Southern Weddings

What do we love about this Texas wedding at the Fort Bend Community Church?  Color, color and more color!  Fuschia frocks from Eden Bridals, blooming bouquets and bouts from Special Arrangements, jewel-tone striped tie pop even more next to the bride’s paper white La Sposa gown and sophisticated white orchid bouquet.  We like!  Very much.  Thanks to Sharon Nicole Photography for brightening up our winter months.  Check back soon for an extra sweet ending to this Southern wedding!

Describe the proposal. Sam took me horseback riding at a local park on my birthday and when we returned the horses, I found a tent with flowers, petals and a big present box containing his laptop.  On the laptop, I watched a re-recorded, re-taped and revamped version of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story.”  To my surprise, Samuel got down on one knee and proposed!
Three adjectives that describe the day are:  Beautiful, fun and surreal.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  We wanted our wedding to reflect God’s beauty in love and nature.  We tried adding as many outdoor elements as we could, including a wedding in the courtyard of our home church, Fort Bend Community Church, and an outdoor dance floor.
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  The do-it-yourself mitsumata trees.  We even made the hangers for the votives using glue guns and wire.   The gravel was pink aquarium gravel from Petsmart!  They turned our beautifully and really added to the atmosphere.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: For our first dance, Sam thought we were going to dance to an acoustic version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” but instead I rerecorded a personal version of U2’s “All I Want is You” and played it for him as a surprised during our first dance.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  We planned our wedding in six months so the wedding dress was the first task to accomplish!  I bought the dress because it was beautiful, simple and youthful.  Another important factor was the great customer service I received from Misora.

Written with love by Lara Casey

We don’t have as many reception details to share with you as usual, but then again, that’s not really the point with this wedding — this time, it’s all about the portraits, taken by Two Suez Photography.  Aren’t the shots among the Christmas trees breathtaking?  Just about as lovely as the way Bailie + Chase ended the night, by releasing paper lanterns into the dark sky.  Does anyone else see a new trend in the works?  (And does anyone else think that last lantern looks a heart?  Because I sure do!)  See more at Two Suez’s blog here.  And happy December!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  My mom and I were bored so we decided we would go try wedding dress shopping.  I couldn’t find a single dress I liked at the first place we visited, but my mom MADE me try on a dress that was nothing like the one I had in my mind.  Being the sweet daughter I am, I tried the dress on and instantly fell in love with it!  I never put on another dress.

Describe your wedding flowers:  Lots of mums!!  My bridesmaids and I carried identical bouquets, with the exception that my flowers were yellow and theirs were white.  
Describe your wedding cake: Chase’s aunt made both cakes!  Our wedding cake had two tiers and was small, simple and decorated with sunflowers.   Chase’s groom cake was poker-themed and Aunt Diane put a picture of Chase in the middle.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Making time for studying for test and doing homework!  Also, having bridal showers.  (I dreaded showers, but it all worked out just fine.)
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  The reception was just like one of our “barn parties!”  The new idea that I used was the sky lanterns.  Everyone had the best time lighting them and releasing them!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Everything! Every moment about that day and night will always replay in my head!
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We said traditional vows. Chase’s uncle was our preacher and we repeated after him.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  I’m graduating nursing school next year, so school, graduation, then getting my first “big girl” job as a registered nurse. We want to have children. but not right now! The future is endless!

Written with love by Lara Casey

Who can blame this bride, a Louisiana native, for wanting to tie the knot with her high school sweetheart at her family’s Christmas tree farm?  (Yes, folks, a real Christmas tree farm!)  How romantic… and appropriately seasonal!  We love the Christmas trees (naturally) providing a ready-made seasonal backdrop for the couple’s Southern nuptials, the tractor parked near the Pepper family’s barn, the bride’s and her maids’ cowboy boots and, of course, Bailie’s Mori Lee gown.  Local florist, A Dream Come True, captured the rustic feel of the surrounding Christmas tree farm with sweet white and yellow bouquets bound in twine.  We want to see more… and get an office Christmas tree of our very own!  A big holiday thank-you to Two Suez Photography for these breathtaking images!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We were friends in high school and hung out with the same group of friends.  (I actually dated one of his friends during high school!)  What’s funny is that I always had the biggest crush on Chase when we were in school.  We shared a few little kisses but never dated.  After Chase graduated, he moved to Missouri with his family.  Since I hadn’t spoken to him since my graduation two years earlier, I didn’t even know he had moved.  A few years later, one of our mutual friends invited me to a bonfire.  It just so happened that Chase was in town that weekend.  I was sitting around the fire and Chase walked over to me and gave me a hug and said hey!  I hadn’t seen him in two or three years, and he didn’t know I had broken up with my boyfriend.  We soon reconnected on MySpace and spoke long distance on the phone.  We talked on the phone for hours every night before he finally moved back to Louisiana.  We’ve been together ever since!  
Describe the proposal.  It was late on Christmas Eve, and we just returned home from visiting relatives.  Chase told me he had me a Christmas present for me, but that he had left it down the road at his aunt’s house.  I was so anxious I made him go get the present, even though it was already midnight!  When he returned, Chase presented me with a huge box.  When I opened it, there was a smaller box and an even smaller box inside.  There were about 10 boxes inside of each other, and they just kept getting smaller!  Finally, I got to the middle and found a card.  I started to read the card, and started tearing up when he said he wanted to grow old with me.  Chase hit one knee and asked me to be his wife.  Of course, I said “yes!”
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Perfect, laid back and amazing.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  I grew up on my family’s Christmas tree farm so I always wanted to have my wedding there. Old style, country, laid back, all natural, comfortable – was what I was going for.
What was your favorite design element of your big day? I have two favorites!  We released “sky lanterns” into the night sky.  They were absolutely amazing.  I also loved it when all the groomsmen and Chase got out their guitars and put on a show for our guests.

Written with love by Lara Casey