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Monthly Archives: February 2010

Here at Southern Weddings, we like to think that we know a lot (a whole lot) about weddings, and we know many of our readers are newly-engaged brides-to-be who flock to the SW for the latest in Southern (and generally awesome) inspiration.  But one of our resolutions for 2010 was to make sure we were reaching all of our readers, and not just the blushing brides… hence regular appearances by our own Emily via Etiquette with Emily.  (If you missed her most recent column, make sure you check it out!)  Through her prim, proper and always hotly-contested blog spots, Emily speaks to the true Southerner in all of us, whether we’re engaged and in the throes of planning a wedding even the original Queen of Ps and Qs would applaud or simply concerned with the do’s and don’ts of proper behavior.

But while we’ve got a place where our manners can go for a biweekly check-up, there’s a niche we think we’ve been overlooking.  Yes, married women of Southern Weddings: we’re looking at you!  Somehow, in the frenzy of helping brides plan the perfect Southern (or Southern-inspired, as the case may be) wedding, we’ve totally overlooked what comes after the big day and what your wedding is really all about: the marriage.

Enter Katie Brown.  Wife, mother and minion in the ivy league education system by day, Katie is also the founder and lead writer of the endlessly popular Confessions of a Young Married Couple.  Here, in her own little corner of the internet, Katie explores the ups, the downs and the plain-old in-betweens of the first years of marriage in her quest to prove that happily-ever-after is only just the beginning. 

This month, Katie will join the SW team as the resident Relationship Expert.  Once a month, she will answer your questions about life after the “I Dos.”  While Katie is the first to admit she doesn’t always have the answers, her relaxed and refreshingly honest views on marriage make her own struggles and triumphs a lesson for us all.

We really couldn’t think of a better partner to kick of 2010 with, and are so excited to be welcoming Katie to the SW blog!  I think it’s official: Southern Wedding is now your one-stop shop for everything wedding (and marriage!).  Be sure to catch Katie’s debut column today at 3:00 p.m. – just in time for a little afternoon reading.

P.S.  Katie’s blog, Confessions of a Young Married Couple, is currently up for The 2010 Bloggies Top Weblog of the Year!  Seriously… how exciting slash awesome is that?!  Winners will be announced in February/March.  We’ll definitely be keeping our fingers crossed…

Written with love by Southern Weddings
9 Comments
  1. avatar Dandy reply

    Woo hoo!! Yay Katie!

  2. avatar Meryn reply

    You couldn’t have picked a more honest, funny, smart, and eloquent writer than Katie to represent SW. She is the epitome of grace with an occasional snort-laugh thrown in to remind you she is, indeed, real. Though I’m not married or engaged or a mother or a homeowner, she speaks to me and makes me REALLY look forward to what happens next in life. Congrats, Katie!!!

  3. avatar Katherine reply

    YAY I love Katie’s blog AND I love this blog, what a perfect combo!

  4. avatar Dayla reply

    LOVE LOVE LOVE Confessions! Katie is a riot!

  5. avatar Leslie reply

    I’m so excited about this! I’ve been reading Katie’s blog for about a year and I LOVE it! She’s so funny- she’ll be a great addition to SW

  6. avatar BFF Emily reply

    I love that girl!

  7. avatar tessabella76 reply

    Love love love Confessions!!! Welcome Katie!!!

  8. avatar Erica reply

    Awesome addition!! Another great idea would be to have advice for bridesmaids.

  9. avatar Southern Weddings reply

    Hi Erica!I really, really like your idea! We’ll give it some thought and see what we can do!–Emily @ Southern Weddings

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Most couples insist they want their reception to be an all-out, blow-out party, but I’m pretty sure Grace + Jamie’s South Carolina wedding was the best party their guests had ever attended.  I mean, just look at the Technicolor images from Tim Willoughby: does this backyard wedding not scream carnival celebration?  I know there’s a whole lot of awesomeness going on in this post, so let me highlight a few of my favorites: bridesmaids in Kelly green David’s Bridal frocks with ultra-cute Converse All-Stars, homemade gingerbread cookies in spiffy icing get-ups, a balloon archway at the end of the bride’s driveway, DIY wildflower bouquets… a-mazing!  We know you want to see more of Grace + Jamie’s fun celebration, so we have another post to share with you!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  It’s kind of funny because I was actually his sister’s housemate in college and she was the one who originally introduced us.  I would always cut his hair, which is how we started to get to know each other.  While we were in college, he was always dating someone else, which was just fine with me – since we weren’t interested in each other that way :)  Things started to happen when his sister got engaged and we were both asked to be in the wedding. Guess who we got paired up with to walk down the aisle? You got it! We got paired up with each other! We had so much fun with each other that weekend that he gave me a call afterwards (don’t worry – he was single at that time).  At that point, he was still finishing up school in Ohio and I was living in Colorado.  On phone call number two, he asked me if he could take me on a date in three weeks. I asked him how he would go about doing that – being long distance and all – and he answered that he would fly out to Denver and take me on a date. I was floored that he would fly all the way out to Denver JUST to take me on a date! WHOA! Anyway, he took me snowboarding at Vail and asked me to be his girlfriend – and the rest is history!
Describe the proposal.  It was perfectly simple.  He had gone up to Michigan right before Thanksgiving (without my knowledge) to take my dad out to lunch and to ask him if he could have my hand in marriage.  It wasn’t until after Christmas, when we were in Cincinnati for a wedding, that he proposed.  The day after the wedding, we went to mass at a church that was set on hill overlooking the city.  It was a beautiful, clear December day and after mass, Jamie wanted to walk around the little cobblestone street German town outside the church.  I was freezing and couldn’t understand why he wanted to “look at one more look out point” – but I’m so happy that he did!  We ended up right in front of the church where we started. There was a beautiful lookout right in front!  He said so many beautiful things to me but it wasn’t until he started to take my warm coffee out of my hand that I began to suspect that something was up. He asked me to marry him and guess what? I said yes :)
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Joyful, festive, whimsical
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Really, our personalities were the biggest inspiration.  We are both very laid back and love playing games more than anything else!  With regards to the ceremony, we just wanted the joy in our relationship to shine through the readings, the homily and the music.  With regards to the reception, we were going for a small-town carnival feel.  The budget was tight, but our priorities were the DJ, the alcohol, the photographer and the games.  I think we did alright!
What was your favorite design element of your big day? It’s a toss-up between the balloon arches (which were on either end of our driveway), and the big round light bulbs strung over the tables.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our shoes! All of the bridesmaids (and even the bride!) wore white Converse All Stars, and all of the groomsmen (and the groom) wore black slip on Vans.

lara Written with love by Lara Casey
2 Comments
  1. avatar dognbird reply

    What a whimsical day! Chuck Taylors FTW

  2. avatar Tessa, Utah Bride and Groom reply

    The classic white Converse All-Stars paired with the green bridesmaid dresses are so stinking cute! What a cool idea!

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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.

Written with love by Southern Weddings
6 Comments
  1. avatar Jessica Brown reply

    What a sweet proposal! And congratulations on the baby on the way!

  2. avatar Honour Mann reply

    There are so many great photos from this wedding. Elizabeth and Paul are an amazing couple. Their families are just as lovely. I am sharing this album link of more photos- a truly well orchestrated event by Asheville Event Company and Aria Floral.http://www.pictage.com/photoalbum/PAA/album_slideshow.get?producer=album&album_id=210505

  3. avatar Genna reply

    This couple is just as beautiful and amazing as these photos. They are so completely genuine, and I am honored to know them. Congratulations to you both on all your recent excitement…miss y’all!

  4. avatar Melissa Porter reply

    Elizabeth and Paul are such an amazing couple – we were so honored to work with them! Their wedding was so special and unique to their personalities! The food, decor and printed material used were as natural and environmentally friendly as possible and the venue was so gorgeous – On top of Rich Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains! Thanks to Classic Event Rental, HH Fine Arts Photography, Aria Floral, and Forever Fiances for such a great event! And special thanks to Elizabeth and Paul for such a memorable and rewarding experience! We can’t wait to meet the new addition to your family! Melissa and Becca, Asheville Event Co.

  5. avatar Janice Perkins reply

    An extrordinary day, for an extraordinary couple!

  6. avatar MaeMae reply

    i love the sweet pup with the wreath :)

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