Google+ Emily, Author at Southern Weddings - Page 340 of 389

Southern Weddings

Author: Emily

In light of all the fashion goodness that has abounded on the blog lately (here, here, and here, most recently!), I figured a stylish Southern Spotting would be right up our alley!

I spotted this dress on Savannah photographer Donna Von Bruening’s blog a few weeks ago, and couldn’t get it out of my mind! Isn’t the scalloped detailing incredible? So sweet and Southern. It turns out the dress is the “Jaclyn” by Alyne for Rivini. Alyne appears to be based in Toronto, but several shops in the South carry the line, including Bridals by Lori in Atlanta and Solutions Bridal in Florida.

What do y’all think?

emily Written with love by Emily
7 Comments
  1. avatar Susan reply

    Love the detail. Now I’m dying to know who those adorable shoes are by. I’m desperately searching for the perfect pair of flats for my wedding.

    • avatar Tali reply

      Emily, I’m sorry to hear you were frustrated calling into my salon. We just picked up Alyne and had yet to receive gowns in our salon. They were actually picked up for the Gainesville salon that may have been why Orlando was a little out of the loop. Alyne should only have a Gainesville listing for us. I’m glad you found your gown! Thank you so so much for your feedback! Sincerely, Tali Gallo Director of Solutions Bridal

  2. avatar Sara reply

    My wedding dress is also by Alyne, purchased from Bridals by Lori. Just an FYI, since I am a Florida bride, I tried multiple times to contact Solutions Bridal regarding which Alyne dresses they carried. Even though the Alyne website, the Solutions Bridal site AND the Solutions Bridal blog all say that they do- no one on the phone ever knew what I was talking about. It was extremely frustrating. Bridals by Lori, however, was worth the drive from Orlando.

    • avatar Emily reply

      Thanks so much for letting us know, Sara! I’m so sorry you were frustrated, but hopefully your advice will help other potential Alyne brides.

    • avatar Sara reply

      Emily: Thank you! It was honestly all worth it- I love my Alyne dress and would totally recommend them to other brides! I was happy to see them featured here.

  3. avatar Weekly Round-Up « Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] on to some happier things: Emily’s Southern Spotting put us all in a cheerful mood. How could you not smile when looking at this lovely scalloped dress? […]

  4. avatar todozimbabuees reply

    Great goods from you, man. I’ve understand
    your stuff previous to and you are just extremely magnificent.
    I really like what you have acquired here,
    really like what you’re stating and the way in which you say it.
    You make it enjoyable and you still take care of to
    keep it wise. I can’t wait to read much more from you.
    This is actually a tremendous site.

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!

Reply to:
close

It’s my turn to take the helm of our Ask the Experts column, and today I’ll be answering three questions from three lovely readers!

First up is Allie, who wrote:

“I absolutely loved your blog post on cowboy boots! I am from Indiana and am getting married this October on an old historic farm. So my question is what do you or your readers think of using hay bales as seating for the ceremony? It will be taking place on the front lawn of the old farm house with the reception in the barn. We are trying to keep things very rustic and casual.”

Image credits, from top to bottom: Love Me Do Photography via Green Wedding Shoes, Tec Petaja, and W. Scott Chester via Southern Weddings

Allie, we are all for using hay bales as seating — how perfect for the farm fresh wedding you’re planning! There are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind:

— Nice hay bales can actually be expensive (they are food, after all!), so I’d inquire with a local horse farm to see whether they’d be willing to lend you a few bales for the day rather than buying them. You might have to pay a bit more to have the farmer cart the bales to your site and then haul them away afterward, but I’d say that would be money well spent.
— Hay is stiff and itchy, and can be uncomfortable to sit on. To ensure guest comfort, I’d recommend accessorizing the bales with quilts or blankets (something with some heft). You can go super casual and simply drape the fabric, or tie it off at each end for a more polished look. We’ve also seen long boards laid across the tops of bales, which might not be the most comfortable option for a long ceremony or reception, but would cut down on poking hay.
— Keep in mind that some of your guests might either be allergic to hay, or have back problems. It would be a nice gesture to offer some alternative seating — a folding chair or two at the end of each row should do the trick.

Readers, if you’ve been to a wedding with hay bale seating, we’d love to hear about it in the comments! How did it go?

Our next question comes from Robin. She writes:

“Hi ladies! I love the website and have been using it constantly while planning my wedding. Something that has been on my mind lately is escort cards. Should I do one per couple or one per guest, and do I need to do them for the wedding party, as well?”

Image credit: Cooper Carras Photography

Hi, Robin! In my opinion, you can absolutely use one escort card per couple! Not a problem at all. Whether you do cards for the wedding party is up to you, but I would say that you should — I’m sure your guys and girls will be able to figure out that they’re supposed to be up front, but adding in a few extra cards for them requires minimal work and expense on your part and could cut down on questions and confusion at the reception! Plus, some people (most likely the girls!) like to save things like escort cards as a souvenir, particularly if they have their name written out in beautiful calligraphy.

Our last question comes from Erin, who writes:

“I was wondering if there are any current traditions on the first homemade meal a bride makes for her new groom? This may seem a little old school, but I LOVE to cook–and despite how much my fiance likes to cook, I have been widely known to go Betty Draper on him, kicking him out of the kitchen, giving him a beer, and telling him to watch everything he’s missed on the DVR. Anyway, I’m getting courthouse married in just under three weeks, before the fiance deploys, but we’re having a ceremony/reception in September 2012 as well. I was wondering if anyone had ideas, tips, or “been-there, done-that” stories about the first homemade meals they’ve made for their new husbands so I can get pointed in the right direction for my less-than-three-weeks-away wedding!”

Image credit: Smitten Kitchen, a veritable treasure trove of delicious recipes!

Readers, I’ll largely leave this one up to you! What’s your favorite meal or dessert to enjoy with your hubby or fiance? Leave a link or comment below! I have to admit that I don’t do much of the cooking in my house — John loves to cook, so I simply get to enjoy most of the time! I will say that my favorite meal he makes is Giada de Laurentis’ Chicken Piccata with Jacques Pepin’s green beans. How about y’all — any advice for Miss Erin?

That’s it for this week’s installment of Ask the Expert! As always, feel free to email your editors a question at any time.

emily Written with love by Emily
9 Comments
  1. avatar Erin reply

    Yay my question was featured! Yeah, I’m not sure WHAT to make the fiance–and now the courthouse wedding is in one week! Eek!

    • avatar Sydney Dawn reply

      Erin,
      Have you thought about asking his mom or grandma what his favorite dish is? They might can give you some ideas. Or, you can always try something new and start a tradition between the two of you that you always cook on y’alls anniversary. Test it out on your girls a few nights before and even If it doesn’t turn out perfect, who cares? Something y’all can laugh about in the future… :)

      Congratulations!

    • avatar Emily reply

      Sydney, what fantastic suggestions! I love the idea of asking his parents for a favorite, or even trying something new and making it a tradition! Thanks so much for chiming in!

    • avatar Erin reply

      Sydney Dawn: Thanks so much for the response! I guess this question really stemmed from my dad’s sourthern traditions–every New Year’s we have to have ham and black eyed peas for good luck. I just thought there might be something for a wedding, too!

  2. avatar Allie reply

    Love the ideas! Thank you so much for the help! We had planned on either borrowing quilts [my mom is a quilter] or having her help to make some runners to cover them. The first image is beautiful! Would love to hear others experiences as a guest if there are any!

    Thanks for the continued inspiration!

  3. avatar Melissa W reply

    I would definitely go with a meal that has some sentiment behind it. Maybe one of your first meals together. If it was at a restaurant, you can google the recipe and put your own twist on it. Congratulations and good luck on your meal:)

  4. avatar Julie Blanner reply

    I designed a wedding with hay bales and unfortunately, there were several guests who appeared uncomfortable with their allergies. Be prepared and have allergy medication on hand.

    • avatar Morgan reply

      Julie Blanner: Unfortunately I would be one of those guests as well :( I absolutely love the idea of using hay/straw, but my allergies simply couldn’t take it. I went to a wedding last summer that used hay bales for seating and had to leave. And this was even with the bales completely covered in quilts. And I was one of several.

      It’s such a cute idea, but a lot of people have allergies. It’s the same concept as not adding nuts to a lot of your food out of concern for those who might be allergic.

  5. avatar Stephanie reply

    How adorable is the hay-bale seating idea?! Here is a suggestion though (I show horses for a living!) Use STRAW, not hay…
    First of all, it will be cheaper (it isn’t food, it is used as bedding for stalls).
    Second of all, it is much prettier (think bright yellow, not brown/green, like hay is).
    Third, it is more compact, so you are less likely to have bales fall apart on you.
    Fourth, they are less likely to cause allergies.
    Hope that helps!!

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!

Reply to:
close
avatar

Sponsor Love: V3 Print

by in Main, Sponsor Love on

Since we’ve had several inquiries about print advertisements for V4, we wanted to take a moment to look back at our fabulous crop of full-page sponsors that debuted in V3. We take a HUGE amount of care in placing our advertisements (and working with vendors on their ad designs), and we want to show you how fabulous they look in the pages of the magazine! Unlike most wedding magazines, we pride ourselves on NOT being a thick stack of ads, and we believe that makes y’all pay more attention to the ads we do print. From the feedback we’ve gotten from vendors and brides, this seems to be a win-win solution all around.

Intros aside, let’s take a look at a few VIP members of our V3 family!

First up: Storkie! See those beautiful teals, pinks, and blues? All perfectly within our color palette for this issue, making us pleased as punch to have the fine folks at Storkie on the inside front cover. Storkie.com is home to a wide array of stationery designs, ranging from the classic to the fun. You can see a few of my favorites here, here, and here!

Next we have photographer Camille Deann. We thought Camille’s elegant and refined style (and elegant and refined ad!) was a perfect match for my etiquette column. Camille is based just outside of Atlanta, but is happy to travel to wherever your wedding might be located. She also wrote a sweet post about her ad on her blog here. :)

Mike Steelman is a great example of the collaborative process we go through with our sponsors. We went back and forth for days, trying to decide on, between our office and Mike’s, the perfect image to set off his brand. We finally settled on this stunning tree, and I have to say, I think it was a great choice — everyone who sees Mike’s ad is wowed. Mike is based in California but is looking forward to booking some Southern weddings!

Next we have J. Malahy Photography. Josh chose to run the same image as he did in V2, and we couldn’t have been more thrilled! Doesn’t it look perfect sandwiched in between the pages of our color story? Josh is based in Memphis and Atlanta but happy to travel to wherever your wedding might take him! You can check out his site here and blog here.

The darker colors of Cunningham Photo Artists’ ad fit right in next to the opening page of our “Sweet Love” feature. Drea and Casey are based in Charlotte but, as they say, “have camera, will travel!” You can visit their site here and their blog here!

We chose to put photographer Christine Tremoulet’s ad across from the opening page of our “Rockabilly Romance” feature for two main reasons: the bright red of the vintage truck in our shoot perfectly complemented the vintage car in Christine’s photograph, and both Christine and our shoot are based in Texas! Christine is a fabulous destination wedding and boudoir photographer, and you can view her work here and here.

Perez Photography is another one of our dynamite Texas sponsors. We love love love husband and wife team Cesar and Tanya and know you will, too. Check out their site here and blog here, and keep your eyes peeled for their big branding overhaul reveal soon!

It’s a very close call, but I have to say, Paul and Mecheal Johnson might win for my personal favorite ad in V3. It’s just so dreamy, and perfectly reflects their soft, love-and-light-filled style. Plus, it looks so fabulous next to the “Choose Your Own Southern Wedding” spread! The Johnsons are based in Florida but have traveled around the country shooting weddings. You can view their site here and blog here!

Kelly Hornberger’s ad is another that’s striking in its simplicity. LOVE the photo she chose, and love her graphic signature in the bright citron. Clean and modern but warm, just like her photography style. You can see more of her work on her site here and blog here!

Rounding out our photography sponsors, we have Tiffany of Lucky Photography. If you’re looking for a true Southern talent, Tiffany’s your girl! She works throughout Alabama and also shoots child and family portraits. (Just thought I’d toss that out there for those readers who’ve stuck around after the wedding!) You can view her site here and blog here.

Last but certainly not least, we have Rae and Wes Leytham. A husband and wife photography duo based in Florida, they might have the honor of being SW’s longest-running supporters. We love them for that, and also because of their fabulous talent behind the lens. View their site here and their blog here! I must add, also, that their ad looks like it was made to follow Kristin and Kincaid’s wedding. Gorgeous!

If you can believe it, we’ve already had more than a few of our ad slots snapped up for the next issue, even though it isn’t slated to drop until next fall! We’re not kidding about limiting the number of ads we take, so if you think you’d like to join us now that you’ve seen what care we take in management and placement of our sponsors, just email Whitney and she’ll talk things through with you. We’d love to have you! Once again, a huge “thanks, y’all!” to ALL of our sponsors from the SW ladies!

emily Written with love by Emily
0 Comments

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!

Reply to:
close
Top