Southern Weddings

 I’m going to share a little secret with all our autumn brides-to-be: turquoise and hot pink aren’t just the perfect colors for a summer wedding.  Kim + Josh’s Florida wedding from Concept Photography reminds us that, with the right accessories (think rustic, dark leather cowboy boots and natural wood sign posts), these bright, bold and beautiful colors also make for lovely accents in cooler weather weddings.  For a wedding that occurred ten years to the day after the couple first started dating, the circular motif on everything from the invitations to the place settings was an especially sweet reminder of the couple’s unique history.  As the bride herself aptly noted, this couple really did come full circle and we’re just loving the final product at the Lake Mary Events Center.  As an avid cowboy boot lover, I’m a huge fan of the bridesmaids’ Southern-chic pairing of authentic boots and deep v-neck frocks from David’s Bridal.  We’ve got to hand it to Kim for dressing up her Maggie Sottero gown with her very own pair of cowboy boots.  Since we’re so impressed by the many DIY elements in this wedding, we thought we’d mention that the bride arranged her own flowers and the maid of honor baked and designed the classic three-tier cake as the perfect complement to the bride’s gown and antique broach herself.  Ah, to be that talented!  

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met through a mutual friend and dated in high school before going our separate ways after, Josh joining the Army and me to the University of Florida for college.  Even though we were apart, we always kept in touch and remained great friends.  After Josh returned safely from his first tour of duty in 2004, we rekindled our relationship and dated long-distance for two more years.  Josh served one additional year-long deployment before moving back to Orlando to be with me.
Describe the proposal. Josh proposed on my 24th birthday at my apartment after spending the whole day together and having dinner with my parents.  It took him three separate tries to actually ask the question because he was so nervous, but when he finally got it out, it was sweet, meaningful and perfect for the two of us.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Relaxed, rustic and family.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Since circles were a recurring theme of the wedding, I wanted our wedding invitation to be circular as well.  Our tagline was “Josh and Kim have come full circle,” because the wedding day was ten years to the day after we first started dating in high school.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My favorite detail from the wedding was the coffee break during “cocktail hour” because it was a unique alternative and so “us.”  We had a gourmet coffee bar complete with rock candy stirrers, syrups and whip cream.  We received so many wonderful comments about this part of the day!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Finding my dress was the one task I was not looking forward to.  I knew what kind of dresses did not flatter me and had a picture in my head of what I wanted.  I searched online for weeks and finally found one that I knew I would love and that was in my price range.  I took my mom to the only store in Orlando that had the sample and we ordered it that day.  I tried on one dress – the dress – and never had any regrets!
Describe your wedding flowers: We used gerber daisies for everything.  My bouquet consisted of dark fuchsia gerbers that matched my shoes and my bridesmaids’ bouquets were white and wrapped in burlap.
Describe your wedding cake: My maid of honor made our cake.  It was designed to match my wedding dress sash and brooch, with three round tiers of differing heights and widths.  The cake itself was white cake with buttercream icing – my favorite – covered with fondant.  Our cake topper was a custom-engraved acrylic circle with one of our engagement pictures laser etched into it.  The whole thing was beautiful.  We also had grooms’ cupcakes instead of a grooms’ cake which were yellow cake with chocolate icing – Josh’s favorite.  We decorated his table with his Army patches, helicopters and other meaningful items.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding? Our ceremony was a very traditional Christian ceremony with Josh’s father officiating.  We tried involving both sides of our families in the ceremony: both of our grandfathers spoke briefly about their 50-year marriages and we also involved our parents and grandparents in the Unity Candle ceremony.  Our grandparents each lit candles representing their marriages, then our parents lit their candles from our grandparents’ candles, and finally Josh and I lit our individual candles from our parents’.  It served as a symbolic “passing of the torch” from both sides of the family, ending with Josh and I lighting our own Unity Candle together.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? For me, it was seeing Josh for the first time as my father walked me down the aisle.  I cried the whole way.  I just couldn’t believe it was all really happening.  I was so happy (and still am!).
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Josh and my future plans are still developing, but we are excited about the “adventure” of not knowing where our life is going to take us.  Josh continues to be a part of the Army Reserves, which may relocate us out of our hometown and even to another state in the very near future.  He’s also finishing up his last semester of college, and I am looking into MBA programs.  Right now we’re living one day at a time, learning how to be married and enjoying every minute of it.  We look forward to going through life together, as partners and best friends.

Congratulations, Kim + Josh!  Best of luck with all the exciting plans in your future!