Southern Weddings

Pre-wedding shots at a local baseball field… now there’s a way to make your wedding pictures stand out and your own personalities shine through.  Not surprisingly, I think this is what we love best about Erin + Matt’s wedding, photographed by Caleb Chancey!  The bride, in cute white leggings and matching Converse sneakers, and the groom, with baseball bat and glove in hand, made their Alabama nuptials all about them.  Erin was effortlessly vintage in a high-neck halter gown from David’s Bridal and her mother’s heirloom veil, and her ten attendants were equally chic (and warm!) in navy David’s Bridal frocks and cold-weather ready pea coats.  The girls carried wild + rustic bouquets designed by one of the bride’s close friends.  (We love Caleb’s work and think you will, too!  Take a look at his post of Erin + Matt Birmingham wedding.)

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met at Samford University through mutual friends.  I was in town during a long winter break my senior year and Matt was living in Birmingham working part-time after graduating that December.   We both spent most of our free time at our mutual friend’s apartment and really began our friendship there.
Describe the proposal.  Matt and I took a road trip to Glacier National Park, Montana last July.  I was hoping that he would propose while we were there, but we got in a huge fight the first day.  He asked me if I was happy in our relationship and I told him I was ready to move forward.  That was the answer that Matt was looking for, but he had not thought of a good follow-up, so he mumbled something vague about trusting that we were in this place for a reason.  I was upset with him the rest of the day, so when he proposed the next day it was a complete surprise!  He asked me to marry him as we were hiking Avalanche Lake.  It was gorgeous and perfect!  I, of course, said yes and we spent the rest of the day celebrating!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Relaxed, cozy and fun.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I tried on a number of dresses at different bridal boutiques, but could not find one that fit my simple style.  My mom and sister finally talked me into going to David’s Bridal, and the one I ended up getting was one of the first that I tried on. I knew instantly that it was exactly what I was looking for!
Describe your wedding flowers: Rustic and wild… beautiful!
Describe your wedding cake: Delicious!  Our primary focus in selecting a wedding cake was taste.  We had Malinda make a small white cake with her famous swiss meringue buttercream frosting for the bride’s cake as well as a lot of different flavored cupcakes (including tiramisu and coca-cola) so everyone could have something they liked.  Matt had a friend make his favorite key-lime pie for his grooms “cake.”
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? A short engagement (only 4 1/2 months!) and a small budget.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? My most memorable moment was right after we walked down the aisle after the wedding.  We were just so giddy and happy that we were able to spend some time together outside of the church before leaving for the reception.  Matt says his favorite moment was our inability to contain our joyful giggling through our vows.
What was your favorite element of your wedding?  I loved how involved all of our friends were in our wedding.  We have extraordinarily talented friends, and we wanted to include them in as many aspects of our wedding as possible.  We had friends play all of our music at the ceremony, as well as our first dance, father/daughter and mother/son dances.  Our friends decorated our reception site, made our cake/key lime pies, did our flowers, did our photography (thank you, wonderful Caleb Chancey!), created our tree guestbook, and so much more!  We are extremely lucky to know all of those wonderful, talented people.   Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?  “To strive for your holiness and encourage you to press on and know the Lord, praying for God to keep us faithful to the Gospel and to each other as long as we both shall live.”
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? Living the ups and downs of life together, traveling, and raising a family to know Christ.

Congratulations, Erin + Matt!  Enjoy this incredible journey together.

Written with love by Lara Casey

Winter (and fall!) brides take note: when looking for the perfect way to dress your maids (and yourself, of course) for cooler temps, look no further than Kilbi + her attendants’ fur wraps and woolen shawls.  I love cool weather weddings and love, love love the splash of chocolate and ivory in an otherwise feminine color palette.  Kilbi’s maids wore pewter bubble-hem frocks from the Jim Hjelm collection and the groomsmen stone-colored Calvin Klein suits.  Did y’all catch the subtle peacock accents in the couple’s floral arrangements (courtesy of A Beautiful Event) and three-tiered square confection from Crumb de la Crumb?  Seems only appropriate that Peacock Invitations designed the couple’s ceremony program!  Hugs to Kellie Kano for sharing this stunning North Carolina soiree.  Don’t forget to take a peek at her original blog post before you go!

Three adjectives that describe the day are: Blissful, surreal and whimsical.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The blue Louboutins, the peacock feathers and the fabulous wine glasses we had made from FizzyArt for our wedding party
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: It was really quite simple. I had made appointments at several bridal salons in NC, so my mom and I ventured off to Nitsa’s in Winston-Salem.  I tried on eight dresses and bought the second one. Mom and I cancelled all other appointments and went to lunch to celebrate.
Describe your wedding flowers: Our flowers were centered around the peacock feather and included various shades of ivory, champagne, green, blue and brown.
Describe your wedding cake: Our wedding cake was a simple three-tiered white cake with peacock feathers embossed on the cake.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Our first look; we have our fabulous photographer to thank for that! It was truly magical. Seeing each other for the first time, sharing those moments before we took our vows and knowing we were made for each other… it was truly incredible.  We also had an audience watching through the windows!
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We went with the standard Presbyterian vows.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? We couldn’t be happier to journey through the rest of our lives together. We are looking forward to sharing love and laughter, having children together and raising our family, and traveling the world.  Most of all, we are looking forward to enjoying every day and making memories together as husband and wife.

Thank you for sharing your wedding with us!  Congratulations to you both!

Kellie Kano is a Southern Weddings sponsor.

Written with love by Lara Casey

There are three things in this North Carolina celebration giving me a more-than-mild case of wedding envy: the bride’s flirty turquoise pumps, her ultra-feminine pink and white rose bouquet and her dress… her lovely lace-embellished, illusion-strapped Pronovias dress.  (Pronovias happens to be one of my very favorite designers, and I knew before I asked that this beauty had to be from their collection.)  Christian Louboutin gets the credit for Kilbi’s hot heels (natch) and A Beautiful Event created the bride’s romantic + sweetly understated bouquet.  Of course, we can’t forget to brag a little about Kellie Kano for capturing this serene seaside wedding on Bald Head Island!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story. Boy meets girl walking into the hotel. Boy is girl’s boss. Boy drinks lots of coffee and is a pretty funny dude. They are fast friends. Life is full of surprises and they realize they are more than friends. Boy and girl go on dates. They drink wine and laugh. Alot. Girl sees boy combing little girl’s hair. Girl melts. Girl and boy realize they are meant for each other. Boy proposes in the dead of winter at the beach and girl spends next 10 months planning (and driving him crazy!). They say ‘I do’ on a magical day and dance the night away. Boy and girl honeymoon Down Under and have the time of their lives. Boy and girl start on their journey of ‘happily ever after,’ loving every second…
Describe the proposal (As told by the Groom) Originally, I had planned to propose to Kilbi at Lake Tahoe on an upcoming ski trip. I hadn’t quite figured out the time and location, but thought that it would be a beautiful setting to ask her to marry me. However, a series of events and my suspicion that Kilbi was catching on to my plan called for a change of plans.

We had visited Bald Head Island over New Year’s and had really fell in love with the island. Over the previous couple of months, we had looked at somewhere very similar to get married, called Palmetto Bluff. So when we visited Bald Head, the unique feel and layout of the island was perfect for a smaller and more special wedding, which was exactly we wanted. After returning from the island, we made inquires as to what dates were available for a wedding at Bald Head Island. Fortunately, there were still a few dates left in the Fall, which was exactly when we wanted to get married!  We planned to go to BHI to look at the chapel and other wedding locations the following weekend. She had discussed visiting BHI with her mother, wanting her to go, but her mom wanted to see some “hardware” prior to making wedding plans. If momma is not happy, then nobody is happy :). I knew I had to act smoothly and swiftly because I wanted to make sure that we would be able to get our date at BHI for this year. I wanted this special day to be perfect for Kilbi, just as she had always wanted. My mind was set and I did not want to wait a moment longer to marry her.

With her parents’ help, we devised a plan for Kilby and I to head to the beach for the weekend and for her parents to join us later that night. (My parents, who were already down at the beach, were also part of the plan.)  I had my mother make dinner reservations for Kilby and me at a quaint restaurant on the water. After a nice dinner and some conversation over a bottle of wine, I tried try to throw her off track with discussion of the ideas to visit BHI to make plans for our wedding. At this point, there still was no ring so that plan had been put on the back burner and was a bit of a sore subject. However, little did she know I was about to change that very quickly!

Out of nowhere I pulled the ring from my pocket and asked Kilbi if she would marry me. I think my quick change of direction threw her off-guard.  She was in total shock!  All I remember is her crying and freaking out from sheer excitement. Her reaction, which we both laugh about now, was better than I could have ever imagined. All of our plans and thoughts of spending our lives together had now become a reality. We were getting married on November 21, 2009 and the rest is history…

Kellie Kano is a Southern Weddings sponsor.

Written with love by Lara Casey