Southern Weddings

We had the pleasure of lunching with Drea of {Casey Cunningham Photography} a couple months ago.  Over cupcakes at the Carolina Cafe, Drea told us about the most recent wedding she and Casey had shot. It happened to be this stunning rustic Western North Carolina wedding of Amanda + Thomas. This beautiful wedding took place at {Camp Broadstone}. Flowers (I love her vibrant bouquet!) by {Newland Florist}. Amanda designed her own dress and had it created by a local seamstress. The wedding cake was made by Amanda’s godmother, Shawn Banks. Amanda also created all of her paper goods for the wedding. Kudos to Amanda – so creative! Thanks to Drea for submitting this wedding to us! Check out more from this NC wedding on their {blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story… We met five years before when we were neighbors in an apartment complex.
Describe the proposal: Well, we actually decided together that we were ready to get married in November 2007, and went ahead with the announcement, then started ring shopping. I loved the look of art deco period rings, but today’s replica designs weren’t quite right. Eventually we found a local jeweler who was willing to work with us to create my dream ring. The ring was finished two days before I was scheduled to get braces for six months to treat TMJ. So we were going out for my “last meal” (brace-free) when Thomas pulled over at a scenic area pretending to scout it out as a potential wedding location. He asked me to get out of the car to read the sign on the gate for contact information. Not realizing what was going on, and it being winter in the mountains (freezing), I adamantly refused, and read the sign to him from the car. So, going with the flow, and my stubborn nature Thomas went ahead and popped the question in the car, presenting me the most beautiful ring I had ever seen, honestly it’s amazing!
What attracted me to my husband was: His sincerity, intelligence, and sense of humor.
What attracted me to my wife was: Her strong mind, great sense of humor and loving nature.
The weather on our wedding day was: Gorgeous. Fall in the mountains means crisp blue skies, fiery foliage, and that enviable golden glow of the sun.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Rustic chic- I loved the idea of contrast.
Favorite design element of your big day: I found gorgeous handmade lotka paper with a paisley and floral pattern from an online supplier. I based all the printed materials around that pattern.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I fell in love with something completely out of my budget, so I found a seamstress who was able and willing to work with me. This allowed me a lot of freedom in the design and construction; I even picked out all the fabric!
Describe your wedding flowers: I wanted the majority of the flowers to represent the season and the location, so our florist used a variety of dahlias and chrysanthemums, both plentiful in the south during fall. Galax leaves, kangaroo paw, and bells of Ireland also helped to round out the centerpieces.
Describe your wedding cake: I decided on the topper first, what I deemed to be a tasteful, artist interpretation of dancing bears would hint to our love of the Grateful Dead. The rest of the cake decoration seemed obvious, some twigs, leaves and berries would adorn the delicious creation my godmother would labor over. The flavors included chocolate cake with espresso hazelnut filling, lemon poppy seed with raspberry filling, apple spice cake with caramel cream, and orange dreamsicle cake with cream cheese filling; but en route the cake fell over, and in the end I think we had the lemon poppy seed layer, and some of the chocolate layer.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Too hard to pick just one but Thomas votes for the Excalibur get-away car! Always go out in style!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Planning from the hospital…my dad ended up being hospitalized for nearly six months at the beginning of the year. So, I spent most days at the hospital with him, and planning was really difficult. I had so much time to think about my vision, but in the end I had very little time to interview vendors before making selections.
Scariest moment? The phone call about the cake disaster! The look on my mom’s face came after the sobbing, I could hear through the phone.
Funniest moment? Right before the ceremony was about to begin, Thomas was making humorous small talk with his best man, forgetting that his microphone was already turned on for the vow exchange…After numerous chuckles from the audience, someone finally told him they could hear everything he was saying on through the speakers.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The cake fiasco.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Festive, enchanting, blessed.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? (Favorite part of the ceremony): We had my godmother’s 11-year-old daughter read excerpts from Sandol Stoddard Warburg’s book, {I Like You}, during the ceremony, it put a smile on everyone’s face.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Choose your vendors wisely. These people are inevitably responsible for the production of your planning. Even the most organized and controlling bride eventually has to relinquish command, and let the day unfold.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? House shopping!!!

Congratulations to Amanda + Thomas. We hope you find a house that becomes a home!

Notice anything different? The stunning Stephanie did a dress change post-ceremony! Her first dress was by {Blush Couture} and the second by {Warren Barron Bridal}. This reception was full of fun with a cigar rolling table by {d’Havana Cigars, LLC}, gelato by {Paciugo} and beautiful wedding cake by {Lakeview Bakery}. I wish I could have been there! I love the custom monogram that they used throughout the wedding– a great way to tie everything together. Take a look at the cake, table numbers and even the dance floor! Check out all the shots on Perez Photography’s {Blog}.  Happy Friday y’all!  Who’s ready to get a copy of SW next week!?

The weather on our wedding day was: Perfect! Sunny and in the 70s. It was the first weekend in fall and, in Texas, you never know what you are going to get, weather wise, and we truly had a beautiful fall day.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? I wanted simple and elegant with a twist of contemporary.
Favorite design element of your big day: I loved it all! I’d have to say how the florals and lighting pulled together.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: My wedding dress was one of the first items I found. I have never really liked dresses with a lot of detail and when I tried on my dress, I just knew. The simple modified mermaid silhouette with two types of silk was just what I was looking for. I also loved that it had two thin straps, which you don’t see as often in wedding dresses. We looked at a few more places just to make sure, but went back to Blush Couture in Dallas to get my Junko Yoshioka dress. Later on in the planning stages, I decided I wanted something fun to change into for the reception so, after the first dance, I snuck away and put on a cute Vera Wang short dress from Warren Barron to be able to relax and dance with all the guests for the rest of the night!
Describe your wedding flowers: All white! When I chose black and white as the color scheme, I decided early on that I wanted all of the flowers to be white.
Describe your wedding cake: The wedding cake was actually not what I had envisioned. I imagined the monogram to be in fondant and a bit smaller. The groom’s cake was supposed to have the monogram as well, but didn’t. I think it was really the only hitch that happened on the wedding day.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The awesome introductions that Andy Austin provided when we brought in the wedding party. It was truly awesome. He took the few answers we had given to him about each person and made incredible intros that had everyone at the entire wedding laughing, including the people being roasted!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Making sure to combine Ulises’ Hispanic traditions and music into the wedding so that both sides of the families would fell comfortable and have a great time at the wedding.
Funniest moment? A few years back (after a couple of cocktails at the wedding reception) I had purchased this horrible space-looking painting from a street vendor on 6th street in Austin for two of my friends who had just gotten married. When I gave it to them we all laughed hysterically and they said whenever I got married, it would be returned. Lo and behold when we arrived in our honeymoon suite, the painting was right there on our bed, among rose petals. Ulises and I died laughing, it was great.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? There is no such thing has being too organized, but remember to let things go on the day of the wedding, relax and truly soak everything in. It really does fly by.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Up next is finally decorating our house! It definitely got put on the back burner while we were planning the wedding and it is needing some TLC.

Congratulations to Stephanie + Ulises! Have fun making your house a home.

Are you a fan of {Wedding Bee}, one of the ultimate wedding blogs that every bride should follow? Well, then you are in for a treat! Stephanie {aka Miss Hydrangea from Wedding Bee} married Ulises this fall in {St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church}. The ceremony was followed by a fabulous reception at the {W Hotel – Victory Park Dallas}. We love love love these details! Floral design by {Bella Flora}. Photography by {Perez Photography}.  Read on to hear about how they weaved family heritage into their big day and learn how they met in high school Spanish class. Perhaps he had her at Hola!

How did the two of you meet? We are both from the same small town, about 30 minutes east of Dallas. Both of us graduated from the same high school and, although we had Spanish class together (and Ulises thought Stephanie was pretty cute), we never really knew each other. It wasn’t until after college that we met through mutual acquaintances and we quickly became good friends. During Thanksgiving of 2005, Ulises went in for the kill, planted one on me and we’ve been together ever since.
Describe the proposal: I had actually been out with my girlfriends to have wine and dinner the night before Ulises’ birthday. One of my friends came back to the house with me and we hung out until late in the night with Ulises. Once she left, and it was officially after midnight, Ulises had me wait in our room because his mom had given us something and he wanted to show me. Next thing I know he is kneeling down beside the bed and I was saying yes. I knew we would be engaged soon, but didn’t think he had talked to my dad yet (he’s traditional like that) so I was completely surprised. I love that he did it on his birthday – I think I ended up with the better gift that day J
What attracted me to my husband was: His smile, his loyalty to his family and friends and his good manners.
Why do you love your husband? Because he is determined, kind and my best friend! I can tell him anything and he loves me no less.
What attracted me to my wife was: I got the whole package with Stephanie. Personality, good looks, determined, outgoing and never shy to speak her mind, which I love.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? We included the Spanish traditions of the Lazo and Arras, as well as having padrinos for our rings and the Bible.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Having all the people that we love, adore and admire in one room from both sides of the family at all the same time. Who knows if we will ever be that lucky to have them all together again.

Check back later for more from Stephanie + Ulises.