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Monthly Archives: July 2013

Hi y’all! As Nicole mentioned last week, I’ll be taking over Weekly Round-Ups from now on. We have had some seriously gorgeous weddings, a few tear-jerking stories, and lots of great advice on the blog this week, so let’s dive right in!

Kristin shared her heart through a list of 10(+1) hints for a happy marriage. Married friends, we’d love to hear your advice as well!

Our resident etiquette expert/my deskmate, Emily, addressed the tricky question of how to reschedule a wedding.

Ryan Ray is shooting something amazing for V6 next week, and we’re still in need of a few more bridesmaid models! If you’re available on July 26 in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, check out our model call post for more information.

Oh, how I loved this week’s Real Weddings!

Brittany and Matt’s first look pictures are some of our all-time favorites! See their classic turquoise wedding here.

Claire and Michael’s wedding was overflowing with fabulous Southern details. Since their wedding was my first post on the blog, I’m always going to have a soft spot for their gorgeous day! See it here.

Rachel and Daniel’s sweet proposal story brought me to tears, and y’all fell hard for the dreamy Vera Wang she wore in their wedding! See it here.

Speaking of stories that brought on a few tears, the story of how Mariana chose her lace dress had both Marissa and me reaching for tissues. Mariana and Jacob also had the most fabulous dessert selection at their beautiful wedding! See it here.

A few fun things!

Be sure to check out our Facebook Friday for an engagement shoot by Revival Photography!

One of our delightful BRV members, George Street Photo & Video, is hosting a giveaway next week for four mini chevron bags by Ooh Baby Designs! Enter on their Facebook page between July 22-29.

Have a wonderful weekend!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
2 Comments
  1. avatar Ginnie Reed reply

    Hey Lisa! You’ve done a great job at SW so far! Congrats on such an amazing opportunity! On another note, I live in North Texas and would LOVE to be a model (or honestly just help out with the shoot) next week! I sent an email but haven’t heard back from anyone. I’ll even promise to bring homemade baked goods if I need to bribe my way in! Thanks, Ginnie

    • avatar Lisa reply

      Hi Ginnie! Thank you so much for your kind words! I believe we already have all of our models for this shoot. Thank you so much for applying though, and hopefully we can work with you on something in the future! :)

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Good morning Belles! Today marks my 391st day of marriage – wow how time is flying these days! By no means do I consider myself a marriage expert, but having just passed the 365-day milestone and being someone who believes in a good + strong marriage, I do have a few post-newlywed hints to a happy marriage that I want to shout from atop the Blue Ridge Parkway; Emily graciously agreed to let me use my inside voice and share in print instead.

Byron Loves Fawn via 100 Layer Cake

Mercy, I loved planning every little piece of my wedding and swear to goodness that I would do it all over again, EVERY year, because I loved every minute of it. I loved it because of what it represented – the extremely intentional and heartfelt beginning to our married life. Planning for life post-marriage, alongside preparing all the little details for our wedding day celebration was extremely important to both of us.

By all means, marriage is hard work and takes serious effort, but it is so worth it. Kyle still might leave the toilet seat up on rare occasion (potentially dangerous in the middle of the night) and I may or may not occasionally hog the covers, but after nearly eight years of dating and one shiny year of marriage – we have some advice to share with those that are preparing to join in this crazy, fun adventure. So here are my 10 (+1) hints for a happy marriage:

Please note that this list is by no means all-encompassing – but rest assured these 10 (+1) ‘rules’ are well-tested and put into practice daily in our household. I am more excited than a pup with two tails to share some insight into each one of these rules over the next few weeks. I 100% believe that good marriage can change the world, and so I am committed to being that change, as well as helping y’all be the change, too.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from our married ladies: What are some of your hints for a happy marriage?

kristin Written with love by Kristin
17 Comments
  1. avatar Emily reply

    So good! I would say one of my and John’s hints for a happy marriage is something I learned from my parents: instead of “going halfway,” try to feel like you’re always going 90% of the way. It helps me to stop fretting about whether or not John is doing “his part,” and reminds me to always try and “outdo each other in showing honor.” So looking forward to this series!!

    • avatar Lauren reply

      Emily: Such great advice!

      Let me preface this with saying, I’m not married yet – will be this September. But I read marriage advice somewhere that said not to look at marriage as 50/50, but as 100/100 because at some point you or or spouse will not be able to give 100% and at that point the other one will be there to fill in the gap. I’m sure it was said much more eloquently wherever I read it, but it was such a lovely sentiment and has stuck with me.

      Loved this post Kristin! Looking forward to the follow-on! xx

    • avatar Kristin reply

      Lauren + Emily: Based on this conversation string, y’all are going to love ‘tip 9’. And thanks for the sweet thoughts. Excited to share some insight into a topic that really sets my heart on fire!!

      (And Lauren – congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Enjoy these last few weeks. Take some deep breaths and soak in this sweet time…)

  2. avatar Lisa reply

    I love this post so much, Kristin!! The way you entered into your marriage through your meaningful, intentional wedding, setting you up for a meaningful, intentional marriage is so inspiring. I’m filing this post away for the future! :)

  3. avatar Marissa reply

    I agree with Emily, I’m looking forward to this series as well! After nearly five (holy cow) years of marriage, I love continuing to learn ways to grow.

  4. avatar Melissa reply

    I love these! I am only 26 days into my new marriage, and it is wonderful seeing things that I believe to be essential foundation pieces, such the ones listed, reiterated. I think it would be precious to have these made into prints!

    • avatar Kristin reply

      Melissa: Congratulations Mrs. Newlywed. Enjoy this ‘crazy, fun adventure’ that you have just started. Can’t wait to dig into this tips and share a bit more over the coming weeks. Big hugs!!!

  5. avatar Stephanie reply

    This was such a breath of fresh air! September bride here too, and I think in all the fury of wedding planning it’s good to see these reminders of why we wedding plan in the first place – to prep for MARRIAGE. I’ve been obsessing over mercury glass, burlap and bicycle crunches, so I often forget to step away and focus on the relationship I have with my wonderful fiancé and how to stay in love once the wedding is over. Thank you ladies!

    • avatar Kristin reply

      Stephanie: This is music to my ears! Good luck with the final weeks of planning and preparations. And I would encourage you to go ahead and put some of this hints into practice pre-wedding…Enjoy those last few weeks by going on dates and taking some deep breaths! Big SW hugs!!

  6. avatar Laura reply

    We’re nearing the 1 year mark so I can’t speak from too much experience, but I definitely agree with #10. Sitting down and just talking about our day is one of my favorite things to do with my husband. If it was a great day, I love to share that with him and if it wasn’t so great, it always makes me feel better to talk it over with him.

  7. avatar Welcome To The Weekend – Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog reply

    […] Tips for a happy marriage. […]

  8. avatar Welcome To The Weekend – Weddings Magazine reply

    […] Tips for a happy marriage. […]

  9. avatar Week in Review: July 12-18, 2013 reply

    […] I’m not married, I think these hints for a happy marriage are a great read and a beautiful reminder for all relationships out […]

  10. avatar Hints for a Happy Marriage: Keep Dating « Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] date idea to share? Spill the beans! Have a fun date memory? We want to hear about it! P.S. Catch up on past hints here: #1, #2, #3! P.P.S. Lovely session by Jo Photo, one of our Blue Ribbon Vendors! […]

  11. avatar Hints for a Happy Marriage: Making Laughter Happen – Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] and after 30+ years of life and 13+ months of marriage, I couldn’t agree more!! My first hint for a happy marriage rule is all about making giggles, chuckles and belly laughs happen. Gracious me, I fully believe […]

  12. avatar Hints for a happy marriage » Pearls for Paper reply

    […] absolutely adore these helpful hints for a happy marriage that Southern Weddings put together. Such a great reminder for marrieds and almost-marrieds, […]

  13. avatar Printable Rules For A Happy Marriage | Online Marriage Advice reply

    […] Hints for a Happy Marriage – So here are my 10 (+1) hints for a happy marriage: Please note that this list is by no means all-encompassing – but rest assured these 10 (+1) ‘rules’ are well-tested and put into practice daily in our household. I am more excited than a pup … […]

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One of the things I love about our new editor Lisa is that she shares my affinity for tearing up while reading Real Wedding interviews. And even though she cautioned me while prepping this post that Mariana’s dress story was absolutely precious, I still couldn’t help having to reach for a tissue or two! Be sure to read all about it, but let me say that when Mariana’s dad said “you look like an angel,” I was already two tissues deep!

Don’t think the sweetness stopped at her dress shopping trip, though — Mariana + Jacob’s entire wedding day was filled with heartfelt details and meaningful moments carefully orchestrated by their talented planners, Ooh! Events.

Cheers to Marissa Joy Photography for sharing this delightful day!

I flew into Savannah over Memorial Day weekend of 2012 and met up with one of my two maids of honor who lived there. We then drove into Charleston and met my parents. At this point, I knew we would be getting married in Charleston, which is where my parents were married, so I wanted to find my dress there and leave it until the big day. We went to the bridal salon and I picked out a few dresses and let each of my parents and my MOH pick one as well.

I should have prefaced this story with the fact that my dad is from the Czech Republic, a country well known for its lace exports. As soon as I put on my dress, my dad started to tear up and said that it reminded him of home and the lace doilies my Baba (grandmother) and aunt used to make. I wanted the dress to mean something to me, but I also wanted it to mean something to my parents, so I knew this had to be the dress. When I put my veil on and my dad said, “You look like an angel,” I knew I had found the one!

I had a very random assortment of flowers for the wedding, as I didn’t want anything to look too uniform. We had a very rustic, shabby chic wedding and I wanted the flowers to reflect that. The bouquets were made up of peonies, roses and ranunculus, and the groom and groomsmen wore ranunculus with a touch of rosemary. I wanted rosemary because it is said to increase memory, and I wanted to always have the memories from this day. I have kept Jacob’s dried boutonniere in my purse since the wedding :)

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We did not write our own vows. The church we were married in required that we follow the Liturgy of the United Methodist Church, and the United Methodist Service of Christian Marriage is the only service used. We could not have been more pleased with our service and were truly grateful for the counseling, prayers, generosity and guidance we received from our Reverend and church coordinator.
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We had two readings: Ephesians 4:25-5:2, and Colossians 3:12–17 from the New Revised Standard Version.

I love seeing that Mariana included friends in their house party. We love how they wore coordinating dresses in complimentary colors!

I would have to say that M + J didn’t miss any portraits by passing on a first look. Especially when the element of surprise was so important to Jacob!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We would both say the best detail from the wedding (besides the exchange of vows, of course!) was the view from the cotton dock. Having a place to gather on the water, the hanging Spanish moss and lanterns above us, and the old plantation grounds as we pulled up all made for such a picturesque setting.

Describe your wedding flowers. The flowers for the church were all white with mixtures of lilies, hydrangeas, peonies, myrtle, snapdragons, tulips, and Queen Anne’s lace. The flowers at the reception were pink peonies, white and pink garden roses, green and white hydrangea, scabiosa pods, hanging amaranthus, and baby’s breath, all set in vintage tins, blue mason jars, medicine bottles and antique milk glass compotes. It was breathtaking!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. Jacob and I wanted the dessert to reflect the rustic look of the cotton dock, and since we aren’t big cake people, we opted for a smaller naked cake with an assortment of pies. The cake was a pound cake with lemon custard icing between the layers, covered in fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. The pies were bourbon chocolate pecan, cherry, peach and apple. Everything was absolutely delicious!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Everything! The location alone was the epitome of the South to me. The ceremony was in historic downtown Charleston in a church whose congregation is 222 years old. We headed out to Boone Hall for the reception, which is one of America’s oldest working plantations, known for cotton and pecans. Our menu included fried green tomato BLTs with pimiento cheese on cheddar cornbread, pork tenderloin, mini angus burgers, and pulled pork with blue cheese cole slaw. We sipped on a specialty cocktail that was lavender-infused Firefly sweet tea vodka and lemonade. It was everything I had grown up knowing and loving about the South and the east coast!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. I moved to Dallas from North Carolina in the summer of 2009, knowing no one. To beat the heat in Dallas, you basically have to live by the pool, and I quickly made a friend that I hung out with on the weekends. One Saturday, we were laying out when Jacob and his best friend walked in. I could not take my eyes off of him! I think I blabbered to my friend about him for thirty minutes or so before she actually acknowledged me and looked over at him. She suddenly said, “Oh, I know him! We were neighbors last year!” She introduced us right away and to say we were inseparable after that is an understatement. We went on eight dates over the next seven days and the rest was history!
Tell us all about the proposal! Jacob and I had been dating for about a year and a half when his company approached him with the opportunity to work on a job site in Frederick, Maryland. He would be helping manage the building of a cancer and AIDS research facility, and since cancer has touched so many of our family members’ lives, we knew he had to take the job. His company was truly wonderful and covered the expenses to fly Jacob home or me there twice a month! With me being from the east coast, I was so excited to show Jacob new cities and places I had visited growing up. The 18 months he was there allowed us chances to travel that we wouldn’t have otherwise had. We visited Baltimore and DC several times, and Gettysburg and Annapolis with both his parents and mine. One weekend before Valentine’s Day, he was back in Dallas and we were celebrating early over dinner. He gave me a card and inside he had written, “I hope you enjoy your late Valentine’s gift” and drawn a giant red apple. He then told me that on my next trip to Maryland, we would be driving into New York City. I just assumed it would be like any of the other trips we had been on, but I knew it would be special because it was the first place we had ever traveled together, and probably one of our most memorable trips. When we got there the next weekend, we re-created our date there two years earlier with dinner in Little Italy at SPQR, and then he surprised me with a trip to Rockefeller Center to go ice-skating. We had been there literally ten minutes when another man got down on one knee in the Center and proposed. I was so excited for this couple, but Jacob looked like he was going to be sick! We kept skating but he was acting strange and after about thirty minutes, I asked if we should go. All of a sudden, he tripped and fell and we both laughed and I said it was definitely time to head back to the hotel. We skated for a few more minutes, but he kept rubbing his knee. Finally he started to bend down and I kept saying, “What are you doing? Are you okay? Get up!” When I finally realized what was happening, everyone was cheering and clapping and I barely made it out as he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. To which I, of course, responded yes!
When did y’all get married? June 15th, 2013
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 110

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? We did not do a first look. One thing everyone knows about Jacob is that he loves surprises and hates when people give anything away—something that I am always guilty of. I can’t keep a secret to save my life, and it was so hard not to show him pictures of me in the wedding dress, because he was the one person that I wanted to see them. I knew this was one surprise I had to give him and I wanted, more than anything, to see that look on his face when the doors opened at the church. To me, that was worth it more than getting pictures out of the way early with a first look.

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. Our ceremony music was played on the organ. My bridal processional was to Rondeau by J. Mouret, and our recessional was to Trumpet Tune by H. Purcell. For the reception, we played a lot of western music because many of our guests were from Texas and Jacob and I love to two-step! Our first dance was to “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” by James Otto, we cut the cake to “Sweet Thing” by Keith Urban, and I threw my bouquet while Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine” played.
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! My dress, veil and shoes were my something new. Old and borrowed was a beautiful vintage diamond bracelet that Jacob’s grandfather had given his mother. She asked if I would want to wear it on the wedding day, and I could not have appreciated the gesture more. It was absolutely stunning and it meant so much to me to have it on my arm. My something blue was a pair of hanky pankies (!) that my maid of honor had given me that had Swarovski crystals on it that said “I Do.”
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Planning from Texas and not being able to meet with vendors or see the venue whenever I wanted to.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $50,000-$75,000
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? Hands down, Ooh Events!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Jacob had just whispered “you look beautiful” during the ceremony and missed the beginning of his vows. It made everyone laugh but it meant so much to me.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Take your time with the planning, if you can. I had 15 months and thought it all had to be done right away. Once I got over the initial high of being engaged, I realized I had plenty of time to figure out all the details, and in the end every single thing was perfect.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? We are in the process of buying our first home in Uptown Dallas and we look forward to starting our family and enjoying every bit of each other!

Photographer: Marissa Joy Photography | Planner: Ooh Events | Ceremony Venue: Trinity United Methodist Church | Reception Venue: The Cotton Dock at the Boone Hall Plantation | Florist: Ooh Events | Wedding Cake/Dessert Baker: DeClare Cakes | Caterer: Newton Farms | Rentals: Ooh Events | Lighting: Ooh Events | DJ: Eklipse Productions | Bride’s Gown: Wtoo, Bristol Gown Style | Paper Products: LaHa Design | Bride’s Veil: Vera Wang | Bride’s Earrings and Vintage Sash: White Salon Charleston | Hair Stylist & Makeup Artist: Paper Dolls | Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka, Alessandra D’Orsay Bridal Shoe Style | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Donna Morgan, Crinkle Silk Chiffon in Powder Blue | Groom’s and Groomsmen Attire: Vera Wang Tuxedo, Men’s Warehouse | Additional Vendors: Absolutely Charleston for Trolley Rental, Limos for Less for Bentley Getaway Car Rental

Ooh! Events is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

marissa Written with love by Marissa
5 Comments
  1. avatar Kristin reply

    I think I have agree with Mariana on my favorite detail being the lovely location and all that moss. It is dreamy. The pies aren’t too shabby either…

  2. avatar Emily reply

    That shot of the Dock through the moss is just magical! I also adore their berry cake :)

  3. avatar Lisa reply

    Mariana’s gown remains my favorite thing about this wedding! It’s so romantic and beautiful, and the story behind it melts my heart every time!

  4. avatar Plum Pretty Sugar reply

    Perfect happiness! Adore! Swoon!
    xo
    http://www.plumprettysugar.blogspot.com

  5. avatar Jenny reply

    Love the earrings! Where did you get them??

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