Southern Weddings

Over three years ago, I walked through the doors of the Southern Weddings office for the very first time to start interning for the brand new magazine. Next week, I will walk out of the office doors after my last day of work to take on a brand new challenge. My darling boyfriend of two years, Scott, is moving up North for law school and I am uprooting myself as well to bring a bit of Southern charm to the Big Apple. I’ve made it my mission to Southern-ize the whole world, and what better way to start than by spreading some Southern sweetness to those Yankees up North? In my years with Southern Weddings, I’ve written dozens of posts, but none have been as difficult to write as this one.

I feel like my personal growth has paralleled Southern Wedding’s continued success. I have been blessed with seeing the entire process of launching this publication and how it has spread like kudzu. I have had the opportunity to build close friendships with the amazing women that work in this office and I have nothing but praise for all of the talented sponsors that I have had the opportunity to work with. While I am excited for the changes ahead, I can’t help but be sad that my time with Southern Weddings is coming to an end.

Some of my very happiest memories are intertwined with the gals at Southern Weddings and, believe me, we’ve had some crazy times! Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane and relive some of the highlights. In the past three years, we were hard at work creating this completely sold out issue…

…this stunning issue…

…this pretty issue (which also happens to be sold out)…

…and most recently, this beauty!

I had a blast preparing for all that print goodness at our editorial shoots. I particularly loved working with Emily, Marissa, Sierra, Nicole and intern Emily on the Paper, Cotton, Flour shoot for V4. It was a blazing hot summer day, but spirits could not be higher. We were all thrilled with how the shoot was coming along.

I swear, there is no better way to bond with co-workers than working a photo shoot!

Who could forget the office parties and our weekly office meetings? Sometimes, I can’t believe we got work done at all with so much fun mixed in! I don’t mean to make y’all jealous, but our weekly meetings always include some assortment of candy, cookies, sweet tea and Sun Drop. We even had a King Cake for Mardi Gras a few weeks ago!

I’ve had the joy of going to plenty of industry events and weddings during my time here. Confession: attending industry events might just be my favorite part of working in this great field. It’s not because I get to knock elbows with some of the best and brightest in the wedding industry (though that’s a plus!), my favorite part of any good industry party is the Smilebooth! I am completely, unabashedly addicted to these fun photobooths. Hand me a couple props and there is a large chance that I’ll be in the booth all night. What can I say? I’m a ham.

Marissa and I had the joy of covering Bridal Market (read: bridal fashion week) this year. Trent Bailey covered the fun and gave us these adorable photos. Marissa is and always will be my partner in crime and I can’t wait for her to come up to the city next year so we can relive our Bridal Market adventures!

Images by Trent Bailey

I’ve been busy as a bee working with our fabulous sponsors, planning giveaways and helping with photoshoots but I did manage to squeeze in enough time to graduate from UNC (GO HEELS!) and meet an amazing (and handsome) boy.

There are literally hundreds of photos and memories that I could put in this post (really, I could write a novel), but when you get down to it, the women that work in this office have really been the reason that my time with Southern Weddings has been so special.

Lara has given me the opportunity to have such a faaaantastic first job and every day I am grateful that she took a chance on me and decided to bring me on board after my internship many moons ago. She has had the insight to build such a brilliant team and I cannot wait to see Southern Weddings continue to flourish in the years to come. Emily, Nicole, Marissa and Sierra are some of the most talented and kind women in the world. I’m not kidding you. I dare you to find gals as friendly, professional and intelligent as the ladies here. It’s just not possible. Oh man, cue the sappy music. I’m all emotional now! It has been a huge privilege to work with this team and I will always be grateful that they have been part of my life.

Image by Millie Holloman

Last, but most certainly not least, thank you! Thank you for following along these past few years and thank you for making Southern Weddings the community that it is today. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. Three years ago when I started out here, Southern Weddings was a brand new blog (and one of the few wedding blogs in existence) and our first print edition had just hit the shelves. Today, Southern Weddings claims an international following, a strong community of readers, and some of the best Southern inspiration on the ‘net (though I may be biased). From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your kindness and your enthusiasm. Of course, I will be following along and reading the blog every single day from my new pad in New York, and I am excited to stay a part of the Southern Weddings family as an avid reader. Thanks, y’all!