Southern Weddings

Now would be the perfect time to tip our hats to the Sea Island wedding planner extraordinaire, Melissa Ippensen.  First up on the SW marvel list?  Flowers, flowers, flowers!  The long-stemmed white and green arrangements of tulips, hydrangeas, and calla lillies at Erin + Patrick’s swanky reception in the Cloister Grand Ballroom are over-the-top amazing and the delicate ring of ivory garden roses between the layers of the Sea Island pastry chefs’ five-tiered confection an elegant touch.  While this Georgian affair certainly was a masterpiece, the seafood spread is a work of art in itself.  Considering the newlyweds’ romantic exit in a classic car surrounded by sprays of fireworks was Erin + Patrick’s favorite part of the night, it only seems appropriate that we take a moment to again marvel at Laura Negri Chiders’ talented work behind the camera.  Lara and Emily are hot-footing it to Atlanta as we speak to put on a wedding of their own.  Wish them luck!

Our favorite details of the wedding were: Our entrance and exit were two of our favorite details.  The Sea Island signature bagpiper escorted us into the ballroom and onto the dance floor for our first dance, “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke.  At the conclusion of the reception, the horn section of our band, Bobby and the Aristocats, paraded us out of the ballroom to the music of jazz song “Satin Doll.”    
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  One of my best girlfriends from home purchased a beautiful Belgium lace handkerchief while living in Europe.  Her hope was that the five best friends would each carry it on our wedding day with our new initials monogrammed on the handkerchief in the order that we married.  The girls presented it to me during the wedding week, and I carried it around my bouquet.  Later, we gifted our guests with old-fashioned handkerchiefs that my mother and I had collected throughout the year.  The handkerchiefs were monogrammed with our wedding date and venue as a keepsake for our guests who had traveled to the island to celebrate with us.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  Walking in to the kitchen at 4 a.m. because I could not sleep and finding my father in the kitchen because he couldn’t sleep either!  It was a sweet moment that I will forever cherish.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?   Appreciating the many blessings, opportunities, love and support surrounding us and living our lives honoring God, our vows and being a blessing to others. 

Wow!  What a wedding!  Congratulations, Erin + Patrick.

Fellow UGA alums Erin + Patrick said their I-Do’s in the quaint Wesley United Methodist Church and, boy, do I love the ceremony pics from Laura Negri Photography!  The bride’s dramatic one-shoulder Romona Keveza gown was timeless and sophisticated while her bridesmaids’ fun, flowy Tibi dresses added a subtle pop of citrus color and flair.  Erin’s hand-tied bouquet of white garden roses and lilies of the valley from the Sea Island florist, Rose Sinclair, is ultra-elegant (and one of my very favorite arrangements) but check out those sleek modern arrangements of calla lilies and hydrangeas!  And yes, brides, the couple’s ring bearer is carrying a seashell ring bowl of lush green moss.  Totally organic and oh-so original.  While Erin + Patrick’s Sea Island ceremony is picture-perfect and sweetly Southern, I think you’ll be blown away by their glitzy reception. 

What was your favorite design element of your big day?  Our favorite design elements were the flowers and the lighting at our reception.  We achieved a soft, romantic glow by placing brushed-gold candelabras for the corners of the ballroom and putting clear glass tapered candlesticks with votive toppers on each of the tables.  In addition to the soft lighting, I also really loved the bamboo-wrapped floral arrangements of white orchids, hydrangeas, tulips and bells of Ireland.  These tall arrangements nicely balanced the lower, square containers holding single cluster arrangements of all white callas, tulips, garden roses, hydrangeas and hanging amaranthus.  Of course, food was also at the forefront of our design vision!  The food stations were creatively placed throughout the ballroom.  We had a sushi station and a friend mac-and-cheese station!  Melissa Ippensen and Rose Sinclair of Sea Island really helped make our design vision a reality.
Describe your wedding dress:  Romona Keveza was the designer, and I was attracted to the classic and timeless look of the gown.  The one shoulder ivory gown was made of silk taffeta and featured a draped bodice with a soft sweetheart neckline.  The back of the dress was highlighted with a watteau train and fitted ruched skirt.  I finished the look with a classic cathedral length veil and blusher of ivory silk tulle.
Describe your wedding flowers: My hand-tied bouquet was filled with all-white garden roses and lilies of the valley. My Maid and Matron of Honor carried bouquets of all-white hydrangeas and garden roses.  Our flower girl carried a small nosegay of white roses and freesia with a trailing ribbon.  Patrick and our two fathers wore lily of the valley boutonnières.  The other groomsmen wore boutonnières of white dendrobium orchids.  Our ring bearer carried a sea shell filled with green moss.

You’re in for a treat with the reception photos in Part III!

I know we rarely (okay, almost never) share rehearsal dinner pics, but, as our lovely Art Director, Emily, reminds us, one bride’s rehearsal dinner is another’s wedding inspiration.  There sure are plenty of details I’d love to steal from Erin + Patrick’s swanky rehearsal dinner at the Sea Island Beach Club.  Photographer Laura Negri Childers captured the laidback seaside feel of the intimate family gathering while still highlighting the sophisticated Southern details.  I should point out that Erin wore the very same ruffly yellow dress her grandmother wore to the bride’s mother’s wedding in 1975.  Could that sweet sweet couple be any cuter?  I’d tell you a bit about Erin + Patrick’s ceremony and reception but you really need to see the phenom photos for yourself!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story. We met at a mutual friend’s wedding in 2004, and Patrick asked me for a date the following week.  It was then that we realized the large number of mutual friends we shared and that we both had attended the University of Georgia.  Our paths had to have crossed 100 times in Athens! The timing must have been finally “right” for us to meet!
Describe the proposal. Patrick called me the morning of Friday, January 23rd and told me he would be coming to pick me up in a few hours and that we would be taking a surprise trip.  He would not reveal the destination, and I must have asked him 20 times in the car, “Where are we headed and how long will it take?”  It was the longest car ride of my life and had to be for him as well with all of my questioning.  Two hours later we arrived at the Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, NC.  We were greeted with champagne and I was busy taking pictures of the beautiful scenery and interiors of the hotel.  I had just finished taking a photograph when the next sight I saw was Patrick on his knee.  After I screamed “yes” I took his picture as he was on his knee proposing!  It was too perfect that I had my camera in hand (unplanned) to capture the moment when he asked me to marry him!  Patrick then surprised me with special bottles of wine we had purchased together in Napa the previous fall.  We allowed ourselves one hour to call family and close friends and then turned our phones off to enjoy the beauty of Highlands, NC and CELEBRATE!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Sentimental, Southern and surreal.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding invitation? Simple elegance describes the ecru and brushed-gold card invitations we chose from Crane’s.
Tell us about finding your rehearsal dinner dress: I wore the dress my grandmother wore in my mother’s wedding as her “mother of the bride” gown.  My grandmother is no longer with us and it was very important for me to honor and remember her on that special night.  We had the dress shortened and altered a bit, but otherwise it was in pristine condition and had not been taken out of the cleaner’s bag since 1975!

Stay tuned for ceremony pictures in Part II!