Southern Weddings

We had the pleasure of lunching with Drea of {Casey Cunningham Photography} a couple months ago.  Over cupcakes at the Carolina Cafe, Drea told us about the most recent wedding she and Casey had shot. It happened to be this stunning rustic Western North Carolina wedding of Amanda + Thomas. This beautiful wedding took place at {Camp Broadstone}. Flowers (I love her vibrant bouquet!) by {Newland Florist}. Amanda designed her own dress and had it created by a local seamstress. The wedding cake was made by Amanda’s godmother, Shawn Banks. Amanda also created all of her paper goods for the wedding. Kudos to Amanda – so creative! Thanks to Drea for submitting this wedding to us! Check out more from this NC wedding on their {blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story… We met five years before when we were neighbors in an apartment complex.
Describe the proposal: Well, we actually decided together that we were ready to get married in November 2007, and went ahead with the announcement, then started ring shopping. I loved the look of art deco period rings, but today’s replica designs weren’t quite right. Eventually we found a local jeweler who was willing to work with us to create my dream ring. The ring was finished two days before I was scheduled to get braces for six months to treat TMJ. So we were going out for my “last meal” (brace-free) when Thomas pulled over at a scenic area pretending to scout it out as a potential wedding location. He asked me to get out of the car to read the sign on the gate for contact information. Not realizing what was going on, and it being winter in the mountains (freezing), I adamantly refused, and read the sign to him from the car. So, going with the flow, and my stubborn nature Thomas went ahead and popped the question in the car, presenting me the most beautiful ring I had ever seen, honestly it’s amazing!
What attracted me to my husband was: His sincerity, intelligence, and sense of humor.
What attracted me to my wife was: Her strong mind, great sense of humor and loving nature.
The weather on our wedding day was: Gorgeous. Fall in the mountains means crisp blue skies, fiery foliage, and that enviable golden glow of the sun.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Rustic chic- I loved the idea of contrast.
Favorite design element of your big day: I found gorgeous handmade lotka paper with a paisley and floral pattern from an online supplier. I based all the printed materials around that pattern.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I fell in love with something completely out of my budget, so I found a seamstress who was able and willing to work with me. This allowed me a lot of freedom in the design and construction; I even picked out all the fabric!
Describe your wedding flowers: I wanted the majority of the flowers to represent the season and the location, so our florist used a variety of dahlias and chrysanthemums, both plentiful in the south during fall. Galax leaves, kangaroo paw, and bells of Ireland also helped to round out the centerpieces.
Describe your wedding cake: I decided on the topper first, what I deemed to be a tasteful, artist interpretation of dancing bears would hint to our love of the Grateful Dead. The rest of the cake decoration seemed obvious, some twigs, leaves and berries would adorn the delicious creation my godmother would labor over. The flavors included chocolate cake with espresso hazelnut filling, lemon poppy seed with raspberry filling, apple spice cake with caramel cream, and orange dreamsicle cake with cream cheese filling; but en route the cake fell over, and in the end I think we had the lemon poppy seed layer, and some of the chocolate layer.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Too hard to pick just one but Thomas votes for the Excalibur get-away car! Always go out in style!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Planning from the hospital…my dad ended up being hospitalized for nearly six months at the beginning of the year. So, I spent most days at the hospital with him, and planning was really difficult. I had so much time to think about my vision, but in the end I had very little time to interview vendors before making selections.
Scariest moment? The phone call about the cake disaster! The look on my mom’s face came after the sobbing, I could hear through the phone.
Funniest moment? Right before the ceremony was about to begin, Thomas was making humorous small talk with his best man, forgetting that his microphone was already turned on for the vow exchange…After numerous chuckles from the audience, someone finally told him they could hear everything he was saying on through the speakers.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The cake fiasco.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Festive, enchanting, blessed.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? (Favorite part of the ceremony): We had my godmother’s 11-year-old daughter read excerpts from Sandol Stoddard Warburg’s book, {I Like You}, during the ceremony, it put a smile on everyone’s face.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Choose your vendors wisely. These people are inevitably responsible for the production of your planning. Even the most organized and controlling bride eventually has to relinquish command, and let the day unfold.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? House shopping!!!

Congratulations to Amanda + Thomas. We hope you find a house that becomes a home!