Southern Weddings

Next to the adorably bow-tied ring bearers, my favorite thing about Elizabeth + Paul’s North Carolina wedding is definitely the mix of boutonnières, courtesy of Aria Floral.  The Blue Ridge Mountain proved an ideal backdrop for the couple’s intimate Rich Mountain nuptials.  We’re just glad HH Fine Arts Photography was there to capture the rustic affair, planned and designed by the talented team at Asheville Event Co.  Emily, of course, loves how the bride wore her mother’s lace veil with her Reva Mivasagar gown, and I’m straight-up crazy for the bridesmaids’ bejeweled sandals.  Now I know some brides are all about birdseed, rose petals or even bubbles, but dashing through an archway of glittery-gold sparklers is my favorite way for newlyweds to make their exit!  Be sure to view the photographer’s original post here!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  Paul moved to Brevard after graduating from Belmont Abbey College and worked as a counselor at camp Chosatonga and later as a bar tender at Dugan’s Pub.  I had just transferred up to Brevard College to be in the mountains and to study environmental studies. After seeing each other around town, we officially met at the climbing gym back in 2005. Paul took me out to eat at the local drive-through and won my heart by paying quarters J. We each moved away at different times in 2006, but we came back to each other and have been together ever since.
Describe the proposal. Paul and I went down to St. John’s with his parents the week of my birthday in September of 2008.  Paul did a good job of making the proposal a complete surprise by not telling anyone and by waiting until a couple of days after my birthday to make his move J. We went to this beautiful spot called Lameshur Bay where we went snorkeling. As I walked on the beach picking up shells, I picked up a shell and told Paul to look how pretty it was.  I turned around to find Paul on his knee with a sapphire stone the exact color of the Caribbean in a small Ziploc bag hanging from his hand.  He said, “Look how pretty this one is” before asking me to marry him.  Paul then pulled out a little piece of paper with a picture of the ring he was having made for me when we realized the stone had fallen out of the bag!  As Paul paced the beach, I leaned down at my feet and started picking up shells to see if the sapphire had fallen underneath one of them. I said a quick prayer that if this was meant to be I would find the stone.  I then opened my eyes to find the sparkling blue stone resting on the white sand.  With a huge sigh of relief and a great deal of laughter, we put the sapphire back in the bag and swam ashore to share the news with our family. It was beautiful!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Beautiful, happy and magical.
What was your favorite design element of your big day? The backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains coupled with a big open green pasture and the natural elements scattered throughout the entire wedding.
Describe your wedding flowers:  Our floral decorations were colorful, aromatic and even edible!  They were filled with poppies, peonies, mint, lavender, strawberries, blueberries and other local flowers, greenery and branches.
Describe your wedding cake: Our wedding cake was made by a dear friend of ours, Kristen Tekell. She created an absolutely delicious red velvet cake covered in cream cheese icing with the inner layers filled with her special ingredient, Nutella. With the help of another close friend, Jesse Lutz, she also made chocolate cupcakes dipped in chocolate Ganache and topped with rock candy to represent our love for rock climbing.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding? Our dog, Wendall, was the ring bearer.  Our weddings bands were in a little jewelry bag attached to his collar.  We also had our little cousins serve as aisle boys rather than having flower girls. They were absolutely adorable!  The boys wore seersucker suits and carried rustic buckets filled with lavender.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We are actually going to have a little addition to our family in April.  Although unplanned, we could not be more excited about our little baby blessing on the way!!! 

Congratulations, Elizabeth + Paul!  We can’t wait to see pictures of your new baby!

Asheville Event Co. is a Southern Weddings sponsor.