Southern Weddings

Soooooo….. yesterday we sat down to have our regular Wednesday afternoon staff meeting.   If you follow us on Twitter, you know a few these happen at these meetings.  First, we eat! Every week, we sample a different Southern specialty.

A few favorites from past meetings: sweet tea (naturally), Cheerwine, peach ice cream, fresh baked biscuits with peach jam, fresh local berries and honey, MoonPies, pecan pie, Krispy Kreme (born and raised in NC!) and, among many other favorites, cornbread muffins and Carolina blue cupcakes.   Yum!

Next, we dream up all sorts of goodness for y’all. This starts with everyone giving an update on what they are working on.

So, we start our meeting yesterday and everyone is a bit sleepy from the holiday weekend.   After asking for a volunteer to go first with updates and no takers, Emily gladly says “I have an update!”…. and PULLS HER HAND OUT FROM UNDER THE TABLE WITH AN ENGAGEMENT RING ON IT!!!!!! The room erupted in squealing, jumping (I must have touched the ceiling!) and a pile of hugs all at once!  I’ll let Emily tell you all the details, of course, but needless to say we had a hard time focusing on anything after that!   Emily, we love you and are so happy for you! Don’t get me started again. You’ll have to break out the tissues!  I am over-the-moon happy for Em + John!  Oh my stars! And hello… how cute is this!?

So, in honor of Emily’s engagement, today’s post is all about true love through the ages.  Emily and John have a love that will last and inspire so many, so I couldn’t think of a better occasion to start this feature!

I spent the holiday weekend in Florida with my family and got a chance to capture some of our family wedding pics of old. Every photograph you see here has a beautiful love story behind it.  Above is my great grandparent’s marriage certificate from their tiny 1909 Alabama wedding!  Wow, what a beautiful document!  My great grandparents were farmers and cared for 8 children, including my Grandpa Cecil.

Grandma Bunny + Grandpa Cecil’s wedding above.  They were married in the local church and then celebrated at the Austin family home in Monroeville, Alabama.  My Grandma’s secret to a happy marriage: “Be sweet to each other!  Do kind things, love each other tenderly every day and appreciate the little things.  Cecil used to bring me wildflowers with my coffee.”

My Grandma Betty’s wedding portraits above.  Hello gorgeous!  Who wouldn’t want stunning classic photographs like this!?  This truly takes my breath away.  Grandma Betty passed long before I was born, but I can only imagine what wonderful stories she would tell about this special day!

And finally, my parent’s sweet garden wedding above.  Their secret to a happy marriage as per my mom: “Laugh together, have adventures, love unconditionally and get out and dig in the garden together!”

GET FEATURED! We want to know your family love stories of old! We’ll be highlighting one special couple every week. So, send us your old family photos and a little bit about their love story or their Southern wedding. If you can, interview your parents, grandparents or great grandparents! Here are a few helpful questions to use:

Tell us about your Southern wedding. What was most memorable about it?

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?

What is your best marriage advice?

Send a pic and either this interview above or a little blip about their love story to Marissa with the subject line: VINTAGE LOVE. I can’t wait to see what y’all send in!

P.S. Congrats to the last post’s winners Natalie, Amanda R, Lori and Linden!  Send us your mailing address and we’ll get your cute heart and love sparklers right to you!

P.P.S. Congrats again to our very own Emily! My heart be still! I’m so excited!

Written with love by Lara Casey