Southern Weddings

Brittany + Patrick’s Kentucky wedding from Laura Negri Photgraphy reminds me how much I adore red accents!  (It really isn’t used enough, it it?)  Just like the bride was hoping, the ruby-colored red details in everything from the bridesmaids’ pleated Anna Elyse sundresses and matching bouquets from family friend, Nancy Potter, to the bride’s fun, feathered shoes really pop against a crisp, all-white background.  How stunning does the bride, in a wonderfully lacy Lazaro, look amidst the lipstick-colored details?  We’re swooning over the newlyweds’ fence-side portraits in front of the Mt. Horeb Presbyterian Church where they exchanged traditional Christian vows but are mildly obsessed with the father of the bride’s classic 1936 Ford truck that served as the wedding party’s getaway car. 

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met in 2003 while studying at the University of Florida in Gainesville.  One night, my best friend and I were going out to some of our favorite places downtown and she decided to invite some of her friends from high school.  Patrick was one of the people I met that night and nothing was ever the same.  He was handsome smart and had the best sense of humor of anyone I had ever met!
Describe the proposal.  The proposal was perfect and I never saw it coming.  Patrick and I had made plans to spend the weekend at Disney World (one of my favorite places) but he didn’t want to propose there.  The ring was burning a hole in his pocket so he knew he had to come up with a pretty clever plan to talk me out of going to Disney.  That’s when his Dad called and told me he won a package at an auction and didn’t realize it expired that weekend (his parents were out of town).  The package was a sunset boat rental on the lake, followed by drinks and dinner at the Mission Inn Resort Club.  I really wanted to go to Disney, but I felt bad for his parents so said we would use the package for them.  Wow, was I ever fooled.  When we arrived at his parent’s house on Saturday, the ruse was all set up.  They even went so far as to make a fake auction letter and had it all printed on Mission Inn letterhead.  Pat and I made our way to the dock for our boat rental and spent the afternoon cruising around.  It turned out to be a beautiful evening and we anchored the boat to watch the sun set.  We were dancing on the boat and, just after watching one of the most beautiful sunsets, Pat dropped to one knee and asked me to make him the happiest man in the world before pulling out the most beautiful emerald-cut diamond I had ever seen.  “Will you marry me?” he asked.  I was so surprised and emotional I forgot to answer to “yes.”  Once I realized what had just happened, I kept saying “yes!” over and over.  I was even more surprised when he told me all of our family and friends were in on the surprise.  We had an amazing dinner at the Mission Inn that night.  The entire balcony was reserved for the two of us and there flowers and a card waiting from his parents.  We went to Disney the next day, of course.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Classic, elegant and fun!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted the day to reflect each of our personalities.  We wanted to incorporate vintage flair and Southern hospitality, all the while keeping the design elegant and timeless.  We wanted to use red and a lot of other bright summer colors to complement it.
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  We loved all the red!  It all started with the bridesmaids’ dresses.  We picked red dresses because we thought the color red would really “pop” against all the beautiful Kentucky bluegrass.  It all came together with the red in the flowers, the red velvet wedding cake and even my beautiful wedding shoes. 
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our getaway cars!  After the ceremony the entire wedding party rode in the back of my dad’s 1936 Ford truck that was once used to service an apple orchard.  It was one of our favorite memories of the day.  Cars were honking and we were all waving like we were in a parade.  After the reception, Patrick and I made our getaway in a beautiful 1956 Bentley.  It was so romantic because it was finally just the two of us and we were riding away in this beautiful classic car. 

Check back soon for more of Brittany + Patrick’s real (red!) Kentucky wedding!

Written with love by Lara Casey

There’s nothing quite like a sweetly pastel North Carolina wedding to brighten an otherwise rainy day here at SW.  Emily + Arch, college sweethearts who met during their freshman year at Davidson, were married at the quaint Little Church on the Lane where they attended weekly Sunday services as students.  Thanks to the photographs from Bill Broere, we love how the light pinks, yellows and greens of their springtime bouquets from Elizabeth House Flowers seem to pop against the all-blue background of the bridesmaids’ Badgley Mischka frocks.  The bride, in a vintage-inspired Rivini lace gown and chapel length veil, was the perfect complement to her tuxedoed groom.  Naturally, as the black-and-white aficionado I am, my favorite part of the couple’s black-tie reception at the Charlotte Country Club has got to be the dramatic B&W marble flooring set against the gold chiavari chairs.  I’d ask for a piece of the couple’s almond and butter cream cake from Cathy Allen, but think the four-tiered flower-covered confection looks too good to eat. 

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met at Davidson College during our freshmen year.  Though Arch had caught my eye during orientation week, I officially met Arch through his roommate, Taylor. After a few awkward encounters with shy Arch, I decided to ask him to be my date to our first social function, “Bungle in the Jungle.”  I was over the moon that he agreed to be my date!  I went as a pink panther and Arch wore a rubber zebra outfit.  We started dating officially on Valentine’s Day of our freshmen year and dated for the rest of our time at Davidson.  In those years, our relationship strengthened as we enjoyed date nights walking through campus, going for ice cream, movies and dinners.  Davidson will always be a special place for us, since it’s where our story began.
Describe the proposal.  Arch’s favorite place in the world is Northport Point, Michigan.  It’s is a beautiful, peaceful place where Arch and his family spent many of their summers.  Northport Point is also very dear to me, since it is where I first fell in love with Arch and began imagining our lives together.  On my 6^th annual trip to Northport Point, we decided to take our normal walk around the point.  As we reached the end of the point, we sat on benches overlooking Lake Michigan and talking about how much we loved each other and how we couldn’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.  Before I knew it, Arch was down on one knee and asking if I would spend the rest of my life with him.  Of course, I said, “Yes!”  We walked home to share the great news with our parents before celebrating our many blessings at a morning church service.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Purposeful, magical and joyful.
What was your favorite design element of your big day? My favorite design element was using the color and design of the light blue periwinkle hydrangeas in all our favors and flowers.  Our water bottles, save the date cards and favor labels all included the same beautiful design element.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I chose my wedding dress from Nitsa’s in Charlotte, NC.  My mom and mother-in-law drove down to Charlotte with me for our second day of dress shopping.  I knew I wanted a lace gown and the bridal gown specialist, Naomi, already had a dress in mind for me.  When I put it on, I immediately knew I had found my dress. My mom was smiling from ear to ear and my mother-in-law was in tears. I was so pleased and excited that I did not need to look any further. I now know that the sayings are true: I did just know when I found the right dress. 
Describe your wedding flowers: My wedding flowers looked like a beautiful Spring painting.  The main colors for my wedding were periwinkle, yellow and green.  Since my bridesmaids wore periwinkle dresses, their bouquets consisted on periwinkle hydrangeas, green orchids, yellow roses and green buds.  My bouquet was absolutely stunning. It included several blush pink peonies, green orchids, and yellow roses, and light blue delphiniums.
Describe your wedding cake: Our wedding cake was absolutely breathtaking. It was a four-tiered round cake with ivory butter cream icing and alternating almond and butter cream filling. The cake was decorated with lace and little icing beads outlining each of the four layers.  It was also decorated blue delphiniums and yellow and white roses. The cake was truly a work of art and somehow tasted even better! T he best part is that we got to keep the flowers! 
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  Arch was completely clueless about my dress, which made for a fun surprise.  He also did not see me between the rehearsal dinner and the actual ceremony.  When we finally saw one another in the church, we were both blown away.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  The most memorable moment of my wedding day was seeing Arch’s eyes when I walked down the aisle and knowing that he would be my first, my last, and my only for always.  After our memorable ceremony, we had a blast with our first dance to James Taylor’s “How Sweet it is to be Loved by You.”  
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  Currently, we are enjoying being married and living in a big city.  Our hope is to return to Chapel Hill, North Carolina and for me to pursue a Ph.D in Public Health.  Arch hopes to continue working as a broker in a Southern city.  We are looking forward to several fun weekend trips and hopefully a trip to Eastern Europe in the Spring of 2010.

Congratulations, Emily + Arch!  Best wishes for your new life together.

Written with love by Lara Casey