Google+ hydrangea bouquet Archives - Southern Weddings

Southern Weddings

Tag: hydrangea bouquet

I’m convinced that the South Carolina Lowcountry is one of the most magical places in America. The coastal views, the Spanish moss, the sweeping plantations–everything about this part of the South makes it a true gem, and of course, an incredible wedding location. Although Frances and Joe live in Richmond, Laurel Spring plantation was the perfect place for their elegant, oh-so-Southern wedding–the plantation has been in Frances’ family for years. Beautiful and sentimental? Y’all know we love that!

Thank you kindly to Ashley Seawell for sharing Frances and Joe’s big day with us!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? As a child, I would pull into the gates of our Laurel Spring and remember always feeling like I was home. I remember vividly the feeling of pulling into those gates being different that day. Not only was there the calming, home feeling, but I also had a feeling of excitement for what the day held for Joe, our families, and me. That feeling continued up until I rounded the corner and finally saw him for the first time. It was a double feeling of home that was pretty incredible.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The fact that the whole day could be spent in one of our most favorite places with our loved ones really was enough, but personally, I also really loved how the boutonnières turned out. They were perfect for the setting and really provided the right rustic elegant feel, as they were made of cotton, rice, and quail feathers: all aspects of the Laurel Spring experience and history.

Describe your wedding flowers: We used peonies, white roses, and some greenery for the bridal bouquet and hydrangeas for the bridesmaids. Lots of greenery, flowers, vines, and cotton were used throughout the reception, with some quail feathers involved too. All simple, but very beautiful and fitting for the rustic, elegant plantation setting.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? We did not do a first look. It was not that we had anything against first looks, but we wanted to keep tradition of the bride and groom not seeing each other until the ceremony. The boys got dressed and waited in the sunroom while the girls got dressed and waited in one of the master bedrooms. It was fun to be with our closest friends right before and really helped maintain the sanctity of the event, rather than forgetting the biblical reasoning behind the ceremony and the representation of the bride, groom, bridesmaids, and groomsmen.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We did not write our own vows, but were married using the traditional Episcopalian order of service, and were married by my uncle, an Anglican minister. Being married by my uncle was such a special addition to the day, and he really did an amazing job of keeping the holiness of the service, even though we were not in a church.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? We held the wedding at Laurel Spring Plantation, a home that has been in the my family for a very long time and was historically a rice plantation. We also included cotton, quail feathers, toile, and burlap for décor, a refreshment bar for when people arrived, including sweet tea made by Denita Simmons, the housekeeper and jack of all trades at Laurel Spring, a local, Lowcountry menu (shrimp, crab, duck, grits, candied bacon), and old dug-out canoes for holding the beer and water bottles. The setting included large live oaks draped in moss and a view of the old rice fields that are flooded with water–really beautiful. The ceremony was held under the live oaks with a large wooden altar adorned with a wooden cross made from wood of the Lowcountry.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert: I have quite the sweet tooth, so we had an assortment of about ten different delicious cakes and cupcakes in the following flavors: banana pudding, sour cream pound cake, key lime, red velvet, carrot, coconut, lemon blueberry, strawberry, caramel, and chocolate. We also had a birthday cake because our wedding was on my mother’s birthday. In addition, we had a candy bar and some late night passed sweets (ice cream in waffle bowls and cinnamon sugar pretzel bites).

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Joe had just graduated from Hampden Sydney College and I had just finished my junior year at Wofford College. We both headed out West to work on a guest ranch, A Bar A, for the summer. We met soon after arriving and began hanging out with each other, riding horses together, fishing, and just enjoying what Wyoming has to offer. When the fall came close, we decided to continue dating, but to see where life took us. He was considering living out West, and even thought about moving to Australia (thankfully, that did not happen!). I knew I would be at school. Five years later, after going back and forth from Charleston, SC, Spartanburg, SC, and Richmond, VA, we settled on Richmond.
Describe the proposal. In November 2012, Joe had been sitting on the ring for several weeks, though I did not even know he was thinking about proposing! Joe had been hunting all day, but since he thankfully did not kill a deer that day, he came home in time for dinner. He told me to pick a place to eat, so I chose a quaint little sushi restaurant we like, which is casual, but always delicious. We enjoyed a nice supper and went to go to a local wine and beer shoppe afterwards to listen to live music and enjoy some drinks. After staying there for a while, we went to my house so Joe could pick up our dog, Platte. While we were there, Joe pulled Platte into the room with us and started talking about things that were pretty deep for a Saturday night. Well, one thing led to another, and before I knew it, he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. I was so excited that I forgot to say yes! When I finally looked at the ring, I realized it was very similar to my mother’s (which I loved, because I had mentioned long ago in passing how much I loved her ring). We then proceeded to call our families, who were very surprised and excited to hear the good news. Two neat things about this though: Joe had actually asked my dad if he had his blessing way back in August while we were vacationing with them at Pawleys Island, but my dad had not said anything to anyone else, so it was a surprise to my mom and family. Also, our first date was at a sushi restaurant, so it was pretty amazing that we ended up at a sushi place for the night of our engagement.
In what month did you get married? June 8, 2013
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I have never been the girl to dream about my perfect wedding dress, or even wedding, for that matter. I just figured that when the time came, I would know what I wanted and it would be great. Well, that’s pretty much exactly what happened. My mom had come up to Richmond during my grad school Christmas break and we went to a dress shop in Richmond. At the first shop we went to, I tried on maybe six dresses. One I loved for the top portion and another I loved for the bottom portion and the lace. Fariba, the seamstress, said she could easily add the sweetheart neckline and two straps to the second dress, so we decided to go with that! It worked out perfectly for me to have the features of the first dress translated onto the second dress. It was the most comfortable thing ever, too!
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? Joe’s cousin read Genesis 2:18-24 and my good friend from college read 1 John 4:7-16. Both were meaningful and powerful verses that we thought applied well to the wedding ceremony.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. We had a friend’s bluegrass band play for the ceremony and for a cocktail hour following the wedding. During the ceremony, the band played a beautiful assortment of bluegrass music and hymnals.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The distance between Richmond (where we were both living) and South Carolina, where my family, Laurel Spring, and so many of our amazing vendors were, was really hard. It made things a little difficult to manage, being so scattered all over the place, but having Jimmilib and my mother as the ladies in charge really made it so much better! I really wish there had been a way to do more planning in person, but thankfully the internet and phone calls made things easier!
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? We made sure that we hired a band that really delivered–and they did! I do not think anyone left the reception not smiling from the performance that the band put on! Also, I really loved the gifts that I gave to my bridesmaids. They were handmade earrings or necklaces by one of the bridesmaids, Gabe Bratton for Gabrielle Jewelry. They were beautiful and delicate, and had the perfect amount of femininity for an outdoor wedding. I also had an artist friend, Claire Wall, create a print of a hydrangea to be given to all of the hosts/hostesses of parties, bridesmaids, readers, greeters, and helpers, as a symbol of our appreciation for their help and service. They turned out beautifully!
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Enjoy each minute that you are in and don’t rush the process. The engagement, the wedding, and the honeymoon will seem like a blur in hindsight if you do not take the time to enjoy right where you are. Also, a word for the girls, as this was advice given to me by a very dear friend: make sure that everything that you talk about as a couple during the months of your engagement is not just the wedding. Remember that you have dated this person before there was talk of a wedding and it is possible (though it may not feel like it at times) to have conversations that don’t include anything about the wedding. I know from my experience that Joe did not want to talk about napkins, flowers, and serving pieces every night, so we made sure to pay attention to limiting the wedding conversation.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are currently living in Richmond, VA and are enjoying getting settled into our new home. I am in graduate school and Joe is working with BB&T Scott & Stringfellow as a financial advisor. While life seems to be a little hectic right now, we are trying to make sure we make time for each other, our precious lab Platte, and being with our family and friends. Life is good!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
9 Comments
  1. avatar Kat reply

    I’m loving the bridesmaids dresses! And I love how thoughtful she was to have a print crafted, too… so sweet, and very meaningful!!

  2. avatar Jadzia reply

    Stunning all around!

  3. avatar Featured on Southern Weddings and Snippet & Ink! » ashleyseawellphotography.com reply

    […] https://southernweddings.com /2013/10/30/lowcountry-wedding-by-ashley-seawell/ […]

  4. avatar Featured on Southern Weddings and Snippet & Ink! » ashleyseawellphotography.com reply

    […] https://southernweddings.com /2013/10/30/lowcountry-wedding-by-ashley-seawell/ […]

  5. avatar Dana reply

    such an amazing, stunning venue. i cant even imagine how gorgeous it is in real life.

  6. avatar Southern Weddings Weekly Round-Up – Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] Frances and Joe’s wedding has me dreaming of a trip to the South Carolina Lowcountry. What a breathtaking place for a wedding! See it here. […]

  7. avatar A country gentleman | PosyRosy reply

    […] buttonholes • shoes • bridesmaids top and bottom and wedding […]

  8. avatar P J reply

    Where were the bridesmaids dresses purchased from? Gorgeous.

  9. avatar Fall Wedding Flower Ideas by colour,What flowers are in fall? reply

    […] hydrangea – Jessica Watson Photography | light blue –  | Ashley Seawell via southernweddings | hydrangea with berries –  photo by Trentième […]

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!

Reply to:
close

Kristin + JJ had just two and half months to plan their wedding, but for a couple who has spent most of their relationship long distance, it was the perfect amount of time to pull together the details and say “I do.” The newlyweds filled their outdoor ceremony and reception at the Whitford Plantation with old Southern hymns and sentimental bluegrass. It was the Avett Brothers’ music, after all, who helped Kristin + JJ fall in love. We’re sending out big hugs to Scott Piner who shared this wedding with us!

Since we had only 2.5 months to plan the wedding, I knew I would not have much time to find a dress and that I would have to buy my dress right off the rack and cross my fingers for a very quick seamstress to do any needed alterations. No pressure. While calling many bridal salons in the Raleigh area, my girlfriend and I encountered many shops that would not even consider having me look at their dresses because of my time constraint. Almost defeated, we called one of our thought-to-be long shots and to our surprise, the shop manager answered and graciously welcomed us to come and see their sample dresses that day. The first dress I tried on was an ivory Chantilly lace gown by Vera Wang. I tried on several dresses after, but none compared with the first gown’s blend of the vintage ivory lace with contemporary lines. So I purchased that flawless sample dress for less than half of the marketed price because it was from a previous year’s collection.

How cool are those feather bouts? They were made in memory of Kristin’ grandfather and in celebration JJ, the family’s newest hunter.

Did you write your own vows? No way!! We both felt the same way when we asked each other about the possibility of writing our own vows. We both know how we feel about one another and there was no way either of us could verbalize those thoughts when we were so emotionally charged.

Describe the proposal. We had just finished lunch when I was making brownies for JJ to bring to work. I overheard JJ playing the guitar in the office. I put my brownies into the oven walked with my coffee in hand to sit by JJ and listen to him serenade me. He began to play and sing my beloved ballad by the Avett Brothers; and by this time I had begun to harmonize with his handsome voice. After we finished the song, he crawled over to me and we embraced. The moment was perfect, except that I felt his heart pounding very hard in his chest. As I withdrew to ask him if he was okay, I saw him holding a box out to me and then he asked me. I said yes and we embraced again. I love that our story was low key and involved all my favorite things: baking, coffee, music and my love.

I’m crazy for the antique vases and blue bell jars filled with delicate flowers that K chose as centerpieces.

My most favorite flower is the hydrangea. I have admired them since childhood, when I used to watch my grandmother water and tend to her huge hydrangea bushes in New Jersey. Instead of ornate arrangements we wanted an understated, fresh look. We chose to use a mixture of hydrangeas in blues, greens and whites along with drosophila for added texture and bells of Ireland for height all arranged in the colored canning glass jars JJ and I collected over the two months leading up to the big day.

Describe your wedding cake: Originally, I found myself drawn to the texture and structural designs of a fondant cake, but we were unwilling to sacrifice flavor for design. Our baker, Ali, helped us attain both with a very simple design of a smooth European buttercream frosting while getting the desired texture with simple dots of all sizes and rows of beading.

A sparkly dress and loose hair definitely spell “magical getaway” style to me!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Our relationship was a subject of much prayer, faithfulness of true friends and grace of the Lord. Two and a half years ago, we met through our married friends Lindsay and Bryan. And what do any two married people do when they have two single friends? Try to get them together. Unfortunately at the time, JJ lived in Lake Tahoe and only came home to visit periodically. We met at a couple of times at laid back dinner gatherings with bunches of friends, not getting much time to speak one on one. In fact, one of the first times I really spoke to him was when I was drilling a hole in his nail that he crushed in the garage door the morning prior. Shortly after this, JJ left for a voluntary deployment overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan with the Coast Guard. He emailed me once in the first part of his deployment to fill me on his well-healing nail bed and then returned home during his mid deployment break. During his break, I saw him a couple times at Bryan and Lindsay’s, and we actually were able get to know each other a little better. He returned for the rest of his deployment for the next five months and we exchanged emails getting to know each other. We became and remained friends alone, though. I did not see him until four months after he returned from his deployment, but even through life’s twists and turns, we still ended up at a very familiar place — in Lindsay and Bryan’s backyard laughing and talking by the fire. One night, the boys were playing some familiar songs on the banjo and guitar when JJ started to sing and play my favorite love ballad by the Avett Brothers. Listening to him play and having learned his heart, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him by my side.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Fresh, serene and intimate.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: I couldn’t really name just one detail of the wedding that I could call my favorite. Rather, all the crafts that we incorporated into the ceremony and reception truly made our celebration personal. Some of those crafts included the colored glassware we collected, the fan programs, the votive favors made with sea glass from beaches in Hawaii and sand from Atlantic beach, the Chinese lanterns that JJ and our crew hung the day of the wedding, boutonnières I made from duck feathers that JJ and Bryan had captured together, the veil that I bedazzled by gluing 300 Swarovski crystals onto, the flower girl basket I made and decorated, the wreath that hung on the front door to the plantation, and finally, the family pictures of both our parents and grandparents that we displayed at the entrance.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Both JJ and I tend to migrate to a style that seems to be a marriage of contemporary lines with a vintage feel. It was only natural for that to be tone of the wedding. With my affinity for my mom’s antique aqua canning jars, I chose to use a mixture of them for the centerpieces with simple hydrangeas, wild flowers and candles for the centerpieces. In memory of my beloved grandfather and in celebration of the new addition of a hunter to my family, we used of duck feathers for all the gentlemen’s boutonnieres. Even the music reached into the Southern pocket. The ceremony music was a collection of old Southern hymns played on an acoustic guitar, while the first song JJ and I danced to as a married couple was a folk bluegrass favorite by the Avett Brothers. Another Southern touch was the fans we made and gave to guests to cool themselves with during the course of the outside service. One of the largest Southern elements was the backdrop for our wedding ceremony and reception, the beautiful Whitford Plantation. The plantation is a beautifully grand and historic structure with spacious grounds that were owned by a Confederate colonel John Nathaniel Whitford.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Our biggest challenge for sure was planning the wedding in 2.5 months. This was mainly due to finding an available venue. Our families are of utmost importance to us and we wanted to make sure that all our families were going to be able to come and be a part of our celebration. Looking back, we both would not want to do it any differently. I believe we would literally pull our hair out if we had to spread planning a wedding over any kind of extended period of time.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? I think the most memorable moments of the wedding day were all the little times of respite between JJ and I, when we had a second to take in the fact that the day was actually here. 

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are looking forward to being in the same town. Our relationship, including the first two and half months of marriage, has been long distance. We have been commuting three hours to see one another, so it will be awesome just to be able come home to one another.

nicoleyang Written with love by Nicole
10 Comments
  1. avatar Lisa reply

    Everything is so lovely and elegant–the cake is my favorite! Major kudos to the bride and groom for planning such a beautiful wedding in such a short amount of time!

  2. avatar Melissa Vause reply

    BEAUTIFUL wedding for just having two months to plan it!!

  3. avatar » Love List reply

    […] {4. Charming details. The whole focus of Something Pretty is classic weddings with charming details, and this sweet polka dot cake fits the bill beautifully. By Scott Piner via Southern Weddings} […]

  4. avatar Swiss Dot {Bridal Style} | Lea Ann Belter Blog reply

    […] clockwise from upper left: place setting, silk organza bridal gown, Swiss Dot wedding cake, Swiss Dot cage veil, blue Swiss Dot shoes, Swiss Dot gloves Tags: Lea-Ann Belter Lily, Summer […]

  5. avatar Jenny (Captured Photography by Jenny) reply

    Kristen! You looked amazing! And your wedding was adorable :) Congrats my dear!

  6. avatar Enfants d'honneur ou demoiselles d'honneur? – Happy Chantilly | Happy Chantilly reply

    […] Photo Scott Piner via Source […]

  7. avatar Allen J. reply

    I am surprised that any place would discourage you from looking at what they have. Yes, 2.5 months is not a lot of time but surly it is plenty. Your wedding turned out beautiful. I am happy things went well even with that setback.

  8. avatar Swiss Dot Bridal Style Inspiration and SimplyBridal Releases the Top 5 Wedding Dress Trends of 2011 reply

    […] Lea Ann Belter Bridal images clockwise from upper left: place setting, silk organza bridal gown, Swiss Dot wedding cake, Swiss Dot cage veil, blue Swiss Dot shoes, Swiss Dot […]

  9. avatar Παλέτα Χρωμάτων #12 | Sensyle | | Sensyle reply

    […] Wedding Cake – http://iloveswmag.com […]

  10. avatar { Patriotic Inspiration } | Desiree Hartsock reply

    […] Scott Piner Photography via Southern Weddings  […]

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!

Reply to:
close

There’s nothing like coming home, don’t you agree? Though Sarah + Nick live in Indianapolis, Nick strongly encouraged Sarah to have the wedding in Chattanooga, her second home. According to the bride, “Getting married beneath Lookout Mountain, a place that was close to my heart even before Nick proposed to me there, was priceless. To me, “Southern” is a relaxed setting where you can enjoy the time with your loved ones in a beautiful setting — no need to decorate God’s creation! You know when everyone’s at Mom’s house, they gravitate to the kitchen, because that’s where the people are, where life happens, where the food is. That’s what the setting of the Barn at High Point Farms gave us. Our focus on heritage brought in reminders of generations past, well-loved and much missed.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Judging from these images by Austin Warnock, we think it feels just right.

Julianna Chapman (my cousin and maid of honor) is an amazing floral designer. She works at a floral design studio in Chattanooga, TN, but did the wedding flowers herself with the help of my cousins and another bridesmaid. Since I was in Indiana and she was in Tennessee, we exchanged ideas via Pinterest and had some long Skype sessions. I had no doubt that Julianna would be able to capture my vision and take it to another level. I wanted lots of creams and texture, loosely bound, not overly structured. I wanted cream with some light blue accents in my bouquet to tie in with the color of Nick’s shirt. For the bridesmaids’ bouquets, I wanted creams with strong accents of yellow/marigold pops of color. The boutonnieres had simple, natural elements, and also brought in the yellow accent. As for the buffet area, full creative credit goes to Julianna and my sisters. They took over planning and decorating the buffet when my creative juices ran low during the last month of wedding planning. I was so blown away with the sweet details, draped lace tablecloths, family serving ware, and fresh flowers. Julianna incorporated mason jars of flowers around rusted old milk crates from my sister’s farmhouse, pictures of me and Nick, tree trunk rounds, and bird houses.

Doesn’t the photo below just pull at your heart strings? I love the moment when guests first see the bride walk down the aisle — all that anticipation!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Between me and Nick, we have 8 nieces and nephews. We wanted all of them involved, letting kids be kids. So, we had a wedding parade! They all went down the aisle with bells, flags that Nick and I made, and flowers. The littlest ones were pulled in a wagon. I wanted the kids to be relaxed, and was perfectly fine if we had some last-minute mishaps or outright revolts – but they all had a great time!

I love that Sarah + Nick’s cake topper now sits on their windowsill at home! It’s such a great way to be reminded of their wedding. The cupcakes came in seven flavors: red velvet, cappuccino, Italian cream, cinnamon swirl, german chocolate, groovy, and grasshopper.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We were set up by a mutual friend soon after I moved from Chattanooga to Indianapolis for a job. Whether by instinct or indigestion, my friend Derrick was convinced that I should meet his friend Nick. Knowing that I was not interested in being set up, Derrick pestered me and lied to me, saying he had no hidden intentions, until we got something on the calendar. Nick knew full well that it was a set-up all along, and over a take-out pizza, we met. Both of us were a little shy, a little curious, and thankful for Derrick’s boisterous steal-the-spotlight presence. We could have gone without the questioning each time the other left the room — “So?? What do you think?!?” A week later, Nick and I had our first date (without Derrick) at a local pub.
Describe the proposal. As the summer days grew longer, I was getting more and more curious about what Nick was scheming. He kept his lips tightly sealed, and thoroughly enjoyed tormenting me with the fact that I was NOT in control! In early August, my cousin Julianna called me to ask if I’d be able to come down to Chattanooga as soon as possible to meet her certain someone and that it would be fun if Nick could come too. Little did I know, Nick had arranged it all with Julianna. We drove down to Chattanooga and Saturday morning, got up early for a hike to Sunset Rock on Lookout Mountain. After a brief jaunt from our parking spot, we reached the overlook. I scrambled to the edge, thrilled with the morning view, as our companions set off in the other direction to look at some plants. I turned around once to make sure Nick was paying attention to the view, and turned around again to find him on one knee, holding my great-grandmother’s engagement ring. The world went quiet, and he asked a simple question. I answered with the words that had echoed in my heart for months: “A thousand times, yes!”
In what month did you get married? April 2012
How many guests attended your wedding? 150
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I didn’t daydream about dresses or stash away bridal magazines before getting engaged, mostly because I was nervous about what style would work for me – I’m often hard to fit being under 5 feet tall! A week after getting engaged, I wanted to test the dress hunting waters and made an appointment at David’s Bridal with a soon-to-be-married friend. Setting aside any “princess poufiness,” we found a few options which I tried on again later that weekend for my mom and sister. I knew I’d found the one when I didn’t want to take it off. I loved my dress – it wasn’t “just another strapless”, it didn’t overwhelm my figure, and I could move around so easily at our outdoor wedding.
Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? I’m so glad that we did! With it being “our day,” we wanted to share more of it together and knew that it would help calm nerves. On the practical side, we knew it would make the day go smoother if we could get bridal party and family pictures done prior to the ceremony. Our reveal took place in a tree grove near the barn. The setting was beautiful and the moment remains one of Nick’s favorites of the day. However, I was a little distracted by the family members who appeared out of nowhere to sneak a peek – especially my Dad and brother on ladders in the trees nearby, stringing white lights!
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? For our vows, we combined several elements of traditional vows. My favorite part was for the exchange of rings when I said, “Nick, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” It’s a whole-life commitment. Our vows reach into every part of our lives, for the rest of our lives.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. I walked down the aisle to “Lion Song” by Jason Harrod and walked up the aisle to “But For Those Who Fear My Name” by The Welcome Wagon. Our first dance was to “Songbird” by Eva Cassidy. The father/daughter dance was to “Moonlight Serenade” by Glen Miller Orchestra and the mother/son dance was to “You’ve Got A Friend” by Carole King.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? It was a very DIY wedding, which helped us cut costs, but took a LOT of time and planning — from wedding planning and catering to set-up and decorating. I think the biggest challenge was knowing when to stop gathering new ideas, to shut the laptop and stop looking at Pinterest.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000-$25,000, close to $10,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Photography. We were advised early in the planning process to set aside as much as we could afford for photography – pay for the quality, and figure out where to cut the budget elsewhere. I’m so glad we did. Austin Warnock Photography was amazing to work with, and we’re thrilled with the results.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Sneaking away for a quick minute during our evening reception to take a look at the starscape, seeing the barn lit up behind us, filled with our loved ones, happy blurs of music and light.

nicoleyang Written with love by Nicole
5 Comments
  1. avatar Lauren reply

    Such a pretty wedding – so many thoughtful details!!! Can you tell me where they got the cake topper – it’s super cute and I would love to have it for my wedding! Thanks!

    • avatar Nick reply

      Lauren: We got the cake toppers off of Etsy – http://www.etsy.com/shop/vintagegreenlimited?ref=seller_info.

  2. avatar Madelynne Moulton reply

    OMG around 10k?? This wedding looks SO expensive and has SO much personality! I LOVE it! So deliciously southern and elegant.

  3. avatar Laura reply

    First off, I love this wedding because I love Chattanooga. I went to college near-by and it is such a cool city with such good memories for me.

    But I also absolutely love the portion of your vows that you shared, the words are so simple, but so powerful. I just might have to borrow them for my own wedding :)

  4. avatar Stephanie reply

    Such a beautiful wedding! Amazing photos! Can you tell me where you purchased the cupcake stand? We are getting married in September and have been looking everywhere for one this size! :-)

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!

Reply to:
close
Top