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Southern Weddings

Author: Emily

Sharing another one of my favorites from the archives today! I know spring is stereotypically for softer tones, but there’s something about a burst of color that seems wildly appropriate coming out of winter :) Enjoy this beauty from our ninth issue of the magazine! – Emily

The Greenbrier is one of those places that has always seemed so enchanting to me, so we jumped at the chance to hit the road to West Virginia and create an editorial there for Southern Weddings V9! From the colors and patterns, to the architecture, to the history, to the traditions wrapped up in this incredible property, there was an abundance of inspiration to pull from, and we had a blast meeting up with one of our favorite vendor teams (including Jaclyn Journey, Whitney Neal, and Carley Randall, who all made the trip from Kentucky) to bring this bold and colorful, but refined, shoot to life. Our story was inspired by the many real families who create sweet traditions at the Greenbrier–in this case, a girl whose grandmother takes her there for tea every year on her birthday. When it came time for her wedding, she couldn’t imagine a more meaningful or celebratory place to gather loved ones for a ceremony and reception…and afternoon tea, of course!

We’re so grateful to the fantastic weddings team at The Greenbrier for hosting us so graciously, and to the phenomenal team who helped us bring our Dorothy Draper-esque vision to life!

We were incredibly lucky to work with Momental Designs for this paper suite. Kristy had visited the Greenbrier before, and knew exactly how to translate their incredible patterns and plaster work into paper. She truly knocked it out of the park!

One of my favorite small details from this shoot: our sweet bride’s stylish little teal bow! And of course, that coral charm peony bouquet by Jaclyn Journey gets ALL the heart eyes.

Our bride and groom from this shoot are married in real life! It was so fun to meet West Virginia couple Astleigh and Pete and work with them on this project.

The Greenbrier is famous for its afternoon tea service (complete with a rendition of the Greenbrier Waltz!), so for this editorial, we opted to replace cocktail hour with afternoon tea! Our bride’s own 93-year-old grandmom joined us for these photos, and she was completely precious!! Pick up your copy of the magazine for more of the backstory here!

Any Bachelorette fans in the house? Emily Maynard made the Greenbrier love clock tradition famous, and we had fun indulging in it with our bride and groom, too!

Josh from McComas Video Productions put together the most wonderful behind-the-scenes film from our day at the Greenbrier – it really showcases the iconic property and all that went into this shoot!

Pick up your copy of the magazine in our shop or on newsstands around the South right now!

Planner, stylist, and florals: Jaclyn Journey | Photographer: Whitney Neal | Film processing: Richard Photo Lab | Videography: McComas Video Productions | Venue and pastries: The Greenbrier Resort | Hair and makeup: Carley Randall | Cake: Martine’s Pastries | Papers goods: Momental Designs | Calligraphy: Meant to Be Calligraphy | China: Southern Vintage Table | Linens: La Tavola Linens | Bride’s gown: “The Metropolitan Club” by Lela Rose | Bridesmaid tops: Macy’s | Grandmother’s skirt: Eliza J | Ring: Trumpet and Horn | Rings boxes: The Mrs. Box | Menswear: Menguin | Bow ties: Suited Man | Bride’s getaway dress: ModCloth

Whitney Neal and Jaclyn Journey are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

emily Written with love by Emily
3 Comments
  1. avatar Vince Griff reply

    I hope couples start to use more colors like this at their weddings. It makes each of these images so fun and exciting! Really awesome post!!

  2. avatar 14photographers reply

    Love the colours on this!

  3. avatar Famzing Photography reply

    Absolutely love that card arrangement!

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Happy March, friends! I’m itching for spring these days and thought we’d reshare one of my favorite blooming editorials from a past issue… this beauty with Eric Kelley and Easton Events! Enjoy!

You know how in the Sweet Tea Society we say that we believe beautiful things have value simply because they make the world a more lovely place? Well, this next V5 editorial is the perfect example of that — it’s just so lovely. Easton Events deserves major kudos for pulling the details together; Eric Kelley photographed everything to perfection. Spring in the South? It doesn’t get much more beautiful than that, friends.

And how beautiful is Charleston?? No wonder it’s such a popular place to vacation and get married.

Sideshow Press designed and printed these gorgeous invitations, with calligraphy by If So Inklined. I think the modern vintage envelope liner is my favorite part!

The flowers throughout this shoot blow me away. Springtime in the South offers plenty of gorgeous blooms, to be sure, but the combinations the gals at Southern Blooms by Pat’s Floral Designs came up with take them to another level! All the lilac must have smelled heavenly.

Oh hi, gorgeous bride. Lora Kelley did an impeccable job on the makeup, while Wedding Hair by Charlotte rocked the updos. If I had to guess, I’d say this romantic, classic, natural look is exactly what most Southern brides hope to look like on their wedding days!

Gals down South know that even planning a spring wedding doesn’t guarantee comfortable temps, so we love this popsicle escort card idea! I’d set up the ice tubs at the back of the ceremony space so guests could grab their pops for a refreshing treat on the walk to the reception!

Hand-painted napkins! Also, I seriously adore these creative table numbers — one of my favorite details in the issue, actually. Just stencil on a number with white paint, or use a sticker, and encourage a lucky guest from each table to take home the jar of preserves at the end of the evening!

We were lucky enough to have some fabulous Peter Callahan mini food flown down especially for this shoot! Y’all know I love anything mini, and Peter is the king of that realm!

Dessert measured up, as well, with a towering crepe cake from the Charleston Crepe Company and mini berry pies.

The only way to end this gorgeous affair at Lowndes Grove? A classic getaway car and a fancy picnic basket packed with to-go nibbles for the road.

emily Written with love by Emily
3 Comments
  1. avatar Stephanie Shaul reply

    I literally pulled several images from this shoot just yesterday!! The slightly unexpected color palette is so fresh and Spring-like, and one of my brides is especially enamored with a similar palette. Too fun seeing this gorgeous shoot so much this week!

  2. avatar Caitlin Hartley reply

    Crushing on this wedding!

  3. avatar Charleston Wedding Ideas by Easton Events – Eventsmasivas.com | Singapore Events Specialists reply

    […] Charleston Wedding Ideas by Easton Events […]

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You’ve probably heard us say this before, and we’ll repeat it till the cows come home, because gracious, it can save you so much stress: don’t book any of your vendors till you’ve signed on the dotted line for a venue!

I will be the first to raise my hand when I say this may be easier said than done, though. When I was wedding planning, my now-husband and I had an immediate bead on our officiant and photographer, and were eager to confirm the dates with them. But, our venue search took MUCH longer than we ever suspected! (And ended — long story short — with John scrolling Google Maps satellite view to find a patch of coastal land where we could pitch a tent!) I can’t imagine the headache it could’ve caused if we had put down deposits on other vendors before securing the place where our “I dos” would take place (and, of course, the official date!).

Along with setting your date in stone, your venue will likely have more of an influence on your wedding than any other decision–it will determine the style and aesthetic, your guest count, and even the timeline of the day. Below are a few tips for making this important decision!

Start with Google. While venues that market themselves to weddings generally have a lot of information online, unusual or “off the beaten path” options may be harder to find through a simple search. Try searching for phrases like “North Carolina barn wedding” or “Atlanta ballroom wedding”–those terms are likely to bring up posts on wedding blogs (oh hi! :)) and photographers’ blogs, which can be a great way to both find new venues and see how others have used the spaces.

Compare apples to apples. When you’re booking a venue, you’re often booking more than just the space–you may also be booking their in-house staffing, rentals, catering etc. All venues calculate their prices differently, so as you research, try to organize the information in a way that’s easy for you to understand and compare. For example, one venue may seem exorbitantly more expensive than another at first, but when you learn that the first price includes a month-of coordinator, valet parking, and use of their extensive rental inventory, while the second is just use of the space, the first may actually be the more affordable option.

Visit your venue one year in advance. If you can, try to visit venues as close to a year in advance of your wedding date as possible–it will give you the best insight as to what you can expect in terms of landscaping and scenery.

Get it in writing. Especially if you are asking for particular allowances, such as hanging a certain type of decor or arranging the space in a unique way, be sure to get the venue’s agreement in writing. That way, even if there’s staff turnover during your engagement, your provisions should be safe.

Here are a few important questions to ask venues you’re interested in–pin the graphic below so you don’t forget! (P.S. If you have our Joyful Wedding Planner, you’ll also find this list in there to bring to your appointments.)

I’d love to know–what made you say “yes” to your wedding venue?

emily Written with love by Emily
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