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Monthly Archives: November 2009

Since most of you already have a glossy copy of the new issue in your hands, we thought we’d share a few teaser spreads today and tomorrow to give the few of you who haven’t yet bought a copy some extra incentive to do so now!

This is the opening spread of one of our main features, “60 Ways to Have a Southern Wedding.”  This piece offers a distinctly Southern take on every aspect of a wedding, from the planning stages to the reception exit at the end of the night.  I was in charge of organizing and writing it, and though it was challenging at times to juggle so many contributors (more than 20!), the end result is definitely worth it, don’t you think?

As a self-professed wedding junkie, it was especially fun for me to collaborate with so many wedding world all-stars (yes, we still get starry-eyed, too!).  Jung Lee, Preston Bailey, Tara Guerard, Lela Rose, Lisa Vorce, Mindy Rice, and many, many more gave input for this article.  (Side note: Mindy and Lisa are absolutely hilarious together!  At one point I was reading our emails back-and-forth aloud to the entire SW office because they were just that funny.)

Of course, the stunningly beautiful photos by Alabama-based Simply Bloom that accompany the piece are worthy of a post of their own.  Vania and Christine, the photographers behind the images, are two of the sweetest people I’ve met yet in the wedding business, and clearly very talented.  We can’t thank them enough for lending their work to this piece!

Look for the rest of this six-page spread in the November issue, and check back later today for another sneak peek and more behind-the-scenes tidbits!

Written with love by Southern Weddings
1 Comment
  1. avatar Vania- SimplyBloom Photography, LLC reply

    incredibly flattered and speechless!!!!!

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What, you haven’t heard of the SWPS?  It’s kind of like the USPS, except it’s manned by the Southern Weddings girls.  Get it?

Oh, you want to start your own post office system?  Here’s how to do it, in 15 easy steps:

1. Receive a shipment of juuuust around 10,000 magazines.  Find four ladies to push two palettes of said magazines, each weighing two and a half tons, into your office garage.  In the rain.  Ideally, you’ll find one more lady to document this event.

2. Order shipping supplies off of the USPS (that lesser cousin of the SWPS) website.  Have them arrive only to find that they are not, in fact, the exact mailing supplies you are in need of. 

3. Send all of your employees out into the greater Chapel Hill area to clean out the four closest USPS locations of all of their medium priority mail boxes and envelopes.

4. Make uber-cute “hello y’all!” nametags for your magazine launch party.

5. Forget to bring them to Atlanta.

6. Repurpose them as mailing labels.

7. Attempt to have five employees log into the same PayPal site at the same time to copy addresses onto mailing labels.  Watch as each of them are logged out over and over again throughout the hour it takes to address all of the packages.  Shake your fist at PayPal’s security features.

8. Design and order postcards to accompany the magazines.  Ship them overnight so that they’ll arrive on the day you need to send out said magazines.

9. Load all of the fulfilled orders into the back of one car and one SUV.  Again, make sure you are doing this in the rain.

10. Arrange for your postcards to NOT arrive within the specified day and time, but to arrive 15 minutes after the post office closes for the day.  Shake your fist at FedEx.

11. Meet up with your employees first thing in the morning at the nearest USPS.  Make sure that it is difficult for your directionally-challenged employees to find so that they are 15 minutes late to the meet-up.

12. Sit on the floor of the post office surrounded by stacks and stacks of mailing envelopes.  Form an assembly line, with two employees writing notes and one stuffing notes and sealing envelopes.

13. Brave the stares of the postal service employees and other customers as you wheel your three carts (yes, carts) of packages up to the window. 

14. Stand by said window as a disgruntled USPS employee prepares each of your 350+ packages for mailing.  Get comfortable; this will take approximately an hour and a half.

15. Drive back to the office and proudly display your receipts from the excursion.  Ladybug rainboots optional.

And that’s that!  Easy peesy.

Want your copy via SWPS?  Order one here and get it in time to enter the MEGA PHOTO CONTEST!

lara Written with love by Lara Casey
25 Comments
  1. avatar Jory Cordy reply

    First ever receipt model, thanks Katharine. Is there a SWPS office in north hollywood?

  2. avatar Crystal reply

    That’s awesome! You ladies made me laugh out loud! Southern women are fabulous. (=

  3. avatar Heidi @ idieh | design reply

    You girls crack me up! I so wish I could come hang out every now and then. I think we would be BFFs, for sure!

  4. avatar Vania- SimplyBloom Photography, LLC reply

    hahaha this was awesome and SOOO MUCH WORK oh my goodness!!! you guys are so wonderful!

  5. avatar Sally Honeycutt reply

    Haha… cracked me up! Thanks for your hilarious post… I’ll be ordering my copy shortly!! :)

  6. avatar Lisa Jeffries reply

    Quite possibly the funniest SW post I’ve ever read. LOVE it. Show the USPS (and FexEx) who’s boss! ;-)

  7. avatar Melissa reply

    Love it! I’m sure it wasn’t fun during the process but glad you can look back on it and laugh. Look forward to ordering an issue. :)

  8. avatar Southern Weddings reply

    I still can’t stop laughing. Emily, you are brilliant. I love our office! Lara

  9. avatar Cherin Szul reply

    And the final, final result…all the recipients jumping up and down at the mailbox upon receipt of the GORGEOUS magazine. Yup, I did that. :)

  10. avatar Diane Phillips reply

    OMG, this was absolutely entertaining. Granted I know it was a TON of work, but you made thousands of readers very happy this past weekend and more to come. :)

  11. avatar Kelly McWilliams reply

    And I thought we were insane driving all over 3 towns and probably 8 shops to find the issue. Y’all crack me up.

  12. avatar cara reply

    omg, I *so* needed to hear this. I had what I thought was an uber-heinous experience at the post office — but man, that so pales in comparison to this. Way to go, Team, for being such troopers! I admire the bravery in facing the Post Office Death Stares (how do people perfect those)? Hee, I love these giggles I’m getting, thanks for making my day with this :)!

  13. avatar Corinna Hoffman reply

    This is hilarious!! I love it, and thanks for sharing with us what a fun crazy day is like at the SW office :)

  14. avatar sarah k chen reply

    you girls are awesome! i’m still picturing you all at the post office with all those packages to mail out! i can’t help but wonder what all the people behind you guys in line must have been thinking!

  15. avatar Kate / MagnoliaRouge reply

    That is one major operation! Congrats on getting it all done….lucky you have a great team!! I can’t wait to get my copy!

  16. avatar rebecca reply

    So funny! When I received my SW magazine in the mail and the postcard popped out, my first thought was, "Aw, they personalized every postcard. That’s SO sweet!" Now that I know all the steps leading up to the personalizing of the postcards, I appreciate it even more. Y’all are great!

  17. avatar jessica @ budgetsavvybride reply

    haha, that is just hilarious!!! And you even managed to write little notes on some of those adorable postcards! My copy of the mag arrived on Saturday and I am in looooooove- I cracked up at the name tag/mailing label! great work, ladies. :)

  18. avatar Agnes reply

    Are they coming to Ohio stores? WOW! I love how personal SW Magazine is!! May the luck blossom to SW!

  19. avatar Emily @ Southern Weddings reply

    First ever receipt model… hehehe… I think Katharine has a new calling.

  20. avatar melissa oholendt reply

    The "shake your fist at Fedex" made me laugh outloud. (Like one of those barky laughs that catches people off-guard so they look at you like you need to be restrained. Awesome.)

  21. avatar Whit reply

    I just received my copy of SWMag and now that I see your process I’m even more thrilled and appreciative to have it my beautiful copy to keep me company on my plane ride to Thanksgiving vacay with my family. Thanks for all your hard work. I will come help next time!

  22. avatar weddings reply

    I love the "Hello Y’all" name tags! :D

  23. avatar The Perfect Palette reply

    hahaha this was awesome and SOOO MUCH WORK

  24. avatar SWPS, V4 Style! « Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] Post Office. Like what you see? Feel free to place your order today! P.S. The SWPS in years past: V2 Style xo Emily October 24, 2011 | view Emily's blog 0 viewcomments hidecomments What doy'all […]

  25. avatar Step Inside the Southern Weddings Office! – Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] heard of our shipping department? If not, see here, here, and here. Our little golden chicken mascot (Henrietta) and the shipping sign were 2012 Christmas gifts to […]

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Who knew carnations could be so glam?!  We love what the bride (with the help of her mother and sisters), did with these fluffy blooms, really working the wide range of hues they’re available in.  The pink-tinged reception was held on the gorgeous outdoor deck of the Calmigos Ranch in Malibu, California.  The talented bride was responsible for pulling many of the details together all by herself.  (Amazing, right?)  We especially love the pink wine bottles on each table!  A huge thanks to Kim Le Photography for sending these lovely images our way!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  I had my dress made in Manila in the Philippines, by my aunt, Malou Castro-Leonio. I told her what style I wanted and to keep it simple. It turned out perfect!  The beading was all done by hand and the fabric was Mikado silk. It was beautiful!
Describe your wedding flowers:  This was a challenge!  We went to the LA Flower District on Friday morning and purchased the flowers. We had one day (Saturday) to let all the flowers bloom.  My sisters and mom helped me create the all the bouquets together.  We were still tying up a few bouquets the morning of!
Describe your wedding cake: We wanted a simple but delicious wedding cake.  No cake topper, no intricate design, just clean and simple.  We opted for a red velvet cake from Big Sugar Bakeshop in Studio City.  We also ordered two different kinds of cupcakes and used them as “stands” for place cards. 
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  During the ceremony, we offered bouquets to our mothers as a way of thanking them for their support and everything else they’ve done for us.  We also did a candle ceremony where our mothers lit a tapered candle and we, in turn, lit our unity candle. 
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  Walking down the aisle towards my groom to Peter Cetera’s “After All.”  That was a very emotional moment for me.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We are now expectant parents!

 Congratulations on your wedding and new baby, Katrina + Ryan!  We can’t wait to see pictures of the little one!

Written with love by Southern Weddings
5 Comments
  1. avatar Heather Brown reply

    What is in the pink bottle with Japanese writing? I’d like to incorporate some Japanese themes into my wedding and I love that!

  2. avatar kim reply

    Where are the hanging lights in the trees from? awesome wedding

  3. avatar Agnes reply

    I love the idea of giving out scarfs as favors! Lovely! Curious… what did the men get ?

  4. avatar Andy Jackson reply

    Great details. I love that fire pot, and it’s not often that you get to see saké at a wedding! Great touches!

  5. avatar Loulabelle reply

    The flowers are gorgeous! So simple but pretty, it has inspired me!Fabulous wedding :o)

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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