Southern Weddings

Southern weddings are famous for being low-key, homespun affairs, but I love the glam factor woven into the details of Cassandra + John’s North Carolina wedding.  Walters and Walters photographed the event, and aptly-named A Carolina Wedding handled planning and design. The maids’ fuchsia dresses from Wtoo and jewel-tone bouquets courtesy of A Beautiful Event popped against the bride’s dramatic Tara Keely gown and the groom’s stone-colored suit.  (Nice alternative to the conventional black tux!)  To celebrate their new marriage, Cassandra + John released butterflies from All-a-Flutter Butterfly Farm.  Love the shot of the bride holding a lone butterfly.  Magical!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story. John was my “gym crush” at our local gym, but I never worked up enough courage to approach him there.  Who looks their best at the gym, right? Fast forward a few months: I decided to throw a giant Jimmy Buffett-themed pool party and invited literally every person I knew … except John because he was skipping workouts (sorry, hun) and technically we had not met yet. So the party is Margaritaville to a T… the music, décor, everything! Unfortunately (or fortunately now), I had to run back to my apartment for a minute and that’s when it happened. As I was walking to my car, I saw two guys approaching and, low and behold, one was my gym crush! Turns out John lived in the same apartment complex as I did. Yup, my husband crashed my pool party and the rest is history. Turns out he lived just a few doors away the whole time! People say you meet your spouse when you least expect it. I’m just glad we were lucky enough to meet!
Describe the proposal. Another funny story I love to tell. September 5^th, 2008 was when Hurricane Hanna hit the East Coast. It was a Friday and John had told me he made plans for us to eat dinner with his coworkers. We usually had a routine of opening a bottle of wine before we went to dinner and John asked that I go to his place (during Hurricane Hanna) that night. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was tons of candles, roses and John was waiting for me by the door. I was speechless! John pulled a ring out of his pocket and nervously said, “I got this for you.”  After not getting a definitive “yes” or “no” from me, John finally said, “Well?”  I looked at him and said, “Well, what?!”  was bound and determined to be asked the BIG question. Of course I said “yes,” and we went on to the restaurant for dinner. Instead of his coworkers, John had brought my parents in from out of town to surprise me!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: There were so many great things we loved about our wedding – the band, the butterflies, the cake, the flowers, the scenery – but if we were forced to choose, the photo booth turned out to be awesome and a huge hit with the guests! The company providing the booth brought tons of props that made each photo more interesting then the last. We have a scrapbook that guests created for us from their time in the booth. Getting to see everyone’s goofy pictures was priceless, and we still love to looking through the album.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I was one of the lucky brides that found her dress on the very first go-around. I thought I wanted a simple, sleek, no-frills dress… something more non-traditional. By, like usual, my mom knew best. She picked my dress: a strapless sweetheart dress from Tara Keely.