Southern Weddings

It should come as no surprise that the wedding of For the Makers co-founder Janet was a perfect example of DIY-done-elegant — after all, through her genius business, this talented gal has subtracted the guesswork and multiplied the beauty of craft projects everywhere. (LOVE!) So even though her wedding to Collin was filled with DIY projects, from the dye-dipped napkins and table runners, to the watercolor invitations and custom wine labels, the chalkboard photo booth backdrop, Janet’s jewelry, and ALL the desserts, the end result is clean, sophisticated, and understated. Huge thanks to Julia Wade for capturing everything to perfection so we could share!

What a beautiful sentiment with which to start your wedding day!

Janet’s gorgeous necklace was actually featured as a DIY on For the Makers — find it here!

A lot of the music, both from the ceremony and reception, was really just songs that represent memories that we’ve shared. Many of the songs were later-year hits from the Beatles. I walked down the aisle to “Here, There and Everywhere,” and exited to “All You Need is Love.” We chose Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” as our first dance because we love the song and we were married on the first day of fall (just after a harvest moon).

So many happy faces in a row!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met in college. He sat in front of me in Art History. I asked him for pencils. The whole semester, he would turn around to look at a clock behind me, even though we both knew that he couldn’t actually see it from where he was sitting. On the last day of class, I asked him out for coffee. He said yes (and that he had wanted to do the same but was too shy) and we’ve been inseparable since. That was ten years ago.

I saw a Vera Wang dress in a magazine and thought it would absolutely be the one. I booked an appointment at the showroom along with a few other places in NYC, and my mom came up from North Carolina to help me look. The Vera Wang dress turned out to be a complete disaster — I took it off just as fast as I put it on. At the next location, I pulled several dresses from the racks, and the second one I put on made my mom start crying. I loved its simplicity and subtle structure. I slept on it and we went back the next day and bought it. I wasn’t a fan of the flutter sleeve that it originally had, so we had them alter the shoulder for a more streamlined look. After that change, I loved it even more.

Describe your wedding flowers. Natural, loosely arranged in pretty pale tones. Both the ceremony floral arrangements and the table arrangements were stunning. Each one was different and in a different vase/vessel. We included fruit and lots of foliage. We wanted it to feel natural and fit in with the gorgeous venue.

Get ready for your mouths to water, y’all…

Instead of a cake, we opted for cakes. My mother, an excellent baker, crafted more than a dozen cakes, plus cookies, truffles and macarons. The specific cake that we cut was a three-layer white velvet cake with milk chocolate buttercream icing, wrapped with French vanilla buttercream. It was topped off with a poured dark chocolate ganache. And it was the best cake ever.

Tell us all about the proposal! It was my birthday. We spent the day wandering around the city, shopping, eating and drinking. Hours later, we went to my favorite restaurant and ordered my favorite meal. On the way out to catch a cab, he asked me if I felt like the luckiest girl in New York City and I said yes. Then he said “will you make me the luckiest guy in New York City”? I turned around and he had knelt down on the sidewalk looking up at me with a cute box in his hand. I said yes before he could even open it or say anything else. All I remember saying was “oh my God” over and over again. I was shocked. After nine years of dating, you just don’t expect it. He asked me if I liked the ring and I realized I hadn’t even looked at it. It was gorgeous and perfect. We got into a cab and drove off to midtown to catch a Broadway show we had tickets for. After that, we met up with friends for celebratory drinks. It was the perfect day.
When did y’all get married? September 22nd, 2012
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 170
Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? No, neither of us wanted to. Collin said the first time he wanted to see me was when I walked down the aisle. I felt the same way.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our favorite details really sprang from my DIY skills. My mother, my bridesmaids and I worked to create one-of-a-kind pieces that tied in with the overall theme of the wedding. From dye-dipped napkins and table runners to watercolored invitations and custom wine labels, the wedding really reflected the warm, personal feel of an idea that was hand crafted. The ultimate centerpiece was a huge chalkboard that doubled as a photo booth backdrop and giant wedding card.
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! On the inside of my dress, we sewed in one of my late Grandmother’s blue silk hair ribbons that I borrowed from my mom. So that covers everything!
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? We heard it was good luck to bury a bottle of bourbon a month before the wedding so it wouldn’t rain. We did that. It absolutely worked. We had gorgeous weather and not one second after the last song ended, it started to rain. The next day, we dug the bourbon up and drank it, as all good Southerners would do.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The biggest challenges when planning the wedding centered around our distance from the location. While the caterers, photographer, florists, and most importantly, our family members were busy planning and facilitating, we were hundreds of miles away in NYC. We both had fairly unforgiving schedules at the time, so finding our way down to meet and plan with all of the various folks that really pulled this day off proved to be incredibly challenging.
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? Hands down, Julia was the best photographer we could have ever asked for. She was so warm and professional that she truly felt like a part of the bridal party by the end of the week. While all of our vendors were amazing to work with and blew away our expectations, Julia still managed to shine.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? We both agree that our favorite moment was the walk down the aisle. Everything was perfect. Neither one of us have ever smiled half as hard as we were in that moment.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? Just more of the same. Please and thanks.

Julia Wade is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Written with love by Emily