Southern Weddings

With a husband who travels frequently, I can definitely identify with the challenge Claire + Nathan faced when they took their relationship long distance. But with creativity and the help of Claire’s friends, I think Nathan came through with a sweet and surprised-filled proposal (be sure to read all about it below)! Then he poured on some more sugar during their ceremony, by vowing: “I give my all to you, my support for your achievement, my counsel for problems, my prosperity for yours, my shoulder for your tears and my ear for your voice.” Swoon!

Special thanks to Brett Heidebrecht for capturing their joy filled day!

Jumping up and down on the bed in hot rollers? I want to be friends with this bridal party!

Describe your wedding flowers: Gorgeous! We had wildflower bouquets with pale pinks and creams, light blue and burlap and lace tied around.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert: We each had a traditional cake (pink and creamy for mine and a red Razorback for his) and then had cheesecake squares!

Personally, I’m loving the mixed bridesmaid dresses. Each of Claire’s girl’s picked out her own short and sleeveless gray dress, and acccording to Claire, they came from Anthropologie, J Crew, and Nordstroms.

I walked down the aisle to “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” It was the same song that was also used in my parents wedding. During the wedding, our friend sang “Till Kingdom Come,” which is our song.

We decorated the property with a ton of white lights draped through trees and lining the buildings — it looked gorgeous as the sun went down.

We spent a good chunk on photography, knowing we would have those pictures forever! Food was another one — we wanted everyone traveling to our wedding to have a great time and enjoy the party!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met our junior year of college. I went with a group of girls over to a friend’s house to cook dinner and Nathan was there. Two years later, I graduated and Nathan went to India for a year. We didn’t speak until a year and a half later when he called to ask me on a date. I swooned and the rest is history!
Describe the proposal. Nathan and I dated long distance for a year while he lived in Arkansas and I worked in Lawrence, Kansas. I’d settled on not being surprised by a proposal because every weekend I saw him was so planned! But he arranged for my friends to plan my whole weekend – Friday, two friends took me to get a manicure and a spray tan and Saturday, two other friends took me to get coffee and out to a lookout that Nathan and I love. As I walked up the stairs of the lookout tower, I saw Nathan sitting there. I was shocked! He led me up the stairs and we looked through a photo album of the four years we’d known each other. It was four years to the day of when we’d met.
In what month did you get married? May
How many guests attended your wedding? About 230
Did you decide to do a “first look”? Yes, mostly for time’s sake.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? My dad passed away when I was a kid, so instead of a father-daughter dance, I danced with my mom and sister to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” It was a sweet moment of celebrating our family
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Ask for help when you need it! Being stressed can take all the fun out of planning a wedding.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We just moved to Springfield, Missouri to work with a college ministry at Missouri State University. We’re getting settled into our first home!

Written with love by Marissa