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This wedding was captured by Shawn Connell of Christian Oth Studio and planned by fete, who also did the decor and flowers. Take a look at the stunning Valentino gown that Ceara wore — I love the detailing on the sleeves! Those who liked the yellow bridesmaid dresses will be happy to know they are from the Jenny Yoo collection.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met as freshmen in college but did not start dating until our junior year. A few friends of mine were joining me at my family’s property south of Charleston for spring break, which also happens to be turkey season. I always knew Nate would love our place, as he grew up in northern Minnesota and was already an avid fisherman and hunter. I coyly mentioned my spring break plans to him one night and happily he invited himself before I had to. He was the first to arrive and within 24 hours he had bonded with my father, a fellow hockey defenseman, and crashed our Suburban. A few days later he got his first turkey and before the end of the week we were together.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We immediately wanted the wedding weekend to be about the location – the marshy wetlands and diverse bird life of our land and the spirit of the house, which my late grandmother had decorated in sunny yellows and oranges. These inspirations were drawn upon to create a natural, elegant and light-hearted atmosphere. The paper products set the tone, all incorporating birds and the color yellow in some way—the invitation was the most formal, designed to open like an old-fashioned hand-written note. The ceremony was outside in a huge field dotted with hay bales (we found square ones for the guests to sit on). Mozart’s Magic Flute then greeted us in the dinner tent, which had a maze of long green silk-draped tables with silver candelabras and a peacock feather on each plate. After dinner everything shifted to the other side of the tent, which had a Moroccan feel—large elephant palms, mercury balls clustered above the dance floor and lots of cozy chaises.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I tried on dozens of gowns. When I first saw my dress on the rack I thought it was crazy—an explosion of lace and silk flowers. My fashion-forward little sister insisted I try it on and the moment I did I was in love, but worried it was not the easiest gown to wear. Over time I began to have visions of the beautiful lace train with its big, silk flowers against the grass of the field we would be married in. In the end there was no question that it was the dress.
Describe your wedding flowers: I wanted all of the wedding flowers to be natural and organic, like they had been plucked that morning and (skillfully!) thrown together. Jung and her team at Fete captured my vision perfectly and pushed it in new directions, suggesting sunflowers for the ceremony and bridesmaids’ bouquets to pick up the yellow of their dresses. For the dinner tent we sought a gracious, old-world feel, and the predominantly white arrangements worked beautifully.

Written with love by Katharine
2 Comments
  1. avatar stefanie reply

    Could some one please let me know more information on the bolero…My son is getting married in November and I would love to treat my daughter-in-law to be to this beautiful accessory!

  2. avatar Victoria reply

    What are the names of the flowers used in the bridesmaids bouquets, besides the sunflowers!? Please!

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Karen Tran

by in Inspirations on

Happy Thursday, everyone!  At Southern Weddings, Thursday means another lovely post from our guest blogger, Karen Tran. Today she put together a gorgeous pink palette for you!  You’ll find more inspirational posts from Karen here:  I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX ,X and XI.

Pink is such a feminine, soft and sexy color, who can resist incorporating it into their wedding décor? Far from being old-fashioned, shades of pink are a very popular choice of color for today’s modern bride. Paired with dazzling crystals, it’s simply divine. There’s an abundance of pink blooms available. Among my favorites are peonies, roses, orchids and hydrangeas, all of which blend beautifully together. I love everything about this pink inspired wedding. From the fluffiness of the peonies to the pink rhinestones on their cake topper. Does pink inspire you?

All photos by {Darin Fong}

Written with love by Southern Weddings
4 Comments
  1. avatar Amy reply

    I love the soft and girlish feel to all of this. The flowers especially.

  2. avatar Ashley reply

    I love this wedding. Any chance we could see more images?!

  3. avatar Dawn reply

    Peonies are my fav flower. Very well done, just gorgeous!

  4. avatar leisureforte.com reply

    beautiful details. nice job.

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Ready for a little country, rustic, chic wedding? Rachell + Lee’s big day took place on one of Rachell’s family friends farm in Fairview, Tennessee.  The simple outdoor ceremony and reception were perfect for the couple. Rachell’s cousin arranged all the flowers and Rachel’s mom planned this beautiful celebration.  Catering by {Pasta Vino A Trattoria} and wedding cake by Amanda Mason of Bake Me a Cake.  Photography by {Inge Kathleen Photography}.  Check out all the amazing shots on Inge’s {Blog}. Love the groomsmen’s Chuck’s!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. One of my best friends from college grew up in an area of Maryland not too far from D.C. When I moved to D.C. to pursue a career in documentary production, I was quickly accepted into her group of friends. Lee’s best friend from growing up happened to be one of these new friends of mine. I first met Lee one afternoon when we all met up to watch a football game at local bar we frequented. I remember he was wearing a sweater vest as he had just come from a teacher training at his new school. I thought that it was (number one) cute that he was wearing a sweater vest and (number two) awesome that he was going to be a teacher, a job I truly admire. His sincere smile was perhaps telling that he thought I was cute but other than that, I didn’t think much of the meeting at the time. Although, I did tell my mom about him. Every now and then we would see each other at parties of our now mutual friends. And it was one party in particular when this sweet and unassuming man picked up a guitar at the begging of his friend and began to play and sing with such unabashed talent that my jaw dropped. I whispered to a girlfriend of mine that I officially had a crush and she was allowed to spread the word. That the night when I began to notice something more, the mystery of Lee that was waiting to be unraveled. And that is how he hooked me, it was always just as I thought I had it all figured out, he would reveal more and deeper I would fall. After our friends successfully set us up, he had told me that he had liked me from the first football meeting. My instincts were right all along.
Describe the proposal: It was Christmas and Lee had come down to Nashville to celebrate the holidays with my family. He had apparently been scheming with my parents as they helped him to conceal his plans and drove us out to visit family friends of our at Whipperwill Farms. Whipperwill was a day camp that our family friend had run for years and where I had attended as child and worked at as a teenager. I adore this place. I excitedly took Lee on a hike around some of the property and he carried a banjo case along with him. This did not seem too uncommon since he loves to allow the moment to inspire his music. But he was acting a little funny and when we reached the crest of the hill he wanted to rest and take in the view. So I sat down – which thoroughly confused him. (How was he going to get on bended knee with me already on the ground?) He figured it out anyway and opened up the case to reveal dozens of red roses and out of his pocket he pulled a ring. The ring was special because it was a family heirloom; it was his grandmother’s wedding band.
What attracted me to my husband was: There is something mysterious about him and yet wholeheartedly faithful. At first glance, you may think you have got it figured out but he is multi-layered and full of surprises. I like things that make me take a second look. He is like those the grab bags at Hello Kitty stores from my childhood, I could never resist them. He is also tremendously handsome and incredibly fun.
Why do you love your husband? It is for his sincere nature, wonderful smile, talent with music, his ability to tackle variety of skills, his love of laughter, his respect for the environment, his yearning for adventure and his capacity to learn new things and look at it from new perspectives. Again, he is also tremendously handsome and incredibly fun.
What attracted me to my wife was: She is beautiful and she intrigued me. Later in our relationship I realized that she makes me a better man.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: (Part 1): The first time I took Lee to meet my family which was actually my annual family reunion in Polk County Tennessee. The reunion is on the farm where my grandmother grew up and includes 2nd and 3rd cousins and 3rd and 4th generations. My cousin raises chicken on the farm and we have a big chicken BBQ potluck on Saturday evening. After Lee had gone up to the table for seconds, maybe thirds he looked and me and said, “Rachell, I ate a entire chicken, in one sitting”. From then on he called the reunion “chicken fest” and the name has suck. Everyone is now referring to the reunion as “chicken fest ’08 or ’09” Of coarse, my entire family razed Lee, but he wasn’t phased and they loved him for it. (Part 2): My dad and I are big whitewater paddlers and after the reunion we often go river scouting in the Tennessee plateau area. That Sunday we had tons of rain and so my Dad and I were jazzed. We took off dragging Lee with us towards the Telico River (a creek that only runs big with good rainfall). Lee had never really been white water paddling, but again he wasn’t phased. He jumped right in (literally) and rolled with the waves down the Telico River with my Dad and I. That was a little more than a date but it was certainly a turning point I will never forget.
The weather on our wedding day was: Perfect. Warm during the day and when the sun went down it became a crisp fall evening peppered with stars.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Our wedding had a couple of themes. One was definitely transformed into a wedding design, the other was the spirit of the event.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: There are many. The surprise of the Bride coming out of the woods – kind of a ethereal or magical moment (said guests), the bluegrass band, the wood bonfire, the personal involvement of so many family and friends, the melding of Southern and bay culture, the love that surrounded us.
Scariest moment? Rachell: Two minutes before walking out of the woods. I was gripping my dad’s arm eyes fixed on the ceremony. Lee: Thirty minutes prior to ceremony with guests flowing in and groomsmen following me pacing around like a pose.
Funniest moment? When ladybugs crawled around on Clayton’s (officiant) face as he tried to compose himself.
Hardest decision you made in planning? The date. It changed many times and finally landed on a time just three months in the future.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The presence of so many lady bugs. They were everywhere at the arbor that we were married under – landing all over my veil and on Clayton’s face as he was trying to bless us.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? Every single person who was able to share this day with us, they all made us feel like a million bucks.

Congratulations to Rachell + Lee.  We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!

lara Written with love by Lara Casey
1 Comment
  1. avatar Vicki reply

    Lady bugs are good luck in German culture!

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