Southern Weddings

Savannah + Henry met at a conference in Arizona, and through he lived in Boston and she lived in Atlanta, they started dating after their business relationship took a romantic turn. Long-distance dating may be hard, but S + H made it work! They flew to see each other every single week. “If we missed each other on a weekend, Henry would fly down mid-week to have dinner and fly out on the 7AM flight the next morning,” said Savannah. Now that’s love and dedication! We’re happy that Savannah, who was tired of the travel, made the move to Boston to be with Henry because as these images from Sean Money and Elizabeth Fay show us, they are a beautiful couple!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: My mom and two close girlfriends came down to Charleston with me. Our wedding planner’s roommate worked at a small wedding dress boutique on Daniel Island and she was able to see us after hours. We drank wine and I only tried on 7-8 dresses and was torn between two very different dresses. I slept on it and woke up the next morning knowing which was the best fit. We went back later that day to put down the deposit.

I love peonies but they were out of season, so we went with a combination of peony-like flowers that were cream-colored with a hint of blush. We wanted a lot of greenery so we also used magnolia leaves in the chandeliers at the ceremony.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? We did not do a first look. Henry didn’t know anything about my dress and we wanted the moment we first saw each other to be when I walked down the aisle. It was a very special moment.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? Henry’s cousin Johnny read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 that was probably most favorite piece from the ceremony. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they are warm; but how can one be warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him.”
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. I walked down the aisle to “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” Other ceremony songs we included were both Beatles songs, “Here Comes the Sun” and “All you need is Love.”

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? My husband, Henry, is from New York and it was very important for us to show his family why we love the South. I’d say the food was the biggest Southern influence which included fried chicken, duck buns with coleslaw, shrimp and grits and more.

Y’all, I seriously love these magnolia leaf chandeliers! What a great way to add some Southern greenery to the room.

Our cake was amazing. Once again, we wanted something simple. It was a round, three-tiered vanilla cream cake with buttercream icing. The middle tier was red velvet. The cake was covered with beige polka dots.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We originally met at an industry conference in Scottsdale, AZ. What started as a business relationship turned to friendship and eventually dating. We dated long distance for 9-10 months and saw each other literally every single week from Atlanta to Boston. If we missed each other on a weekend, Henry would fly down mid-week to have dinner and fly out on the 7AM flight the next morning. Eventually, we got tired of the travel so I moved to Boston.
Describe the proposal. On the one year anniversary of me moving to Boston, we decided to head out of work early on a Monday night and head down to our house on Nantucket. We opened a good bottle of wine and packed up some snacks, music and our dog, Roscoe, to head down to the beach to watch the sunset. As the sun set over the horizon, Henry suggested we stand up to get a better view and he took a knee and asked me to marry him.
In what month did you get married? September
How many guests attended your wedding? 200
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My favorite detail was the café lighting by the water. The lights looked amazing and carried a romantic atmosphere out from the tent to the sitting area by the water.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? We honestly had it pretty easy. Our wedding planner, Lindsey, was amazing and I think she handled any foreseen issues before they got to us. I’m sure every bride and groom deal with the struggle of trying to please everyone but eventually we just decided we were going to do everything like we wanted it done.
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? The band! Our vision of our wedding was a beautiful ceremony by the water and a HUGE party. Our band was truly amazing and we danced all night!!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? It’s hard to pick just one. I think finalizing our vows and being announced as husband and wife was a pretty fantastic moment. I think dancing with my dad was a pretty memorable moment. He kept my jitters at bay by making me laugh most of the way down the aisle.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Relax. It’s such a fun day and you should really enjoy the process of planning if you don’t stress and just trust that it’ll all work out.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? My wedding gift from Henry was a second puppy, so we now have two long haired dachshunds. The puppy is a girl and we named her Mal’e after visiting the Maldives for our honeymoon (the capital is Mal’e). We’re not ready for kids yet, so I think our immediate focus is spending time together and with the pups. We’re looking forward to continuing life together and seeing where that takes us.

Written with love by Nicole