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Monthly Archives: September 2009

 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!

Written with love by Southern Weddings
6 Comments
  1. avatar Chatterberries reply

    Beautiful wedding photos, thanks for sharing! Love it.

  2. avatar Nicole Marie reply

    Ahhh! That’s my wedding venue too! Love it! Beautiful wedding, thanks for sharing!

  3. avatar The Perfect Palette reply

    fun colors. love the boots.

  4. avatar Jolene Downs reply

    What amazing work! This was a gorgeous wedding, but the photographer really captured all of the perfect shots. The ohotos tell a story and I love it!

  5. avatar Michelle Guzman Photographers reply

    What a beautiful wedding and such a great couple! I’m so excited to see these as I used to go to the bride’s church years ago!!

  6. avatar Orlando Wedding Photographer reply

    Great Post…..I found your site on stumbleupon and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!Thanks for sharing….

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I have to stop and say a very happy birthday to Whitney, my right hand woman, who is leaving her teen years today and stepping into the big 2-0.  If you know Whit, you know she’s wise well beyond her years.  Every time we say her age in the office, our jaws drop.  She has more class, wit, drive, passion, smarts and power than most 30 year olds I know.  If I was half as incredible as she is now at 20, I’d be president of my own country by now.  Whitney, you never cease to impress me and make me smile.  Thanks for being so warm, giving, courageous and downright hillarious.  You deserve the best birthday ever!  I love you so much! 

image :: our labor of love from the Bridal Bar launch party in Atlanta

And a happy belated birthday to Katharine who celebrated while I was in Florida.  If you missed her bday video, be sure to check it out here.  It’s a bit dark, so listen carefully for familiar voices (aka- Jory, Kyle, Jeff, Fred, Whit, Em, Sandi and friends).  Katharine, you blow me away daily with your brilliance.  You are a force to be reckoned with and I can’t wait for the future with you! 

Huge hugs ladies!  I miss you already!

xoxoxo

Emily and I want to wish our lovely Miss Whit a happy, happy birthday!  We both have loved getting to know you this summer and are so lucky to be working with you.  Thank you for making our office (and our lives!) a much happier place.

All our love,

Katharine & Emily

 

lara Written with love by Lara Casey
2 Comments
  1. avatar Lisa Michelle Jeffries reply

    Well she sure could’ve fooled me!!!! 20, going on fabulous? Obviously.Happy birthday girls!

  2. avatar Renee Armour reply

    OMG– I so agree— you are one amazingly well put together 20 year old, Whitney!Happy Birthday guys!

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It seems you’re all as wowed by Amy + Mark’s dramatic cliffside wedding as we are! While the couple’s outdoor ceremony was rustic and romantic, their reception at the ALoft Hotel was sleek, soohisticated and refreshingly modern.  While the intimate gathering for twenty really drew attention to the lovely bride and handsome groom on their special day, we just have to let the savory spread from Down South Delights steal the spotlight for a minute!  Delish!  The chic and contemporary overtones of this Tennessee reception were completed by an ultra-simple black ribboned cake courtesy of Julia’s Bakery.  And with that, the weekend is almost officially upon us!  Emily is heading off to the beach with her charming beau, I’m preparing for another weekend as a dedicated med-school girlfriend and Lara has jetted off to some wonderfully exotic mystery destination!  Care to help us find her?

Favorite design element of your big day:   I really liked the black feathers in the centerpieces.  They really jazzed things up a bit.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  I hated dress shopping.  I’m 5’1’’, so all the torsos on the dresses I liked were too long. In the end, I had my dress custom made. I brought in pictures of dresses I liked and we designed the dress from scratch. I enjoyed seeing the design from paper to wearable dress.

Describe your wedding cake:  We chose a square, two-tiered cake with cream cheese frosting with a black satin ribbon around the base.

Three adjectives that describe the day are: Chill, sleek and easy.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Mark is a beautiful writer so I decided we should write our own vows.  My favorite part of his vows was the ending where he said, “Should our world crumble and fall, take solace.  There is a structure that will not buckle, tilt or even sway.  It is my love and it is eternal.”

What’s next for you as a couple? We’re buying a house!

Congratulations, Amy + Mark!  Enjoy your new home together as husband and wife!

Written with love by Southern Weddings
2 Comments
  1. avatar bridal girl reply

    Your wedding is so simple, but so trendy. The food even look so yummy… Getting hungry just by looking at it!

  2. avatar GrayPhotography reply

    awwww! We heart Amy & Mark! Yay!! – JG

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

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