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Monthly Archives: April 2016

While details and decor can help set the tone for your wedding day, nothing quite compares to the venue. There is not just the location to consider, but amenities, occupancy, and so much more. Like my husband and I when we were wedding planning, Catye and Trey found choosing the right fit for their reception to be a bit of a challenge. However, after just seeing renderings of The Carriage House, they knew it was the place for them to celebrate their marriage! I think they were absolutely right in their choice–the lovely Carriage House was the perfect backdrop for a romantic celebration filled with friends, family, and absolutely beautiful blooms from Without Wax, Katy.

Thanks to Mustard Seed Photography for sharing this sweet day with us!

I always envisioned myself in something more form-fitting and lace, but, to my surprise, I ended up with a Jim Hjelm dress that was somewhat voluminous and not at all what I had expected. The second I stepped into it, I knew it was the dress for me. I just felt like such a bride and could not imagine walking down the aisle in anything else. I also had a Watters dress for the reception. I had seen the Watters Santina dress all over Pinterest and was dreaming about it, but wasn’t quite sure if it was right for my wedding. When I was trying on dresses at Town and Country in New Orleans, I saw that they had the Watters gown and I just had to try it on! The second it was on my body, I knew that I had to fit it somewhere into my big day, so I decided to wear it to the reception as a lighter and more flowy option. It ended up being so comfortable to dance in and a perfect fit for our wedding day.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We did not write our own vows, but chose to keep with the traditional vows. We chose instead to include our personal touch with the songs we chose and readings we had.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. The worship band from our church, which is made up of a bunch of our friends, played the music at our ceremony and it was absolutely beautiful! The song that they played as I walked down the aisle, “Beloved” by Tenth Avenue North, actually brought me to tears. Such a beautiful song that was made even more lovely by their talented voices.

The main reading of our wedding was an excerpt from Donald Miller’s book “Blue Like Jazz.” It read, “I will give you this, my love, and I will not bargain or barter any longer. I will love you, as sure as He has loved me. I will discover what I can discover and though you remain a mystery, save God’s own knowledge, what I disclose of you I will keep in the warmest chamber of my heart, the very chamber where God has stowed Himself in me. And I will do this to my death, and to death it may bring me. I will love you like God, because of God, mighted by the power of God. I will stop expecting your love, demanding your love, trading for your love, gaming for your love. I will simply love. I am giving myself to you, and tomorrow I will do it again. I suppose the clock itself will wear thin its time before I am ended at this altar of dying and dying again. God risked Himself on me. I will risk myself on you. And together, we will learn to love, and perhaps then, and only then, understand this gravity that drew Him, unto us.”

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? We chose the ceremony venue (The Woodlands United Methodist Church) because we belong to a Methodist church in the area; however, we currently have services out of an elementary school. By using another local Methodist church, we were able to have our church pastor marry us. When it came to the venue, we had a very difficult time finding the right one. I went into the process knowing I wanted something a little more rustic, but nothing I found seemed to be the right fit. After what seemed like months of looking (but was probably only a week or two), I stumbled across The Carriage House. It was not even open yet, but the renderings made it look absolutely beautiful. The second I saw it, I could envision exactly what our wedding would look like. It definitely felt right.

We chose to go with farmhouse tables at our reception, and combined with the cross back chairs and beautiful floral arrangements, they brought out the beautiful Southern charm of our farmhouse venue. We also served hibiscus lemonade and tea at our cocktail hour, which ended up being the perfect refreshments for a hot August day in Texas.

What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? Allie Ruth of Allie Ruth Designs. We originally hired her just to do our invitations (which were absolutely stunning!), but she ended up designing many of the elements that became an integral part of our wedding, including napkins and signs. One of my favorite elements of the wedding that Allie helped with was the design of the menus. Our planner found some beautiful dip-dyed blush napkins and then Allie designed a menu stamp that we were able to actually stamp directly onto the napkins. All of Allie’s design pulled our wedding together beautifully and made everything feel cohesive.

The dessert table was everything I could have imagined and more! I was so lucky that Jennifer (my wedding planner) pointed me in the direction of Kristina Guilbeau of Buttercup Bakery. She designs and makes the most gorgeous cakes. We ended up going with three smaller cakes instead of one large wedding cake. Our main cake ended up being a banana cake with peanut butter mousse and a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. So delicious! On the two smaller cakes, we went with one traditional white cake with fruit and then a chocolate cake with espresso mousse. We figured that with all the options, everyone would be happy! In addition to the cakes, we decided to give our guests a variety of pies to choose from. Kristina made us a beautiful spread of mini pies in an assortment of flavors. I honestly believe that the pies were Trey’s absolute favorite part of the evening. The dessert table in general was one of the most beautiful elements of the wedding.

How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? Trey and I planned for our marriage in multiple ways. First, we went through premarital counseling with the pastor of our church, covering a variety of tough topics that he believed were important to discuss before marriage. We also chose to work our way through a marriage book before the wedding. This book helped us to talk about a variety of topics that we had never talked about before and start thinking more about what married life would look like for us.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Trey and I met at a CrossFit gym called CrossFit Town Center. I had been going to the gym for a few months when in walked this handsome man. I was immediately drawn to his smile and sense of humor. I knew he was the one for me! After a few months of hanging out as friends, Trey finally worked up the courage to ask me out on a date (while we were running a cool down lap at the gym, no less). The rest is history!
Tell us all about the proposal! Two weeks before the proposal, Trey suggested that we go out to dinner at our favorite restaurant for a fun night out. Trey seemed a little off throughout dinner, but I didn’t think anything of it. After dinner, he told me that we needed to stop at our CrossFit gym to lock up. When we walked into the gym, I saw that candles were lit and there were roses everywhere. There was also a slideshow playing of all of our memories together. I couldn’t tell you what was said, but I know it was a magical moment. After the proposal, we headed to a nearby bar and I was shocked to see all of our closest friends and family gathered to celebrate. It was truly a beautiful evening!
When did y’all get married? August 1, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 280
Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? We chose not to do a first look. Both of us had always imagined that the first time we saw each other would be the second the church doors opened. We were very happy with our decision to keep with tradition in this regard.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? More than $100,000
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? It is easy to say this now, but truly don’t sweat the small stuff, and always stay focused on the end goal: to marry the love of your life. I have seen so many brides get caught up in trivial things and it ends up putting a strain on their relationship. Focus on the end goal and everything else seems to pale in comparison.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? We already took the next big step of buying a house together, and now, we are looking forward to our one-year anniversary that we are going to be spending together in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. All three of these places are places we have never been, so we are excited to travel and experience them together.

Photographer: Mustard Seed Photography | Videographer: 31 Films | Planner: Jennifer Laura Design | Ceremony Venue: The Woodlands United Methodist Church | Reception Venue: The Carriage House | Florist: Without Wax Katy | Cake and Dessert Baker: Buttercup Bakery | Caterer: Rosemary’s Catering | Rentals: POSH Couture Rentals | Band: Royal Dukes Band | Paper Products: Allie Ruth Design | Bride’s Gowns: Jim Hjelm and “Santina” by Watters | Bride’s Hair Accessories: Twigs and Honey | Hair Stylist: Salon Bugatti | Makeup Artist: Jennifer Aronson Makeup | Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Annabelle” by Jenny Yoo | Menswear: Jos A. Bank and The Tie Bar

marissa Written with love by Marissa
3 Comments
  1. avatar Occasions In Print reply

    So sweet and charming! Love the bridesmaid dresses!

  2. avatar Southern Peach Summer Wedding Palette | Hey Wedding Lady reply

    […] Photo by Mustard Seed Photography, Floral Design by Without Wax Katy, Bridesmaid Dresses by Jenny Yoo via Southern Weddings […]

  3. avatar Amanda Purvis reply

    I can’t seem to find a website for Allie Ruth Designs or any contact information for her. Can you share more details?

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Every year, we do our best to fill our annual print edition with advice and tips that will help you not only plan your wedding, but also (more importantly), help you and your fiancé prepare for marriage. We ask every couple we feature how they go about preparing for life after the big day, and were so happy to include many of their answers in V8. Please enjoy their words of wisdom every Sunday here on Southern Weddings!

Lynnesy Catron

Our marriage was always more important to us than our actual wedding–I feel like this mindset allowed both of us to be laid back during the planning process. We just wanted to have a fun night of celebrating with friends and family. Our church is very important to us, so we also met with our pastor to ensure that we were spiritually ready for marriage.
Mallory + Alex

lisa Written with love by Lisa
1 Comment
  1. avatar Amy reply

    Stunning picture with words of wisdom from the couple. They look like really in tune with one another. We at http://poemstogo.tv wish them love everlasting!

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We get little peeks into Kristin and Kyle’s house every week during our Google hangout staff meetings, and I know I’m not the only one who has been anxious for a full tour! Ever the picture of Southern hospitality, they graciously agreed to share with us and y’all on Southern Newlywed today. Anyone who knows the Winchesters knows how much they value their marriage and are willing to do the hard work to make their life together truly wonderful, so I loved reading their interview answers and soaking up their wisdom…even more than I loved admiring the colorful patterns they’ve sprinkled throughout their Orlando home. Y’all enjoy!

Thanks so much to our Blue Ribbon Vendor Kt Crabb for snapping these photos!

The couple: Kristin (32) and Kyle (33) Winchester
Years married: Almost four
Where they live: Orlando, Florida
Tell us a little bit about yourselves I am “pearls, monograms, and pops of color” and Kyle is “Jordans, hoops, and hip hop.” While seemingly different on the surface, what makes us work is that at our core, we are united by a shared belief in Jesus, a love for family, and an unconditional love and willingness to move mountains for one another. Our splash of differences makes for many adventures and a whole lot of fun.
Tell us your love story in one sentence. We meet in college, dated across three states for the better part of our 20s, and have been blissfully married for almost four years.
Do you rent or own? What are your hopes and plans for the future in this area? Tell us a little bit about where you live. We managed to find and buy the most darling Virginia craftsman in the heart of stucco and tile country. Our neighborhood is like a little piece of heaven–we are within walking distance of a grocery store, a few restaurants, and downtown merchants (think dry cleaner, nail salon, barber, etc.). We decided early on in our marriage that for the foreseeable future, we would rather live in more modest housing with better proximity to the goings on of wherever we were living. So, while we have sacrificed square footage and any semblance of a yard (umm, we share an alley way instead of having a backyard), we live right in the middle of many things that we love to see and do around the Orlando area.

What is your favorite memory from your wedding? The moment the church doors opened and we saw each other for the first time. I asked KPW and he agreed. My heart starts to beat faster every time I think of that moment.
How do you remember your wedding in your home? We have framed pictures in more than one room and the family bible that was a wedding gift from my grandmother is open in our living room. On a little less serious but super sentimental note, we have a stack of personalized stadium cups (we used them for our wedding toast at the reception) that we use on an almost daily basis.
What has been the most surprising thing about marriage? While I had a sneaky feeling marriage with KPW was going to be one big adventure, I discounted how much I would love the simple act of spending time with him doing mundane tasks, and how, after 12+ years together, I would still get butterflies when getting dressed up to go out to dinner or see him after being gone on a business trip. Kyle is still surprised by how seamless our transition to married life has been. As an only child, he was apprehensive, to say the least, about giving up his “independence.” We both credit our transition to our intentionality in preparing for our marriage and an ongoing effort to give love patterned after our love languages.

What is your favorite part of being married? Kyle’s favorite thing about being married is having someone cook dinner for him 5+ nights a week (lucky for him, I love to cook). My favorite part of being married is how much I laugh. KPW can make me laugh so hard, I cry, and and our “silly” moments are some of my favorites (think: videos of KPW rapping while driving).
Who cooks dinner? I handle 98% of the cooking, but since getting married, KPW has become quite the handy sous chef. He is also really good at picking up takeout from our favorite sushi restaurant when we’ve both had really long days and are too tired to cook.
What is your go-to weeknight meal? Weekend meal? The crockpot is my BFF on weekdays (like for this salsa chicken) and we love making breakfast on the weekends (like these banana nut muffins).
What’s your favorite place to find recipes? My recipe repertoire is made up from a combination of blogs (Skinny Taste, Gimme Some Oven, Iowa Girl Eats, Sally’s Baking Addiction) and tried-and-true family recipes (chicken pastry, sloppy joes, chicken vegetable soup).

Which items from your wedding registry do you use the most often? Besides our favorite Pottery Barn towels and sheets (do yourself a favor and register for nice linens), the “fancy” kitchen tools get the most use. If you plan to cook any meals at home, I highly recommend registering for a grill pan, a mixer (it is the best for shredding chicken), and a pizza stone. And if you have a sweet tooth, you won’t be upset about registering for an ice cream maker. We have loved mixing up batch after bath of ice cream in the summer, and it’s a great way to meet the neighbors.
What different decisions, if any, would you make for your registry if you knew then what you knew now? I would have followed Emily’s lead and picked out mix-and-match china. I love our good china but think we would use it even more if it had a bit more flexibility, and a perhaps a pop of color. I also wish we had registered for a second set of sheets for our bed. I can’t stress enough how much I have appreciated having nice linens. There is something so comforting about climbing into a warm and cozy bed after a long day.

Tell us about the process of moving in together. Do you have any tips for blending your two styles? Two words for you: brown sofas. I have worked hard to decorate around and graciously accept some “in very good shape” pieces of furniture that were a package deal with KPW. The blending of styles has been more of a phasing in, instead of a flipping of the switch, process. My advice is to take things slow and not just buy and replace because everything doesn’t look “Pinterest-worthy.” Our sofas (while not my favorite) are great anchor pieces, and since I didn’t replace them, I had a little extra money to pick up a new entertainment piece off Craigslist and splurge on some fun fabric for our ottoman. I also think that having conversations and making sure both parties feel represented during the decorating process is important. I will admit that I lucked out with KPW, as he lets me do crazy things like hang pink curtains and paint our upstairs stark white. But, I also know this is because he trusts me to make decorating decisions that reflect well on our family. In turn, I love him enough to balance the pink pillows with some manly wooden tables and two televisions in our family room.
What most makes your house feel like home? On the surface, hanging drapes and organizing my kitchen. It is amazing how much more put together a house feels once the curtains are hung and fresh towels are in the bathrooms. And being able to walk around the kitchen and pull things out of the cabinets to throw together a quick meal is a huge step in feeling at home.

Where do you splurge and where do you save when decorating? What are some of your favorite sources for home things? It is a well-known fact that if you lined up 10 lovely and similar tables in a row, I would inevitably pick the most expensive table in the bunch. With that in mind, I have had to manage my expectations and realize that decorating is going to be a lifetime process. KPW’s job is going to have us moving a few more times before we settle down for the long haul, so when we do splurge on something, we try to make sure it is a piece of furniture or décor that can move with us and fit wherever we live next (see: our beloved headboard and Craigslist entertainment center). Much of our supplemental décor (lamps, storage, etc.) comes from a variety of low budget sources: Target, HomeGoods, Ikea, thrifting, and Craiglist.
What is one small way you love or serve your spouse? I go grocery shopping and give Kyle space (he is an only child). Kyle graciously lets me hang pink curtains and hog the covers.

What’s your best tip for balancing your relationship and other life priorities (work, personal time, extended family, etc.)? This is an ongoing challenge, but something that we’re willing to fight through because we value our relationship above all other life priorities. We have to constantly communicate, re-evaluate, and set new boundaries when things change. With our current careers, we both work long hours and live far from extended family, so we have to work hard to intentionally plan down time and trips back home to visit friends and family. We value our weekends and quickly learned that with busy weeks, we benefit from regularly unscheduled and unplanned weekends to recharge our batteries.
Do you have a favorite date night idea to share? One? How about five?

Is there anything else about your home or family life that you think our readers would be interested in? KPW’s job is moving us just down the road to Tampa, Florida. While we are excited about this opportunity, we’re heartbroken to have to sell our beloved first “together” home after only being here a year! But it taught me an important life lesson: there’s no telling how long you might be somewhere, so wherever possible, hang curtains and pictures (command strips are my BFF) and dig into the community around you: try new restaurants, find a church, make a new friend who will meet you for lunch, etc. Try to make your dwelling pace (no matter how temporary) a home. I know, without a doubt, we will look back on our time in Orlando with great joy, because we made the best of the time we were here. PS: If you are looking for a house in the greater-Orlando area, let me know ;)

lisa Written with love by Lisa
8 Comments
  1. avatar Justin DeMutiis reply

    I would be sad to leave this beautiful home as well! But I would love to welcome you to Tampa! Please feel free to reach out if you and your husband would like any advice on neighborhoods, realtors, restaurants, etc! I would be happy to help and would love to meet you!

  2. avatar Rhiannon reply

    My fave couple EVER. Love the Winnys!

  3. avatar Amy reply

    Oh, love the colors of your new home. Light, airy, with a nice flow. Seems to fit the couple. We at http://poemstogo.tv wish them a world of love and laughter forever!

  4. avatar Sara reply

    I love, love, love Kristin’s floral bedding – can she share where it’s from? Such a gorgeous home, I love how light and airy it is!

    • avatar Kristin reply

      Sara!! Thanks for your sweet words. Our floral/butterfly duvet bedding is from Pottery Barn. Happy hunting!! xo.

  5. avatar Christine reply

    This is such a sweet article and such a cute house! I love hearing about the early years of marriage as a bride to be myself. <3

  6. avatar Erin, Attention to Darling reply

    Love this home tour! Such a cute style home and those Lilly pillows in the office make my heart sing. Also a big fan of nice linens, couldn’t agree with you more on having those on your registry.

  7. avatar Lauren reply

    Kristin, would you be willing to share where you found your curtains?! Thanks a mil! xo

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

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