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Classic, elegant, and rooted in place are a few words I often use to describe my favorite “type” of wedding, so I was delighted when I saw that Erika and Kenny’s Savannah celebration hit all of those nails on the head. Even though their 11-month engagement was a particularly stressful time in their lives, they pulled off a day that truly celebrated their love for one another, their families, and the traditions and culture of the South. It’s so evident that even in the midst of moving, house hunting, and more, when it came to their wedding, Erika and Kenny worked hard to be intentional and hospitable. I can only imagine their marriage will be marked with those same sentiments!

Thanks so much to Brian Flint for sharing this lovely day with us!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I had a few details of the wedding planned out in my head, but a wedding dress was not one of them. I just knew I wanted something timeless and true to myself. My first appointment was at Ivory & Beau in Savannah. After trying on only eight dresses, I went with my gut and chose a beautiful, lace Elaya Vaughn dress by Kate Pankoke. I was in and out of the store in under an hour! Easiest shopping trip ever.

A first look logistically made sense, but we never considered doing one. Every time we imagined our wedding day, our thoughts would jump to the moment when we would lock eyes as I walked down the aisle towards him. Even though I cried my way down the aisle, we have no regrets! It was such a happy and surreal moment!

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. We had a harpist at our ceremony and he was great! He played “How Great Thou Art” for the seating of the parents and grandparents and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” for the bridal party entrance. The harp music plus the waterside setting made it so enchanting!

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? A family member graciously offered to let us host our ceremony in his yard, overlooking the marsh on Wilmington Island. This site has hosted many shrimp boils, oyster roasts, and celebrations. The moss-draped oak trees and the marsh at high tide provided us with a magical and romantic backdrop for our ceremony. We rented trolleys to transport guests from the ceremony to the reception, which was in downtown Savannah at the Knights of Columbus. We wanted an indoor reception that was convenient to all the downtown amenities. We had many out-of-town guests, and it was important to us to show them all of our favorite parts of Savannah.

Joann’s Florist did such a great job with our flowers! We used a lot of seeded eucalyptus, dusty miller, cream cabbage roses, white ranunculus, white hydrangeas, and white veronica sprigs. Garlands lined the tables and hung over the mantle of the fireplace. It really transformed the reception space! We saved some of the flowers to dry and frame for our house, but the rest were taken to a local nursing home so that they could continue to be enjoyed.

Our wedding cake was from Publix and we couldn’t have been happier! It was pretty, delicious, and affordable! Instead of a groom’s cake, we opted for a flaming donut bar. Our caterer, Savannah Event Catering, fried a Krispy Kreme donut, poured bourbon in the middle, lit it on fire, and extinguished the flames with a Coke. He topped it with pralines and served it with ice cream. Amazing and so entertaining!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met while we were living in Atlanta. Kenny made the first move and invited me to coffee. I let him choose the location and, to my surprise, he chose my favorite coffee shop. It was such a beautiful day and we sipped our coffee next to the river while enjoying great conversation. It really was perfect. We’ve been together, drinking coffee, ever since!
Tell us all about the proposal! Traveling is one of our favorite things to do together, so I didn’t think twice when Kenny suggested that we take a relaxing weekend trip to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. Daufuskie is a charming little island between Savannah and Hilton Head that can only be reached by boat. A local artist told us about a great place to watch the sunset, so that night, we rode our golf cart over to the point. Kenny balanced his iPhone on the golf cart to take a timed photo of us. After a few seconds, he turned to me and started saying sweet things as we were taking in the beautiful scenery. What I thought was a special moment turned into a REALLY special moment when he dropped to one knee. I was so surprised! I didn’t believe him until I saw the ring. He then told me his iPhone had been taking a video, not a timed photo. He captured the moment for us and we were able to freeze shot pictures from it. It was beyond perfect!
When did y’all get married? March 5, 2016
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 160
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: This is tough because everything came together in such a lovely way. We both really loved our hurricane lamps, though. My dad believes every house should have one (or ten). It was one of the first things my parents gave Kenny and me when we bought our first house. We were able to use my dad’s collection at the reception and it was beautiful. It added just enough light and charm to the space.
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? A week after we were engaged, Kenny’s work transferred him to another city. Our engagement was 11 months long and included wedding planning, house hunting, job searching, and moving. It was an eventful, emotional, and often challenging 11 months. We grew so much during this season of change. We learned how to effectively communicate, tackle our challenges together, and keep our relationship God-centered.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The biggest challenge was definitely the guest list. We both come from big families and have lived in multiple cities. We could have easily invited 500 people, but we wouldn’t have been able to have the wedding we wanted with that many guests. Cutting the list was a long and painful process, but I think it worked out well.
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? With a design background, I knew exactly what I wanted for the invitations. The only issue was the cost, so I decided to take them on as a DIY project. I purchased my beautiful, deckle-edged, homemade paper off of Etsy and my dear and talented friend, Lauren Walker, designed my invites in her beautiful calligraphy. I completed the look with a monogrammed gold wax seal. It was a lot of work, but the outcome was exactly what I wanted.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Prioritize. Figure out what you would consider a successful wedding and plan accordingly. Spend your money on things that will help you reach that vision and save money in the areas that don’t matter as much. It varies couple to couple but it is the best way to figure out where to cutback and where to splurge.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? We look forward to working on our historic home, spending a lot of time on our porch swing, continuing to travel the world, and experiencing life together.

Photographer: Brian Flint Photography | Planner, Rentals and Florals: Carlson Premiere Events | Ceremony Venue: Private residence | Reception Venue: Knights of Columbus | Florist: Joann’s Florist | Cake Baker: Publix | Caterer: Savannah Event Catering | Band: A Nickel Bag of Funk | Bride’s Gown: Elaya Vaughn Bridal by Kate Pankoke | Hair and Makeup: Beyond Beautiful by Heather Ferguson | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Jenny Yoo, Bari Jay, and Joanna August | Alterations: Stitch | Calligraphy: Lauren Walker with Caroline & Fitz Design Co.

lisa Written with love by Lisa
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I think “meant to be” is a good way to describe Kelly and Dan’s story–these two lawyers met in the most unassuming way (at a bar!), and after their lakeside engagement, they set out to plan their Georgia wedding in a way that was true to them as a couple. From knowing Foxhall Resort was their venue as soon as they drove onto the property, to Kelly finding her dream, out-of-budget gown off the rack at a great price, their wedding fell into place beautifully, allowing them to focus on their relationship and the fun ways they could introduce guests to their personalities. My favorite details are the ones that are a little unconventional, but oh so them, like the signature cocktails served from copper mugs and the brownies and ice cream they dished out in lieu of cake!

Thanks so much to Sowing Clover Photography for sharing this fun day with us!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I had had my eye on Monique Lhuillier’s Scarlet dress for some time. I knew I wanted a romantic sheath with straps, and nothing else had caught my eye. I tried on the dress at the Monique Lhuillier boutique in Manhattan (where I was living at the time for my job) and fell in love with it. The $6,000 price tag was a bit too steep for me, but I ended up finding it off the rack somewhere else. It was meant to be!

I wanted the flower arrangements to be whimsical, low-key, and natural, so I chose to go with a lot of greenery accented by some white flowers. My favorite part was the garlands of greenery that draped some of the wooden farm tables.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Yes, we wrote our own vows. My favorite line from mine was about Dan being my hero and the best man I know. My favorite from his was when he said I added so much value to his life, more than he thought was possible.
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? My 13-year-old little sister and Dan’s 10-year-old niece did the readings at our ceremony. My sister read a sweet excerpt from Winnie the Pooh and his niece read the “What is Real?” excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit. They were absolutely wonderful! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place after the Velveteen Rabbit reading.

We tried to make our wedding reflect us as much as possible, so we thought outside of tradition in a lot of instances. Those are the details that made the day truly special. To name a few, our officiant was my long-time best friend, our dog was the ring bearer, every table was named after something that meant something special to us and the people sitting there, I sang a song with the band (“A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri) for my new husband, and most of the food served at the wedding had some significance to us or a family member.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? We wanted to get married somewhere with a lot of land, where our dog could attend, and where our closest friends and family could stay the weekend. The Foxhall checked all of the boxes. When we first drove onto the Foxhall property, our jaws dropped at how beautiful it was. We both knew this was the place.

Neither Dan nor I really like cake, so we opted to forgo the tradition and do something that was a little more “us” (which we did with a lot of things in our wedding). Instead of cake, we had an ice cream cart catered by a local, small-batch ice cream store, Queen of Cream. Our flavors were so yummy and perfect for our fall wedding: Bourbon Butter Whiskey Pecan and Salted Caramel. Since Dan’s favorite dessert is ice cream and brownies, Queen of Cream was nice enough to serve their delicious ice cream with warm brownies! The fun part was smashing the ice cream into each other’s faces toward the end of the night.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met the good old-fashioned way: at a bar, during my first year of law school in Atlanta. Dan broke the ice by talking about “Pierson v. Post,” an old Supreme Court case about hunting. Needless to say, that was enough to make me swoon!
Tell us all about the proposal! After a few years of dating (and exactly three years after we said “I love you” for the first time), we were spending a quiet morning at the lake on our boat, throwing the ball to our beloved yellow lab, Sam. Dan asked me to start video taping Sam fetching the ball, which I thought was no big deal at the time. It turns out that Dan hid the ring inside one of the tennis balls! When Sam retrieved the ball from the lake, Dan took it out and got down on one knee. After freaking out a little bit about how he thew the ring into the lake, I, of course, said yes. He said he really wanted to incorporate Sam into the proposal because he trusted Sam as much as he trusted our relationship. I’ve got to hand it to him for tricking me into videotaping my own engagement!
When did y’all get married? October 24, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 106
Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? Dan surprised me by having a very strong opinion on the matter–he wanted to see me for the first time as I was walking down the aisle. It was so romantic, that, of course, we opted to not do a first look. It made the pictures during cocktail hour a bit more rushed than they may have been otherwise, but seeing the look on his face when I walked down the aisle made it all worth it!
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. I chose to walk down the aisle to “What a Wonderful World” played by the acoustic country band, Capo3. It’s one of my all time favorites. After we were married, Dan and I walked/danced up the aisle to “Marry You” by Bruno Mars to signify that the party was about to get started! Our first dance was to “I Don’t Dance” by Lee Brice. The lyrics to that song almost perfectly reflect our relationship, and it was fun to do some twirls during the lyric “spinning you round and round in circles.”
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? Our officiant asked us to write love letters to one another, which she stored away in a box with a nice bottle of wine. She said it was for us to open whenever things got tough in our marriage. It was such a wonderful exercise to really think about why we love each other, why we were choosing to get married, and to remember that not all days will be the “happiest days of our life,” but rather, we will have to work through some bumps in the future.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000-$50,000
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? We had a budget of about $30,000, but I didn’t want to sacrifice much. I DIYed what I could (invitations, paper goods, escort card display, boutonnieres), found deals on extras like our photo booth, and was lucky enough to find some newly established (but super talented) vendors with reasonable prices. One of the biggest places we saved was by providing our own alcohol for the reception. Also, I absolutely loved wedding planning, so I saved by not hiring a full-service wedding planner–we just had someone help coordinate the day-of.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? Dan and I are now expecting our first child, so we are both very excited about building a family!

Photographer: Sowing Clover Photography | Videographer: Anchor Heart Films | Planner and Florist: Something Tulle | Venue: Foxhall Resort and Sporting Club | Dessert Baker: Queen of Cream Ice Cream | Caterer: Simply Catering | Rentals: Unlimited Party & Event Rentals | Band: Capo3 Band | DJ: Sloan Lee DJ | Paper Products: Letterpress by Czar Press | Bride’s Gown: “Scarlet” by Monique Lhuillier | Bride’s Jewelry: Rent the Runway | Hair and Makeup: Vigilante Cosmetics | Bride’s Shoes: Stuart Weitzman | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew | Menswear: Tom James Custom | Photo Booth: Robot Booth

lisa Written with love by Lisa
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  1. avatar Dana reply

    love the flowers in their hair and an ice cream bar sounds so fun!

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At Southern Weddings, we always say that the most meaningful source of wedding inspiration is your own love story and your personalities. Drawing from that rich well is a surefire way to ensure your guests will proclaim your day “so you”–something I think every couple wants to hear! As I read through Caroline and Shaun’s interview, I kept noticing subtle ways their own stories influenced their fall wedding, from the dress Caroline chose, to the song she walked down the aisle to, to the venue they invited their beloved guests to. I’m confident that surrounding themselves with things they truly love played a small role in their joy on this beautiful day, which is so evident in these photos by Whitney Wysong!

I had always known I wanted to wear a long-sleeved wedding dress. My grandmother and my mom both wore long sleeves for their weddings and I love the elegance a lace long sleeve adds to a wedding dress. It was the most important detail I wanted. I had a few appointments at some of the bridal boutiques around town, and went shopping with my parents and a few friends and relatives. The third dress I tried on was perfection. I loved the sleeves, I loved the keyhole back, I loved the material of the skirt, and the whole dress was covered in chantilly lace. I felt like it had a vintage look to it that matched my 1920s refurbished engagement ring. We cancelled all of my other appointments and went to brunch to celebrate finding “the dress” over a few mimosas!

How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? We spoke to our pastor about our relationship a few times before the wedding. We talked about finances, family planning, and what to do when we get mad at each other. We both know now that when we get upset, we should take a little time away from each other to cool off so we don’t say anything hurtful. We were also instructed to talk other couples who have been married for different lengths of times and ask them what works for them and what doesn’t. That said, someone reminded us that it’s important to remember that every relationship is different, and what works for some people might not work for us. She told us to remember who we are and to always listen to each other before listening to other people’s opinions.

The most memorable moment for me was walking down the aisle with Shaun after the ceremony, and ringing the bell in the steeple of the chapel together as husband and wife. I thought it was the perfect way to kick off our marriage, and it was one of the happiest moments of my life.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? I have always been an animal lover. I grew up riding and showing horses, so I spent all of my free time as a young girl at a barn. My family has always had at least three dogs, and we were always the people who had a knack for finding young and injured animals and nurturing them back to health. We had tons of baby squirrels, birds, rabbits, mice, snakes, and even a baby alligator at one point, when I was growing up. When I heard about Pine Knoll Farm, we went to check it out immediately. It is a working farm with a reception venue on the property. When we got out of the car, I was greeted by horses neighing–they have cows, goats, chickens, and a Great Pyrenese. The reception barn is gorgeous, with hand-welded light fixtures and a beautiful wooden stage built in. There isn’t a single detail about the venue that I didn’t love. It was the only place we looked at and we booked it that day.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Shaun and I met while working together at a restaurant in west midtown Atlanta. I got a job there while I was studying to take my boards before I could begin working as a registered nurse. On my third day of training, I was pleasantly surprised to find out my trainer was a tall, cute guy who made me laugh the entire night. We started dating and were soon attached at the hip. We both enjoy traveling, so we started traveling together, and I loved wandering through streets of random cities with him, striking up conversations with strangers, trying weird food, and just laughing our way through Panama and Europe together. We not only fell in love, but also became best friends and life partners.
Tell us all about the proposal! On Saturday, December 20, 2014, I woke up and went for a run. Shaun and I had planned on running together that morning, but he was still sleeping and had been up working late the night before, so I decided to let him sleep in. Halfway through my run, I got a text from Shaun telling me to meet him in the big field behind Oakland Cemetery, where he was going to be letting our two dogs run around. Oakland Cemetery is a historic cemetery right across from the lofts we lived in. There is a huge, beautiful, open field behind the cemetery and we have been taking our dogs there to run around for years. People always laugh when I tell them we got engaged in a cemetery, but it’s one of our favorite places to go in Atlanta–we call it our hidden gem. When I walked onto the field, Shaun was standing there with our two dogs. When he got down on one knee, I immediately burst into tears, and, of course, said yes! After staying at Oakland for about an hour, Shaun told me he had arranged a brunch, and that we needed to head to one of our favorite places. When we arrived at Atkins Park, about 20 of our closest friends were there and ready to celebrate. It was by far one of the happiest and most exciting days of my life.
When did y’all get married? November 28, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 250
Describe your wedding cake or dessert. My wedding cake was a four-tiered ivory ruffle cake. The actual cake was lemon cheesecake with a lemon curd layer and italian buttercream icing. I had my florist put flowers on each layer of the cake. I loved it!
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000-$50,000
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? To slow down and enjoy every second of it! It’s easy to stress over tiny details, but at the end of the day, none of those small details matter. Also, have someone make you a plate of food that night!
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? For my bachelorette party, my bridesmaids asked Shaun some questions to answer without me knowing. The last question they asked him was “What are you most looking forward to in the future?” and I feel like his response was perfect: “In the future, I picture has having some awesome kids that we will raise and love and show them how to have fun. I picture us having our friends over with their kids and having cookouts and parties and going to Little League games. I am looking forward to expanding our blessed lives and keeping our network of friends and family close together.”

Photographer: Whitney Wysong Photography | Videographer: Tim Hunt | Day-of Coordination: Amanda Brewer of Boheme Concepts | Planner and Caterer: Events 2020 | Venue: Pine Knoll Farms | Florist: Sandra Burton | Cake Baker: A Piece of Cake Bakery | Bride’s Gown: Martina Liana | Bridal Salon: La Raine’s Bridal Boutique | Hair Stylist: Morgan Weathers of Tease Color + Hair Design Studio | Makeup Artist: Tabitha Ross | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Annabelle” and “Willow” in Shadow Grey by Jenny Yoo | Groom’s Attire: Simon’s Formal Wear

lisa Written with love by Lisa
2 Comments
  1. avatar Cynthia McIntyre reply

    The church and reception location are exceptional! What a lovely wedding! Thanks for posting a true Southern wedding!

  2. avatar Gosia reply

    Stunning wedding! Bridesmaid dresses look fab!

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

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