Southern Weddings

 We are so happy to feature the beautiful wedding of Lauren + Zack. The venue, nicknamed {The Hill}, is especially meaningful to the couple because it is where Zack proposed, where to couple got married and where they now live together. The ceremony and reception had personal touches from family members, including signs made by the bride’s grandparents and table arrangements made by the bride’s mother, aunts and grandmother. The couple enjoyed a variety of pound cakes from {Dessert First} instead of traditional wedding cake and {Epting Events} catered Lauren + Zack’s big day. The bride wore a dress from  {Kelly’s Closet} and  the bridesmaid  dresses were from {J. Crew}.  To see more of this wedding, check out {Our Labor of Love}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met our freshman year in college and were friends for many years. It wasn’t until out senior year that something clicked! I had been in Paris for the last six months and had not seen Zack in a while. When school started again in the fall, there was a strong attraction between us that hadn’t been there before. Early in the year he asked me to lunch. We went to a New Orleans style restaurant in Athens, drank mojitos, ate oysters and have been together since then.
Describe the proposal: Zack really blew me away with his proposal! I was absolutely shocked. Let me preface this first though, I work for Lee Epting, owner of Epting Events. Lee owns a beautiful piece of property a mile away from our offices. On his property, there are several historic homes dating back to the 18th century. Lee rents often rents these homes our as a Bed & Breakfast and many weddings are held at his home. I, being a former history major, love the history of the homes on Lee’s property. All that being said, at the end of the day on Friday, just as I was about to leave, Lee asked me to run out to “The Hill” (as his property is called) and take a few pictures of one of the homes. Lee said the light was perfect and we needed to get these pictures today. So I hop in my car and dash over to The Hill. I pull up to the Armstrong & Dobbs house, one of my favorite homes on the property. I notice that there are candles lit and flowers in the window. My first thought is “oh my gosh! There is a guest staying here this weekend!” I peak in the door, yell “hello” and run into the living room to grab the camera. Then I hear music playing and Zack is sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. I thought he had planned some romantic evening, until I noticed that he looks very nervous. That is when it hit me! He got on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. Then I shouted, “wait! I have to get these pictures!” still not realizing that everyone at work was in on it! Zack had dinner from my favorite restaurant, The National, waiting and champagne and wine. It was perfect. If I was not already shocked enough, he said there was one more surprise. We drove over to Aromas, a local wine and cheese bar in Athens, and Zack had rented it out and all of our friends were there waiting with champagne in hand! It was an awesome night.
What attracted me to my husband was: Humor, his liveliness, oh, and his awesome hair!
Why do you love your husband? I feel more alive when I am around him and he always makes me laugh! His is my best friend and the most loyal person I know.
What attracted me to my wife was: I had always been attracted to her since the moment we met, but what draws me to her today is her zest for life, her wit, passion, and most importantly her reflection of God’s love.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: I had been working in Phoenix all summer and Zack had been traveling around Europe, we had not seen each other for eight weeks. Zack flew to Phoenix as soon as he returned from Europe. We went to this amazing restaurant and then drove over the Camelback Mountain to watch an incredible Phoenix sunset. Both of us will admit that was the date when we knew we wanted to marry each other.
The weather on our wedding day was: The weather was beautiful. When we decided to do an outdoor wedding in April, we prayed every day for great weather, and we were blessed! The sun was shining and it was about 80 degrees.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? There is an old matchbook that I have with a swirly design with varying shades of blue, green and red. To me, this matchbook looked like a whimsical, overgrown garden, which became the theme. Also, the wedding was going to be held in a rustic, sunken garden, so I wanted to make sure that all elements flowed with the venue.
Favorite design element of your big day: There were so many things that I loved, but I think the most sentimental was a cross that was made by grandfather. My grandfather (Daddy Tom) made a cross for the ceremony out of old wood and then covered it with grapevine. It was beautiful.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Finding the dress was one of the fastest decisions I made! My mom, my two younger sisters and my dad all went to Kelly’s Closet in Atlanta. The first dress I tried on was the dress. It was an Amy Kuschel dress; it was strapless, chiffon, with an elegant sash. This dress was so comfortable, and I felt very ethereal in it.
Describe your wedding flowers: For the flowers and table décor I wanted the tent to have a feel of an overgrown garden, nothing too arranged. We used herbs, handpicked flowers from my grandmother’s garden, grapevine, vintage bottles, mason jars and rod-iron votive trees. My grandmother is a master gardener, and my mom and her sisters are very crafty, so with their help we handmade all of the table décor items. We bought several different kinds of herbs from a local nursery about two weeks before the wedding. We placed them in weathered, moss green planters and ceramic white planters of varying sizes. My bouquet, bridesmaid bouquets and groomsmen boutonnieres were so beautiful and unique. Our friend, and florist, Allison Lucas from Macon, GA encapsulated the theme of the wedding in these arrangements. The flowers were white, with touches of blues, and green. All the bridesmaid bouquets were wrapped in burlap and mine was wrapped in burlap and lace.
Describe your wedding cake: Neither Zack or I like cake very much, call us crazy, but we wanted something different. So instead of a traditional wedding cake we had a friend, and local baker Angie Edwards baked pound cakes for us. She made lemon, almond apricot, chocolate and vanilla pound cakes! They were delicious. We covered the table with lavender and dried herbs to show off her tasty cakes. For the “groom’s cake”, Angie made cookies that we paired with shots of cold milk. She made oatmeal, chocolate chip, molasses and peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The guests! We had so much celebrating with our friends and family. The best advice we were given regarding the wedding was just enjoy being together and being with loved ones. There are few times in your life when you will be able to be surrounded at one time by all of those that you love, so soak it up! We did! Our wedding day was a blast!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Time. We planned our wedding in 3 months! We did this for two reasons, we have many friends getting married and there were limited weekend available and photographers Our Labor of Love could do it that weekend. We had lots of help and in the end it was perfect!
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? I wore the veil that my mother and grandmother wore, and we had a bagpiper play “Amazing Grace” for the bridal processional. My dad’s family is from Scotland, so a bagpiper was a tradition we really wanted to have. It was a surprise for my grandparents.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? There are so many, the whole day an amazing memory. I cannot pick out just one.
Scariest moment & Funniest moment? The funniest, scariest and most fun moment was when Zack and a few of his friends took the place of the band in order to play “Living on a Prayer”. One of the things I love about Zack is his musical talent! He is awesome on the guitar. So he and a few friends got up to play and then pulled me on stage to sing with them! This is not something I normally do, but I got up
there and had a blast. Our guests went crazy! It was so much fun and we felt, for a moment, like rock stars!
Hardest decision you made in planning? The guest list! We wanted everyone to come but we could only invite so many.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The day before the wedding our band unexpectedly canceled! However, we found one that ended up being great! But it definitely gave us a scare.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Celebrative, Fun, Thankful
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? In the end, if you are having a great time at your wedding, your guests will have fun as well! Keep that in mind when planning. I loved the little details of our wedding but in the end what I remember is the emotions of that day.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are making travel plans a lot! On our honeymoon we made a list of places we had to go and ranked them. So right now we are working on a European tour for next summer.
Any DIY items? Yes! All table décor in the reception (minus linens), the aisle markers were herb bouquets wrapped in twine, ceremony programs, my grandfather and grandmother made signs marking where the ceremony and reception were held.
Favorite inspirational blogs or sites (if any): Once Wed, Our Blog of Love, Snippet and Ink, Style Me Pretty, Southern Wedding

Congratulations Lauren + Zack! We wish you all the fun in the world in your upcoming travels!

Our entire office ewwed and awwed at this amazing wedding in Naples, Florida captured by the incredible {Jenna Walker Photography}.  For me, I loved the gown Jennie wore by {Monique Lhuiller}.  The lace brought out the elegance while the backless feature was glamorous.  Of course the bridesmaids looked terrific too in their dresses from {Priscilla of Boston}.  Other aspects that we loved about this wedding was the bamboo structure the couple married under on the beach.  The white linen flapping in the breeze is straight out of a dream! After the picture perfect ceremony, the couple led guests to the {Port Royal Club} for dinner and dancing.  Port Royal took care of the meal while {Kakes by Karen} baked the beautiful wedding cake.  The beautiful flower arrangements and the planning was taken care of by {50-Fifty Creative Services}.  To see more from this wedding pop over to Jenna Walker Photography {Blog}. 

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story: We work at the same hospital in Cincinnati. We would pass each other in the hallways and make eye contact, but quickly turn away. I was told he was in a serious relationship so I gave up hope of pursuing anything further. It was quickly brought to my attention by a coworker that he was actually single, and before I knew it, I had his phone number in my hand. After dinner and wine with girlfriends I decided to give him a call. He actually did not answer but I left a message and he called back the same evening. The rest is history!!
Describe the proposal: We were in Bodega Bay California in May 2008, touring wine country with our best friends. Chris had not asked my dad for permission yet and little did he know that our phones would not have service where we were staying. We went to dinner in town one evening and he ended up climbing down the fire escape to a payphone, in which he finally got in touch with my father at 11pm. The next morning we woke up extremely early and went for a walk on the beach. It had previously been windy and cold with rough water, but this day it was beautiful and calm. We were talking about what a perfect day it was when he got down on one knee and proposed. At first I did not believe him, I thought he was joking until I saw the beautiful ring. There is no better place to celebrate a proposal than in wine country surrounded by vineyards.
What attracted me to my husband was: I absolutely love his curly hair and amazing style. It makes it easy when your husband loves to shop as much as you do. On our first date he had on cowboy boots, and from then on he totally had me.
Why do you love your husband? I love Chris because he is probably the most kind and generous person I have ever met. You instantly feel comfortable with him. He is not afraid to express his feelings. After three weeks of dating, he told me he was falling in love.
What attracted me to my wife was: My first attraction to Jenni was obviously her stunning looks, however once I got to know her I realized there was much more. Her caring and loving personality always puts me at ease. She allows me to be me. I can’t imagine my life with out her.
The weather on our wedding day was: We were blessed with beautiful weather the entire wedding weekend. We were able to share an amazing sunset with our guests during cocktail hour.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? I wanted soft, and romantic with natural candlelight. Our amazing visual designer came up with a “creamy dreamy” theme for the wedding. The bridesmaids dresses were perfect for a beach wedding with the flowing fabric and empire waist.
Favorite design element of your big day: I loved the bamboo arch with the draped fabric for the ceremony. The way the wind carried the fabric was beautiful.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I knew that I wanted something vintage inspired with lace. From the moment I put this dress on, I knew it was the one. I loved the open back detailing.
Describe your wedding flowers: The flowers were gorgeous. We had tall and short centerpieces filled with varying tones of cream, white , and blush flowers, with a small amount of green. They were full, soft, and elegant, and included hydrangeas, orchids,
ranunculas, sahara roses, eskimo roses, and cala lilies.
Describe your wedding cake: We had a three tiered vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. It had dendrobium orchids cascading down. Our guests raved it was the best wedding cake they had ever tasted.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We enjoyed our after party. Our planner made a lounge with oversized ottomans and white draped fabric outside. Just when everyone thought the evening was over we surprised them with a continuation of the party under the stars until 2am. It allowed us to make the absolute most of the entire day.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Standing back and watching the guest pack the dance floor. It was at that point that I knew everyone was truly enjoying themselves. We had the most amazing band from Atlanta called Complete Desire. As soon as they started playing, guests were instantly on their feet.
Scariest moment? Not knowing if my dad would be in Naples to walk me down the aisle on our wedding day. My dad was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer four weeks before the wedding and began chemo and radiation treatment immediately. I was not sure if he would be healthy enough to travel. Luckily he is such a positive man, and he stayed strong the entire trip.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: They always say to prepare yourselves for something to go wrong, but honestly our day was flawless.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Beautiful, Relaxed, and Unforgetable.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Live in the moment because it all comes to an end entirely to quickly.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We look forward to traveling and spending time being newlyweds. Then we hope to start a family.

Congratulations to Jenni + Chris.  We wish you the joy and happiness!