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Category: Southern Weddings Events

A few weeks ago, we gathered at the beautiful Carolina Inn to enjoy one of our favorite Southern Weddings Christmas traditions–our annual Gingerbread Barn Building Competition! This was the fourth year we’ve gathered with friends for this fun event, and I daresay, the barns get more and more impressive by the year. While this makes our job of judging harder, it is always so much fun, and this year was no exception. We’re so glad that Rachel of Blue Barn Photography was on hand to capture every graham cracker roof, pretzel path, and animal cracker reindeer our talented friends created!

The Carolina Inn is magical during the holidays, and we’re glad so many people donned their most festive attire! Aprons are a Gingerbread Barn Building staple.

We are SO grateful for our dear friend and Blue Ribbon Vendor, Randi of Sugar Euphoria, for providing the royal icing everyone used on their barns! This stuff was barn building gold–it was super easy to use and it dried in a jiffy. Thank you so much, Randi!

Along with the grand prize, honorable mentions are awarded for Most Architecturally Creative, Most Structurally Sound, Best Story, and Social Media Favorite. The competition is fierce for every category!

Once time was up, we began the grueling process of judging the barns. Here, we’re cracking up over the story behind “Team Awesome”‘s barn. They wrote a hilarious version of the Sweet Tea Society manifesto about a pair of Beltie cows tying the knot, that included lines like “They believe in history, heritage, and eating grass.” Too funny! While we discussed the finalists, everyone got a chance to check out the Southern Weddings Shop pop-up shop and flip through V7.

Finally, it was time to announce the winners! This barn won the grand prize, thanks to its impressive design and structure, festive decor, and sweet story–it was a replica of the barn where two of the architects, Kathryn and Zack, had recently gotten engaged!

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us at this year’s competition–we can’t wait to see what y’all come up with next year!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
2 Comments
  1. avatar Maghon Walker reply

    LOVED this event again this year ladies! It is always a ‘sweet’ time!

  2. avatar amy reply

    So beautiful, so festive, loved all the pictures

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When you combine pretty pink, peach, and white Camilyn Beth dresses with sparky La Tavola linens and a beautiful backdrop compliments of the amazing Umstead Hotel, you get a lovely party. Add in a bow tie bar, the Hot Dog! Photo Booth, and few fun surprises, and you get one amazingly sweet Southern celebration! I am not quite sure how, but it seems that each year, our launch party gets better and better. We look forward to this special night for most of the year–after putting our hearts and souls into the pages of our latest issue, it is such a joy to celebrate with friends and family from near and far!

Big hugs to Millie Holloman and her team for all of these precious photos!

The amazing Rhiannon Bosse of Hey Gorgeous Events, a dear friend of Southern Weddings (and the mastermind behind the beautiful florals on the cover of V7), reached out soon after she returned home from the Bushel and a Peck shoot in August, asking what I thought about helping her surprise the rest of the team AND do the florals for the party in November. Of course, I was 100% on board! I can’t believe we managed to keep it a secret from everyone else for nearly three months.

Yes, this is Mr. Brandon Kloess, live and in person!!! After patiently waiting 4+ years to FINALLY meet our sweet Marissa’s darling gent in real life, we were thrilled for the chance to give him a million hugs and take photos to memorialize the special event. Of course, MAK + BDK’s darling Emerson wore her biggest bow and best party dress for the festivities. Aren’t they the cutest little family?

We pulled in a few reinforcements at check-in to give everyone ample time to celebrate. I spy sparkly letters that helped make the entry table lovely!

We also brought a fun and fancy “beau bar” to life with the help of our friends at High Cotton Ties, and set out some really amazing magnetic buttons from Belle & Union. Not having to poke holes in your party attire? The best!!

Before the doors opened at 7:30, we had a quick team huddle. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and fun, so it was important for us to take a few deep breaths and thank our lucky stars for the chance to hug 300+ friends and celebrate love, marriage, and all the peachy goodness of V7!

Once the doors opened, the hugs started flowing! Besides BDK, a few other special SW family members in attendance were Emily’s darling sister, Kim, who flew in from Boston, and my parents, who traveled up from Gastonia to finally meet the SW gals in person. It was a big ol’ SW family reunion!!

I told you the Hey Gorgeous blooms were swoon-worthy! I think we can also agree that James and the Eventful Furniture fellas outdid themselves. All the lounge spaces were amazing–the perfect combination of cozy meets posh!

There was no shortage of delicious bites and beverages, thanks to the amazing Umstead Hotel! We used the pages of V7 for inspiration and created a menu that left partygoers with happy hearts and full bellies. From mini chicken and waffles to bite-sized ham biscuits, there was a smorgasbord of Southern delicacies. The Umstead chefs pulled out all the stops–pulled pork sliders, sweet potato chips, mini chicken pot pies, and so much more! There was also plenty of Cheerwine and Cheerwine Holiday Punch on hand to help wash it all down.

Hopping on the stage and being able to personally thank all of our guests is always a highlight of our evening. Big hugs to Maghon Walker for being our Ustream Hostess, which let faraway friends join in the festivities. It is quite humbling to have the chance to express our gratitude and tell our story! I get a little teary all over again just thinking about that moment.

Lara’s darling daughter Grace (don’t you love seeing how much Gracie grows from launch party to launch party?) stole the show with her speech, which she had practiced for days–she thanked everyone for coming to her “lunch party!”

The Bloomsbury Boys definitely know how to work the room and include the guests in the fun! No one is surprised that I jumped at the chance to play the washtub, right?

Natalie of Chic Sweets and her darling husband traveled all the way from sunny Florida with a car full of treats to put together the prettiest pink dessert table. While there were takeaway bags with peachy stickers to make to-go bag for the road, I think most of the goodies were gobbled up during the evening! I can personally vouch for the cake pops, and I heard great things about the dipped Oreos (when I went to the sweets table to snag one, they were all gone!!).

If the list of savory treats had your mouth watering, hang on tight! The list of sweet treats included everything from hummingbird cake to lemon-raspberry bars, plus chocolate s’more tarts and a pile of the always popular red velvet cupcakes. Shame on anyone who left this party hungry!

When we dream up products for the Southern Weddings Shop, we focus on creating things with heartfelt purpose and meaning. We loved having the chance to introduce the newest shop products in person and give guests an opportunity to do a little early holiday shopping (and save on shipping!). We are in LOVE with our laser-cut wooden “Southern Weddings” sign, compliments of our friends at Southern Fried Paper!

As guests were leaving, they snagged goody bags full of treats from a few of our favorite friends! The bags included “Sweet as a Peach” cups from Haymarket Designs and koozies from High Cotton, yummy organic popcorn from Cosmos Creations, Sugar Confetti Shop confetti, and custom calligraphy note cards from All She Wrote Notes!

It’s safe to say that the party was sweeter than a peach. And the chance to take a picture of ALL of the Southern Weddings gals with ALL of our gents? Priceless! Thank you so much to everyone who celebrated with us from near and far, and for your love and support of the Southern Weddings mission and of V7. We love y’all more than all the biscuits in the world!

P.S. Don’t miss tagging yourself in the Hot Dog! Photo Booth photos on Facebook!

Millie Holloman, Eventful Furniture, Chic Sweets, Southern Fried Paper, and Hey Gorgeous Events are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

kristin Written with love by Kristin
8 Comments
  1. avatar Liz reply

    You are all just the cutest! And the dresses are gorgeous! Looks like another wonderful party!

  2. avatar Maghon Walker reply

    I love y’all so much!! Being a part of the V7 Launch Party was a major highlight in my year! Thanks so much!

    • avatar Kristin reply

      Ahh, Maghon! You’re the best. We were so thankful for all your help!! xo.

  3. avatar Leanne Caroline reply

    That last photo of you all with your families is gorgeous!

  4. avatar Friday Fresh Squeeze #170 – Floridian Weddings reply

    […] help but notice all the girly (and totally Floridian) Camilyn Beth dresses at the most recent Southern Weddings magazine launch […]

  5. avatar 2014 | Kyla Mary reply

    […] He healed my back and my heart. He introduced me to women who inspire my dreams and speak wisdom and purpose into them. He took me on a retreat, where I had the opportunity to lead a special group of middle schoolers and soak up His beauty in the nature there. He provided, time and time again. He shared the goodness of intentional mornings with me, and then taught me to give myself grace when schedules shift. He saw me through a difficult season and taught me more about myself and His heart for me through it. He brought me on a special trip to the South with my mama, where I got to celebrate the company I most admire by attending the Southern Weddings V7 Launch party and hug a sweet friend who God has used in a big way in my life over the past year. (picture by Millie Holloman via Southern Weddings) […]

  6. avatar Hey Gorgeous, The Blog – Au Revoir 2014 reply

    […] also travelled back to North Carolina (phew!) to surprise those sweet Southern Wedding gals at the volume 7 launch party. Some peachy and pink #hgeblooms made their appearance at the party. Big thanks to my gal pal and […]

  7. avatar 2014 – Kyla Mary reply

    […] He healed my back and my heart. He introduced me to women who inspire my dreams and speak wisdom and purpose into them. He took me on a retreat, where I had the opportunity to lead a special group of middle schoolers and soak up His beauty in the nature there. He provided, time and time again. He shared the goodness of intentional mornings with me, and then taught me to give myself grace when schedules shift. He saw me through a difficult season and taught me more about myself and His heart for me through it. He brought me on a special trip to the South with my mama, where I got to celebrate the company I most admire by attending the Southern Weddings V7 Launch party and hug a sweet friend who God has used in a big way in my life over the past year. (picture by Millie Holloman via Southern Weddings) […]

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Hold onto your hats and save the date, y’all – Southern Weddings V7 hits stands in 33 sweet days, and we’re throwing a big ‘ol bash to celebrate!

MUCH more to come soon! In the meantime, if you are one of our many friends traveling in from out of town, there are plenty of options in the area! We have a block of rooms at the Umstead – all you need to do is ask for the Southern Weddings Launch Party rate! Hurry on up, rooms are only on hold until 10/13! Party tickets will be on sale in mid-October.

SWV7 is going to be sweeter than a peach and brimming over with SO MANY amazing Southern love stories (ahem, SEVENTEEN real weddings!!) – certainly worthy of being celebrated!

We can’t wait to see y’all in a few weeks as we toast to seven fabulous (and lucky) years of Southern goodness!!

Much love,
Lara, Emily, Nicole, Marissa, Kristin, Lisa, and Morgan!

PS: Rumor is that newsletter subscribers are going to get advanced access to tickets, so now is a great time to sign up!

kristin Written with love by Kristin
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