Southern Weddings

Annie + Jimmy’s V4 wedding is one that I keep finding new details in. Their Tennessee nuptials bound their love of the South and all things vintage with a dedication to tradition and family. Their ceremony was packed with nods to Jimmy’s love of literature and the couple’s relationship, with a reading of William Butler Yeats’ poem, “He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven.” The reading was extra special since it was the poem that Jimmy included in his first love letter to Annie (aww!). Just looking at these images from Jonathan Canlas makes our hearts melt.

I found my wedding dress at a little boutique in Nashville called B. Hughes Bridal. I was set on having a Vera Wang dress, and B. Hughes had the best selection. They were also incredibly nice and made the whole experience so much fun! My best friend and mom went with me to help – along with my dog for some of my fittings! My dress looks like a mixture of vintage lace and couture fashion. Fashion is my other weakness – so it fit the bill perfectly! I knew it was my dress, because it was the one that best made me feel like a bride. Surprisingly, the style was opposite of what I always thought I would have, but I absolutely love it! I felt so beautiful in it.

For the groom, the vintage handkerchiefs in the wedding program held extra importance. In just the seven months prior to our wedding, I’d lost the two most influential men in my life. Without Annie sticking by me, I would have fallen beyond salvation. Our wedding was thus shadowed by, and saturated with, their presence. We acknowledged their loss in our programs: I wrote a brief message thanking our guests for supporting us through the loss of my best friend in the fall, and then my dad in the winter. I quoted my father’s speaking points for his engagement toast—one he was unable to deliver, and in our program message, I wrote: “We cherish his words, and have smiled through our tears at the legacy of love left to us. Along with our gratitude, please accept these handkerchiefs: though they may aptly wipe away tears of sorrow, we pray they may only catch tears of joy today.”

We had a spring wedding on May 28. The ceremony was at 5:30pm on Signal Mountain, TN. Signal Mountain is where Jimmy grew up, and the church is where I have wanted to get married for years. It’s affectionately referred to as The Little Brown Church by locals, and for obvious reason. It’s a quaint old church surrounded by pine trees that was built in 1908. Our reception was at Lindsay Street Hall in downtown Chattanooga. It used to be an old church built in the early 1900s that has been restored into a beautiful event hall. Both of these venues seemed like the perfect spots for our vintage wedding! Our rehearsal dinner was at the River Inn, also known as The Old Catfish House, situated on the Tennessee River with a sunset view of the River Gorge. We thought it had a perfect laid back Southern atmosphere with a view to match!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met through close mutual friends. Jimmy is an old friend of my best friend’s husband. She and her husband schemed to get us together, thinking we would be perfect for each other. Once we were acquainted, a friendship slowly grew into a relationship that neither of us expected. We seemed so different, but had all the important common interests (faith, family, hair metal and country music, and plaid). In the end, our friends really knew what was best for us!
Describe the proposal: We had planned to go for a short vacation to my family’s beach condo in Clearwater, Florida. I have been going there since birth; it feels like a second home to me. Jimmy had schemed to propose while on this getaway. He hid the ring in his carry-on bag and sweated his way through security. Unfortunately, we arrived to a heavy rainstorm, so we decided to nap after unpacking. Later, after showering for dinner, Jimmy saw the skies beginning to lighten and suggested we take a walk on the beach before eating. He sent up a little prayer for the rain to stop, and the Big Man upstairs was listening! The rain cleared just in time for a beautiful sunset. There was hardly anyone on the beach due to the weather, which was perfect! We walked down the beach a little ways until Jimmy was too nervous to wait any longer and got down on one knee. Of course, I said, “Yes!” We then went to eat dinner at a beachside restaurant that used to be the hotel where my family stayed for years. Jimmy had a table waiting with champagne, and we called our family and friends to share the good news!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Vintage, warm, loving
How many guests attended your wedding? I think we had just over 200 guests attending.
Bride’s favorite detail of the wedding: There were too many details I loved to choose just one. I loved that we had bluegrass music rather than standard classical music, and each song in our processional was meaningful. We didn’t chose standard wedding songs. My favorites were the Tennessee Waltz for the groomsmen processional and the song for the mothers’ processional. I chose the song “May The Lord” which is to the tune of Edelweiss. It was the lullaby my mother used to rock me to sleep to every night when I was little.
What was your favorite design detail: The programs were one of my favorite aspects of the ceremony. We used handmade and craft paper for the various paper announcements, so we carried the theme over with the programs. I wanted to use an old wax seal on all of our various invites, so we had a seal made that looked like the drawing of the pine tree from the hymnal of The Little Brown Church. The lady who made all of our paper goods also added our initials at the base of the pine tree to personalize it. We used a similar pine tree for the front of the program. Jimmy loves literature, so I wanted the programs to look like a book for him. We made a thick cover out of craft paper backed in an old floral print we used throughout the paper goods. The pages were made from handmade paper we used for our various invitations, and we bound the book with boucle linen thread. We tucked a vintage hanky that my mom and I had collected in each program and tied it with an aged-looking silk ribbon. They were so special and beautiful. My family and friends helped me assemble them all a few days before the wedding.

Written with love by Nicole