If you love all things Southern as much as we do, it’s hard not to love this Florida garden wedding from Genya Garrett of Vue Photography. Natalie + Kevin’s outdoor-inspired wedding, planned by Victoria Volpone, takes us back to sprawling plantations and wide,white front porches with the groomsmen’s light-colored seersucker suits, the bridemaids’ ladylike bouquets from Nouveau Flowers and tall glasses of sweet tea. While the crystal chandelier hanging in the reception tent at The Meeting House and Village Green in Carillon Beach and the ultra-elegant Confections on the Coast cake have a perfectly vintage feel to them, the bridesmaids’ shimmery Priscilla of Boston frocks gives this sweet Southern affair just the right hint of modern flair. I just love when Old South meets New South, don’t you?
How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Kevin and I are the definition of high school sweethearts! We met as freshmen, started dating as sophomores and dated all the way through college.
Describe the proposal: Kevin and I are very bad at keeping secrets from each other. So bad, in fact, that we always end up telling each other about our Christmas gifts before Christmas! Because we’re so bad at surprising one another, I told Kevin that the only thing I wanted was to be surprised by his proposal. I came home from college for the weekend to celebrate his birthday and he definitely surprised me! He took me out to a beautiful lunch and proposed on the beach. The best part was that everyone was surprised. No one knew he was going to ask me except for my father. We told our families that night and Kevin’s birthday party quickly became a joint birthday/engagement celebration!
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: I am six months older than Kevin so I don’t think either of us will ever forget that I had to drive him to our first date when he was only fifteen and I was newly sixteen!
Favorite design element of your big day: I adored the solid oak cross that we covered in white and pink hydrangeas. It was hanging right over us as we said our vows.
Describe your wedding flowers: We used pale pink and white dahlias, white and pink hydrangeas, pale pink and white garden roses, white cataleya orchids, sweat peas, jasmine and lilies of the valley. I loved the mixture of pale-colored and white flowers. The bridesmaids carried bundles of different colored sweat peas. My favorite part of my bouquet was the ribbon that held it all together. I saw it in a magazine and my maid of honor hunted it down from a wedding in Santa Barbara, CA, to a ribbon store in New York! It fit in perfectly and was my “something blue.”
Describe your wedding cake: I wanted our wedding cake to look very traditional. But while the cake was very classic and beautiful on the outside, the inside was unique because each tier was a different flavor. I also loved that we got to use the same cake topper my grandparents and parents used.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We loved our special version of the traditional guest book. Instead of having guests sign a book, we had them sign pieces of linen we are going to have made into a quilt.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? My “something borrowed” was a handkerchief that my grandmother and my cousins carried. I also wore the same handmade garter my mother wore on her wedding day. The best family tradition we incorporated into our wedding, though, was a part of our rehearsal dinner. For my dress that evening, I wore an altered and shortened version of the wedding gown my mother and grandmother wore. Everyone adored the dress and thought it was special the dress was used for three generations of family weddings.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? I remember sneaking away from the tent and dancing with Kevin under the lights. I just wanted to remember everything I could about that moment!
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration: My favorite quotes from our quilt: ” Congratulations to the band nerd and the cheerleader,” “May the best of your past be the worst of your future,” “Today is the first day of the rest of your lives,” and lastly, “In the fairy tale of life, may this be your happily-ever-after.”
What’s next for you as a couple? We are loving life as newlyweds! We are working on perfecting our first home with our puppy, Harley. We have some dream vacations in mind before starting a family.
Congratulations, Natalie + Kevin! Enjoy your new home and new puppy!
Oh my gosh! What an amazingly beautiful wedding! This is one of my favorites I’ve seen so far!
This is fabulous! These pictures really capture the beauty of the big day! I love it!
A fairy tale wedding…absolutely beautiful!
As a member of the wedding party, I can truly say that this was one of the most beautiful days that I have ever seen. Natalie and Kevin are the "best friend" type of couple, who happen to be completely in love with each other as well. I was honored to be a part of their day and I am so thankful that the photography was wonderful enough to capture the love that they share. As soon as Natalie was getting ready, it was heard around the bridal suite, "oh my gosh, you look like you should be in a magazine!!" We all knew that it was so true and there aren’t two people who deserve it more!
So beautiful and so fun…looks like a perfect day. Congratulations!
The artistry in these pictures is amazing! Kevin and Natalie’s wedding was the most elegant wedding I have ever been to. It is awesome to see those memorable moments captured with such passion and innovation.
This wedding was southern charm through and through! I loved it!!
Natalie, your wedding was the most beautiful wedding! You were a stunning bride and Kevin was not so bad himself! I love the article in Southern Weddings-
What a story! It sounds like a fairy tale from start to finish!
The wedding was beautiful from start to end. It was well planned and very detailed, lovely and thought through as the potographs capture the beauty. Plus the Bride is so beautiful anyway and the groom so hansome it was like a fairytail wedding. Very romantaic and it was a lot of fun.
What an absolutely PERFECT wedding!!
it sounded great you story i wish the best of luck to the both of you congrats and best wishes
What an amazing day, captured as well as it could be and truely blessed. The pictures take my breath away.
What a beautiful wedding! Some of the most amazing pictures I have seen, and I have been planning my wedding for a year!
So pleased you all seem to love this Southern wedding as much as we do here at SW!
Abosolutely beautiful pictures, and I am sure the actual wedding was "over the top". I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the pictures. They are probably some of the best I have ever seen. May God bless this marriage following such a wonderful beginning!
I saw all the pics an wish we lived closer. You two make the best looking couple around. I can say after 16 years of marriage it is the best thing you can do. Dawn also loved all the pics an agreed it was beautiful.
I loved Natalie and Kevin’s wedding. It was amazing and the pictures that were taken are great!! Their wedding photos should definitely be on the cover of a magazine!!
It looks like it came out of a magazine! Absolutely stunning!
This was truly the wedding that "Southern Ladies" dream of. Have you ever seen a more elated bride or groom? Perfect wedding, perfect couple and awesome pictures!!
Wow Kevin and Natalie! What great pics! Looks like it is right out of Bride Magazine! Awesome. What a beautiful day. Congratulations.
Awesome
Beautiful wedding!! Congratulations Natalie and Kevin!!
The pictures tell the story of a wonderful weekend wedding between to people truly in love. Everything was so perfect. I am so proud of you both and your future lives together. Love, FGM
This was a beautiful and well orchestrated wedding from detail to detail. There was so much love in the air and Natalie made the most precious and gorgeous bride that I’ve ever seen. The pictures that were taken by the photographers were absolutely breath-taking and unforgettable. It’s abosolutely magazine worthy!
It looks like Natalie and Kevin had one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve ever seen… picture perfect!!
I love these pictures..they are fantastic!! A very beautiful bride & handsome groom. I wish the both of you, the most happiness, Congrats!!
Beautiful pictures that really seemed to capture each moment of the big day! Best wishes!
Absolutely gorgeous Natalie! These pictures seriously could not be any better! Amazingly beautiful!!! Congrats again :)
This wedding was the type of wedding that every little girl dreams about!! Natalie mastered every detail and was able to capture not only the elegant and beautiful wedding decorations but also the pure love her and Kevin have together!!! Congratulations to an amazing couple and unforgettable wedding day!!!
As the maid of honor to Natalie I was there with Natalie for 80% if not more of the planning process of her wedding. Every detail was paid attention to and it was the most beautiful wedding I have ever been in, attended, or seen in magazines. She was the definition of classic blushing bride. I can not even put into words how much they belong together and how their wedding reflected their true characteristics. It was beautiful and truly a fairy tale wedding.
This photographer truly captured the heartbeat of this beautiful day, Natalie and Kevin will always remember their wedding day, and these pictures show their love, joy, and how much their families love them.
Gorgeous!! Love the blue!
What a beautiful wedding!
Such a beautiful wedding, story, and day with each detail captured in each photograph!!!! Congrats to you two!!! Love YOU!
your photographer is amazing!!!! It looks like everything went perfectly! My favorites are the preacher laughing, the ceiling of the church and the handkerchief on the clothes line!!! Was that part of your quilt?
This is the most beautiful wedding ever. Simply fantastic and elegant.
This wedding was like something from a film set.
The wedding looked like something out of a movie, the pictures are just breath taking.
What an incredible wedding and the pictures are fabulous! What a beautiful couple!
Hey Kevin and Natalie, great cerimony, great couple (i dont really know natalie, but she looks a great girl!), great family. That God bless you two in your whole life.Great pictures too. Express the wonderful moment that you are living now.A big hug from your friend from Brazil… André
Absolutely Fabulous!! These pictures brought tears to my eyes – imagining the love that is shared with the two of you. What a wonderful love story – I wish you a lifetime of happiness! May God Bless you always!
Tradition – what wonderful southern tradition! Beautiful ladies and gentlemen captured in gorgeous surroundings. Gorgeous flowers and table settings. Natalie and Kevin brought their families and friends together and filled the day with much love, charm, beauty, tears and laughter. From the chapel to the lawn, I cannot look at these pictures without feeling overwhelmed with so much happiness and emotion. I hope when others view these pictures they will capture the moment. Leslie Schmidt
Natalie, my first grandchild and the first girl in three generations, you have always made us very proud of you but never more than during your wedding, your perfect day. I always knew you were beautiful but the word "stunning" was the word echoing from all who attended. You are more beautiful than any model bride reguardless of the magazine and you certainly belong along side of them all. Kevin, we have loved and accepted you from the moment we saw the sparkle in Natalie’s eyes. I know you will always be at her side and you will keep Christ Jesus in the center of your lives. We are blessed to have you in our family and us in yours. Kevin, you were the most hansome I have ever seen you. Love you both,Mema & Papa
The most gorgeous wedding I have ever seen……amazing!!!
As Kevins grandmother it has been a treat and pleasure to watch Kev and Natalie grow together and mature since high school. The beauty of their wedding day comes from the beauty of a solid and truly loving relationship. Everyone present felt the blessing and the love that poured over the complex and we were aware of the detail and planning that tied everything together. Even the wine cork placecards and different wines that numbered each table foretold of their honeymoon in San Fransisco and Napa. It is so obvious that Natalie loves family and tradition and I think a big thanks should go out to the parents of both the bride and groom for making possible one of the most beautiful and spiritually fulfulling weddings I have ever seen.
love em!!!! miss you ex-roomie……you and kevin looked so great. hope the day was beautiful
This wedding is sooooo gorgeous! It’s truly an inspiration for me! I love everything about it! It’s so obvious how happy the bride and groom are! Congrats!
Wow. Absolutely gorgeous. I love the pictures. The wedding looks like it was stunning. Congratulations.
Beautiful wedding and beautiful pictures! And that food looks delicious!
So beautiful!!!
Absolutely stunning! Natalie was an astonishing bride and Kevin, a very handsome groom. Beautiful, guys!
beautiful.
absolutely gorgeous!!! congrats
What a wonderful wedding and a perfect day!
Everything was amazing!! Best wedding I have been to BY FAR!!!!
stunning, truly stunning. i was on here looking for wedding cakes ideas and the one i see here is perfectly regal! thanks for the inspiration.
Cover worthy wedding!
Natalie…these photos take my breath away!! What a fairytale day…with such a GORGEOUS bride and dashingly handsome Groom!! Enjoy your new life together. May each day take your breath away!
How beautiful! Loved how traditional and yet had little things that made it so special to only them. Loved the quilt idea, especially being in the South. Love the setting (my fav book is Gone w/ the Wind). The food looks amazing. Loved the flower in her hair look. A beautiful wedding!
Everything about this wedding was breath-taking but nothing outshines the genuine love and adoration this couple has for each other. The pictures did a great job capturing the absolute joy and beauty of the day.
These pictures are absolutely beautiful, i have never seen a wedding so amazing.
It was a fun wedding and my cousin Natalie looked so beautiful. I hope one day my wedding will be as awesome as hers and Kevins. Love Kelsey
What a gorgeous wedding!! Love love love the colors and the flowers and it helps that everyone in it is GORGEOUS!!
The wedding story sounded like a fairytail. The pictures were beautiful. Congratulations to a lovely couple.
soo beautiful natalie and kevin!
Vicky told me what a beautiful couple you are and what a fabulous wedding your day was. The pictures are stunning. What a great day you had! May you have a long and excellent life together!!!Robert CurtisSanta Rosa Beach
What a beautiful wedding! Every detail was perfect! The pictures are stunning!
I love it! I’m renewing my vows at Seaside {right down the road} and she used some many of the vendors I’m leaning towards. Such a beautiful wedding! Does anybody know who the dress is by? Perfect for a beach wedding!
Hi Kate! Natalie picked a beautiful Melissa Sweet gown from the designer’s "Reverie’ collection. Best of luck with your planning!