Southern Weddings

Krystal, I’m just going to come out and say it: I. want. your. bolero.  Like, seriously, desperately want and wish I had it for my own wedding. Hmph.  The sleek, ruffly jacket looks like it was made for her elegant drop-waist Priscilla of Boston gown + handmade hairpiece (love the feather and flower accents!).  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Krystal looks exactly like a bride is supposed to look on her big day – and I’m a little bit in awe.  Guess now would be a good time to thank photographer Allen Arrick for being on-hand to capture this gorgeous bride + her darling hubby at their Roseland Plantation nuptials.  The couple brightened up their classic, all-white color scheme with peacock blue accents (portrait-collared bridesmaids dresses from David’s Bridal and too-cute Rocket Dog heels) and fresh green floral arrangements courtesy of La Tee Da + Flowers by Ela.  Flirting with Fonts designed the newlyweds’ colorful invites, and Lynell’s Sweet Shop gave guests a three-tiered buttercream sugar fix.  Hmm hmm!

How did the two of you meet?  We meet in college while enrolled in the same history class. It was fate! I was accidentally dropped from all of my classes (due to a computer glitch) two days before classes were to start, and everything was re-arranged and messed up.   After some scrabbling, I just landed in classes with open spots. Classes started in August and I’m not sure if was his lack of courage or my lack of attendance, but he finally asked me out for our first date in October! 
Describe the proposal: We went to Austin for Labor Day weekend.  It was a perfect weekend! We started out at Threadgills for dinner and then took a stroll up to the capital building. We were talking and looking over the balcony at the beautiful architecture, when Grant tried to pull something out of his pocket… just as a group of teenagers walked up! He pulled me back into the waiting area and dropped to one knee. Hand of over mouth, I said “Yes, times 10!”  The ring was absolutely beautiful!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Soulful, gorgeous and personalized.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The moss letters! I feel like they letters captured the garden-feel we were going for. I am all about initials and that personalized touch. Grant’s favorite detail was my veil. He says it summed me up perfectly!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Talk about a blessing! My mom and I went to Dallas for the weekend before she flew out to visit my sister and her new baby.  We had our list of twelve boutiques we wanted to conquer, and started at Priscilla of Boston. We were in there for two hours, during which I tried on about 15 dresses and even found the one of my dreams! When we got back in the car, we were both like, “Did that just happen?!” I always thought that it was a cliché that you got a fuzzy feeling when you put the right dress on, but it was so true for me. As soon at the sales lady took the dress off the hanger, I knew it was it.
Describe your wedding flowers: I am very meticulous and detail-oriented, so knew I definitely wanted white peonies, green cymbidium orchids, green apples and peacock feathers.  I designed Grant’s and his brother’s boutonnieres myself and even made the ushers’ and fathers’ boutonnieres.  My bouquet and the table toppers were a matter of trusting my florist and she definitely didn’t disappoint! 
Describe your wedding cake: The best cake I have ever tasted! It was a three-tiered cake with white buttercream icing with tone-on-tone scroll work. The top and bottom layers were buttercream cake with raspberry filling and the middle tier was chocolate cake with espresso filling.  Our topper was a plum of green cymbidium orchids, hydrangeas, money tails and peacock feathers. Grant’s groom’s cake was a good-ole fashioned cheesecake topped with fresh fruit. That was his one request for the wedding (“a plain cheesecake, not gnash!”) and it was just too delicious!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing Grant when I first walked down the aisle. There were tears in his beautiful big blue eyes! I just knew how raw that emotion was and it took my breath away to know that I was going to spend the rest of my life with such a wonderful man.  Grant insists his favorite part of the day was seeing me step out with my dad. He saw the woman he had been waiting six-and-a-half years to marry and it was finally about to happen!
Did you write your own vows? We liked the tradition of age old ones. There is something very special about saying the same words with which our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents started their marriages.
What are you looking forward to in the future? Just learning about one another. We are excited to start our home and find our routine. We also love to travel so we have many trips on the horizon. We have a long list of places we’d like to visit before we start a family down the road. We are also excited about finally getting to do all those things together that make you a family: waking up with each other on Christmas mornings, birthdays, not having to leave or drive to see each other every weekend. We are just going to enjoy being together!

Congratulations, Krystal + Grant!  We know you are going to enjoy this special time together!

Written with love by Lara Casey

Um, wow.  The Georgian Ballroom at the Atlanta Biltmore Ballrooms is incredible… incredible in an “I–want–to–have–my–wedding–there-too” kind of way.  While I’m recovering from my momentary venue envy, made all the more real by the noteworthy design talents of event designer Steve Bales and coordinator Ashley Baber, let’s take a minute to marvel at the couple’s dinner + dessert spread courtesy of famed caterer Bold American.  Figures two self-professed foodies would go all-out for their big day, and I’m willing to bet their guests were sure glad they did!  Other things I love?  Simple yet sophisticated escort cards from Etsy vendor Little Retreats, the classic banquet tables spanning the length of the ballroom and, my personal favorite, a many (many) tiered confection from Caryn’s Cakes topped with – wait for it – a salt + pepper shaker, no less!  Our Labor of Love, you outdid yourselves once again!  Be sure to take a peek at David + Kendrick’s personal post from the evening here. P.S. That crazy face at the DJ table is none other than Michael Antonia of The Flashdance.  With a Smilebooth to keep guests occupied as well, the whole OLOL crew was out in force for Jennifer and Jay!

Describe your wedding cake:  As we looked at wedding cake designs, we instantly knew fondant was not going to find its way onto our cake. It sure looks all smooth and pretty, but it tastes like paste. We also decided we didn’t want to do any fancy fillings or flavors. Wedding cake, in our humble opinion, should be white cake with buttercream icing. We made our way among many wedding cake providers around the city and came up short. Too sweet. Too dense. Too fake tasting. We were stumped until our fantastic wedding planner, Ashley Baber, saved the day and recommended a place around the corner from our home: Caryn’s Cakes. We were sold after one bite of her fluffy white cake with vanilla buttercream. It was amazing and tasted just like you’d imagine a beautiful white wedding cake should. A girly floral design was out of the question. Our wedding was modern and we wanted something that matched the design. Owner Caryn Nash modeled the cake after a favorite vase of mine from Jonathan Adler, which is where our kooky cake toppers came from: they’re actually salt and pepper.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Working up the nerve to do the father-daughter dance.  Since my family is from Mexico, we wanted to infuse some of the culture into our wedding. My dad suggested we do the Mexican Hat Dance together. I was a nervous wreck because I’d never done the dance before and we didn’t have time to practice. My dad told me to follow his lead and we just went with it – sombrero and all. It was so much fun and the crowd gave us a standing ovation.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Jay’s steadfast eye contact and smile throughout the entire ceremony.   Jay says my walking down the aisle to Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” and my nervous laughter throughout the ceremony were the most memorable moments of the day.
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? No, we didn’t, but we had an amazing Rabbi that many people call “The Rock and Roll Rabbi.” We knew he was the right Rabbi for us when we went to meet with him the first time and he had a poster of Bob Dylan on the back of his office door.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? I’m looking forward to moving into a bigger home, traveling more as a family and just being together as much as we can.

Congratulations, Jennifer + Jay!  We wish you all the best with your new life + family!

I know weddings are supposed to be all about the bride (and trust us, she is lovely), but can I just say I think the flower girl’s frilly tights and sparkly slippers totally stole the show?  Cute, cute, cute!  (And even cuter once you find out said cutie-pie is also the groom’s lovely daughter.)  David + Kendrick from Our Labor of Love captured Jennifer + Jay’s wedding celebration at the gilded Biltmore Ballrooms in downtown Atlanta.  SW favorite Ashley Baber of Ashley Baber Weddings coordinated the lavish affair, and Steve Bales + crew at Bold American designed the entire event, including the lush white bouquets carried by the bride and her attendants.  The bridesmaids looked distinctly un-bridesmaidy in simple floor-length sheaths from J. Crew, while the bride was ultra-feminine in a strapless Rivini gown – the perfect touch for her black-tie optional fete.   I’ve always loved formal weddings, and after seeing J + J’s soiree, I’m definitely considering a similar style for my own wedding.  So question for all our dear readers: what’ the best way to inform guests of a dress code for your wedding?  And what’s better: black tie or black tie optional?  Check back soon for Part II of this fabulous celebration!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story. We are both huge food lovers and met through a local food forum here in Atlanta. I was seeing someone at the time, but Jay and I quickly became lunch buddies.  After a couple years of being friends, I broke up with my boyfriend and started dating again.  I’d always had a crush on Jay—I’ve got a thing for Italian boys from New York and was touched by the fact that he was such an amazing full-time single dad to his adorable daughter, Siena.  I didn’t think I was his type until I ran into him while I was out on a date and he greeted me with a hug and whispered in my ear: “I’ve been thinking about you all day. You shouldn’t be here with him, you should be with me.” My heart melted and I ditched my date. We’ve been together ever since.
Describe the proposal. It’s embarrassing. I’m a little… hyper-organized.  Jay had been living out of a bag and I’d ordered new dressers so he could have more storage.  On the day that they arrived, I started putting all of his stuff away and found an oddly lumpy sock. I reached in a pulled out a blue box and proceeded to freak out.  It was hard not to peak inside, but I exercised some super-human willpower and put it back where I found it.  When Jay got home, I tried to play it off like I hadn’t found it, but he figured out what was going on within five minutes. His planned proposal (we were going to Mexico in a week) was pretty much ruined so he broke down and proposed one Sunday afternoon in bed. We still get a good laugh out of the whole debacle.
Three words that describe the day are:
Jennifer: Blissful, warm and delicious!
Jay: Kissing, kissing and more kissing!  Plus, a beautiful bride.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: I’d have to say the room. My mother gave me some great advice when I started the planning process. She told me to choose an ornate room so I wouldn’t have to spend a lot on décor. It was perfect and grand. The LED dance floor was my second favorite detail. Jay’s favorite part of the day was the food, the wine and the cake.  If I had a dollar for every guest who told me it was the best wedding food ever…