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Category: Real Southern Weddings

We’re back with more from the OMG cute Erica + Chet and the talented duo of OLOL!  As Jesse said in her blog post about the wedding, “Erica and Chet were so calm and relaxed I tend to believe they marry each other often.”  The SW office loves the clean, modern aesthetic the couple paired with the rough brick of the King Plow Event Gallery, the music videos they projected on the gallery wall during the dancing portion of the night, the lovely florals by Bloom Floral Design, Erica’s custom gown, the cupcakes from Sweet Pockets Cupcakes, and, well, everything else.  And Erica loves SW (she said so!).  So all around, it’s just a big love fest, which is really, you know, what this wedding thing is all about.

Describe your wedding flowers: My mom and aunts did all of the table flowers, which we bought at a local flower wholesaler the day before.  They did such a great job, and the flowers looked amazing.  We went with a mostly white palette (ranunculus, snap dragons, lisianthus and spray roses) with tiny splashes of red and yellow ranunculus.  The bridal party bouquets and boutonnieres (which were made by Cathy of Bloom Floral Design) were entirely white ranunculus.
Describe your wedding cake
: Rather than having a traditional tiered wedding cake, we opted for cupcakes from Sweet Pockets.  Not only are their cupcakes delicious (!), but they also offered a “giant cupcake” for the top tier, so we could still do the whole cake cutting with our little “Homie” on top.  Who doesn’t love unwrapping your own little special cupcake?  I illustrated a sign to identify the five flavors we chose, and everyone had a lot of fun finding their favorite.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?
  Without a doubt, the time Chet and I spent wandering off before the ceremony to escape the questions and decorating and chaos.  escaping the questioning and decorating and chaos.  It was definitely some of the best time Chet and I got to spend that day.
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?
  We chickened out!  The plan was to write our own vows, but then the pressure of already being on display in front of an audience was just too much.  Instead, we wrote each other notes and exchanged them just before the ceremony.  It was really nice because it kind of set the mood for what was about to happen.

Congratulations, Erica + Chet!  We wish you all the best as newlyweds.

Our Labor of Love is a Southern Weddings sponsor.

Written with love by Katharine
6 Comments
  1. avatar WaterBoy reply

    It was a great wedding. The attention to detail was off the chart. Some of the things you guys made I would have never thought of but you two pulled it off. And those constant little reminders that kept coming in the mail (and Email) for what seemed like 3 years, were precious.I’m glad that I was able to be part of your special day.

  2. avatar Gayle reply

    Your photos are gorgeous. They convey a sense of intimacy whilst still being a celebration. I love your little touches too. Gorgeous. :)

  3. avatar Aunt Linda reply

    Sophisticated, elegant, warm and filled with love and laughter is how I would describe Chet and Erica’s wedding. I was thrilled to be a part of it. It was over the top!!!!

  4. avatar Uncle Kurt reply

    It was an awesome wedding. Though they did make me do too much work! =P

  5. avatar DJ Lou reply

    It was great working with the bride and groom. They made my job very easy and I wish every couple were like them. Fun and willing to try something new!

  6. avatar Melesha reply

    I love the cupcake stand. I wish someone had thought of those when I got married.

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First, can I just say that, aside from her lovely wedding, I am in LOVE with the color of Erica’s hair?  I kind of want to go out and dye mine the exact. same. shade.  Okay!  Now that that’s out in the open, let’s move on to Erica + Chet’s bash at the King Plow Event Gallery in Atlanta, photographed by the over-the-top fabulous Jesse + Whit (better known as Our Labor of Love!).  They really have a knack for bringing out the best in their portrait subjects, don’t they?  And in their still life subjects, I might add, like Erica’s custom-made dress (courtesy of Chelsea Cook) and pretty white ranunculus bouquet, designed by her mother and Bloom Floral Design.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met while working at Georgia State as Community Assistants.  We planned programs together, slowly started hanging out just by ourselves, became good friends, and, before we knew it ,were dating.  Our first date was to the drive-in to see the romantic classics “The Grudge” and “Saw II.”  Five years later, and here we are!
Describe the proposal. 
Long story short[er], we were walking along a canal in Amsterdam last summer when I finally admitted to Chet that I had found the ring… I just couldn’t hold it in any longer, it had been days!  So Chet asked, right then and there, and I said yes!
Three adjectives that describe the day are
: Sparkling, perfect and normal.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?
  Since Chet and I are both designers, it was really important that we collaborate and make the wedding entirely “us.”  We wanted it to be classic, timeless and elegant, while still making it fun and upbeat in other ways.  The ceremony was mostly blacks, whites and ivories, while all of our printed material, cupcakes, etc. brought in the splashes of color.  Because of the detail of the space, especially the raw textures of the old brick walls, concrete floors, and metal doors, we wanted to keep the overall design very simple and understated.  Lots of ivory and white candles, not a lot of overdone floral arrangements.  We just let the space speak for itself!
What was your favorite design element of your big day?
 The birds.  The symbolism of the birds flying over us as we said our vows made the ceremony even more special.  We carried the bird theme through the entire design of the wedding – from the Save-the-Dates all the way to the actual ceremony.  The purity and subtlety of the white birds against the raw brick walls was so beautiful, and we were just thrilled with how Our Labor of Love captured this balance.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was
: Seeing how everyone experienced all of our details.  After spending countless hours and late nights designing and producing down to the very last detail of our wedding, it was so special to see all of the people we love and care about enjoying the time we put into the big day.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:
Well, I couldn’t find a wedding dress!  I would go in the expensive stores and oooh and aaah over the lovely dresses with their lovely details, but then I would see the price tags and knew there was just no way.  Then I would go to the bargain stores and be so utterly saddened to watch the mass produced factory dresses get tossed onto the dingy floors. Then, thanks to my beloved architecture professor LaRaine Montgomery, I got in touch with the extremely talented Chelsea Cook.  At SCAD we had done a fashion and architecture collaborative studio, and I had always marveled at her detailing and craft.  So we collaborated on my dress!  Chelsea is based in New York, so we did lots of emailing, sending samples, sketches, and muslins, and, in the end, the dress was just so perfect and everything I ever hoped it would be.  Chelsea hand stitched each and every little piece of lace onto the dress.  You could really see the love that she put into it, which made me love it all the more.  (Not to mention how it sparkled in the candlelight as I walked down the aisle.)

Our Labor of Love is a Southern Weddings sponsor.

Written with love by Katharine
3 Comments
  1. avatar Kate Miller Events reply

    That bird mobile is pretty incredible!

  2. avatar Kim Loesing reply

    This is great. The pictures reflect the beauty of the day, the ceremony and especially the couple!

  3. avatar Tanja Keay reply

    Wow, what beautiful pictures and what a beautiful couple. Congrats.

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In fairness, Ginny definitely is a bride after my own heart, what with her all-white décor and all, but you’ve got to agree that there’s something effortlessly elegant and even a little chic about the couple’s Carillon Beach nuptials.  I’m sure the appeal of this Florida wedding has something to do with the talented photographers who snapped the pictures – hey, Rae + Wesley Leytham! – but I’m all about the clean, sophisticated whites + ivories the bride chose: ivory roses + hydrangeas from Nouveau Flowers, a towering all-white cake from Confections on the Coast, a vintage-inspired lace Melissa Sweet dress… you get the idea.  Totally me, right?  The bridesmaids’ sapphire blue gowns courtesy of Bill Levkoff add a welcome pop of color and are the perfect accent for a seaside wedding.  Thanks again to Rae + Wesley Leytham of Rae Leytham Photography for sharing their work with us.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  Brad and I have known each other since we were twelve-years-old.  We grew up down the street from each other in Crestview, Florida, and fell in love in the 8th grade while singing together in chorus.  We have loved each other for as long as we can remember, but after high school, the timing wasn’t quite right, and we were accepted into different colleges.  We kept in touch over the years, finally reconnecting last summer after we both moved back to the Destin area to practice law.
Describe the proposal.
Brad proposed on my 30th birthday on the beach in Destin near the restaurant where we had our first date.  He asked me to walk on the beach with him, and I noticed a man taking pictures near where we were standing.  Then Brad got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  Little did I know, the photographer was taking pictures of us!  Brad arranged the whole thing: he wanted to capture the proposal on film.  It was a wonderful surprise.
Three adjectives that describe the day are:
Romantic, Sweet… and FREEZING!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:
The dress was an ivory Melissa Sweet French lace sheath with a sweep train. It was the first dress I tried on, and I fell in love with it instantly!
Describe your wedding flowers:
Ivory roses and hydrangeas.
Describe your wedding cake:
A French vanilla four-tier cake with a lace fondant pattern that matched my dress.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Time!  We had a very short engagement (4 months).  Luckily, I had a wonderful wedding planning team at Carillon Weddings who coordinated everything and made it wonderful.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? We decided to see each other before the ceremony so that we could have a quiet moment to ourselves and take photos with just the two of us. The most memorable moment was walking into the empty chapel and seeing his face.
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? No, but we did have a reading of John Donne’s “The Good-Morrow,” one of my favorite poems.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? 
We are really excited about buying a home in the Bluewater Bay area in the next few months and are looking forward to just enjoying our time together as a couple.

Congratulations, Ginny + Brad!  Welcome to the newlyweds club!

Rae Leytham Photography is a Southern Weddings sponsor.

Written with love by Southern Weddings
9 Comments
  1. avatar Sarah reply

    This is such a pretty, classically elegant wedding! I adore the quaint little chapel too….it’s absolutely darling. Congratulations!

  2. avatar Mindy reply

    Great location. The details were amazing!

  3. avatar cm photography reply

    Those images are beautiful, very inspirational, love it.

  4. avatar WEDification.com reply

    Stunning details and beautiful photography. Rae and Wes always do such an amazing job!

  5. avatar Terry reply

    Such an elegant, gorgeous wedding!

  6. avatar Rae Leytham reply

    Thanks so much for posting this amazing wedding. The vendors involved were absolutely amazing and Brad and Ginny were the perfect couple. We didn’t let a little wind and a lot of cold get the best of us!! We are honored to be a part of it all! –Rae & Wes.

  7. avatar Ginny reply

    Thank you so much for posting our wedding and for all of the wonderful compliments! We are so grateful to everyone who helped make our wedding day so special! Thanks especially to Rae and Wes for the amazing photos and for putting us all at ease. xoxo – Ginny & Brad

  8. avatar Lauren reply

    just wondering where this took place?

  9. avatar Southern Weddings reply

    Hi Lauren! Ginny and Brad were married at Carillon Beach in Florida. Their ceremony was held in the Meeting House and the reception at the Village Green. We always love Carillon Beach wedding!! Katharine @ Southern Weddings

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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