Southern Weddings

A little behind the scenes gossip; we actually looked long and hard for a dress similar to Whitney’s Vera Wang showstopper for a V9 editorial shoot, and never thought of the amazing idea she had to customize it by wrapping a simple tulle veil. It was the perfect addition to the strapless design. While I could talk plenty about her gown, there is much more sweetness about Whitney and Cory’s wedding day that you’re not going to want to miss. Like the amazing florals from Philosophy Flowers. Whitney loves to garden and had quite a vision that she hoped Kelly could bring to life. Not only did she make her vision come to life, but she even surprised Whitney with little details like unripened blueberries hidden in my bouquet and our table arrangements. A fun nod to Whitney’s love for the color navy. Of course, a girl after our own hearts, Whitney’s favorite detail wasn’t detail exactly; it was simply having all their friends and family together to celebrate their wedding and marriage together.

Big hugs to our darling Blue Ribbon Vendor Callie Davis of Nancy Ray Photography for sending us this lovely day!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Corey: Although we worked at the same company at the time, we didn’t know each other, and thanks to the company Christmas party in downtown Raleigh, we had the chance to meet. Whitney was holding a UNC cup and I was wearing a Santa hat. I had to politely let Whitney know I disagreed with her choice in drinkware (go Wolfpack), and Whitney wanted a Santa hat to match her green dress. From there, we struck up a conversation and ended up dancing the night away. It took about a month before our first date and on our date, we found out that our dads used to fly together for the same commercial airline and we just clicked. Six and a half years later, we haven’t looked back!
Tell us all about the proposal! Corey: So the main goal of the proposal was to make sure Whitney was surprised. I came up with an elaborate plan to have my older sister and her fiancé call and cancel their ‘plans’ of joining us for dinner last minute. I made sure Whitney was in the room when my sister called to cancel and put on a performance pretending to be upset. Since we were pretty much dressed already, I convinced Whitney we still needed to go to dinner. After dinner, I told Whitney I wanted to get a picture in front of the restaurant and since we parked out back, it was a little strange to walk out front. So we took a picture, continued walking around the restaurant, and unbeknownst to Whitney, waiting for us was a horse-drawn carriage. I urged Whitney to pet Marty the pony, but Whitney didn’t think he and his carriage were for us. I asked the carriage driver for a ride and he said “sure, hop on in!” I couldn’t contain my excitement and almost immediately asked Whitney to marry me. She said yes! I had her mom, her best friend, my mom, and my sister waiting for us at the State Capitol building as we made a loop around downtown. I then had a bunch of our friends meet us back at our townhouse to celebrate… it was an amazing night that we will never forget!
When did y’all get married? June 4, 2016
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 100
Tell us about finding your wedding dress. Whitney: Finding my dress was definitely an experience, in the best possible way! I knew I only wanted my mom and my maid and matron of honor to help me decide as I am notorious for being the worst decision-maker. I figured the less people and less opinions, the easier it would be. We ventured out to our three appointments at various bridal boutiques in Raleigh, only to be disappointed with the first two appointments. When we started heading towards Alexia’s, I was incredibly anxious, thinking that we weren’t going to find my dress that day even though I knew I had plenty of time to find the one! I was bound and determined to find a classic dress and to steer clear of the strapless ball gown style. Well, lo and behold, I ended up with the strapless ball gown. After arriving to Alexia’s and chatting with the girls and telling them what I was looking for, they brought out three dresses for me to start with. The first dress blew me away even before I put it on. I saw the dress and started getting excited as it was poofy and draped in tulle with an amazing unstructured skirt! I was completely shocked that as soon as I put the dress on, my entire demeanor changed and excitement and emotions flooded my face! However, I knew something was missing. I asked if they could bring me a plain tulle veil and had them tie it around my arms! This completely made the dress for me and I knew this was the one! The girls at Alexia’s worked with me on creating this custom wrap for my dress and it was exactly what I saw myself in on the day I would marry Corey! My mom and maid of honor even lit up and they knew the second they saw my face that this was the one!
Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? Yes, we decided to do a first look and are so happy we made the decision to do so. After months of anxious planning and looking forward to the day, we knew we couldn’t wait any longer to see one another, plus it helped calm our nerves! Both of us wanted a special moment for ourselves prior to the ceremony; along with deciding to have most of our pictures with the wedding party and family done prior to the ceremony, we wanted a private moment with one another.
What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? Once we started with the planning phase, we knew we wanted to get married close to home! While we initially started thinking that we would get married in Raleigh, as this was the place where we’ve both called home for the last ten years and we would be starting our lives together here too, we also knew we’d love to get married in another place we both love: Blowing Rock, NC! We both love the area and the quaintness of the town and after narrowing down a few locations, we fell in love with the outdoor area at the Inn at Crestwood, nestled between Blowing Rock and Boone. The trees lining the lawn and the brick paver terrace were exactly what we envisioned. Of course, the rain had other plans on our wedding day. Meris and her team were able to have everything moved indoors and in the midst of a few rain showers, our guests were still able to get outdoors and enjoy the view we fell in love with! We also were very grateful that the rain held off just long enough for us to have our first look on the lawn!
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Whitney: Corey and I are pretty traditional and loved the idea of reciting traditional vows during our wedding. We knew we wanted the preacher to read a few of our favorite verses (Romans 12:9-13 and Ruth 1:16), which we believe embody what we view in marriage and faith.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. We had such a difficult time narrowing down our wedding song! We have three songs that we have always cherished and fit our love to a point. After much debate and thinking about the style of our band, we decided on “I Found You” by the Alabama Shakes. This song has always had a special place in our hearts and it was so wonderful to hear as we twirled on the dance floor, not following any particular steps and dancing to our own tune! It recently played on a random shuffle we were listening to on a trip and we got the same butterflies we had on our wedding day, just listening to that song!
Describe your wedding flowers. Whitney: Two of the main aesthetic aspects of our wedding which we knew were incredibly important to us were the flowers and the photography. I am a true lover of all flowers and gardening is one of my favorite hobbies. Corey knew I had a vision when it came to our floral design and was very supportive of letting me take the reins on working with Kelly on our design. I knew the minute I found Kelly that it was a perfect fit. After hearing my long and exhausting plan, Kelly immediately knew what I wanted, sketched out everything, and made my vision come to fruition! She even mentioned sneaking in some amazing little design surprises and it was perfect! To our surprise, we had unripened blueberries hidden in my bouquet and our table arrangements. What a fun detail! I was blown away; who would think of this sweet little touch and design detail? Kelly was so patient with me and always listened to my thoughts and ideas, and seeing her bring her team together to have our floral ideas come to life was truly amazing.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert. Whitney: After a little debate, Corey and I decided on a dessert bar as I am not a big cake person. We knew we still wanted at least a small couple’s cake to cut and have the memory of cutting the cake at our wedding so once we sat down with Beth at Ugga Mugga Bakery, we came up with a great plan to have a couple’s cake to cut along with a dessert bar for all of our friends and family. Corey’s favorite cake flavor is funfetti, and Beth jumped at the idea of making us a custom and simple funfetti cake! After talking with Kelly, our floral designer, we knew we wanted a simple floral element as part of our cake and everything turned out exactly how we wanted! It was perfect and a big hit with all of our guests.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our favorite detail was probably not a detail; it was simply having all of our friends, family, and those who support us in one room there cheering us on and celebrating our wedding and marriage together. While we knew we wanted to keep the wedding small, we wanted to make sure we had a chance to speak to everyone there, and we did! Sharing one of our favorite places and having those we love in one place, all together for the same purpose, was something we will always cherish.
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! Whitney: Yes! Navy is my absolute favorite color and when I found my sparkly navy shoes, I was smitten! They were my something blue. My dress was new and my mom let me borrow one of her bracelets which I have loved since I was a little girl. It was so special that she let me borrow it for the big day. My something old comes from a sweet story from our earlier years when Corey and I were dating. My birthday is right before our anniversary and leading up to my first birthday with Corey, he and some of my friends had planned for us to go out of town to celebrate. Upon arriving at our destination, Corey snuck away, unbeknownst to me, to pick up my birthday present. Later on, Corey surprised me with a pair of pearl earrings from Tiffany’s. Earlier in the year, I was a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding and had lost one of the pearl earrings gifted to me by my parents when I was younger. He remembered this little detail months later and definitely surprised me with a new pair! I wear them almost every day and thought they would be such a wonderful addition to wear at our wedding.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Whitney: Corey and I both grew up in the South and are definitely both Southern at heart! We wanted somewhere that reminded us of home, had a classy Southern mountain vibe, with great views. Crestwood checked all of those boxes. Also, while we stuck with simple wedding traditions, we knew we wanted to make our wedding black tie. The one Southern tradition we forgot about (and wished we hadn’t) was burying a bottle of bourbon at the location prior to the wedding!
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? During our engagement, we both had many things occurring (buying a house, a new job, traveling, etc.) and at times, the stress got to us both. While Corey is definitely the more laid-back one of the two of us, we both knew we had to focus on our wedding and what lies ahead. Never going to bed angry is such a cliche, but it is very true for us and has been a grateful reminder during our years together and looking forward. We will keep this in our minds no matter if it’s life’s little stresses, planning a family, or focusing on little bumps in the road that come our way. Focusing on each other, our faith, and home will be a key aspect in our lives together.
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? Honestly, how can we pick? Callie, Meris, and Kelly were the ultimate team and they were able to capture every detail we had planned for. From Callie and her team working all day on capturing the details and making us feel at ease to Meris and her team focusing on making sure everyone was happy and timelines were being met was an incredible feeling to have. The details alone were a lot to keep up with and seeing everyone come together truly put smiles on our faces. Kelly captured our dream floral design and everything was perfect! The white and cream floral pallet was everything we wanted for our timeless floral design. These ladies are amazing and we cannot thank them enough for being the amazing artists and professionals that they are. There are not enough words to do them justice!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? As I was sneaking up behind Corey for our first look, my heart was racing with excitement! That feeling, the sweet kisses we stole during that moment, and the look on Corey’s face will stay with me always. I knew everything we planned for together was finally happening and to begin our marriage together was perfect! Corey: The moment I turned around and saw Whitney during our first look was incredible; I will never forget that moment and could not wait to marry her!
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? We would definitely suggest not stressing, if that is even possible! At the end of the day, if something goes wrong, it does not matter as long as you are happy, married, and having an amazing time! We had to keep telling ourselves that during the entire process and it helped immensely!
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? Since the last year has been quite busy and hectic with many travels, buying our first house together, and planning the wedding, we are looking forward to relaxing and adding four furry paws to our family! We cannot wait to add a puppy to the mix and to welcome him or her to our home.

Photographer: Callie Davis of Nancy Ray Photography | Planner: Meris Gantt of The Whole Shebang | Venue: The Inn at Crestwood | Florist: Philosophy Flowers | Dessert Baker: Ugga Mugga Bakery | Band: Phase Band | Paper Products: Julie Patoolie’s | Bride’s Gown: Vera Wang | Bridal Salon: Alexia’s Bridal | Hair and Makeup: Julianna Knox | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Monique Lhuillier | Place Card Calligraphy: Leen Jean Studios

Nancy Ray Photography is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Written with love by Marissa