Southern Weddings

Megan + John Tyler’s wedding reception featured food from none other than the {Stone Leaf Cafe}, where this love story first began.  About an hour before the ceremony, John Tyler could be found in the kitchen creating the delicious food for their family and friends to share.  Talk about a hands-on groom! This was definitely a family affair. The florist that was  John Tyler’s mother, Beth.  Beth happens to be the owner of {The Verandah}.  The wedding cake was created by an Aunt of Megan + John Tyler.  One last thing, check out Megan’s vintage style veil.  The veil was created by {Joanne Miranda Designs} and it was absolutely perfect for this vintage country wedding.  Photography by {Millie Holloman Photography}.  Check out more from this wonderful Carolina wedding on Millie’s {Blog}.  Happy Friday, y’all!

The weather on our wedding day was: It was a very beautiful fall day. A little overcast, but around 70 degrees.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Vintage Country. We are both into vintage style so there was little hesitation when deciding to go with a vintage themed atmosphere. We had a small ceremony at a small chapel that was built in the late 1800s. When we saw the chapel we fell in love with it. We had the reception outside at an old plantation home (Megan loves Gone With the Wind). We also wanted to take advantage of the fall season for our designs. We had different sizes of orange and white pumpkins, sunflowers, toile fabric over the reception tables and the toile pattern for the programs, a lot of candles, colors of burnt orange, chocolate, mustard yellow, and gold.
Describe your wedding flowers: John Tyler’s mother and her partner made the flowers. I love the look of the fall flowers. Sunflowers are my favorite flower. There were also white winterberries, hydrangeas, roses, and greenery. The grandmothers all wore a corsage a black magic rose and a handkerchief with a broach. The mothers carried a small bouquet. In my bouquet there were white roses and stephanotis (which I also love).
Describe your wedding cake: My Aunt Cindy made our wedding cake. It was delicious. The icing was butter cream and each of the four layers was a different design. The cake was a traditional vanilla pound cake. The cake topper was John Tyler’s parents’ cake topper from their wedding. The people were taken out of the center and were replaced by two lovebirds. Keeping with the idea of my ring limoge. The cake was the most beautiful and delicious cake I’ve ever had. I am so glad my Aunt made our cake, it made it all the more special.
Scariest moment? When I left the hairdresser’s it was sprinkling rain. It would have been a disaster because we had an outside reception and if it rained there was no plan B. Thankfully, it never rained and the day was beautiful. A little bit of sprinkles is actually good. They say it is a sign of luck on your wedding day.
Funniest moment? The heel of my shoe got stuck in a crack between the floorboards as soon as they opened the chapel doors. I couldn’t move because it was really stuck in there! So my dad just stood there with me while I was trying to inconspicuously yank my heel out. The music was playing and my eyes met John Tyler’s, however, I really thought I was stuck and that I would have to step out of my shoes to continue. It eventually got loose, but JT did notice the slight hesitation!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Emotional. Intimate. Perfect. HAPPIEST DAY OF OUR LIVES!!!
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Its your day. Do what makes you two happy and don’t try to please everyone because you can’t. Just be happy with each other. This is the only day you get where its all about you two.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. ENJOY!!!!! Don’t stress, everything will be fine.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are enjoying spending time together and being happily married. We’re both still working at the restaurant. I guess that says a lot if we are able to work all day together, live together, and spend off time together!

Congratulations to Megan + John Tyler.  We wish you a lifetime of joy together!

John Tyler is the owner of the restaurant {Stone Leaf Cafe} and brought Megan in to interview her for a part time server job.  Little did they know that things were going to work out at the cafe and lead to a lifetime of love together.  John Tyler loved Megan’s Southern charm and Megan loved his laid back attitude and humor.  When it came time to plan their wedding, they chose a vintage country style.  The two picked an old local chapel for their ceremony and the beautiful {Murray House Country Inn} for their wedding reception.  Isn’t Megan’s dress fabulous?!  It was her mother’s wedding dress and Megan took it to a seamstress to make it fit her perfectly.  Read on to hear all about the special family mementos that were included in this Southern celebration. Our NC photographer friend, the amazing {Millie Holloman} was so kind to share this wedding with us today.  And how about these gorgeous flowers from The Verandah?!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. I (Megan) had just graduated from East Carolina University and while I was job hunting, I decided to apply for a part-time server position at a new restaurant called the Stone Leaf Café. We met for the first time when John Tyler hired me to work at his restaurant. Within a few months we had fallen for each other.
Describe the proposal: I asked Megan’s father for his blessings for me to propose. I then proposed late one Thursday night just completely out of the blue. I was wanting to wait for a special time to propose, but once I had the ring, it was hard to wait for long.
What attracted me to my husband was: His laid-back personality, humor, and good looks.
Why do you love your husband? My husband has always been honest with me. We have humor in our relationship. He is very caring and generous. He supports me in my decisions. I just love him!
What attracted me to my wife was: Her southern charm.
Favorite design element of your big day: We love how we were able to incorporate so many meaningful items into our wedding. John Tyler presented me my ring in an antique limoge that was pale blue with two
lovebirds on top. So I had the limoge attached to my bouquet. The wedding band that I presented John Tyler with was his grandfather’s. The pew markers were made out of pieces of John Tyler’s mother’s wedding gown. I (Megan) really wanted to use pom poms in my wedding for the guests to toss after we said our I do’s. So we actually used the pom poms a lot. A strand of ivory pom pom’s were wrapped around my bouquet as well. We gave all of our guests an antique handkerchief that had a sewn tag that read our names and the date of the wedding.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: For the ceremony I surprised my parents by wearing my mother’s wedding gown. I had always dreamed of wearing my mother’s dress and when I tried it on, it was too small. I proceeded to buy a dress that I loved. Well, the week before the wedding I found an amazing seamstress who was able to add fabric and make the dress fit. So I surprised everyone, and lived out my dream of wearing my mother’s dress. Wearing my mother’s dress really made me feel like a beautiful bride. It also looked great with in the chapel with the whole vintage theme. I did change into my other dress which
was more comfortable for the reception. I also, had a special made pillbox hat with a birdcage veil to wear. I will say that my mother’s dress was my favorite detail of the wedding and I am so glad I was able wear it.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? We used a lot of family heirlooms. JTs ring, I wore my grandmother’s wedding band on my right hand, I wore my mother’s garter belt, JT had a hanky made out of a piece of his mother’s wedding gown.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing each other for the first time when the chapel doors were opened.

More to come from Megan + John Tyler.