Southern Weddings

Do y’all read Weddingbee?  I sure do.  The rest of the SW office doesn’t keep up with the life and times of the bees as avidly as I do, but I know they enjoy the biweekly updates I deliver at our morning huddles.  Right?  Right?!  Oh well.  One thing’s for sure: I know they enjoy featuring a bee’s wedding (like Chelsey + David’s!), and that’s just what we have for you today!  Mr. and Mrs. Apple Cider’s wedding at the Banner Elk Winery in sunny North Carolina was a true DIY affair, with everything from the paper goods to the bride’s dress handmade.  The lovely photos are by Anna Naphtali Photography, the florals from Jason Clodfelter at The Bitter Pear, and the cake designed by Cakes by Rita. For more Apple Cider, including DIY instructions and templates for some projects shown here, check out her archives!

Describe the proposal: We planned this engagement to a T.  And when I say “we,” I mean “we”.  We knew a year ago that we wanted to get married in 2009.  We also knew we wanted to get married in October of 2009 so we started planning.  We decided to buy the ring together.  I didn’t feel like it was fair to put the financial burden on my grad student groom so we did it all together and shared the cost.  We planned, designed, talked, researched and finally got the ring.  We had one rule: the ring would be shipped to Alan and I wouldn’t see it.  (We had one slip up: the jeweler sent a picture of the ring to my email but I knew what it was and deleted it from my inbox.)  So then the waiting game started.  I knew Alan had the ring and, since we were dating long distance, I thought there was no way I wouldn’t know when the proposal was coming.  But leave it to Alan to find a way to surprise me.  

I travel often for work and usually take a red eye from the West Coast back to the east coast on Fridays when I travel.  On September 12^th, I got on a 10 p.m. flight from the West Coast, set to arrive at 6 a.m. the next morning.  When I landed, Alan called to “make sure I landed” safe.  I told him I was fine, exhausted and heading straight to bed.  I told him to go back to bed and that I would call him later and see him in a few weeks.  I ended the conversation saying, “I wish you were at my apartment right now.”  Little did I know he had arrived at my apartment the night before to propose that follow morning!  I arrived at my apartment (looking like a hot mess) and proceeded to carry my heavy suitcase up 6 flights of stairs, to find my bedroom door was closed.  (I though this was really weird!)  I opened it and my whole world changed.  My usually colorful room had been turned white and there were at least 100 candles with different colored rose petals all over my floor, bed and in between all the candles.  It was only 7 a.m. so the room had a soft, sunlit glow and the candles magnified that.  I was in complete shock when I first saw Alan!  I can’t remember everything he said… I was dazed… but know I heard the word wife being spoken as he got down on one knee.  I, of course, said yes.  We then called our families and woke up all our friends!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Blissful, magical and handcrafted.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Our wedding location really gave us an opportunity to work with a certain “feel.”  We didn’t want the wedding to be overtly winery-themed, but did want it to have a romantic and rustic feel.  We incorporates wood elements from the wood grain paper we used for our invitations to the wood slices we put on the tables, to the bench that was custom-made to be our guest book.
What was your favorite design element of your big day? The flowers were more beautiful than I had imagined.  We also decided to use extra trim from my custom-made wedding dress and wrap it around the bouquets.  It really tied everything together.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We really loved all the paper elements we incorporated.  We added a paper element for everything from the programs and the signage to the custom earring holders for the bridesmaids and wood grain sparkler holders.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: My dress, my dress!  My dress was custom made by an up-and-coming designer in North Carolina, Michele Nassaney.  I came across some of Michele’s dresses and fell in love. I loved that they were stylish but not too polished, and that they had elements of romance and individuality.  We decided to use Italian silk because of its transparency and romantic feel.  I went with a strapless gown but wanted a raw, pleated edge.  The entire dress came together around this gorgeous Italian trim that we found.  It was perfect.
Describe your wedding flowers: Dahlias were vital to the day.  I love dahlias and knew that the fall was the perfect time to use them.  We worked with one of the most talented florists that I have ever known, Jason Clodfelter, of The Bitter Pear.  Jason works with local florists and many of the dahlias he used came from North Carolina.  Alan and I are huge supporters of local artists and the idea of supporting local flower growers really appealed to me!  We had a gorgeous arbor piece for the ceremony, beautiful Mason jar shepherd hooks and two “wow” pieces for the reception.  He incorporated bark and rustic elements throughout.  We also knew we wanted to use deep, jewel-colored flowers.
Describe your wedding cake: The wedding cake was a last minute decision.  Alan and I love going apple picking.  We’ve been to beautiful orchards in New Hampshire and North Carolina, and thought this would be a great inspiration for our cake – hence our decision to incorporate apples on our cake!  It turned out really well: not too over the top, simple and definitely unique.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I think the biggest challenge for the wedding was knowing when to stop. I had so many projects and ideas in my mind and I really wanted to make them all happen. I had such wonderful support from friends and family and they helped me to take on the projects we really wanted.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  We really wanted our wedding to be unique. We decided that we would have live music incorporated into the ceremony.  I decided to walk down the aisle to an Adele song (original by Bob Dylan) called “Make You Feel My Love”.  My cousin, Hailey Hewitt Clark, sang it. Her voice was flawless.  Alan and I decided to recess to Ingrid Michaelson’s “Way I Am” with live bongos!  We incorporated readings into our wedding but decided to let the readers choose anything they wanted.  We had readings from The Alchemist (a novel) and a Jason Mraz song (“Love Is Real”).  We also decided to incorporate “the box” tradition, where the bride and groom write letters to each other about why they are getting married and what they love about each other.  They choose a sturdy box and place the letters, a bottle of wine and 2 glasses in the box.  Then they nail the box shut and agree that if the marriage ever faces a difficult time that, before they make any decisions, they will open the box, read the letters and drink the bottle of wine.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? For me, it was walking down the aisle.  The aisle was a long, long sidewalk at the winery, which lead to a grassy area where we had the ceremony.  I could see all the way up and watch my bridesmaids walk in.  Having my parents on either side was amazing.  And when I saw Alan, I couldn’t help but beam.  For Alan, it was after the ceremony. We decided to take a walk together before heading to the reception.  As Alan happily put it, it was “finally just us” and we could think about the amazing step we just took.
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?  We didn’t write our own vows but we borrowed a verse from another wedding.  We fell in love with the vows and used them as our own. The vows were: Together with you, I want to live a life full of the kind of love and the kind of laughter that makes strangers stop and stare.  I will take care of you and give you peace of mind and heart.

Congratulations to Miss Apple Cider and Alan!