We’ve tapped the Southern transplants and Southerners-at-heart in New York, then we moved the party back down to Richmond, Virginia. Today, my friends, we’re bringing the V5 goodness to Florida!

Image credit: Corbin Gurkin. See more of this shoot here!

We’re looking for a few bridesmaids to grace the pages of Southern Weddings V5. If you’re free on June 5 and 6 and near the Boca Raton/West Palm Beach/Palm Beach area, email us at howdy@iloveswmag.com!

Image Credit: Bryan Johnson. See more of this shoot here!

In your email, be sure to include a recent headshot (no need for professional photos, here, we just want to see your lovely face!), a few candids and your height. We promise it’s going to be a blast!

We can’t wait to hear from you!

We love moms. Love ‘em! And if they’re Southern, all the better! (Though, I must say that my Mom is not Southern, and she is still pretty awesome :) In honor of Mother’s Day and all moms everywhere, we thought we’d share a few of our favorite wedding photos featuring moms, as well as a few memories of each of our moms!

Clockwise from top: 509 Photo (submitted by Katherine Miller Events) Peach Blossom Photography, Scott Hopkins Photography, and Amanda Watson

MARISSA
What I called my Mom growing up: Mama, Mommy… and Mother if I was giving her ‘tude. Hopefully not too often, though! :)
Thing I most admire about my Mom: Her positivity. Even though I sometimes tell her she has rose-colored glasses, I am so grateful she has taught me to be a glass half full kind of girl.
Quality my Mom has that I most hope to emulate: Motherlyness (if that’s a word), or being a great mom. My Mom taught my sister and I so much growing up, and someday I hope to be a loving, creative, and fun mom to my own children.
I’ll know I’m turning into my mother when I speak really loud and tell a story with WAY too many details. Wait.. I’m pretty sure I do this already : )
Favorite memory of my Mom: When we went on a vacation and put shampoo in the hotel’s hot tub. The next morning there was a man actually sweeping the giant knee-high bubbles out of the pool area. Apparently the shampoo went crazy in the night!
My favorite thing to do with my Mom now: Get pedicures together.
Favorite food/dish my Mom makes: My Mom makes THE most amazing pumpkin cake. It’s seriously to die for. That, and made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls. Yum!

From top: Natalie Franke, Renee Sprink, and Nancy Ray

EMILY
What I called my Mom growing up: Mommy or Mom
Thing I most admire about my Mom: Her warmth. She can put anyone at ease, and is a fabulous hostess!
Quality my Mom has that I most hope to emulate: Unconditional love for her children. Growing up, I was completely secure in the knowledge that there was nothing I or anyone else could do that would make my parents stop loving me. What a gift!
I’ll know I’m turning into my mother when I start making friends in the grocery checkout line.
When I was growing up my favorite thing to do with my Mom was sneaking into church balconies during wedding ceremonies at our church (see my SW bio!).
My favorite thing to do with my Mom now: We both enjoy cruising around a beautiful neighborhood and ogling the houses.
Favorite food/dish my Mom makes: I know this sounds gross, but it’s a dish called beef nuggets :) I insist on having it made for my birthday every year!

Clockwise from top: Whitebox Weddings, Landon Jacob, submitted by Desiree Dawn Events, and Stephen DeVries

SIERRA
What I called my Mom growing up: Mom, or her first name
Best advice my Mom ever gave me: Be thoughtful. She loves to pick up flowers, gifts or food when visiting others, pays attention to your feelings and tries to brighten up your day.
Thing I most admire about my Mom: She’s hardworking and driven, and would do anything for her children.
Quality my Mom has that I most hope to emulate: Her strength. She didn’t shed a tear when my favorite cat died!
I’ll know I’m turning into my mother when I start telling similar jokes (my boyfriend usually calls me out on this).
Favorite memory of my Mom: I can think of silly and serious examples, but I’ll go with silly. When my brother and I were much younger, we were riding in the car with her while she was talking on the phone with my dad. Something he said made her angry, and she threw her cell phone as hard as she could on the dashboard, and it bounced all the way into the back seat where my brother caught. We couldn’t help but all start laughing.
When I was growing up my favorite thing to do with my Mom was go to the beach for a girls’ weekend!
My favorite thing to do with my Mom now: Still the beach (don’t think that will ever go out of style!) or get pedicures.
Favorite food/dish my Mom makes: almond chicken

Dixie Pixel, Photography by Shea (submitted by M. Elizabeth Events), and Christie Meresse

NICOLE
What I called my Mom growing up: I called her Mommy growing up. Now I call her Momma.
Thing I most admire about my Mom: Her courage.
Quality my Mom has that I most hope to emulate: Her young-at-heart mentality. I’m positive that she dances in the car as much as I do.
I’ll know I’m turning into my mother when I search for a new recipe to try for dinner on Pinterest and realize I’ve only pinned desserts.
Favorite memory of my Mom: My mom owned a tailoring shop when I was little, so we often made trips to the fabric store. The ladies who worked there would always give me a bag of fabric scraps to take home and afterward, my mom and I would go through the bag together and think up fun ways to used them.
When I was growing up my favorite thing to do with my Mom was start a new craft project.
My favorite thing to do with my Mom now: Start more craft projects!
Favorite food/dish my Mom makes: Everything. Seriously.

Clockwise from top: 5 Rings Photo, White-Klump Photography, Elisa B Photography, and Scobey Photography

LARA
What I called my Mom growing up: Ma. (M-ah) I remember hollering this through the house! Ma! Ma!
Best advice my Mom ever gave me: Just do it. This was in reference to acting on my dreams, not cleaning my room : ) Just dive in and do it instead of thinking and worrying about it. My mom knows how to make things happen!
Thing I most admire about my Mom: She is the most giving woman I know. She has sacrificed so much for our family – from caring for my little brother when he was in the hospital for months, putting our house back together after multiple hurricanes, driving us cross-country a billion times to move into dorms and new apartments, listening when we cried about life, physically caring for us when we were ill, making us laugh, cooking us amazing dinners… oh, I could go on and on!
Quality my Mom has that I most hope to emulate: Being a devoted mother. Nothing came before us.
I’ll know I’m turning into my mother when I sing silly songs to my child :)
Favorite memory of my Mom: Every dinner she ever cooked. Meals were family time, and I’m so grateful for that.
When I was growing up my favorite thing to do with my Mom was take road trips to Peach Park in Clanton, Alabama. My brother and I loved it!
My favorite thing to do with my Mom now: Watch her dance around with Grace.
Favorite food/dish my Mom makes: Southern food! Green beans, black-eyed peas, corn bread, sweet potatoes, okra, and chicken!

And to end, a sweet photo of Lara’s family – four generations together.

Emily March

Wishing all of our mother of the bride and mother of the groom readers (we know you’re out there!) a very happy Mother’s Day!!

xo,
Lara, Emily, Marissa, Nicole, and Sierra

5 Rings Photo, Amanda Watson, Christie Meresse, Desiree Dawn Events, Dixie Pixel, Elisa B Photography, Katherine Miller Events, Landon Jacob, M. Elizabeth Events, Nancy Ray, Natalie Franke, Peach Blossom Photography, Renee Sprink, Scobey Photography, Scott Hopkins Photography, Stephen DeVries, and Whitebox Weddings are all fabulous members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory! Emily March, Landon Jacob, Natalie Franke, and White-Klump Photography are all fabulous Southern Weddings sponsors!

We really couldn’t tear ourselves away from the Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby celebrations once Monday rolled around. (I may have had a harder time with this. I’m sure I made chips and guac every day this week.) Did anyone do anything spectacular on Saturday?

A fun Fiesta Celebration in honor of Texas’ independence was the perfect way to ease the transition.

Emily’s getting pumped for her trip to the National Stationery Show in just a few weeks. As a paper prelude, we featured four Southern spring invitation suites from Kristy at Momental Designs.

April shower bring May flowers, you say? We thought it was the perfect time to show off the beautiful bouquets that graced the pages of V4.

One look at Emily’s visit to the Inn at Palmetto Bluff might make you a little green with envy. Charming cottages, wonderful food and 20,000 acres of natural beauty make it an ideal honeymoon getaway.

We were all ears when Emily told us about what accessories she’ll be donning at her wedding in September. Lovely shoes, simple jewelry and a gorgeous veil? We’re big fans. Bonus points to Em for taking the “borrowed” in “something old, new, borrowed and blue” to the next level!

We’re bringing our model call back down below the Mason-Dixon! We know we’ve got some gorgeous readers, so if you’re free on June 20 and near Richmond, Virginia, join us for a V5 photo shoot!

Southern Stems never fail to make us fall in love with them. This week, Texas’ state flower, the bluebonnet stole our hearts with their vivid color.

Real Weddings are the bees knees!

Gabrielle + Paul attributed the warm Southern atmosphere of their wedding to their gorgeous venue. We think the addition of pink peonies and luxe linens are the cherry on top! See it here.

Good news for the weekend!

Sperry Tents have arrived in Charleston! You might be familiar with these pretty sailcloth tents (Emily’s using them for her own wedding!), and we’re thrilled that they’ve expanded their original Charlottesville, Virginia office to Charleston. The new office will also offer lighting, flooring, furniture by request, and other rental accessories! See their site for more details.

Before y’all leave, we had to share these adorable engagement photos of Sherry and her beau. How sweet is it that she included a copy of V4 in her session? Thanks Sherry and Epic Photography!

Finally, happy wedding weekend to one of our Southern Bride Bloggers, Tina!! We’re sending lots of love your way!

Have an amazing weekend, lovelies!

Y’all, you know that we at Southern Weddings are never going to be the type to encourage you to update your Facebook status at the altar. Not. Happening. Ever. That’s a moment when technology should be the furthest thing from your mind!

But, we’ll be among the first to say that gizmos and gadgets absolutely have a place in wedding planning – a big place! After all, new-fangled things like blogs and Lover.ly and Pinterest have revolutionized the way weddings are planned, and we love that. And today, we’re happy to introduce you to one more piece of technology that will change the way you think about weddings!

Appy Couple is the first truly mobile (and stylish!) way to share your wedding with friends, family, and guests. That’s right, we’re talking about your very own wedding app :) Among just a few things your app can do?

Most importantly, it will give your guests all the info they need, when they need it: direction mapping, travel details, dress code, ceremony start time, childcare arrangements…

For our eco-conscious belles, Appy Couple offers a number of green benefits: it includes an RSVP function, and makes printing out complex direction cards a thing of the past.

For our stylish belles (and who among you is not stylish??), Appy Couple offers 100+ designs to choose from, in so many colors and combinations that you’re sure to find something that matches your wedding aesthetic.

Concerned about less tech-savvy guests? Don’t be! In addition to being on iPhone and Android, your app will be on the web in the form of a partner wedding website — perfect for guests who don’t have smartphones. And don’t worry about privacy, either — guests can only see events they’re invited to.

Possibly the coolest feature? Guests can upload pictures within the app! How fun would that gallery be to scroll through on your honeymoon?!

Best news of the day: For a limited time, Appy Couple is offering our lovely readers the opportunity to get Appy Couple free! Use code SWSP1 at appycouple.com after you choose your design. They’re in invitation-only beta right now, and would love your feedback.

Y’all, I already have a wedding website, but I think I know what I’m going to be doing this weekend. Tell me: Which is your favorite design? Mine has got to be the “Nautical Summer,” even if it’s not the perfect fit for the wedding I’m planning. I’m just about dying over the cuteness!!

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been exploring blooms that are particularly prized beneath the Mason-Dixon Line. Today, it’s all about Texas, because we’re chatting about the bluebonnet!

Bluebonnet image by Athena Pelton, overlay by SW

Beautiful! I’m sure the heart of every Texan reading this post is swelling with pride, because the bluebonnets are truly a treasure of the Lone Star State. They’re also, of course, it’s state flower.

Clockwise from top: Chase A. Fountain via the Dallas News, via Aggie Horticulture, CarolWatson on flickr, and Carla Stewart

Bluebonnets are a wildlower, and they grow over the winter, generally blooming in the last week of March or the first week of April. Because the seeds are encased in a hard outer “shell” that must be worn down by wind and rain, it’s said that the worse the winter, the prettier the bluebonnets. That’s a nice reward, don’t you think? According to Texans, the best bluebonnet spotting area is the triangle formed by Austin, San Antonio, and San Angelo.

Because of the short, unpredictable growing season, it’s risky to include bluebonnets in your plans for things like bouquets or centerpieces. If you do, make sure you have a backup bloom in mind! Grape hyacinth or muscari is a more widely-available spring flower with a similar look. Here’s a little inspiration for those of you getting married in the bluebonnet sweet spot:

From top: first two by Arielle Doneson, middle three by McGowan Images via Style Me Pretty, and last two by Melissa Schollaert via Southern Weddings

Keep in mind that we know not all of these images are of bluebonnets (though most are!), but we figured the shape and hue of the blooms would give you a good approximation of what bluebonnets might look like if you chose to use them!

Even if you’re getting married in, say, September, working with your photographer to shoot your engagement photos during bluebonnet season is a great way to work some Texas pride into your wedding! They do make a beautiful backdrop…

Amanda Marie Portraits

One last fun fact about bluebonnets? They have five leaves, which are said to represent the five points of the Texas Lone Star :)

What’s your favorite Southern stem? Any Texans out there want to share some Texas pride or up close and personal bluebonnet encounters in the comments?

P.S. Don’t miss our posts on camellias and wisteria!

Melissa Schollaert is a fabulous member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!