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I love when a couple’s wedding day design stems from a meaningful idea, and blooms into something so lovely, like Beth and Dave’s! Since Beth was marrying into Dave’s Irish family, she mentioned to her wedding planner and paper designer that she was thinking about including a pattern with a Celtic feel to it. Eventi by Dianna Vendito and MLC Designs knocked it out of the park with the print they found, and the way they added fabulous pops of kelly green throughout their designs. Beth and Dave felt the importance of family was a Southern value that must be included in their wedding day–they not only wanted to honor their loved ones with time spent together, but also with sweet mementos of their late grandparents tied into the details. Be sure to read about their maid of honor’s speech–it’s a good one!

We’re delighted Marta Locklear was on hand to capture Beth and Dave’s wedding day!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I first went shopping for my wedding dress without having any particular style in mind. With the help of my mother, sister-in-law, and maid of honor, I narrowed it down to three dresses I really liked and assumed that with time, I would be able to pick one. However, I decided to go to one more bridal salon to look, because Dave’s mom had not been able to come on the first shopping trip and I wanted to include her. The salon consultant helped pull some dresses based off of the ones I had liked at the other salon. I was hesitant to try on one that she had pulled because it was a cut that I thought I had eliminated, but once it was on, I knew it was the one.

Our first reading was Tobit 8:4b-8, selected because it focuses on the married couple praying together, which is something Dave and I do every night before going to bed–we read a prayer book that was given to him by his deceased grandmother. Our second reading was Romans 1 5:1b-3a, 5-7, 13, which we chose because of its message of “welcoming one another, as Christ welcomed you,” which we felt reflected how we want our home to always be a welcoming place, especially for out-of-town family and friends. Our Gospel reading was Matthew 5:1-12a, the Beatitudes, because it is a code for us on how to live a full, long life together.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? It was important to us that our ceremony and reception venues showcased classic Baltimore, the city we grew up in and fell in love in. The ceremony took place at St. Ignatius Church in a historical area of Baltimore. I had joined that church when I came home from college and some of my extended family also attended that church. The reception was held at The Elkridge Club, which had the traditional, classic, Southern feel we were looking for. It was also located just minutes from where Dave went to high school and where I grew up, so it felt like home.

When our wedding planner, paper designer, and I were brainstorming, I had mentioned I was thinking about including a pattern that had a Celtic feel to it, because I was marrying an Irish family. She found this wonderful kelly green and white interlocking print that we used on the save the dates, napkins, corn hole sets, drum shade, and throw pillows in the lounge.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? One Southern tradition we included was burying a bottle of bourbon. We buried the bottle upside down one month before the wedding and my father dug it up the day of the wedding. We enjoyed it with our wedding party after the ceremony on the way to the reception but, despite our best efforts, it still poured rain briefly at the beginning of our reception. In addition, the importance of family is a Southern value to us. We were happy to spend some time that evening with one set of Dave’s grandparents, and we made sure to remember our other grandparents that day with little mementos of them. My necklace was made from Dave’s other grandmother’s engagement ring, and tied to my bouquet was one of my grandmother’s wedding bands and a ring my other grandmother had given to my mother when she was 16 years old.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? The most memorable moment of the wedding day was finishing our first dance, where it felt like it was only the two of us in the room, and realizing that we were lucky enough to be in a room with all our friends and family in one location.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Dave and I met through a mutual friend in 2009. At the time, my sorority little sister from college and I were attending medical school together. We went out to celebrate spring break and ended up hanging out with some of her friends from high school, one of them being Dave. He and I ended up hanging out a few more times before going on our first official date that spring. He later revealed he knew he wanted to continue to date me because I brought him soup one evening when he was sick–we have been together ever since.
Tell us all about the proposal! For our annual vacation, Dave and I had planned a trip to Aruba in February 2014. We woke up early to go to the airport, but I was still frantically running around trying to pack last minute items. Dave was patiently sitting on the couch waiting for me and asked if I was all done packing, which I finally confirmed. He then said, “Well then, there is just one more thing…” and got down on one knee and proposed. We called our families to tell them, but waited to tell everyone else until we got back from our trip, so we had the whole week to soak it in and celebrate just the two of us.
When did y’all get married? May 16, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 220
Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? We decided not to do a first look because when we thought about what we envisioned for our wedding day, it was having that special moment of seeing each other for the first time just before saying our vows. One of my favorite things at weddings is seeing the look on the bride and groom’s faces when they finally lock eyes while she’s coming down the aisle, and we are so glad we had that moment for our wedding day.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We had a traditional Catholic ceremony, so we did not write our own vows.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert. Dave and I are not big dessert fans, but did always grow up eating strawberry shortcake for our birthdays, so we had a strawberry shortcake for our wedding cake. We served it with homemade ice cream.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our favorite detail of the wedding was something we did not even plan. Our maid of honor was inspired by one of our engagement photos for her speech. Dave and I had taken our engagement photos in a park near our home and recreated a photo of my grandparents sitting on a park bench in that same park as an engaged couple, 70 years before us. My maid of honor went to the park leading up to our wedding and interviewed couples who were sitting on park benches, asking them for relationship advice she could read to us on our wedding day. She had friends hold up poster-size images of us, my grandparents, and those couples sitting on the park benches while she relayed the advice for our marriage. It was so incredibly special and unique.
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? By having a wedding planner, we did not have to spend all of our free time getting lost in planning the details of the day, and instead, we spent time with each other, building our future. We also attended a marriage preparation weekend through our church.
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? One large expense we cut to save money was deciding not to hire a videographer. Instead, we made sure to select a photographer that we felt would truly capture all the moments, expressions, and emotions of the day.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? We are excited that my work schedule will be improving soon, and we hope to travel more as a couple. We are also looking forward to one day starting a family of our own and creating wonderful memories and traditions with our children.

Photographer: Marta Locklear | Planner and Florist: Eventi by Diana Venditto | Ceremony Venue: St. Ignatius Church | Reception Venue and Caterer: Elkridge Club | Cake: Graul’s Market | Rentals: Party Rental Ltd. | Lighting: Loane Bros., Inc. | Band: Millennium | Special Details: XOXO Vintage | Paper Products: MLC Designs | Bride’s Gown: “Dominque” by Augusta Jones | Bride’s Hair Accessories: Betsy Robinson | Hair and Makeup: Behind the Veil / Bride’s Shoes: Miu Miu | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Fielding Flowers” by Shoshanna | Menswear: JoS. A. Bank | Linens: I Do Linens and La Tavola | Candles and Flatware: Vintage Affairs | Drum Shades and Bars: Revolution Event Design | Late Night Snack: Canton Pretzel Store

marissa Written with love by Marissa
1 Comment
  1. avatar Zookbinders Wedding Albums reply

    Gorgeous choice of colors! Beautiful wedding!

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We never get tired of the classics around here–there’s just something so sweet about knowing a couple will still love every detail of their wedding when they show the pictures to their grandchildren someday! Annemarie and Sean certainly fit that bill, and what is even more special about their celebration is how involved their community was in bringing it to life. The reception was held at Annemarie’s grandparents’ home, and friends and family members contributed their time, talents, and treasures to make every detail magical for the newlyweds. Be sure to read Annemarie’s interview for some of the special ways their loved ones contributed–it included everything from the catering, to the magnolia leaves, to their getaway car!

Thank you so much to Olivia Griffin for sharing this lovely day with us!

I went wedding dress shopping with my mom, grandma, and aunt at The Poinsett Bride in Greenville soon after I got engaged. I had a specific Steven Birnbaum dress with an illusion neckline in mind that I wanted to try. The bridal salon didn’t have the dress I was looking for, but they did have a very similar dress by the same designer. As soon as I put it on, we all knew it fit the timeless, classic look I was hoping for. The ladies at The Poinsett Bride were able to add a custom illusion neckline to the dress. I could not have been happier with the way it all came together!

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? We were married at First Presbyterian Church of Laurens, a lovely, historic church in my hometown. Choosing our reception venue was easy for me: most of our family gatherings center around my grandparents’ home. Many of my favorite memories, from birthday parties to family weddings, have taken place there, and I couldn’t imagine having the reception anywhere else.

We are so glad we did a first look. Olivia captured some of my favorite pictures from the whole day during it. We really enjoyed being able to spend some time alone together before the wedding, especially since it was an evening wedding. We also wanted to spend as much time as possible with our guests at the reception, so doing a first look was an easy decision for us.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? My grandfather is a minister, and he performed our ceremony using traditional vows. He married my parents as well, so it was very special to all of us to have him play such a meaningful role.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. My uncle sang “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” a beautiful Southern hymn that has been a family favorite for many years. My dad and I walked down the aisle to “Thaxted” by Holst and the recessional was “Toccata, Symphonie V” by Widor.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: One favorite detail was arriving at the reception in my uncle’s antique car, a roadster converted from a 1929 Ford Model A, but there were so many special details, it is very difficult to decide on just one!

We were very blessed by our generous family and friends who contributed their time and talents in countless ways. Family friends assembled the table arrangements for the reception, and my grandmother and several friends and family members prepared the majority of the food for the reception (which is an amazing accomplishment, considering the number of guests!). We also used a lot of items from our family instead of renting, like the silver pieces and the furniture at the reception.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. Dear family friends generously gave us our cake as a wedding gift. It was a traditional, three-layer white cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and beautiful white roses cascading down the side. We also served homemade vanilla and chocolate ice cream made by my brother.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met our senior year at Clemson University and started dating that spring. After graduation, I began medical school and Sean moved to Atlanta for graduate school. Even with busy school schedules and a few hundred miles between us, we still saw each other as much as we could.
Tell us all about the proposal! We were both back in Clemson for a friend’s wedding. The evening after the wedding, Sean suggested we go for a walk on campus, which is something we enjoyed doing together frequently as students. We eventually stopped at a scenic place on campus where he asked me to marry him!
When did y’all get married? August 9, 2014
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 400
Describe your wedding flowers. The bouquets were made up of white garden roses and hydrangeas, accented with magnolia leaves. We used lots of magnolia leaves from my grandmother’s trees in the wedding. My mom made magnolia leaf garlands and wreaths for the church–the poor magnolia trees were starting to look pretty bare after she was finished with them! We used family silver pieces from my mom, grandmothers, and aunts as the containers for the reception table centerpieces.
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! I borrowed my mom’s pearl earrings. The handkerchief I carried was monogrammed with blue thread. I wore my great-grandmother’s diamond ring and a new pearl bracelet from Sean.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Our goal was to incorporate our families as much as possible. We displayed wedding pictures of our parents and grandparents at the reception. The menu also included several Southern family recipes, including my great-grandmother’s benne seed cookies and cheese biscuits made by great-aunts. My mom made her famous pecan pralines for the favors.
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? We loved having Olivia as our photographer; she also happens to be a member of my extended family! She has photographed several other weddings in our family, so I was very familiar with her incredible talent and had hoped that she would be our photographer for a while.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? After dating long distance for three years, we are thrilled to finally enjoy each other’s company on a daily basis. We are very excited to move to Charlotte, where I will start my pediatric residency training in June.

Photographer: Olivia Griffin Photography / Planner: Lisa Kirk / Ceremony Venue: First Presbyterian Church of Laurens / Reception Venue: Private residence / Florist: Rick Childers / Rentals and Lighting: Event Rentals / Paper Products: Reaves Engraving, Inc / Bride’s Gown: “Rosanne” by Steven Birnbaum / Bridal Salon and Accessories: The Poinsett Bride / Bride’s Shoes: Something Bleu / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “D627” by Alfred Sung in Black Dupioni / Menswear: Jos. A. Bank

lisa Written with love by Lisa
5 Comments
  1. avatar Katie Purnell reply

    Traditional, classic weddings are the best. So beautiful.

  2. avatar Loverly reply

    We always like when a bride really takes the time to include family traditions and recipes into her wedding! It makes the day truly special and one of a kind!

  3. avatar Chelsea reply

    Oh my goodness, I just love those Mr. and Mrs. chair ties- they look just like ones from one of the Southern Newlyweds home tours!

  4. avatar Sara reply

    Hi there! I love that the bride’s mother made garland and wreaths from magnolia leaves. We have some magnolias in our yard. How far in advance do you think you could make those before the wedding day?! Maybe I could prolong their shelf life with some misting? Thanks so much!!

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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