Southern Weddings

Bride Kirsti shares her classic Savannah wedding!

Y’all are going to love today’s bride, Kirsti! Not only was she one of our own Southern Bride Bloggers, but her Georgia wedding to Brett is pure classic, Southern goodness — starting with her attire. From her Southern bump right down to her monogram Jacks, Kirsti’s wedding day style is quickly climbing the ranks to one of my favorite looks. Of course, her style isn’t the only thing that would make any fellow Southern gal proud: the way she and Brett honored her late father and loved on their guests is what’s most notable from their celebration. As Kirsti said, “The biggest Southern aspect was showing our guests true Southern hospitality and gratitude in return for traveling to celebrate with us.“ Yes, ma’am!

Keep reading to learn more ways Kirsti and Brett shared the South with their guests! And see if you can spot a little Southern Weddings love incorporated into their big day!

Thanks for sharing, Holly Felts!

Tell us your love story in one sentence. Best friends turned into the relationship neither of you knew you needed, turned into the sweetest marriage you could ask for!
Tell us all about the proposal! When my dear friend and photographer, Mallory, asked if I wanted to meet at a local vineyard to discuss styling a photoshoot with her, I jumped at the idea! She and I had met for coffee to talk about work, weddings, and photoshoots before, and so I had no idea that she had this plan up her sleeve. We arrived at the vineyard and I was immediately drawn to a charming old cabin looking across a large pond. I said, “Mallory, Bret would LOVE this, let me take a picture!” As soon as I started to take photos, I heard the door open and got nervous that we were disturbing someone. To my absolute surprise, my soon-to-be finance walked out the door, got down on one knee, and before we knew it – our lives were forever changed! Not only was Bret’s proposal the sweetest gift I could ever ask for, he had arranged for Mallory to document the whole thing so we could relive that moment forever!

I was of course certain to include something old, new, borrowed, and blue with my late Nanny’s pearl earrings, Jack Rogers with my new monogram, a pearl hairpin from a cousin, and a heart cut out of my dad’s overalls.

The biggest Southern aspect was showing our guests true Southern hospitality and gratitude in return for traveling to celebrate with us. Being a destination wedding, our guest list was smaller, and that allowed us to serve our guests and allow them to feel as though we were simply having them over for a dinner party at our home!

Did you decide to do a first look? We did choose to do a first look so that we could spend more time with our guests after the ceremony. With it being a destination wedding, we wanted to celebrate with our friends and family that traveled from Oklahoma and many other states to be with us! Bret chose the location of our first look, Wormhole Historic Site, and I think it was the perfect spot to share that special moment. I was worried that other visitors would take away from the moment, but we were blissfully unaware that there was anyone else there at all!

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? After months of planning a large soiree close to home, we felt like we wanted to really focus on what mattered most and say “I do” in one of our favorite vacation spots with our closest friends and family and began planning anew in Savannah! We wanted our friends and family to really get a feel for the city, so we chose a charming square downtown for our ceremony and a historic mansion to celebrate afterwards.

What were some of the most meaningful or special parts of your ceremony? My dad passed away in 2014, so we wanted to find special ways to honor him during our ceremony. I asked his best friend to walk me down the aisle, and then my brother to officially give me away. We then asked guests to share a moment of silence with us and to read a special prayer I had printed on the back of our programs, remembering all our friends and family who were unable to celebrate with us that day. My best friend and maid of honor’s dad officiated our ceremony, so it was very special to have him share memories from my childhood. We also selected our vows from the suggestions in our Joyful Wedding Planner and wrote them to each other in keepsake booklets to read to each other each year on our anniversary!

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. This was one of the more challenging wedding planning tasks! We finally selected a violin cover of “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran for my walk down the aisle — the lyrics described our feelings on our wedding day. For the recessional, we chose a classic: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours),” because it is such a happy, celebratory song! I also surprised Bret at the end of the reception by playing his favorite song by our favorite local band, Turnpike Troubadours, to bring a little piece of Oklahoma to Georgia with us!

What was your favorite detail from your wedding? The stationery was probably my favorite part overall, because I have always had a soft spot for paper goods, and this was a way for me to get creative and customize the overall feel for our wedding. I always say that the invitation suite is the first glimpse your guests will get of your wedding theme, so I was tickled pink to bring out all of the blue and white and even added a touch of magnolia! My favorite detail from our invitation suite was the line from the song “Georgia on My Mind” that we had printed on the back of each envelope to get guests excited about being in Savannah! Our full paper suite also gave us a chance to say all of the things we wanted to say but wouldn’t have had time, such as asking our guests to enjoy an unplugged ceremony, sharing the history of Brockington Hall, placing a note of gratitude at each place setting and, of course, honoring my dad.

What did you serve for your wedding cake or dessert? We chose to do a small cake so that we could also serve some of our Southern favorites! Bret’s parents graciously let us borrow their cake topper from their wedding 36 years ago, and now we look forward to passing it on to our kids. Alongside our cake, we served banana pudding and peach cobbler from Paula Deen!
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? We were very mindful to remember that no matter the amount we spent on the wedding, at the end of the day, we would still be husband and wife, and we did our best to not let expenses get out of hand. At the beginning, we chose a few items that meant the most to us to splurge on, and the rest followed as it could fit within our budget. We were able to save money by purchasing the alcohol in bulk ourselves, and I also designed all of our paper materials myself.

When did y’all get married? May 6, 2018
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 54
Tell us the highlights of finding your wedding dress. I spotted my dress in a Southern Wedding blog post in 2015 and knew that I had never seen a more beautiful dress in my whole life! When our engagement came in 2017, I began the search for the “Paz” gown by Augusta Jones, but struggled to find a store near me that carried it. Thankfully, I found a boutique that had ONE of the gowns left – it was off the rack and was in need of a little TLC, but I had to have it! I took my momma and mother-in-law with me shopping, and the look on their faces said they agreed.
What was your favorite thing about wedding planning? Preparing for our marriage with our officiant during premarital counseling was very special to us, because although we had dated for four years, we both grew even closer during that time. Throughout the planning process, we were very intentional about our time since Bret was in his third year of optometry school. We would make little dates out of planning, and set aside a block of time to spend time with each other and work to plan a meaningful wedding celebration with our friends and family.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000-$25,000
What was your most memorable moment from your wedding day? Bret’s favorite moment was the first look, because he said it was special to be in a more relaxed and quiet atmosphere to soak in the moment of seeing me in my dress for the first time. I personally loved the feeling of walking down the aisle to him, because it was so calming to know that all of our planning was over, and this was the moment that we had been waiting our whole lives for.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your wedding? I would remind readers to enjoy and savor this new season in life because it goes by oh so fast! Being engaged is full of excitement, congratulations, parties, gifts, new experiences, planning, dress shopping, and picking out rings – all things that you haven’t done before and will only do once! I would also always remind newly engaged couples to really focus on planning for your marriage while planning your wedding. I have the best memories of our one-on-one conversations with our officiant, hearing words of wisdom from friends and family (and some strangers!) who have been married for 20, 30, and even 50+ years, and having friends help guide us along the way and pray for our marriage before it began.

Photographer: Holly Felts Photography | Planner: Emily DeLoach with Sincerely Yours Events | Ceremony Venue: Chatham Square in Savannah, GA | Reception Venue: Brockington Hall | Florist: Kato Floral Designs | Wedding cake: Publix | Caterer and dessert baker: The Lady & Sons | Rentals: EventWorks Rentals | DJ: All About You Entertainment | Paper products: designed by the bride | Bride’s gown: “Paz” by Augusta Jones | Bride’s shoes: Jack Rogers | Bridesmaid dresses: UWDress.com | Menswear: JC Penney | Trolley: Old Savannah Tours

Written with love by Marissa