Southern Weddings

This beautiful wedding in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, was exactly what Renee + Roland wanted–time to spend with family and friends and some beach side fun.  (Check out the two in the kayak)  Renee was nothing new to the wedding industry before her own wedding.  With a background in make-up artistry (Two Fishes Artistry), Renee knew what was important and what was worth her time and money. Thanks to Paul and Mecheal Johnson from {Paul Johnson Photography} for allowing us to share these images.  Check out more on their {Blog}.  Details from this wedding weekend include: bridal gown from {Amore Bridal}, catering by {Townsend Catering Company}, invitations from {Joceybella Invites} and day-of coordination from {It’s A Shore Thing}.

Describe your wedding cake: We decided on cupcakes in a variety of flavors with our new initial, A, on top. The flavors were Key Lime, Vanilla, Chocolate and Red Velvet. My mom tucked away a few of the left over cupcakes, but I found them the next day and decided if I didn’t eat one of each flavor, I would regret it 20 years from now! Needless to say, they were divine and I loved every bite!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? My budget. There were a few vendors I could not compromise on by choosing someone else, even if they offered a lower price. I knew which vendors in my area would make the day what I wanted it to be, and I also knew if I chose someone else, it would always be in the back of my mind. One thing I have learned by being in the wedding industry is there are certain elements of your wedding that will live on forever, and a few things that do not. For me personally, I knew it would be delicious food, the “feeling” of the gathering, the photography (hence, also my hair & makeup!), and my surprise element—the bag piper! I am so glad I trusted my instinct.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? After brunch, we headed down to the beach for a little kayak action! Roland’s friends, Shane and Ryan beat us to it—they were already little dots in the middle of the ocean! We jumped in the kayaks, still dressed from the ceremony, and sat in the Gulf by ourselves. We loved being around everyone, but it was those few minutes sitting in the kayak when we reflected on what just happened! The silence was short-lived and the other kayaks were in the water with us in no time flat!
Scariest moment? Nothing scary happened, it all went very smoothly.
Funniest moment? While we were taking family pictures, our friends visited with one another on the beach before brunch was served. Everyone had a mimosa or two, visited with each other and listened to music. As I walked over to join them after pictures, I saw my friend Aimee’s daughter, Emoree, who is only 19 months old, with a filled, champagne flute in her hands! Maybe you had to be there, but it was just funny to see her standing there in her little pink outfit, like she was 25, visiting with her momma’s friends! (Note: The bartender made her drink OJ, straight up, like she asked!)
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The most unexpected moment on our wedding day was trying to ride a tandem beach cruiser! It was quite the challenge, especially in a wedding dress!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Loving, Sweet and Fun.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Make a list of the things that are non-negotiable for you, such as a specific photographer or a specific dress. A list will help you keep a perspective on where to spend your resources and where you can be “creative”. Really think about the overall feeling you want to evoke at your wedding and the elements necessary to achieve it. My best advice to any bride is to hire a wedding planner, even if it is for the day-of. Sure, your mom can handle it, or your aunt may be a great organizer, but I assure you that deep down, they want to enjoy (and see) your wedding just like everyone else. I did makeup for a bride whose mother broke a sweat she was working so hard. I specifically stayed to touch her up again because I could see the stress on her face. In fact, the same thing happened with my mother! Because my wedding was at 11 am, there were a lot of housekeeping tasks to do early in the morning. On the morning of, my mom came upstairs while we were getting dressed with sweat across her forehead. That was not my intention for her at all! If I had known then what I know now, I would have hired my coordinators much sooner. (I handed over my wedding at 4 pm on Wedding Day Eve to Cheryl and Jennifer at {It’s a Shore Thing}. They didn’t blink an eye at my late timing, and jumped right in with both feet—with excitement. Had I planned this with them sooner, I could have saved my mom a few tasks to do before the wedding. Oh, and my last tip, always have a trial run with your hair stylist and makeup artist…always.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. Roland’s mom gave me an Italian silk scarf with an A embroidered on the corner that she had tucked away from Roland’s grandmother who was a world-traveling missionary. In that moment, I realized my name was about to change and I was about to be a part of another family.
Another memorable moment was… reading all of the notes from our guests. My mom made a scrapbook that included old photos of all of the guests present, and they could sign our book on their page. Our mothers collaborated, and they had pictures of our friends when we were growing up, high school and college photos, and old family pictures scattered throughout the book. We enjoyed flipping through the pages and reading their sweet, heartfelt marriage advice.
What’s next for you as a couple? We are working, working, working! Roland started his new job the Monday after we were married, and I am working on booking brides for the spring wedding season!
What are you looking forward to in the future? We are both looking forward to a trip to Patagonia! Our schedules did not allow us to take a honeymoon, so we hope to take a trip soon. Roland likes these adventure, climb-trees-before-breakfast type vacations, with no running water and you have to paddle through Class 4 rapids to get to your bed, so I have to keep a close eye on the plans! (I say that because I am the one who booked that vacation—lesson: read the detailed agenda carefully.) I hear you can watch penguins and kayak near glaciers on this adventure vacation to Patagonia, so I’m ok with this one!
Other details you want us to know about your wedding: Our wedding was at 11 A.M. on a Thursday, with a champagne brunch instead of a seated dinner on a weekend day. Both elements were not the norm in the wedding business, and it was definitely a sacrifice for my guests to take off work in the middle of the week. Many of them decided to make it a long weekend at the beach—which meant more time to play! As it turned out, by doing it this way and the group being small, we were able to spend good, quality time with our friends—individually and all together with our families! It worked out perfectly!

Congratulations to Renee + Roland.  We wish you the trip of a lifetime as you head off to Patagonia!