Southern Weddings

Here at Southern Weddings, we like to think that we know a lot (a whole lot) about weddings, and we know many of our readers are newly-engaged brides-to-be who flock to the SW for the latest in Southern (and generally awesome) inspiration.  But one of our resolutions for 2010 was to make sure we were reaching all of our readers, and not just the blushing brides… hence regular appearances by our own Emily via Etiquette with Emily.  (If you missed her most recent column, make sure you check it out!)  Through her prim, proper and always hotly-contested blog spots, Emily speaks to the true Southerner in all of us, whether we’re engaged and in the throes of planning a wedding even the original Queen of Ps and Qs would applaud or simply concerned with the do’s and don’ts of proper behavior.

But while we’ve got a place where our manners can go for a biweekly check-up, there’s a niche we think we’ve been overlooking.  Yes, married women of Southern Weddings: we’re looking at you!  Somehow, in the frenzy of helping brides plan the perfect Southern (or Southern-inspired, as the case may be) wedding, we’ve totally overlooked what comes after the big day and what your wedding is really all about: the marriage.

Enter Katie Brown.  Wife, mother and minion in the ivy league education system by day, Katie is also the founder and lead writer of the endlessly popular Confessions of a Young Married Couple.  Here, in her own little corner of the internet, Katie explores the ups, the downs and the plain-old in-betweens of the first years of marriage in her quest to prove that happily-ever-after is only just the beginning. 

This month, Katie will join the SW team as the resident Relationship Expert.  Once a month, she will answer your questions about life after the “I Dos.”  While Katie is the first to admit she doesn’t always have the answers, her relaxed and refreshingly honest views on marriage make her own struggles and triumphs a lesson for us all.

We really couldn’t think of a better partner to kick of 2010 with, and are so excited to be welcoming Katie to the SW blog!  I think it’s official: Southern Wedding is now your one-stop shop for everything wedding (and marriage!).  Be sure to catch Katie’s debut column today at 3:00 p.m. – just in time for a little afternoon reading.

P.S.  Katie’s blog, Confessions of a Young Married Couple, is currently up for The 2010 Bloggies Top Weblog of the Year!  Seriously… how exciting slash awesome is that?!  Winners will be announced in February/March.  We’ll definitely be keeping our fingers crossed…

Most couples insist they want their reception to be an all-out, blow-out party, but I’m pretty sure Grace + Jamie’s South Carolina wedding was the best party their guests had ever attended.  I mean, just look at the Technicolor images from Tim Willoughby: does this backyard wedding not scream carnival celebration?  I know there’s a whole lot of awesomeness going on in this post, so let me highlight a few of my favorites: bridesmaids in Kelly green David’s Bridal frocks with ultra-cute Converse All-Stars, homemade gingerbread cookies in spiffy icing get-ups, a balloon archway at the end of the bride’s driveway, DIY wildflower bouquets… a-mazing!  We know you want to see more of Grace + Jamie’s fun celebration, so we have another post to share with you!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  It’s kind of funny because I was actually his sister’s housemate in college and she was the one who originally introduced us.  I would always cut his hair, which is how we started to get to know each other.  While we were in college, he was always dating someone else, which was just fine with me – since we weren’t interested in each other that way :)  Things started to happen when his sister got engaged and we were both asked to be in the wedding. Guess who we got paired up with to walk down the aisle? You got it! We got paired up with each other! We had so much fun with each other that weekend that he gave me a call afterwards (don’t worry – he was single at that time).  At that point, he was still finishing up school in Ohio and I was living in Colorado.  On phone call number two, he asked me if he could take me on a date in three weeks. I asked him how he would go about doing that – being long distance and all – and he answered that he would fly out to Denver and take me on a date. I was floored that he would fly all the way out to Denver JUST to take me on a date! WHOA! Anyway, he took me snowboarding at Vail and asked me to be his girlfriend – and the rest is history!
Describe the proposal.  It was perfectly simple.  He had gone up to Michigan right before Thanksgiving (without my knowledge) to take my dad out to lunch and to ask him if he could have my hand in marriage.  It wasn’t until after Christmas, when we were in Cincinnati for a wedding, that he proposed.  The day after the wedding, we went to mass at a church that was set on hill overlooking the city.  It was a beautiful, clear December day and after mass, Jamie wanted to walk around the little cobblestone street German town outside the church.  I was freezing and couldn’t understand why he wanted to “look at one more look out point” – but I’m so happy that he did!  We ended up right in front of the church where we started. There was a beautiful lookout right in front!  He said so many beautiful things to me but it wasn’t until he started to take my warm coffee out of my hand that I began to suspect that something was up. He asked me to marry him and guess what? I said yes :)
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Joyful, festive, whimsical
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Really, our personalities were the biggest inspiration.  We are both very laid back and love playing games more than anything else!  With regards to the ceremony, we just wanted the joy in our relationship to shine through the readings, the homily and the music.  With regards to the reception, we were going for a small-town carnival feel.  The budget was tight, but our priorities were the DJ, the alcohol, the photographer and the games.  I think we did alright!
What was your favorite design element of your big day? It’s a toss-up between the balloon arches (which were on either end of our driveway), and the big round light bulbs strung over the tables.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our shoes! All of the bridesmaids (and even the bride!) wore white Converse All Stars, and all of the groomsmen (and the groom) wore black slip on Vans.

Written with love by Lara Casey