25,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
Photography and Videography. With this documentation, we are able to relive all the details and emotions of our ceremony and reception! Save the Date video: http://vimeo.com/41858697 Wedding Video: http://vimeo.com/61850876
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
I remember Justin telling me he was going to dip me during our first kiss…well with the emotions of our ceremony I completely forgot and when the time came for our kiss, the dip was a special surprise to say the least!
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
We all want our day to be perfect and it’s understandable to focus on making that happen! Even through all of the planning and decisions, remember it is only one day of your life. If the wedding doesn’t flow exactly as you planned, you are still marrying the one person you care the most about!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
Justin and I now own our first house and are spending time in the yard this spring, planting flowers and making it our own special space. We have set goals for travel in the next few years and just overall enjoying our first year of marriage! As for adding to the family, we have talked about getting a second dog so our pup, Fern, can have a best friend.

Kendall Poole and Molly Gee Designs are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
We met at a horse race, which was the inspiration for the wedding. We were at a mutual friend’s tailgate at Steeple Chase, in March of 2007. I followed him around like a puppy, smitten at first look, and he was too busy catching up with friends to notice me! Later at a party that night, he noticed me because I picked up Guitar Hero, played a song on expert and beat it.

After dating for 5 years we knew that the proposal was coming. On Thanksgiving in 2011, my female relatives and I decided to go looking at dresses for fun! I was given one rule: I had to try every dress the girls pulled for me. After nearly 40 dresses ranging from princess ball gowns to sheath gowns, my sister pulled my dress. It was stunning and everyone was speechless. I knew that was the one because I didn’t want to leave without it! We bought the dress that day, and thank goodness Jonathan proposed 4 months later!

We did a first look because we wanted to have a special moment to ourselves before the wedding. It was a good decision because we were able to appreciate each other and the importance of the day before everyone else was fighting for our attention. We also got a lot of great shots of the two of us before the ceremony!

Describe the proposal. 
We had plans set for a romantic weekend after Valentines day in 2012. Jonathan planned to propose at a restaurant that I was excited to try. We had a crazy night Friday and didn’t end up in bed until early Saturday morning, so I cancelled all of our plans! Jonathan panicked and decided to act on the spot. While I was getting a bath ready for our dog, Zoey, he got the ring and the dog. When I turned around, he had Zoey in his arms, and the box in Zoey’s paws. He asked me to marry him and I was so thrilled I almost flooded the bathroom!

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
We had one reading used in tandem with a special ceremony called Handfasting. Jonathan’s family roots are Irish, so we used this celtic ritual before saying our vows as a nod to his family heritage. Our minister used a cord that Jonathan and I made to bind our hands while he read, “These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children. These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.” We didn’t let go of each others hands until after the pronouncement of marriage.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Choosing what to do with our tables! I was afraid the estate tables looked old and not timeless, but the round tables didn’t fit well in the space and made us question the table design. Going with the estate tables was the best idea for the venue space and the table design was perfect. We scattered rose petals across all the tables, mixed in with lanterns and candles and mirrors.

Our whole wedding was Southern-inspired! We met at a horse race so we asked guests to wear hats and bow ties! We used horseshoes to attach escort cards to and served mint juleps during the cocktail hour. Our dinner was fried chicken, shrimp and grits, BBQ sliders and sweet tea the quintessential Southern menu!

In what month did you get married? April
How many guests attended your wedding? 150
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. We used “Give Me Jesus” for the walk of the grandmothers and mothers, Air on G String for the entrance of the bridal party, and Cannon in D as I entered. During the ceremony, we had an Irish jig, a butterfly jig, play during the handfasting ceremony. We recessed to the Irish jig again.

Describe your wedding flowers. 
My flowers were beautiful! The bouquets were white and all different textures. We used roses, hydrangeas and peonies.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. 
Our cake was so delicious! It was a three-tiered round cake with cream-colored fondant and pearls on each layer, and a bunch of sugar roses that were dyed the same color as the bridesmaids’ dresses. Each tier was a different flavor of strawberry cream cheese marble pound cake, lemon citrus cake, and white chocolate cake!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
The handfasting ceremony, it has so much meaning to us and it meant so much to us that Jonathan’s father was able to be our minister and marry us.

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$25,000-$50,000

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
The venue. The wedding would not have been the same if we had a different venue. It set the perfect tone and was formal enough inside the house that we didn’t have to spend a lot of money to decorate it.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
Walking out of the balcony for my entrance and looking down to see Jonathan and all of our close family and friends there for our wedding day. I will never forget how special that moment was for me!

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
There is no such thing as planning too far in advance! Get as much done as soon as you can, I thought I kept up with the plans and suddenly two weeks before the wedding I was running around feeling so unprepared that I could barely appreciate the rehearsal and the people.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We are looking forward to buying a house this year! We have to save for a few months, but we are so excited to buy a house we can grow our family in.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
It was a slightly disastrous and stressful, actually. I had wanted to go to New York City for dress shopping with friends but my schedule made that challenging. I tried a few bridal shops here in Florida. One was particularly nice but had a small selection. I went in a few times to peruse with friends. When my mother was in town, we went back in and purchased two dresses. But as soon as I bought the dresses, I knew they were wrong and wanted to exchange them. I couldn’t sleep all night and called the next morning to find out the return policy was store credit only! Long story short, I returned those dresses, and after a lot of stress and a few sleepless nights, found two fun, beautiful dresses for the wedding. The first was an off-white sweetheart strapless dress with a draped sunburst bodice. The second was a Reem Acra Ready to Wear I had seen in store in black that I had them make in white for me. It was more of a romantic party dress and less of a princess ball gown to enjoy the evening festivities in.

Oh! The light in the next two shots is so dreamy! High fives Honey Heart Photography!

We did a twist on traditional vows, but did not each write our own piece. We were too shy for that! Instead, we spent time creating fun-loving words that related to our love and our relationship ” I, Sophie, choose you, Brian, as my best friend and the love of my life. I choose you to embark upon this great journey of marriage with me. You are my soulmate, my companion and my confidant.  I take you today to be my husband my teammate and my true love now and forever.  I love you.”

We had two readings and a Wedding Blessing at the ceremony. The first reading, “Love” by Roy Croft was read by my sister-in-law, Irene. The second reading ,”To Love is Not to Possess” by James Kavanaugh was read by my husband’s aunt Bettina. The officiant also read an anonymous wedding blessing that we loved. It read, “May the love you both feel for each today, grow and deepen as each day passes. May you know what it is to be a couple, and yet remain the individuals that brought the other to you. May your days together bring you great joys and much laughter. When sadness arrives, as at times it will, may the bond that you share and the promise you make to each other be enough to pull you through. Above all, may you always be friends; true friends. The kind of friends who are honest, and faithful, and loyal. Such friends can share lifetimes.”

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding?
 Neither my husband nor I are actually Southern (though maybe he would disagree because he was born in Aiken, SC). We had moved to Lexington from the Northeast the year before the wedding and fell in love with the area. We wanted the wedding to include all the things we loved about Lexington: the landscape, the natural beauty, the hospitality, the history and the cuisine.

Describe your wedding flowers.
 The wedding was mostly all white and cream tones, with natural accents, woods, metals, and greenery. The flowers were a reflection of that.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: I loved the simple ambiance and décor, but of course, the photo booth was a little bit of extra fun.

The wedding cake was the easiest decision we made during the entire planning process. We knew we wanted a simple white butter cream style cake, and we went to a few local bakeries trying cake and flavors. Martine’s Pastries was the clear winner. We both loved white cake and pistachio cake so we did half and half with simple butter cream fill. That was easy! We also had a Valentine’s ice cream bar and hot Spaulding’s donuts (both are local Lexington shops).

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
We both competed on the show jumping circuit as junior riders. We even had the same trainer for a period. We always knew each other but were never close. Brian was a bit older and we had different friends. Then, one year he seemed to take quite an interest in me, and we began to spend more and more time together. I guess the rest is history.
In what month did you get married? 
September
How many guests attended your wedding? 170
Did you decide to do a “first look”? Yes, we decided on a “first look.” We are pretty low-key and chose to do the majority of the photographs prior to the wedding. The pre-ceremony lighting was beautiful. It was the perfect opportunity to get good shots. Post ceremony, we were mostly done with pictures and could get right to the fun stuff. We do not consider ourselves very traditional anyway so that decision was an easy one.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. We had a string trio for our ceremony. The prelude was “Such Great Heights,” by The Postal Service. The processional was “Caribbean Blue” by Enya. The bridal processional was to “Here Comes the Sun,” by The Beatles and the recessional was to “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. Our first dance song was “By Your Side” by Sade.
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on?
 Our band “Jesse’s Girls’ from Atlanta and the hair team from Marie Robinson Salon in New York City.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?
 To be honest, it’s all kind of a blur now! But just being relaxed and enjoying the whole day while it was happening was memorable.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding?
 Don’t over-think it or stress too much in all the planning and the details. Its just one day in your life. Enjoy it!

Claudia + Brad’s engagement was a sweet and intimate moment just the two of them surrounded by a beautiful lake and mountains. I love that looking through these images from Paperlily Photography is reminiscent of their proposal story! It was by far the newlyweds’ favorite detail of the day. “My jaw literally dropped the first time I saw it,” said Claudia. For me, there’s something calming about their surroundings that makes their “I do’s” seem like they were meant to be and a part of the world’s grand romantic plan!

Like most gals, finding THE dress was top on the wedding planning to-do list, and I knew just the place to go. Fabulous Frocks of Atlanta is owned by a dear friend of mine that I have gotten to know through working in the wedding industry (I’m a makeup artist). Both the shop and the dresses are beautiful and it would be a bonus to have someone I trust help choose the perfect dress. My mom, sister and best friend took a trip to Fabulous Frocks with me. About four dresses into the process, I found the winner. It was a delicate, flowing Claire Pettibone that couldn’t have fit my vision for my dress any better.

Describe your wedding flowers. 
Sherry of Gertie Mae’s Floral Studio is a close friend and one of the most talented floral designers, so we knew exactly who we would come to for flowers. Flowers were really important to me and I trusted Sherry to bring my vision for soft, beautiful, organic-looking bouquets and arrangements to life. I really loved that each of the bridesmaids’ bouquets were unique, and each arrangement on the tables was different and in an array of pitchers, jars and vases that we collected and now have in our home.

Music was extremely important to us for both the ceremony and reception. We are big fans of bluegrass and knew that type of music would be unique and appropriate for our riverside wedding in the hills of North Georgia. Our band, The Whiskey Rebellion, played some fiddle tunes during the ceremony and accompanied Meredith, Brad’s childhood friend who is also a talented musician. She sang “For the Beauty of the Earth” as everyone was seated and then “Amazing Grace” for the processional. It was so special to us to have such a dear friend be a part of the ceremony in that way. Our first dance was to “Not With Haste” by Mumford & Sons. The dather-daughter dance was to “Find Your Wings” by Mark Harris and the mother-son dance was to “How Sweet It Is” by James Taylor.

The setting of our wedding felt like heaven to us. Our family friends offered their beautiful piece of land on the Soque River to use for the ceremony and reception. My jaw literally dropped the first time I saw it. We both envisioned our wedding being outdoors in the mountains of North Georgia, but this setting far exceeded our expectations with the beautiful view of the water, the open grassy fields and the giant trees lining the river.

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
The music for the ceremony and reception was so important to us, so we were definitely open to spending some money in that area. We love live music, especially bluegrass, and we thought that a bluegrass band would be different and fun and fit the laid back vibe of our wedding.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
The ceremony was so precious to both of us, and the sweetest moment of it was when our pastor had us both turn around and face all of our guests just to see who all was there for us and would be in our lives for a very long time. It was such a neat moment to soak in the beauty and love that surrounded us.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
Our riverside wedding couldn’t help but be Southern. We had a bluegrass band, beer was served in an iced-down canoe, bales of hay provided seating, food was served by food trucks and our getaway car was a 1940 Chevy. All of these details made the wedding feel very much like us. Nothing was stuffy or stiff. We just wanted to have fun and enjoy everyone and wanted the same for our guests.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Enjoy every single bit of your engagement. The parties. The planning. And enjoy every bit of it together. I know a lot of people say that the “wedding is for the bride.” It meant so much that Brad was interested in the details of our wedding and that we planned it as a team. Of course, we had tons of help from family and friends or there would have been no way that we could have pulled it off during our five-month engagement, but I felt like Brad and I were in the planning together and it made the big day that much more meaningful.

There is a bakery in Athens (where we both went to college) that makes the best cakes. We didn’t really have to decide where we would get our wedding cake. The harder decision was what flavor we would have. Since we couldn’t decide on a single flavor, the best we could do was narrow it down to our favorite six. It was one of the best decisions we made.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story.
 We met online! Not actually, but kind of. Our mutual friend had been trying to introduce me to Brad for a while. After weeks of hearing about this great guy, my friend “introduced” us via group Gchat. Ah yes. Just how I had always imagined meeting my husband in a “chatroom” while I was at work. I was so excited to finally get to know this guy I had heard all about, and luckily, he totally exceeded my expectations. I remembered telling my sister half joking, half totally and completely seriously, that this guy is my soulmate. Understandably, she didn’t really believe me since Brad and I still hadn’t met in person at that point. After a couple of weeks of emailing and instant messaging, we finally had plans to get together. I knew both of us were just a wee bit nervous about this meeting. There was a lot of build up because we had both already spilled our guts to each other, had a lot in common, and made each other laugh, but the real question was: are we attracted to each other? Thankfully, that was not an issue. We clicked! Hurray! We instantly became best friends and knew very quickly that we would be in each other’s lives for a very long time.
Describe the proposal. The day we got engaged was the day after our nephew was born. I was so caught up with this new addition to the family and wasn’t even thinking Brad was up to something when he took a random Wednesday and Thursday off. I figured it was just to be with the family and love on that new baby boy. After we left the hospital Wednesday, Brad suggested that we spend the night at his parents’ lake house. I was all in, yet still clueless as to what he was up to. The thing that was so strange to me was Brad was adamant about running back home to grab his swimsuit and contact case. I couldn’t understand why on earth we couldn’t just buy both on our way up to the lake. Little did I know, someone had to get a pretty piece of jewelry from the house. So the next day, we lounged around on the dock and just enjoyed being together. It didn’t feel any different that any other day. Even when Brad sat on the arm of my chair and was playing with my hair and saying all sorts of lovey, sweet things, I didn’t have a clue that this day was going to be one I remember forever. But as soon as he knelt down and reached into his pocket, it clicked. Something we had been waiting for was about to happen. Once I knew what was happening, I cried, like uncontrollably, and for a while. It was the sweetest, most surreal moment. We were together, just the two of us, surrounded by the beauty of the lake and mountains and were so filled with joy that we were one (big) step closer to spending the rest of our lives together. I remember in that moment wishing we could freeze that moment and stay there for a long time. It was precious. But we had to head back to Atlanta that evening, and I was surprised to be greeted by our closest family and friends at the restaurant where we had our first date to celebrate our engagement. Oh what a happy, happy day.
In what month did you get married? 
October 2012
How many guests attended your wedding? 
225
Did you decide to do a “first look”? Doing a “first look” really wasn’t an option for either of us. We both always imagined seeing the other for the first time at our ceremony, and it was well worth the wait and build up.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Not getting stressed! I have the tendency to stress, even about small stuff –even if it should be fun! I won’t lie, I worried throughout the planning more than I wish I had. Everything came together better and more beautifully that we could have imagined, so I should have just kicked back and chilled out.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Finally living life together! It is so much fun to wake up, drink coffee, live our day, and then come home to the same place. There is no more running around trying to mingle our uncertain schedules together. We know where we are going each day and that’s fun. And best of all, there is no more wedding planning! On a more serious note, we can’t wait to discover how to mesh and meld our life together as a married couple. Every single day we discover some small thing we love and appreciate about each other. We can’t wait to learn more about each other while growing old together. That’s the good stuff.

Gertie Mae’s is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Our first look let us have some time together before all of the rush of the wedding set in. We also wanted to be able to join our guests at the cocktail hour after the ceremony, so we wanted to do most of our pictures beforehand. It turned out to be a very intimate and memorable moment for both of us.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
My mom and I went wedding dress shopping together, and David’s mom joined us for the second day, which was wonderful. It was toward the end of summer when we started looking, and I was about to head back up to law school at Harvard, so we took two days and just went everywhere. I had some idea of what I wanted; I knew I wanted something fitted and easy to move in, and I knew David would love a more fitted dress as well, so I didn’t really consider a “princessy” gown. I narrowed it down to a more flowy, bohemian dress and the beautiful Rivini Chantilly lace and organza gown that I ultimately chose. I knew the Rivini dress was the winner when I looked at my mom after I put it on. Once I put on the veil, she really started to tear up! Once my dress was ready, my parents and I drove out to our family lake house, and my dad (a very talented photographer) shot my bridal portraits on our family boat, my waterski in my hand. It was a cold and cloudy day, but I’ll never forget how fun it was. The photos were amazing!

Describe your wedding flowers. 
We wanted our flowers to have a natural and rustic feel, and overall we went for loose and textural arrangements of earthy but bright pops of pink with more muted pinks, greens, lots of succulents, and sprigs of wheat and lavender. The pops of pink color in the bridesmaids’ bouquets really stood out against their blush-colored dresses. My bouquet was hand-tied and featured ivory hydrangea, bright pink garden roses, blush ranunculus, green millet, lavender, dusty miller, and champagne spray roses. The stems were tied with a wide burlap wrap, which was overlaid with a piece of lace from my mother’s wedding dress. We had two types of table centerpieces. The first was an arrangement of three mason jars of varying sizes with a textural mix of pink stock flowers, limonium, Queen Anne’s lace, ranunculus, and bright pink, open garden roses. The other tables had a low wooden box in the center, filled with moss and flowers similar to those on the other tables. Our favors and place cards for the evening were individual potted succulents, wrapped in burlap.

The ceremony was really important to us, and we wanted our musical choices to reflect our relationship and personalities. We had a string quartet play at the ceremony, but we mixed it up a little and didn’t go with too many classics. They played “Bittersweet Symphony” during the seating of the families and “Pachelbel’s Canon in D” for the processional. My dad and I walked down the aisle to “Stolen,” by Dashboard Confessional, a song that has special meaning for us because we listened to Dashboard Confessional together often when we were in high school. David has a deep love for Lady Gaga, so our recessional was a fun instrumental version of “Bad Romance” that got everybody up and ready to party.

Did you write your own vows? 
We did write our own vows, and we are so glad we did. It made the ceremony so special to us. David really got everyone laughing when he vowed to remove my glasses, books, pens, and computer from the bed every night. I often fall asleep working or reading a book, and David’s always there to take everything out of the bed and put it in a place where it won’t get damaged after I fall asleep.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
My brother read “A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Munkton, and our good friend Joey read “I carry your heart” by e.e. cummings.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
Before we got married, David spent two years restoring a historical airplane from WWII. As a surprise for our guests, the airplane, a B-17, made a dramatic flyover just before the ceremony. It was a moment that everyone will remember, and the flight crew joined us at the reception in their vintage flying gear. We also loved our getaway car. David’s dad worked for over a year to restore the family’s old 1939 Ford. David’s parents used that car as their getaway car, and it was so special to continue the tradition. Plus, the car looked amazing after all of David’s dad’s incredible work!

Our wedding was all about love, friends and family, good food, and a good party it’s hard to get more Southern that that! Vista West Ranch, where we got married, is a beautiful finished out barn with this spectacular Hill Country backdrop. We wanted to really embrace the venue, so we included lots of rustic Texas touches– succulents, burlap, cowboy boots, etc. Our menu was also inspired by our love of good Southern cooking. We had smoked quail nachos and fried green tomatoes as passed hors d’oeuvres and served buttermilk fried chicken with Gruyere mac and cheese as our main course. Our wedding was a celebration not only of our future together, but also of the history we share. We got married almost exactly ten years after our first date, and we wanted to incorporate the many adventures we’ve shared into our wedding. My dad worked for months to compile over a hundred photos of us with family and friends through the years. These were pinned to clotheslines hanging in the trees at our cocktail hour, for all the guests to see.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
Budgeting is hard. Weddings can cost a lot of money, and sometimes you wonder whether it’s worth it to spend so much on a single day. My parents were amazing and gave us a very generous budget, but we were trying to save some of that money to put toward a house down payment. We didn’t go absolutely crazy with wedding costs, but, of course, we spent more than we initially planned. Fortunately, it was such a special day, and one that so totally reflected our personalities and our love for each other, that we both feel without a doubt that it was worth it.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. 
Our wedding cake was a white sour cream cake with delicious raspberry filling. It was decorated to resemble a toasted marshmallow. Our groom’s cake, which was bittersweet chocolate with caramel filling, featured a replica of the B-17 bomber that flew over our ceremony, complete with our dog Gremlin (in flying gear!) on the wing. We also had several flavors of mini-pies displayed on old wooden crates, in all our favorite flavors blackberry cobbler, key lime, chocolate cream, and fried peach!

Can’t you see why we swooned over the image below?

We did an Argentine tango for our first dance, which was a ton of fun and required lots of dance lessons and practice! My dad and I did our first dance to “My Girl,” by the Temptations, which we because it’s the song played when the father and daughter play basketball in one of our favorite movies, “Father of the Bride.” David and his mom danced to “It’s a Wonderful World.”

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
We met in high school and went on our first date on October 4, 2002. We’ve been together ever since. We are very different people, but we are extremely good for one another. We have shared so much of our lives that it’s hard to even imagine what it’s like to not be together!

Describe the proposal. 
David proposed in a very sweet and simple way. We were in my family’s big red truck, driving around David’s neighborhood looking at Christmas lights with our dog Gremlin. David had the ring in his pocket and just leaned over and whispered, “Will you marry me?” David teases me because I responded by saying “Are you serious!?” But I definitely meant it in the most excited way possible.

In what month did you get married? 
October

How many guests attended your wedding? 
200

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$50,000-$75,000

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
We splurged on the food and the photographer. Both paid in spades. Our guests were so happy and full, and we have plenty of amazing photos to prove it!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
It’s hard to pick. Mostly, we loved having all of our friends and family there to celebrate such a special time with us. It was amazing to look around and just feel surrounded by love.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Just have fun, be creative, and let your personalities shine through. Several of our guests told us that ours was the most personal wedding they’d ever been to that it was just so “us.” That’s a real point of pride for both of us, and it’s what made our wedding unique. Also, pick someone whose style/taste/decision-making you trust and enlist their help! My mom is amazing; she understands my style, she’s super organized, and somehow she managed to fit in a billion wedding-planning tasks despite her busy doctor schedule. I was studying for the bar exam for several months before the wedding, and she was an absolute lifesaver during that time, as well as the weekend of the wedding.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We look forward to lots of future adventures together! David is currently building an airplane in the garage, and we can’t wait to travel all over the country in it!

I tried on about 20 wedding dresses with just my mom and Katherine. Terri and Krista at the Gown Boutique of Charleston were a dream team. They helped me to find my dream dress on my first and only day shopping for my dress. Everything about my Augusta Jones silk organza Tina dress was beyond perfect for me!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
We fell in love when I was playing the wingwoman for my friend and Tobi playing the wingman for his friend at a bar lounge in New York City. They became deeply engaged in a conversation and sent us away to the bar to get drinks. We went and waited for drinks to arrive for us to carry back. We started to talk to each other to be polite. Then, a very long time passed and we didn’t even realize that we had gotten no drinks, our friends were looking for us and the bar was closing! Tobi called me two days later and asked if I would like to grab dinner sometime. I gladly said yes and the rest is history! Our friends are both happily dating others and were the bridesmaid and groomsman at our wedding.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
I John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.”

The most memorable moment of the day was when we got to Lowndes Grove for our reception immediately after the ceremony. Tobi and I got off our trolley first about 10 minutes before the rest of our guests did. The first trolley had already dropped off a batch of guests 20 minutes earlier. The minute Tobi and I stepped off our trolley, we just stood on the gravel, several feet away from our guests, and just watched everything from a distance: from the jazz band his dad surprised us with and all the beautiful shades of pinks, peaches and golds surrounding the plantation, to our closest family and friends chatting away over Pimm’s Cups and Arnold Palmers. Knowing that everyone came to this one place from all over the place just for us made us so amazed and we felt so much joy in our hearts. It was also the only 10 minutes we got to take it all in, just by ourselves, before being swept back into the storybook night again! I will never forget those 10 minutes and the beautiful mental snapshot.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
So many things! In summary: Charleston, Arnold Palmers served in mason jars, a low country menu and dance cards, Southern hearts, hospitality and the love we all shared that day!

I wanted the wedding cake to resemble the top part of my wedding dress. It had a soft and beautiful layered petals look to it. We also tinted the cake to a very subtle blush. Other than the beautiful design, the flavors were the best and everyone loved it even those who weren’t cake fans! Th bottom tier was spiced cake with ginger butter cream icing, the next tier was a lemon cake with almond butter cream icing, the next tier was a hazelnut cake with spiced butter cream and the top tier was a hazelnut cake with spiced butter cream.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
I had always dreamed of my wedding sendoff to be me waving goodbye to our loved ones from a white horse carriage with my husband. When my wedding planner told me that regulations and traffic in the plantation’s neighborhood made this vision nearly impossible, I was devastated and could not believe that this would be not become a reality in Charleston! Then, the following morning, Katherine pulled the rabbit out of her hat and found me the white horse carriage that I’d imagined since I was 6!

Describe the proposal. 
Tobi proposed over a home-cooked meal the weekend after the weekend he planned to propose! Here is the short version of the story/original plan: We were taking a day trip to Richmond on a beautiful summer day because I had always talked about wanting to visit. He planned the entire day and was going to propose over a champagne dinner at the Jefferson Hotel except I had gotten into an argument with him while on our way to dinner because I was wondering if and when he would ever propose! I had no idea that was supposed to be the day!

In what month did you get married? 
September

How many guests attended your wedding? 
86

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. 
Our first dance was Let’s Stay Together by Al Greene

Describe your wedding flowers. 
The flowers were AMAZING and I cannot do them justice by trying to describe them here!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
The kissing bells that everyone also used as sendoff bells with pink, peach and lavender ribbons!

What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$75,000-$100,000

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
Definitely the gold flatware!

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
1. Know that you have every right in the universe to get everything you’ve ever dreamed of for your wedding day! It IS about your vision. Also know that the “perfect” wedding, like the “perfect” man, is one that is perfect for you, who you are, and what you stand for. Don’t let the pursuit of “perfection” get in the way of progress! 2. Stress as much as your body and mind can tolerate as long as you’re still having fun! 3. Do ask for your dude’s thoughts on things that he probably does have an opinion on, like music/entertainment and food. Definitely do the tasting together as a fun date especially if y’all love to eat! It’s his big day, too, and he’ll love you more for caring about what he thinks.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We are just feeling happy and grateful for where we are in life at this moment, and really cherish all the bliss, memories and faith that our love, family and friends have gifted us. In the immediate future, we are very much excited about building our life and creating wonderful memories, together, one day at a time. We also hope to welcome our first puppy to the family by our one year anniversary!

Remember that gorgeous light I spoke about in Part I? Here it is again in these divine portraits from Adam Barnes! Absolutely dreamy!

A mini-food fan, I know our Emily was completely smitten when she first peeked at Tami + James’ reception. I love how T + J not only served adorable and yummy food, but it came complete with a story the best part! Each course was a customized culinary trip through their lives, from “Childhood Favorites,” “Southern Comfort” and “Old Bay,” all the way to “The City That Never Sleeps.” What fun!

P.S. Be sure to scroll all the way down and read about T + J’s Great Gatsby moment! So cool!

What was your reception like? It was a tented reception where guests enjoyed our personalized four-course dinner and dancing afterward.  When planning the wedding, I wanted to incorporate something that would blow James away, and decided to surprise him with a cigar roller and scotch bar, which ended up being a huge hit at the reception!  The cigar roller did his thing on the patio, just outside of the tent, where many of our guests congregated after dinner to enjoy the last few minutes of sunlight and socialize among the trees and carriage house.  For an added unique touch of evening ambiance, we projected a romantic 1920s silent film in the background against the carriage house. The scene of bow-tied gentlemen enjoying cigars while entertaining each other and their lovely ladies was magical, drawing a comment from one guest likening the evening to one of the many painted by Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby.

Food is a big part of our lives. Growing up, we both had family dinners on Sundays and everyone always seemed to be in and around the kitchen enjoying the food and drink that day’s host was preparing. As a continuation of our quest to make our wedding personal, we took the opportunity to come up with a menu that reflected the path of our lives. We started with a “Childhood Favorites” course of Lobster corndogs, grilled cheese and tomato soup shooters, and a side of gold fish crackers. Then on to “Southern Comfort,” a nod to my Southern roots with white cheddar, gruyere and truffle oil mac and cheese, a country biscuit with Virginia ham, and shrimp and grits. The third course was “Old Bay,” a nod to James’ hometown and late night college years with Maryland crab cakes and a mini philly cheesesteaks with shoestring fries. To finish the meal and kick off the toasts, we ended with our fourth course, “The City That Never Sleeps,” which was a manhattan, the city where we currently make our home.

Describe some of the decorations or décor elements you used: We used vintage scales, vintage cigar boxes, homemade painted wooden signs, ball jars with burlap wrapping, homemade burlap silverware holders with individually sewn flowers, and a homemade “sweets” sign over the dessert bar
Describe your centerpieces: They were a mix of pale pink peonies, hydrangeas, dahlias and roses in vintage wood boxes, vintage tins and apothecary jars. They were arranged around stacked antique books and vintage tea cups with tea light candles inside.  The table number signs were designed to reflect specific parts of our personalities and story, including a Christian Louboutin pump, a bull and bear (James works on Wall Street), golf clubs, a Virginia peanut, and more.

My favorite detail of the wedding was the custom farm table my mother and father built for us to serve as the “head table.”  We weren’t allowed to see it until the day of the wedding and we were truly blown away. The most special part was that they engraved T + J on the top! It is something we can’t wait to move into our home (once we leave the cozy confines of the West Village) and incorporate into holiday family traditions. 

What was Southern about your wedding? Everything from the country music playing in the background, the sweet tea served pre-ceremony, and the “Southern Comfort” menu complete with shrimp and grits, mac and cheese and a delicious country biscuits with Virginia ham.
What was the most memorable or touching moment about your wedding day?  James’ speech, welcoming everyone to our wedding and hearing him talk about the first time he saw me and how he knew good things were to come.  It was quite the tear-jerker for all of the ladies at the wedding.
What were some of the highlights? The personalized menu was a hit with everyone definitely something bespoke that had the intended effect of sharing with our guests the formative times in our lives. Our guests also loved the scotch bar and cigar roller!
What was the funniest moment?  What was the scariest? The funniest moment was trying to get the ring bearer to sit with the wedding party for group pictures.  Lou, James’ best man ended up grabbing the back of his overalls to keep him from exploring the gardens! The scariest moment was standing up in front of all our family and friends and taking the leap!
Were there any family traditions you included in the reception? No, but James’ father gave a beautiful blessing before dinner.
Did you toss the garter or bouquet? Both.  James tossed my garter to Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady,” a fitting tune, especially given James’ love of the guitar and Jimi Hendrix in particular.  His college band mates got a kick out of it!
Tell us about your grand exit. As a parting gift, and to keep the party rolling, we made s’mores kits for all our guests.  We all piled into a trolley enjoying whatever cocktail happened to be in our hot little hands at the end of the night and proceeded to the fire pit at the resort where everyone was staying.  It was the perfect way to end the evening, where guests who hadn’t had a chance to catch up could banter about their latest happenings and new friendships made that evening were solidified.  James and I were a few of the last to leave, enjoying everyone’s well-wishes and hearing about their personal evening highlights.
Groom’s favorite detail of the wedding:  The custom cigar labels Tami had made for our scotch and cigar bar!!
What was the biggest challenge you faced when planning your wedding?  Time management. We wanted everything to be perfect and spent a lot of our time focused on the details.  As the date neared, we weren’t quite sure we could get it all done.  But, thanks to a combined family effort, everything went off without a hitch!
What range did your budget fall into?  $25,000-$50,000
Did you take a honeymoon?  If so, where? We took a wonderful trip to the Amalfi coast in Italy, spending time on the island of Capri and the coastal towns of Ravello and Positano.  We loved the casual glamour of the Mediterranean, and of course the food and wine!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?  We are tremendously blessed with many opportunities that may either keep us in New York, or take us somewhere new.  But, for now, we can’t wait to make the most of our time as a young couple in New York City.

Adam Barnes is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Tell me a bit about the wedding ceremony. We had a traditional non-denominational ceremony.  Our officiant, Gil, who was recommended by my boss, felt the same as us and focused the ceremony on God’s beautiful creation, love, and how to nurture, honor and enjoy it.
Who participated in your ceremony? We had two readers, our friends Allison Black and Claire Vorhees.  My 14-year-old sister, Niki also sang Ave Maria during the ceremony a performance people are still raving about!
Did you try anything new or untraditional? I walked down the aisle to Jont’s “Sweetheart,” a song that when I heard it, reminded me of James.  We had a very fun parting song, Barry Louis Polisar’s “All I Want is You” that set the tone for a perfect outdoor cocktail hour.

Our summer wedding was on June 23, 2012 at the Thomas Birkby House in Leesburg, Virginia. Even though we lived in New York, we are both Southern at heart – I with my Southern roots, and James with his country club gentleman style – so we thought Virginia would be the perfect spot.  It just felt like home.  When we visited the Thomas Birkby House, we were both blown away at the detail and care Ron and Judy put into maintaining the venue.  We also loved the old-time Virginia feel of the house and gardens.  As a logistical bonus, the house was 15 minutes away from my parent’s house – the perfect staging area for our farm table, flowers and centerpieces and the resort we used to spend time at while dating.  That weekend, our guests were able to enjoy the pool during the day and James had a prenuptial golf tournament with his father, uncles and groomsmen – one of his few requirements for the weekend.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story.  James and I met in 2007 while working for the same company in Northern Virginia.  We worked in separate offices and would have never met if fate wasn’t on our side. One summer afternoon, a mutual friend and colleague invited us both to lunch.  When James arrived at our office to meet for lunch, he saw, as he says, a “bouncy blonde” walking down the hall and instantly prayed, “Oh please God, let that be the friend I am going to lunch with!”  Luckily it was, and after a long lunch filled with laughter, our relationship began.  Unfortunately, time was not on our side as James was due to leave for business school in Chicago just six weeks after we met. We dated long distance for his two years at school, including a summer in New York.  While it was challenging at times, we enjoyed the sparks that flew each time we reunited and the dream of living together in New York City after graduation.
Describe the proposal: In 2009, we settled in to our first (and tiny!) New York City apartment in the West Village, which is where James popped the question.  It was a Thursday evening when James walked through the door of our apartment with a box of my favorite cupcakes from our neighborhood bakery, Magnolia.  I opened the box and to my surprise, there was the most beautiful engagement ring right next to a cupcake!  After proposing, James told me to pack my suitcase. I was shocked.  Not only had he planned a romantic trip for us, but also arranged the vacation days with my boss without me knowing.  We spent the long weekend drinking and eating pool-side, enjoying couples massages and lounging on the beach – the perfect way to celebrate our new engagement!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Vintage, personal, Southern.
What was the weather like on your big day?  Perfect – 85 degrees, sunny with a gentle summer breeze
How many guests attended your wedding? 100
Tell us about finding your wedding dress.  What is your favorite thing about it? I purchased my wedding dress from a little bridal boutique in NYC called Adriennes.  The designer is Jim Hjelm.  Since we were having a vintage-inspired wedding, I knew I wanted a lace dress.  What I loved specifically about this dress was the design of the lace.  It wasn’t your traditional Chantilly lace, it was more of a crochet lace.  I thought it was unique and I loved the way the mermaid style showed off my curves.
How did you spend the morning or afternoon before your big day? I spent most of the day with my bridesmaids getting our makeup and hair done.  James was running around making sure our guests were enjoying themselves by the pool.  On Friday, James had a golf tournament with his dad, uncles, friends and groomsmen, jokingly referred to as the Prenuptial Open.

Adam Barnes is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Eliza + Brigham look like the kind of couple you just want to squeeze (as Kristin would say) because they look so happy and in love! The two met while teaching at the same school and made every excuse to see each other during the day, from relocating distracted students to another class to borrowing Sharpies. We love how their roles as teachers made its way into their big day. Guests chose an apple to find their seating arrangements and leave sticky notes of marriage advice and the couple used fun chalkboard signage throughout the day. The details sure did make Eliza + Brigham’s venue look sweet but it only gets better when you learn that their big day took place on Brigham’s family farm. What a perfect place to start your married life!

Giant hugs to Abby Jiu who snapped all these lovely photos of E + B’s wedding!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
The whole process was much easier than I expected! I knew I wanted a simple dress that didn’t overwhelm my (very!) short frame and one that went with casual, country feel of our wedding, and was lucky to find a dress I loved right away!

It was really important to us that we were able to spend as much time with our guests as possible once they arrived, so we decided to do a “first look” so that we could get all of our photos done before the wedding began, while also making sure that we did not miss out on the magical moment of getting to see each other for the first time. While we initially made this decision for pragmatic reasons, it ended up being one of our favorite memories from the day a moment just for us before the excitement (and chaos!) of the wedding began.

What an amazing photo! I just love the laugh Eliza and her dad are sharing before the ceremony.

We put together our own vows based on a mix of phrases and verses that spoke to us. A favorite passage from our vows is: “From this day on, I will be your partner and companion, for you are my dearest love and my best friend. I look forward to the joy we will find in each other’s separate successes, as well as in those we share. I welcome the challenge of whatever obstacles we encounter, for I know that whatever we face, we face together.”

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
We got married on Brigham’s family farm in Poolesville, Maryland, so our wedding definitely had a Southern vibe built right in! We also added some “Southern details” of our own, such as using red bandanas as dinner napkins and serving comfort food like fried chicken and mac and cheese!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: 
In keeping with our teacher theme, we had an easel to which our guests stuck post-it notes of advice for life and love.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. 
Neither of us are big fans of wedding cake so we went with apple and chocolate pie!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
Planning a wedding in September the busiest time of year for teachers!

What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? 
A fabulous band that got everyone out on the dance floor!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
We met while teaching at the same DC charter school. The magnetism was there from the start, and we would invent every possible excuse to visit each other’s classrooms relocating distracted students to “buddy class,” borrowing Sharpies, etc.

Describe the proposal. 
Brigham came over to my apartment after work on a Friday, and awkwardly asked me to join him for a glass of wine on the building’s rooftop deck overlooking Rock Creek Park. I found his urgency strange on a cold, windy evening, but was still shocked when he took to a knee on the roof and asked for my hand. My response was “Are you kidding me?!” which he took for a “yes.”

In what month did you get married? 
September

How many guests attended your wedding? 
225

Describe your wedding flowers. 
We went a bright mix of rustic flowers in rich fall colors that would compliment the natural beauty of the farm where we were married.

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. Our first dance was the Jackson 5′s “ABC,” which got the party started as only two teachers could. We relieved Brigham’s dancing anxiety and my fear of public performance by having everyone join us on the dance floor after 30 seconds or so. The band ‘Round Midnight got the party going with all our Motown favorites, and channeled everything from Van Halen to Lady Gaga.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
Looking back at all of our family and friends as we walked through the evening sunshine at the end of the ceremony!

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? 
Try not to sweat the details so that you can really enjoy what the day is all about!

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We’re taking a long-awaited honeymoon to Italy this summer, then we both start in new roles at DC charter schools, which will keep us busy but growing. Our new puppy, Otis Redding Kiplinger is a trial run for the family we look forward to starting some day!

I just love when we get weddings with a surprising pop of color! Maggie + Alec’s wedding decor incorporated a lot of vintage charm, but I am just head over heels with their blue accents. It’s at once electric and romantic! If their color scheme has you pumped to see the rest of this wedding, too, I’ll go ahead and let you know that M + A don’t disappoint. With tradition in their hearts, but a love for the rolling Texas hills, the newlyweds decided to bring their ceremony outside. Maggie loved the stained glass windows at the altar and we have to agree. “The old, gothic church doors and stained glass church windows gave us the perfect combination of God’s presence in our vows and the beautiful creation,” said Maggie. Among the other heartfelt additions were the bouquet pin, gold ring and handkerchief that Maggie carried down the aisle all belonged to her great grandmother and namesake.

Big thanks to The Nichols to sharing this lovely day with us!

Vividian Design Studio of Kerrville, Texas created much of the floral décor. The color palette was soft ivory and white with rich shades of blue and vintage silver. My bouquet was a romantic mix of white peonies, vendela roses, white majolica spray roses, white hydrangea and white ranunculus. The stems were wrapped in antique French blue ribbon that my mom had collected and a silver name pin that belonged to my great-grandmother and namesake, Maggie was added to the ribbon. My bridesmaid’s carried bouquets of blue delphinium, muscari, cornflower, dusty miller and blue anemone. Our beautiful flower girls had headbands of fresh flowers and the men worn boutonnières of white anemone. The head tables at the reception were decorated with random pieces of antique silver serving as both candleholders for the beeswax candles and unique vases for ivory roses and hydrangea. The guest tables were decorated with antique and vintage crochet, silver, cut glass, books, clocks and wedding cake toppers. These were accented with ivory hydrangea, roses, dusty miller, spray roses ranunculus and a touch of blue delphinium.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? We did not do a “first look” because we were pretty traditional in our approach to our wedding. We wanted Alec’s first look to be as I walked down the aisle with my dad. This was difficult to accomplish at an outdoor wedding on a hilltop. The church doors that we used for the ceremony were the perfect solution to the “moment” that was very important to us both. We wanted my dress to be a complete surprise so Alec never even saw the dress before the doors opened at the ceremony. His reaction was perfect!

Our wedding was filled with so many wonderful details. My personal favorite was the unique stained glass windows that stood behind us during the ceremony. The three antique stained glass church windows were narrow and ten feet tall and were simple and elegant against the background of the gorgeous Texas Hill Country vista. The windows were the only “decorations” that we had for the ceremony. On the day of our wedding, it was predicted to rain heavily and the morning was overcast and drizzling. The rain stopped just an hour or so before the ceremony and the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the stained glass just as we began our vows.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
We did not have any particular readings at the ceremony, but the pastor spoke at length from several scriptures. We did have one of Alec’s groomsmen sing “Ten Thousand Reasons” by Matt Redman. We love the lyrics that speak to praising the Lord for all of His blessings to us and His overwhelming love for us when we don’t deserve it.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. 
We used only one song as the parents, grandparents, and my bridesmaids walked down the aisle, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by Bethany Dillon. I walked down the aisle to an instrumental of “Before the Throne of God Above” by the King’s Chamber Orchestra. Adam Naylor, one of Alec’s groomsmen, sang “Ten Thousand Reasons” by Matt Redman during the ceremony. The recessional song was a mash-up of “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and “God Bless Texas” by Little Texas in recognition of our heritages from the proud states of Alabama and Texas. We walked into the reception to “Crazy Little Thing called Love” by Michael Buble. Alec and I danced to “When You Say You Love Me” by Josh Groban. I picked the song I wanted for my first dance when I was in middle school. After all the years of practice dancing in the living room with my family, it was a surreal moment in my wedding to actually dance to the song with my husband. My father and I danced to “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw and Alec and his mom danced to “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
My dress was actually the first one I tried on! It was in a small bridal shop in my hometown of Boerne, Texas. I really liked it, but I didn’t want to buy the first dress I saw! After spending another day or two trying on dresses with my sister and my mom all over San Antonio, I realized that I kept choosing the exact same style of dress that I had first tried on at Beatitude. We returned home to Boerne and I purchased both the dress and the veil from my hometown store!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
Our wedding was all about the Southern details. I guess you could describe it as classic Southern elegance with charming vintage accents. The décor for the reception and the cocktail hour was tarnished antique silver, accents of old white paint pieces and the comfort of tea-stained crochet. The guests picked up an antique skeleton key tied to a tag with a clock face stamped to a specific time. The tables were decorated with ivory silk tablecloths topped with antique crocheted table accents with a combination of two centerpieces. Half of the tables were antique silver champagne buckets filled with ivory and white hydrangeas, roses, ranunculus and dusty miller surrounded by antique cut glass sherbet glasses of varying old patterns filled with floating candles. The other half of the tables were decorated with heavy antique silver trays topped with vintage wedding cake toppers from the 1940s and 1950s collected by my mom. The cake toppers were under a glass cloche and were surrounded by a ring of ivory spray roses. Each table was accented by old books of varying shades of our accent color of French blue and each table had an antique, silver Big Ben Westclox clock. The clock for each table was set to a specific time and this corresponded to the clock face stamp on the escort cards. Another Southern tradition with a twist was the ceremony. We wanted the ceremony to be in a church, but we also wanted to be outside in order to take advantage of the venue’s views of the Texas Hill Country. The old, gothic church doors and stained glass church windows gave us the perfect combination of God’s presence in our vows and the beautiful creation. It was a church without walls. I also continued the bridal traditions from my family by carrying a gold ring of my namesake and great-grandmother, Maggie Webster and a ring of my grandmother’s, Pat Webster. I also carried a tatted handkerchief made by Maggie that all my cousins have also carried on their wedding day. The greatest Southern tradition that was present at our wedding was the tremendous of amount of help we had from family and friends for setup and for cleanup. There were at least thirty people that spent hours helping to make our day perfect! We literally could not have accomplished either the setup or the clean up without their kindness and show of Southern hospitality and love.

I’m most happy we splurged on the vintage pieces from Revive Vintage Rentals, the doors and windows for the ceremony, the unique tables for the cakes, the wooden head tables, upholstered couches and chairs for seating and various accent pieces gave our wedding a warm, personalized feel as if our family had brought the furniture from our home. All of the details of this wedding were taken care of beautifully by Revive Vintage Rentals. They worked diligently to make every detail unique and so special.

It took me awhile to decide if I wanted to do just cake or cake and cupcakes. I love red velvet cupcakes, but in the end I decided just to go with a traditional cake. The bride’s cake was a simple three-layer, round, white cake with buttercream icing and a simple pattern of random linear etchings. It was topped with ivory roses and hydrangeas. The groom’s cake was a layered, square chocolate cake with chocolate icing. It was covered in crumbled Oreos and chocolate covered strawberries. We added a punch bowl of strawberries and chocolate sauce nearby for those that might want a little more or just the fruit. Both of the cakes were made by a small place in my hometown called Bumdoodler’s. It is hard to find better tasting icing or cake anywhere. My sister’s diet is gluten free and so we had a whole three-layered cake made completely from Rice Krispies, which was a huge hit with everyone.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
Alec and I met working as counselors at Pine Cove Christian Summer Camps in Tyler, Texas. Alec went to the University of Alabama for undergrad and I went to the University of Texas at Austin. We were both counselors during the summer, but we didn’t go on our first date until the NCAA football National Championship between Alabama and Texas at the Rose Bowl in January. He asked me to go to dinner with him the night before the game and so we went on our first date in California! We officially started dating in February after he asked my father’s permission.
Describe the proposal. 
The proposal was perfect! We were on vacation in Hawaii with my family and we spent the day just relaxing on the beach. In the afternoon, the girls were treated to a massage at a nice resort and I thought Alec was snorkeling with my brother. After our massages, we drove to a new beach to pick up my brother and Alec. My dad and I walked down the beach to find their snorkeling spot and, to my great surprise, Alec was standing by a blanket on the sand all dressed up. My dad hugged me, and then Alec very humbly and sweetly asked me to marry him as the sun was setting on the Pacific. We were on the beach made famous by South Pacific on the North Shore of Kauai. We brought home a small jar of sand from the spot on the beach where I said, “Yes!”
In what month did you get married? 
March
How many guests attended your wedding? 
250
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
I am actually currently in my first year of medical school in San Antonio, so it was difficult to balance planning the wedding and the details with studying for school. Thankfully, my mother and bridesmaids were incredibly helpful with all the details that needed to be completed. Also, Alec was living in Alabama for the first half of our engagement, so it was difficult to coordinate some events that involved his input.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$50,000-$75,000
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
I have so many moments from that day that I will never forget, but I have one that stands out. Our wedding ceremony was at the top of a hill on the open hillside. We had these old wooden church doors set up at the end of the aisle that were closed when I was driven up to the site. I was so nervous as I got out of the car and got ready to walk down the aisle. My dad took my arm and the ushers opened the door. All I could see was Alec’s face. He was in tears and I never lost eye contact with him as I walked toward him. All my anxiety was completely gone as soon as I saw his face.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Ask those around you for help. There is no way you can plan a wedding by yourself and stay sane. Use the knowledge base that is already around you. Also, figure out the details that you absolutely want and then try to be flexible on some aspects. It will make it less stressful for everyone.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
I will be in medical school for several more years and Alec found a job in the oil and gas field, which was an absolute blessing from God. We pray that as a couple we serve and bless those around us and continue to run the race that God has set out in our future.