Southern Weddings

Y’all have seen us dream up weddings and bridal showers for each other, but our life together in the Southern Weddings office consists of more than just the pretties we present to you on the blog! (We’ve been known to indulge in an office party now and then.) Sit a spell with me as I walk you through a typically day for Southern Weddings’ Art Director.

Left: A view of the bulletin board above my desk, which usually holds memories from office parties and photo shoots, paper inspiration and little reminders; Right: My favorite orange desk tray corrals my to-do lists, meeting agenda and the adorable “How to Tie a Bow Tie” chipboard from Launderette.

9:00 I walk into the office, drop my lunch into the fridge and, on the days that she’s up, I say good morning to Miss Gracie. Then I head upstairs to Southern Weddings headquarters where I’m often met by a pile of mailings. This week, it’s some gorgeous invitation samples from Smock and a giant box of goodies for a Making Brands Happen client!

9:10 After I sort through everything, I sit down at my desk and take my shoes off (I’m not sure if this increases productivity, but I’m a proponent of it). I log in to the blog to make sure everything’s posted correctly and the site is running properly and then I check my email. I answer the ones in my inbox and then send out a bunch to vendors we’re working with for another V5 feature to make sure we’re all on the same page.

9:30 Team Meeting time! Since Emily’s working from Connecticut this week, Lara and I Skype her into the office and then put Marissa on speakerphone. We’re total pros at the whole mobile office thing, except we still can’t figure out group Skype.

Left: Our virtual team meeting with Emily on Skype and Marissa on the phone; Right: my desk on the days I work from home. This week, I opened up Photoshop and Illustrator to put together our Summer in the South barbecue post!

10:30 The team meeting is over and everyone’s been updated on V5 features and then some. (Poor Marissa broke her toe!) Lara and I sit down and start building the InDesign document that will become our next issue! Emily sends over our story budget and now we start to see how the magazine will flow. (Hint: SO MUCH AMAZING.)

11:00 There’s only so much we can do before we pick selects from photo shoots and Real Weddings so Lara and I pull up the images we’ve gotten in so far and begin to narrow down the ones we want to place in the magazine.

12:00 We have an absolute squealing fit over a Jonathan Canlas wedding we took for this issue. Seriously, y’all will die. I wish I could tell you more, but you’ll just have to trust me – it’ll make you happier than a pup with two tails.

12:30 I start worrying because there’s no way we can narrow down the images from this wedding. I don’t think y’all would mind if we made this issue bigger than the last, would you?

Left: Rough sketches of a graphic for a blog side project; Right: Flipping through old issues to see what styles we want to update for V5. Yes, that’s my mason jar of water on the side! (I promise it’s not moonshine!)

1:00 We break for lunch, so I grab my food from the kitchen and then head back to my desk and start editing interviews for Real Weddings that are going up in the next two weeks. I almost tear up reading one of our brides’ vows to her new hubby – a constant job hazard, but oh-so-sweet! It’s pretty quiet in the office this week since Em’s in Connecticut and our intern, Emily Alice is on vacation, so I put on some music. I’ve been trying to create the perfect country music station on Pandora, but their new Country BBQ summer station is perfect! Plus, it reminds me of this post.

1:30 I spend the rest of the day working on blog graphics and prepping posts like this one. (Which means I’m wandering around the office taking photos of the paper messes I’ve made so far.) Emily’s got some Real Wedding submissions that she’s torn about, so I look through the photos with her. Sometimes we squeal over super-cute details and gush over gorgeous florals. (Hint: Farm animals are a big plus. Don’t tell Lara that’s how I make my decisions.)

3:00 We’re cooking up some awesome new features on the blog and there are still some graphics that need tweaking. I hop into Illustrator and mock up some options for the team to look at.

4:00 I get an email from Emily telling me how sad she is that she’s missing out on the chocolate tasting we’re doing for Taste TV. (Lucky for me, that means I get to take her place!)

5:00 It’s time to head home! I jot down a list of things that I need to take care of the next morning and then pack up my things. Usually, Emily and I say goodbye to Lara and Grace and carpool home. This week, I head out by myself and stop by the grocery store for some Sweet Tea ice cream, my new obsession.

And that’s my day, y’all! In just a few weeks, I’ll be living in the computer glow of V5 layout (and dying over the gorgeousness). Candy, sweet tea and puppies are welcome during this time.

Want more behind the scenes? Check out our “In the Office” posts here.

Written with love by Nicole