Southern Weddings

I love how Brooke + Nathan’s traditional ceremony at the Huntsville First United Methodist Church gave way to a citrus-colored party at the Historic Roundhouse Depot.  (Check out the exposed wood beams!)  I love the sea of Chinese paper lanterns, and is there anything more Southern than a lemonade + juice bar?  Here’s another SW first: a sequin-trimmed four-tier vanilla cake?  Thank you, Nikki Mason, cake baker extraordinaire!  And one more thank-you to Joy Marie Photo for sharing this deep South soiree. Be sure to take a peek at her blog post of Brooke + Nathan’s wedding here.

Describe your wedding flowers: The ceremony flowers were very romantic and Victorian. I adore peonies, but they were out of season, so I went for garden roses, hydrangeas, and callas during the ceremony. I glammed up my bouquet a little with netting, feathers and rhinestones. My bridesmaids carried light pink, peach, and green flowers, while my bouquet was mostly white. The flower girl carried a pomander and our ring bearer carried a pillow of green mums. For the reception, we spiced things up with orchids, brighter hydrangeas, and dahlias.
Describe your wedding cake: My cake was a four-tier vanilla cake, each layer with a different design. Chip at Gatehouse decorated the cake with bright-colored mums, orchids and roses. I went to a fabric store and bought some sequin trim to add some sparkle to the cake. I had friends calling the next day to see if we had any left over. Nathan’s cake was two layers of chocolate cake. Nikki Mason added reese’s peanut butter cups to give it a two-toned look. Our two attendants, my nine-year-old twin cousins, said that they liked Nathan’s cake even better than mine.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Nathan came down with the flu a week before the wedding. He recovered quickly, but then I got sick. I had taken off work the entire week to finish last minute details. Instead I spent most of the week in bed sick. Even at our rehearsal dinner I had a fever of 101. However, my prayers were answered and on our wedding day I felt wonderful. I couldn’t believe it! Luckily, during the week I was sick, so many people stepped in to help take care of the last minute details. I appreciated them all so much.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding? Instead of wedding favors, we each donated to our favorite charities. We wanted to do this in honor of our guests and in memory of our loved ones who have passed. I also really wanted to let my bridesmaids know how much I appreciated them. They had gone above and beyond to help make this year the best of my life, so I wanted to make their gifts extra special. I gave my very favorite things to my very favorite people as a thank-you for participating in the wedding. I ordered monogrammed green bags with brown letters to go with our wedding colors and each bag contained my favorite book, movie, candle, pepper jelly, chocolates, CDs and earrings to match their dresses. Also, instead of bubbles or sparklers, we left the reception to our guests shaking Auburn pom-poms and singing the fight song since that is where we first met.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? When the reception ended, I hugged my dad goodbye and headed through the shakers in the crowd to get in the car. On our ride home, we talked about what a wonderful and perfect day it had been and how happy we were. I was just a little sad because my sister had to leave the reception sick and I hated that she has missed our goodbye. When we arrived home, I realized she hadn’t really left because she was sick but so she could decorate the house for us. It was filled with candles and there were rose petals everywhere and even champagne and chocolate covered strawberries just like the night of the proposal. I thought it was the sweetest thing that she really wanted to make sure we had the perfect ending as well.
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? No we didn’t. We had a dear friend officiate the ceremony and it was very personal yet traditional.  However, we did include an unusual element. We used a hand ceremony. We held hands as the minister spoke: “These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. And lastly, these are the hands that, even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.”
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We plan to do a lot of traveling. Nathan has traveled the world so I have lots of catching up to do. Soon we will go to Africa to take the trip he had planned for me before he got sick. (His illness brought him home one week before my plane was scheduled to leave.) We are also saving to purchase a home together!

Congratulations, Brooke + Nathan!  Enjoy your travels together!