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Monthly Archives: October 2013

Lisa already pointed out that today is the last day of October, which means that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and Christmas is hot on its tail. Before we know it, it will be time to grab the confetti and ring in the New Year. It never fails that this time of year seems to fly by: the calendar gets crowded with commitments and celebrations, there are cookies to bake, presents to buy, people to visit, etc., etc.

In a world that rewards the go, go, go, I find myself craving space and time for Kyle and I, and even for our future children. I long for dinners eaten at our table (more on this later), date nights, and the occasional lazy Saturday morning sipping coffee in our pajamas. So, I try my hardest to hold tight to this family value by abiding by hint #6: take a deep breath (then take another).

For us, learning to say no means taking a deep breath (and then another) and purposefully creating space (also know as margin) in our household. It means looking at the calendar and carving out un-busy time and being fiercely loyal to our family first and foremost.

In doing so, we find that we have more energy and focus available to love on others, help out where needed and invest our time in what matters most. We also find that we are less likely to be grumpy, annoyed and angry at one another. I am guilty as charged for becoming too busy, which leads to being stressed, resulting in a certain blue-eyed boy falling victim to my wrath and irrational outbursts.

Sometimes in the busy, it’s easy to forget to stop and take a deep breath. It’s easy to continue to cram the schedule so full that we lose sight of what really matters. I love to say ‘yes’ to everyone: to every party invitation, request for cookies, need for a volunteer. I feel guilty saying ‘no’ because I am usually saying ‘no’ to something that is fun, helpful or needed. But, heavens alive, saying ‘no’ sometimes is outrageously important. Investing in my marriage and fighting for a little space ultimately trumps the guilt and allows us to better serve one another and our community in the long run.

Admittedly, we aren’t juggling soccer practice, ballet and play dates yet; however, we feel strongly that this hint will become even more important when fighting to keep little schedules from running our lives. Continuously overcrowded calendars does not allow you to fuel yourself or your marriage. I actually believe that being too busy does not allow you to be your best anything.

So, I encourage you to stop, take a deep breath and create some space. There’s no time like the present to sit down and look at your calendar, especially as the holidays are approaching. Having a commitment every night or being gone every weekend might sound necessary, but at what cost? Fight for space. Fight for a few nights of un-busy… and an occasional lazy Saturday in your pajamas.

P.S. Catch up on past hints here: #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5!

All photos by Bamber Photography, one of our delightful Blue Ribbon Vendors. See them all in this Facebook Friday feature!

kristin Written with love by Kristin
3 Comments
  1. avatar Sharon @ Red Poppy | Pink Peony reply

    Thanks for this great reminder! I’m definitely someone who needs space and quiet downtime at home in order to recharge and prepare myself for more busy-ness.

  2. avatar Emily reply

    I love this hint the most because it applies to everyone! Not just married folk. Definitely taking your words to heart going into the holiday season, thanks Kristin!

  3. avatar Hints for a Happy Marriage: Get Away – Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] :) Keep in mind that planning is important for this hint, but not required. We try to proactively build in time to Get Away when we’re setting our calendars and budget for the year, but definitely count on an […]

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Happy Halloween! Can y’all believe it’s the last day of October? Remember, November means the launch of V6, so hurry up and place your preorder and/or RSVP to our fabulous launch party!

We are so excited to share today’s wedding because Katherine is a longtime SW reader! With her sweet spirit and bubbly personality, we’re not surprised that her wedding to Matt was so lively and colorful. I love the heart she put into planning every detail, but my favorite thing about Katherine and Matt’s big day is her most memorable moment–when the fact that she was getting married that day really hit her. It brought a few tears to my eyes because it was such an authentic reminder that despite the prettiest details, when it’s all said and done, the only thing that matters on your wedding day is becoming husband and wife!

We’re so grateful to our delightful Blue Ribbon Vendor member, Katelyn James, for sharing Katherine and Matt’s lovely wedding with us!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? There are SO many amazing memories! One of my favorites happened in the bridal suite with my best girls when we were getting ready. Anna (our day-of coordinator) had stopped by to see how I was doing and to bring me a surprise milkshake (so sweet!), Katelyn James had started taking pictures, and everyone was running around applying hairspray, steaming gowns, and finishing final touches. I walked into the bathroom for a break between my makeup and hair appointments and that’s when it truly hit me–TODAY I’M GETTING MARRIED!!! I started crying and laughing all at the same time! I seriously gets chills just thinking about that moment. There is something absolutely breathtaking about the realization of “come what may, I am his at the end of the day.” As detail-oriented as I am, at that moment I knew our day was going to be perfect, no matter what.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? Yes!! I’ve been following wedding and photography blogs for years, and I have a love for first look pictures! (Plus, I’m incredibly close with my father and knew walking down the aisle would be a lot about my relationship with him vs. seeing my groom.) It took a little time to convince Matt, but in the end, we both say our first look was one of the best moments of the day! It also worked well with the logistics of our day since we had a 7 p.m. ceremony.

Amanda from Anthomanic did an incredible job of bringing my floral vision to life. My biggest regret is not being able to keep my bouquet alive forever! I told her I wanted big, fluffy and garden-like–that girl didn’t disappoint!! My bouquet was full of bright flowers with ribbon flowing down from it. Since my bridesmaids’ dresses were bright, Amanda created all-white bouquets for them. She also created two BEAUTIFUL wreaths for the church doors and a to-die-for mantle display in the reception home. She had hanging flowers and candles in the crepe myrtles and used the vases I’d collected for all of the centerpieces. I am so grateful for her creativity and how fun she was to work with!

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Yes, we did! We shared personal vows to one another and then shared traditional vows. Our personal vows were unplanned in the sense that we didn’t write them together and neither of us knew what the other was going to say. They were absolutely perfect! We both ending up touching on similar things and they really showed who we are as a couple–romantic, silly, and dedicated to glorifying Christ. I love how he vowed “to not completely ignore you during football games,” just as I vowed, much to my dad’s disappointment, to “stand by your side and support the decisions you make, even if that means cheering for the Redskins!”

We LOVE seeing brides use our Vows print in their weddings! Find them (and lots more fun stuff) in our shop.

Tradition. Hospitality. Family. Those are words Matt and I think of when we think of “Southern” and we really wanted to embrace all of them at our wedding! Tradition: We were married in the same church my parents were married in 29 years ago. Our reception venue is an old, historic mansion that Robert E. Lee once visited! Hospitality: We wanted our guests to be comfortable at our outdoor July reception, so we offered fans that doubled as reception programs, bug spray, and a place to rest in the air conditioning, if needed. Family: Our families made this possible. They showered us with love and support and truly made our dream day a reality. My grandmother is the mayor of Fredericksburg, and since our reception venue isn’t typically a wedding venue (it’s normally used for hospital fundraisers), her connections made it possible for us to use it! We also wanted to honor our heritage by creating a Legacy Room at the reception. We displayed both of our mothers’ wedding gowns and pictures going back to our great-grandparents.

I’m that girl who’s dreamed about her wedding day her ENTIRE life!! As soon as that pretty ring was on my finger, I went into overdrive. I contacted vendors, pinned until the wee-morning hours, made spreadsheets for absolutely everything, and crafted to my heart’s content. Planning our wedding was an amazing, exhausting, once-in-a-lifetime-I’ll-never-forget-it-ever kind of thing…seeing everything come together? My heart literally burst at the seams! Throwing cake at my husband, dancing with my daddy, and seeing my 80-year-old grandparents kiss on the dance floor made it all matter. Our whole wedding was one big detail I will never, ever forget. Seeing it all come together made every late night, every stress-induced tear, and every joy-filled shriek so completely worth it!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We’re high school sweethearts! He stole my heart in fifth period study hall and asked me out in seventh period yearbook. We passed notes, went to high school dances, and had our first (awful) kiss in his best friend’s driveway (romantic, right?!). I’m a year older, so after high school, I went off to a small college in Bridgewater, Virginia, and the next year, he started attending JMU in Harrisonburg, Virginia (only a few minutes away from Bridgewater, and where we now live). We broke up for two long months my sophomore year of college (which he’ll never let me forget, ha!), but God had other plans for us and we’ve been together ever since!
Tell us all about the proposal! We’d been dating for over five years and boy, was I ready! On July 7, 2012, he told me his friend gave him a gift card that was about to expire, and it just so happened to be at my favorite place in Harrisonburg. After dinner, we headed to Reddish Knob, a lookout point outside of Harrisonburg that we had always wanted to visit. As we drove up there, he started honking his horn like a lunatic, telling me all these bunnies were in the way and they needed to move (what?!)! It turns out his best friend was at the top setting everything up, and since there wasn’t any cell phone service, this was his warning to hide! A few minutes after we got up there, we walked down the trail, turned a corner, and there was an arbor complete with roses, candles, and pictures. He looked at me and said, “Well, who’s this for?!” (silly man!) and then proceeded to ask me to marry him. I have no idea what else he said; I just remember being so shocked, I couldn’t even cry! Matt’s best friend and his girlfriend appeared and told me they took pictures of the whole thing. After we left and got to an area where we had cell service, I was so disappointed that my parents weren’t answering their phone–all I wanted to do was tell EVERYONE! Turns out, Matt had a surprise party waiting for us when we got back. I walked into a room full of my parents and best friends, and tons of screaming/crying!!
When did y’all get married? July 20, 2013
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 200-215
Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I found my dress when I was least expecting to! My MOH and I went to Fredericksburg to look at a few venues with my mom. When the first venue turned out to be the one, we cancelled the rest of our appointments and gave Ava Laurenne Bride a call. Going into the appointment, I knew I wanted a sweetheart neckline, a little princess feel, and some sparkle. Wendy at Ava Laurenne Bride was AMAZING and gave me the best experience! I tried on several different styles and knew as soon as I put on “the one”–dropped waist, gorgeous lace, and yards of soft tulle. Perfection! Since it was my first time dress shopping, I decided to wait and look at a few stores in Harrisonburg. At the Harrisonburg store, completely overwhelmed by all the dresses, I had the affirmation that the previous dress was really “the one.” I went back to Ava Laurenne Bride with my mom and grandmothers to claim my dream dress. Being the girly-girl I am, I had a gorgeous, sparkly beaded belt custom made for my gown; it was just the something “extra” the dress needed!
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? Matt’s sister read Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Describe your wedding cake or dessert. We’re not big “cake” people, so we had a small cake made for us to cut and a dessert bar for the rest of our guests, which included apple crisp, brownies, ice cream, and peanut butter fudge bars. A friend of ours makes the best cakes and we were so grateful she did ours! She made us a custom funfetti cake using only pink and orange, decorated with fun ombre ruffles. She also created a surprise groom’s cake for Matt; his family has a silly joke about the monkey cake his mother made for his 6th birthday. I gave Amanda a picture and she created a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting that looked just like it! We loved eating it when we got back from our honeymoon. One of my favorite memories is seeing his expression when he saw it for the first time at our reception!
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! I have always loved this tradition and really wanted to incorporate all the great women in my family. My something borrowed was wearing a penny in my shoe that my maternal grandmother wore on her wedding day. My something blue was a blue topaz ring my maternal grandparents gave me when I graduated high school. I had two for the “something old” category: 1. the lace sewn onto my veil; it came from my paternal grandmothers gown. And 2. I made my hair comb out of lace from my mother’s veil. Lastly, my something new was a handkerchief given to me by my matron of honor. I highly recommend having a wedding handkerchief–I was very emotional and am so glad I had one. Plus, now I can pass it on to my children for their something old or borrowed!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Budgeting is always really hard, and since I’m the only daughter, I know it was hard for my mom too! We also struggled with narrowing down the guest list.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000-$25,000
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? Katelyn James Photography!! Hands down, she and her husband Michael are absolutely amazing and we are so grateful they shot our wedding! They made wedding day pictures go so smoothly (even with a large bridal party and the July heat) and they were so much FUN to work with! We are going to cherish our pictures for the rest of our lives, and I can’t wait to one day show them to our children and grandchildren!
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? On your wedding day, you get to be the bride (yay!), which means you need to trust the people you hired to make your day happen so you can relax and enjoy it! Make sure you have an amazing planner so your day runs smoothly, a great photographer to capture those priceless memories, and if you can, hire a videographer. Our video makes me laugh and cry every single time, and I’m so glad we re-worked our budget to fit videography in there!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? Since we’ve been together for so long, it means so much to finally say “husband” and hear him say “wife!” Right now, we’re loving the “ordinary” things about marriage: living together, home cooked meals, weeknight TV sitcoms, and football season. We’re so excited to see what the Lord has in store of us!!

Katelyn James is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
9 Comments
  1. avatar Kat reply

    EEKKK!!! You’ve made my heart so happy!! Thank you SO MUCH for featuring our wedding day!!! What a dream come true :)

  2. avatar Emily reply

    So much pink + orange goodness! Love her clutch + bouquet :)

  3. avatar Dana reply

    the bridal party looks so awesome! reminds me of the lilly pulitzer wedding in V5!

  4. avatar 13 Memories in 2013 | Dear Sweetheart Events reply

    […] 2 Amazing Features: SW & SMP. What a year. My very own dream day on Southern Weddings, and my first styled shoot on Style Me Pretty Southeast. Proof that dreams really do come […]

  5. avatar Blaithin O' Reilly Murphy » Just another WordPress site » Romantic Coral & Gold Wedding Inspiration reply

    […] | Floral Centerpiece via Anne Patrick | Gold Chivari Chair via Elizabeth Anne Designs | Earrings via Etsy | Glitter Earrings via Wedding Chicks | Gold Leaf Cake via Instyle Party Favors | Bridesmaid Look via Polyvore |  Gold Tealights via Hey Wedding Lady | Sweetheart Table via Weddings Chicks | Earrings via Etsy | Stationery via Jupiter and Juno | Headpiece via Etsy | Tablescape | Stationery via Etsy | Bouquet via Weddingomania | Bridal Dress & Bouquet via Southren Weddings | […]

  6. avatar Wedding High » Education & Inspiration on Weddings » Romantic Coral & Gold Wedding Inspiration reply

    […] | Floral Centerpiece via Anne Patrick | Gold Chivari Chair via Elizabeth Anne Designs | Earrings via Etsy | Glitter Earrings via Wedding Chicks | Gold Leaf Cake via Instyle Party Favors | Bridesmaid Look via Polyvore |  Gold Tealights via Hey Wedding Lady | Sweetheart Table via Weddings Chicks | Earrings via Etsy | Stationery via Jupiter and Juno | Headpiece via Etsy | Tablescape | Stationery via Etsy | Bouquet via Weddingomania | Bridal Dress & Bouquet via Southren Weddings | […]

  7. avatar Amanda reply

    Im in love with the bridesmaids dresses. what designer are they?

    • avatar Lisa reply

      Hi Amanda! The light pink and orange dresses are from Alfred Angelo, and the deeper pink dresses are Bari Jay. :)

  8. avatar » Romantic Coral & Gold Wedding Inspiration – reply

    […] | Floral Centerpiece via Anne Patrick | Gold Chivari Chair via Elizabeth Anne Designs | Earrings via Etsy | Glitter Earrings via Wedding Chicks | Gold Leaf Cake via Instyle Party Favors | Bridesmaid Look via Polyvore |  Gold Tealights via Hey Wedding Lady | Sweetheart Table via Weddings Chicks | Earrings via Etsy | Stationery via Jupiter and Juno | Headpiece via Etsy | Tablescape | Stationery via Etsy | Bouquet via Weddingomania | Bridal Dress & Bouquet via Southren Weddings | […]

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Friends, I am the LAST person to rush the holidays (as I firmly believe Christmas decorations should not go up and Christmas music should not go on until after Thanksgiving), but we are just too excited to wait any longer! And, I don’t have any problem with making holiday purchases ahead of time, just acting on them :)

I am truly just as excited about each and every one of our holiday products, so they’re each going to get a special intro today! First up: the holiday collection from Belle & Union!

OH MY GOSH I almost die every time I see that “peach on Earth” card!! I don’t use the word “precious” very often, but it is precious. We’re selling these beautiful letterpress cards in a set of six — two of each design.

In the gift giving category, we’ve also stocked adorable 2014 “Seasons of the South” calendars from B&U! At the end of the year you or your lucky gift recipient will not only be left with 12 lovely letterpress prints, but a gorgeous whitewashed cutting board!!

Y’all know we believe love truly never fails, so when we thought about the sentiment we’d most like to hang on our own trees, it was an obvious choice. The “ho, ho, ho, y’all” is kind of fun, too :)

The Love Never Fails ornament has a beautiful gold-painted edge, and both pieces come packaged ready for gifting. Big thanks to our friends at Paloma’s Nest for making these beauties just for us! (P.S. If I brought home that Love Never Fails ornament, I’d find a spot to hang it year-round, not just at Christmas!) I also love that a percentage of sales of the Love Never Fails ornament go to Heifer International, an organization working to end hunger and poverty that y’all know is dear to our hearts.

All of these special holiday pieces are available in very limited runs, so be sure to scoop them up early! And of course, if you’d like to get your gift getting out of the way, don’t forgot about some of our classic products, like our Southern recipe tea towels, prints, and enclosure cards.

We hope each of these pieces brings a little more joy and love to your home this Christmas season! Who’s ready for the holidays?? Are y’all like me, and wait until after Thanksgiving to get in the swing of things, or have you already started? :)

emily Written with love by Emily
2 Comments
  1. avatar Kat reply

    Those holiday cards really are precious!!! I’m a huge fan :) And, like you Emily, I refuse to play Christmas music or decorate until AFTER Thanksgiving. I LOVE Christmas, but Thanksgiving needs some celebration, too!!

  2. avatar Caitlyn | The Aerialist Press reply

    Too cute!! Great ideas for holiday cards!

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

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