Southern Weddings

Back with more from Aubree + Ali.  This time we have shots from their Catholic wedding ceremony.  The ceremony was again held at Guilford Colleges’ {The Moon Room at Dana Auditorium}.  Following the ceremony, the couple and guests arrived at the {Revolution Mill Studios} for the reception.  Check out all the shots on Abigail Seymour’s blog.  {Post I} and {Post II}.  Aren’t they such a gorgeous couple!?

The weather on our wedding day was: Spectacular. We had two wedding days (both Friday and Saturday – a Muslim ceremony on Friday, and a multi-faith/Christian ceremony on Saturday) and both days turned out perfect. We truly could not have asked for better weather for October – it was 75 degrees and sunny (those deep Carolina blue skies) with only a sprinkling of those puffy white clouds. While we had stressed a bit following the 10-day weather forecast and the previous weekend had torrential rain, but our weekend was simply better than we could have dreamt.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? The colors of Fall. I grew up in North Carolina, and was so fond of the beauty of the autumn season. When I moved to Southern California, I used to dream about those autumns, and wish I could have the seasons again – the colors (deep browns, gold, burgundy, burnt oranges), the cool breezes against a warm sun, the smells of nature… It was so nice to come home to have the wedding, and beautiful to tie those elements into the style of everything.
Favorite design element of your big day: The decor at the reception. My mother, mother-in-law, sister, friend and I all worked very hard to make some of the centerpieces, and many of the little touches at the reception. Even Ali got into the arts & crafts of helping to create the decor – he was a good sport! It was hard work, but I felt so pleased with how it turned out. Our venue for the reception really was special – it was an old textile mill that had been converted into an event center – such a beautiful, vintage building.
Describe your wedding flowers: My mother helped me find the florist (since I was planning the wedding from afar). She found out about this family-run florist and greenhouse. I spent one day and a couple e-mails talking with the florist, and since I’m an over-planner, I was very nervous about how they’d turn out since I didn’t get to see them before. I was stunned – they were one of my favorite decor aspects of the ceremony! They were mixtures of all sorts of flowers done in fall colors (for the bridesmaids, groomsmen), and in off-whites/whites for me. We tied everything together with the use of hypericum berries and greenery. We decided to also rent potted mums and other fall-like florals to decorate the outside of the location – it was beautiful, very autumnal, and really added to the overall feel.
Describe your wedding cake: We decided to not just have one main cake, but to also have some smaller cakes that surrounded the bigger, tiered cake. We wanted to have an assortment of flavors to please everyone, and to allow the cake to be more than just decoration (but actually enjoyed) – it turned out to be a hit! People went back for seconds (and thirds)! We had a strawberry/vanilla crème flavor for our main tiered cake, and carrot, red velvet, and chocolate fudge flavors for the smaller cakes. We tied the cakes together with flowers that matched the bridesmaids’ bouquets. There were also Krispy Kreme doughnuts (headquartered in the bride’s hometown of Winston-Salem, NC) for favors for our guests.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? There were a couple of challenges. First, our caterer – which we had painstakingly selected many, many months prior to the wedding – went out of business just three short weeks before the wedding! It was sheer panic the day we got the phone call to say that they wouldn’t be doing our wedding; but needless to say, we found another, better caterer, and no one went home hungry! The only other major challenge was that our reception site was under construction literally up until the week before our wedding – talk about stressful!
Scariest moment? For me, it was getting my makeup done. It’s almost impossible to sit still in a chair for an hour only moments before you’re about to get married – thinking about everything that this one moment in your life means. I was squirming and jittery, but excited. I just wanted to get out of the chair! Ali: There wasn’t one single moment that was the scariest. My main concern was that Aubree was okay, enjoyed herself and that our guests understood how grateful Aubree and I were for the role each has played in our lives.
Funniest moment? Our exit – we used dried jasmine flowers instead of rice to toss at the newlyweds upon exiting the ceremony. Some of the groomsmen (Ali’s former soccer teammates) found it an opportunity to “play” like they did on the field and were throwing (not gently tossing) the flowers at us – I think we were picking dried flowers out of our clothes for about an hour afterward.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: After we said our personal vows to each other, we looked around the room and people were crying (Aubree’s mother had let out a sob), and then, applause erupted followed by joyful laughter – it added some levity to a very heartfelt moment.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: The day was really beyond words for both of us, and way beyond expectation, so I guess we’d say: personal, humbling, incredible.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Don’t focus on the big elements – flowers, food, and entertainment. Focus on little touches that say something about you as a couple; those that speak to your family and friends. Those are the things that everyone remembers.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. First, find a beat to stop, look around, look in each other’s eyes, and soak in the moment – it goes by so fast. It’s a bit cliché, but it is absolutely the truth. Second, accept help when planning! Your friends and family love helping, participating, and ultimately, it makes things much more fun (and tolerable).
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We look forward to the little, mundane details of our new shared life as much as the bigger challenges. Of course, starting a family at some point is a big goal, but traveling, laughing and supporting one another are other key priorities.

Congrats to Aubree + Ali.  We wish you a lifetime of happiness and joy!