Southern Weddings

Sometimes I wanna hug Emily Ayer.  Seriously.  I’m pretty sure she picks weddings because she knows I will go crazy over them.  She just loves me that much – or at least that’s what I tell myself.  Take Andrea + Mike’s wedding from Abigail Seymour, for instance: a dramatic venue (Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church), a stunning jewel-encrusted gown (Priscilla of Boston, naturally), subtly-vintage lavender accents (Banana Republic frocks for the lovely ‘maids)… what’s not to love?  The bride wore a traditional cathedral veil from Jennifer Leigh and ultra-feminine heels from Shannon Britt.  My favorite detail, though?  Em + I both agree that this gorgeous bride is a definite (and lucky!) Grace Kelly look-alike.  Check back soon for part II!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story: The Public Interest Law Society at Michael’s law school held a tennis tournament as a fundraiser.  As a member of the society, Michael had signed up to play in the tournament with his friend, Jeff. Over at the school’s main campus, my sorority recruited girls who wanted to participate in this tournament.  I decided to enter as part of a double’s team with my fellow sorority sister, Lindsay. On the day of the tournament, I was feeling less than excited about getting up early to play tennis on a Saturday. At the last minute, Lindsay and I decided to skip it, thinking the show would go on without us. Turns out one of my other sorority sisters was helping to organize the event and ended up calling us non-stop until we finally put on our tennis gear and drove over to the courts.  

After playing and winning our first two matches, Lindsay and I reached the championship match.  As fate would have it, Michael and Jeff were our opponents.  A few aces (and really nice volleys) later, we had won the tournament championship. Organizers had assumed the second place team would be women and the tournament would be won by men.  The prize packages matched this assumption, since the second place prize was a cute bag tilled with socks, headbands and other women’s gear.  Lindsay and I graciously accepted the “girly” prize and handed over our would-be prize of restaurant gift certificates and movie passes to the guys. I was already interested in getting to know Michael better so I hinted (not so subtly) that the guys should use those restaurant certificates to take “the real winners” out to dinner. The subsequent double date was a little awkward and Michael ended it in a very businesslike manner by shaking my hand! (Never had that happen on a date before!)

The spark was there, though, and Michael asked me out again.  We ended up saying “I do” on June 19^th, and Jeff and Lindsay stood with us as part of our wedding party!

Describe the proposal. I had just returned from a semester abroad in London and was excited about being home with my family and Michael. While I was abroad, Michael had asked my parents for their blessing and had told them he wanted the proposal to be a complete surprise.  They made a plan that started with a family dinner. My parents made reservations at a nice restaurant and everyone got dressed up and, as planned, drove separate cars there.

When we arrived back home, I noticed luminaries lining the entire circular driveway, forming a path to the front door. Michael led me into a house filled with flickering candles of all shapes and sizes.  Michael had even arranged for our favorite songs to be playing as we walked in.  Sitting beside the Christmas tree was a bouquet of roses and a box wrapped with sage green paper and tied with a cream-colored bow. It was a book filled with pictures from our many dates and our courtship. The final page of the book had only a picture of a ring box with the words “December 12, 2008 is a night we will never forget… It is the night I asked you to marry me. I love you.”  Michael reached for the ring box that he had hidden beneath the Christmas tree, got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife.  I was so surprised, and excitedly said YES!

Three adjectives that describe the day are: Unforgettable, timeless and lovely!