Southern Weddings

Jane + David enlisted the help of Lisa and Janet from {Out of Hand} to help with the flowers and decor for their gorgeous southern wedding. The finished product is so delightful, don’t you think? Thank you so much, Heather, for sharing these spectacular images with us. To see more of Heather’s wonderful photography be sure to check out her {Blog}.

The weather on our wedding day was: Absolutely perfect!! It was sunny, not to hot, and there was a great breeze.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? I wanted something simple, vintage, and natural. Our location was so beautiful that I did not want to detract from it.
Describe your wedding flowers: The flowers were a selection of orchids and parrot tulips in shades of orange and purple. I used a lot of lavender, thistle, curly willow, and eucalyptus as well.
Describe your wedding cake: The cake was very simple. It was square shaped basic white cake with ivory frosting and a few purple dots on the edges. The day of the wedding I added a few orange parrot tulips.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My favorite detail of the wedding was the bagpiper. While the guests were arriving I did not have any music. I wanted the bagpiper to be a surprise so he was locked away with my bridesmaids and I. When he started to play it marked the beginning of the ceremony. Everything was so quiet and beautiful and all of a sudden this loud awkward sounding instrument, that you either love or hate, starts playing behind all of our guests. He definitely got everyone’s attention.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The biggest challenge was probably making the guest list. We wanted a small wedding of family and close friends, and our venue also could only hold a certain number of guests. It was hard to exclude people because I did not want to upset anyone, but compromises had to be made.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? My most memorable moment was walking down the aisle and seeing David for the first time that day. I had the bagpiper walk in right before me and my heart was pounding, but as soon as I turned the corner and saw David I was calmed. I was so happy and could not believe that we were actually getting married. I had a pretty long walk so I could not make out his expression when I started, but the closer I got I could see his smile growing bigger as I approached.
Scariest moment? My bridesmaids and I had our hair done and got dressed out at the plantation. We were already running a little bit late due to traffic and making sure everything was set at the plantation’s entrance, but I felt better once we pulled up to the cottage and I saw the hairdresser already there. The problem was that the cottage was locked. We frantically searched the area for anyone who may have a key or know what to do. I did not want to panic but there was nowhere else to go. After almost 20 minutes we finally got the door open and frantically unloaded everything.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: unforgettable, timeless, fun
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? We did not write our own vows but we each picked out a Bible verse to be a message to each other. The verses were used as the basis of the sermon during our ceremony and we engraved them in our wedding bands as a constant reminder of the day to each other.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration: Enjoy every moment because it goes by so fast.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Right now the plan is to take time to ourselves and enjoy being married. We bought a house that needs some decorating love.

Congratulations to Jane + David!

This real wedding had loads of southern charm with lace table linens, exposed wood tables and even a peacock roaming the grounds. The talented {Heather Forsythe Photography} took these lovely images of Jane + David’s southern wedding. To see more of Heather’s work check out her amazing {Blog}.  Stay tuned for Part II….

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story… David is a member of the gym that I personal train at and we had begun to notice each other across the gym. David made the first move and introduced himself to me. While talking we realized that we not only lived in the same apartment complex, but the same building as well. After spending time together once we instantly became inseparable.
Describe the proposal: The proposal was a total surprise to me. David mentioned to me one night that his family wanted some pictures of us. He asked one of my friends, who was in on the whole thing, if she would do the honor of taking the pictures of us that Sunday morning. So we all met downtown and began to take pictures. After taking several pictures we became more relaxed and began to act more like ourselves rather than trying to pose. David started to joke around and went down on his knee. I played along, still clueless of what was about to happen, when David said something was missing and pulled out a little black box. It took a second for me to realize what was happening. I kept backing away until I almost fell off of the gazebo we were standing in. He popped the question and I was speechless. Finally I managed to squeak out a “yes” and then I burst into tears and laughter. There were onlookers in the park that burst into applause too. The best part is that the whole thing was all captured on film.
What attracted me to my husband was: He’s so much fun. We can just be around each other doing nothing at all and have the best time. My dog started to look forward to him coming around also—he won BIG points on that. He’s not bad to look at either!!
Why do you love your husband? From the start I felt a connection with David. My life immediately brightened the second he entered it. He quickly became my best friend and the center of my world. He takes care of me like no one has before. He protects me, laughs with me, and allows me to pursue my passions in life. His eyes seem to always say, “I love you and I’m here for you.”
Favorite design element of your big day: That’s really hard to
say. I personally designed so much for the wedding. I guess the one
thing that jumps into my mind would be the invitations. Since the
wedding was outdoors and very natural, I did not think that a
traditional invitation would fit. I wanted our invitations to set the
theme for our wedding too. They had a watercolor orchid print and were
lined with thin cardstock. The wording was printed out on vellum.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:
I had an idea about what I wanted when I went started dress shopping-
no beads, no frills, no big skirts. I was looking for something
strapless, simple, and fitted. I knew right away when I found “the
dress”… I was standing near the boutique’s window when a lady walked
by, turned around, entered the store and told me that while walking by
she glanced in the window and I literally took her breath away.
Needless to say my decision was final after that.

Check back later for Part II….

Welcome back to Part II!  Congratulations, Maliena + Michael!

The weather was: Perfect. The skies were blue and brushed with clouds, and the sun broke through just as we were exchanging our vows.
Did you have a theme for your wedding? We wanted to embrace my Asian American heritage, so we chose a Cherry Blossom theme, but enhanced it with many orchids to give it a tropical flair as well.
What colors did you choose for your wedding? I found a bridesmaid dress I liked, and just went with it.  The colors were raspberry and banana
Describe your wedding flowers: Tons of orchids everywhere, we even had them glued on to birch branches to resemble cherry blossoms since the real thing was out of season.
Describe your wedding cake: A beautiful shimmering tower of pale yellow with handmade raspberry colored cherry blossoms. The flavors inside were amazing—raspberry champagne and mango mojito!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Two things stand out…I surprised him with a chocolate groom’s cake in the shape of a piano reminiscent of the night he proposed, and the signature passed drinks at the reception appropriately named Maliena-tini’s and Michael-jito’s.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?  Our schedules…I was a senior resident working 80 hours a week and trying to plan a wedding!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  Walking down the isle to my own wedding…no one else will ever be able to experience that but me.
Scariest moment?  Hearing our music cue for our first dance and realizing that we had to perform the waltz to a seated, quiet audience…the tension broke when they started cheering for us!
Funniest moment? The best man’s self-deprecating toast. Genuine, but absolutely hilarious.
What were your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue items?  My great grandmother’s handkerchief, the rosary that was blessed in Avignon, France that Mike’s cousin gave me the night before the wedding, my best friends’ clutch, and of course blue lingerie
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was:  The tallest groomsmen swept me out of a crowd during the band’s break, and carried me to center stage, where Mike surprised me yet again with his rendition of “How Sweet It Is!”
Three adjectives that describe the day are:  exquisite, festive, and heartfelt
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding?  Expect to double your budget…seriously.