Southern Weddings

This is one wedding story that grabbed my attention from the get go.  Our team received Christine + Travis’ interview a few days before the NCAA 2009 National Championship Men’s Basketball Game.  Our office being located right at the home of the UNC Tar Heels were all pulling for our beloved team and this interview remind us again of the Tar Heels win in 2005!  Congratulations to the Tar Heels and congrats to Christine + Travis!  Maybe it was the luck of their interviews that lead the team to victory? Christine + Travis married in South Carolina at a friends home in {Beresford Hall}.  The couple choice {Lowcountry Boils} to cater this fabulous event.  Christine looked radiant in her {Casa Blanca} gown that she purchased from {A Beautiful Day Bridal}.  Matching it perfectly was the jewelry from {The Beaded Belle}.  This fabulous day was made possible by the wedding coordinator Linda McDowell and capturing all the fun was {Jeff Holt Photography}.  Check out more on Jeff’s photo {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Six degrees of separation is a great way to describe our relationship in the beginning. We both went to Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina and had many of the same friends thanks to our sorority and fraternity. However, we never really hung out except for one time in ’99, our sophomore year. Years passed and in 2005 I went to an engagement party for one of my best friends and sorority sister who was marrying one of Travis’ good friends and fraternity brothers. I was working on the invitations and I saw that Travis was invited and that he lived in Durham. I remember thinking “how neat someone new from ASU lives in Durham. I need to talk with him at the party and see how things are going”. I did just that, but I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. For those of you who may not know this, 2005 was the year that the North Carolina Tar heels won the men’s NCAA basketball championship. {Editor’s Note: They did it again in 2009! Go Heels}. Durham, North Carolina is in the heart of Tobacco Road where people are either Duke fans (which I am) or UNC fans (which Travis is). The night of the engagement party UNC won the Elite Eight game against Michigan State and now was headed to the Final Four. At the beginning of the party, I was thanking everyone for coming when I saw Travis. I asked him how he liked living in Durham. We chit chatted and swapped phone numbers so we could grab a drink and I could show him around Durham. During our conversation, UNC won their game against Michigan State. Needless to say, Travis was very excited and was looking to give a Duke fan (me) grief. “Just say Go Tar Heels and I will leave you alone I promise,” said Travis, but as a true Duke fan I just could not do that. We had a good time at the party with all our friends and I completely forgot that I had swapped phone numbers with Travis. So the following weekend when he called to ask me for that drink, I thought not the Go Tar Heels guy! What was suppose to be two new friends getting together for a drink and a tour of Durham, turned out to be drinks, dinner, hours of talking and now a life time together.
Describe the proposal: It was very romantic. While at ASU, Travis found a beautiful private stone and wooden gazebo overlooking the Blue Ridge Parkway. Since both of us went to ASU and we started our relationship in Boone, Travis knew that was going to be the place where he would propose to me. On our way up to Boone for Homecoming, Travis mentioned there was a place that he wanted to show me. When we got there it was like stepping into a fairy tale. We were on the parkway, up in the clouds and in our own little piece of heaven. I was walking around taking pictures, not paying attention to him because of the beauty. So when he asked me to come to him, I didn’t even think twice. When I did, I was completely shocked to see him down on one knee. At first I laughed, then I cried, and then I said YES!
What attracted me to my husband was: His sensitivity
What attracted me to my wife was: Her personality, from our first date we just clicked.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Travis would say the time I surprised him with a picnic dinner, but I would have to say going to see Alison Krauss at a small intimate outdoor amphitheater. That was the night that he told me he loved me.
The weather on our wedding day was: Perfect! A Bright blue Carolina (UNC) Sky and 80 degrees.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? An Intimate Charleston Garden Wedding.
Favorite design element of your big day: The intimacy of the event.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: A NIGHTMARE! I found the dress that I wanted online, but before I bought it, I wanted to try it on. After 5 months of searching, I finally found the dress that I wanted in Jacksonville, Florida. However, the only shop in North Carolina that would order the dress at the time was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This was great because that is where Travis’ parents live and my future mother-in-law could be involved in the whole process. We ordered the dress on February 2, and were told they would call me the following week with my shipping date. A week passed and I didn’t get a phone call. By 10 business days, I was getting nervous. So I went online to get their phone number. Both the website and the phone were disconnected. Needless to say, I was freaking out. I called my future mother in law and explained the situation. She became mother of the groomzilla! She went to the shop knocked on their door until someone opened it. She demanded my deposit money back (which she got) and made the store manager apologize to me personally on the phone. I was one of the lucky ones. The shop closed down the next week and a lot of brides lost their dresses. I finally found a shop in Durham that would order my dress. Four weeks later, I received my dress.
Describe your wedding flowers: I loved my flowers. I chose hot pink roses, green calla lilies, white snapdragons and white gladiolas. The flowers were one area I incorporated family into the ceremony. Pink roses are my favorite flower because they remind me of my Grandma Rose Marie, who I lost when I was young. The gladiolas were for my Grandma Grace, because that is what she carried on her wedding day.
Describe your wedding cake: No cake. My husband and I are not big cake fans, so we did a very southern thing, pies! We had two types of pies, Chocolate Chess and Key Lime.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: How family was incorporated into the wedding. Here are just a few ways we incorporated family. My uncle who is a priest and my godfather was one of the ministers in the service. Our wedding day was actually Travis’ parents wedding anniversary. We had a parents pledge instead of the giving away of the bride. My aunt did the scripture reading and Travis’ aunt read a poem she wrote after she became engaged to Travis’ uncle.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Planning a destination wedding.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? Other than the ones I already mentioned, I also had both my Grandmothers wedding rings with me on my wedding day. I wore one as a blessing for a long happy marriage and one was incorporated into my bouquet as my something old.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? The vows, our minister (who was Travis’ youth minister) was nervous so when he asked Travis, “Will you take Christine to be your wife?” Travis answered, “I do, I will, absolutely.”
Scariest moment? The wedding dress disaster.
Funniest moment? The vows and the father- daughter dance (it wasn’t your typical father-daughter dance).
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Beautiful, peaceful and romantic.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Don’t listen to anyone else. The day is for you and your husband to be only. DO WHAT YOU WANT!
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. To remember the moment and use that memory when things aren’t so blessed.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? Because our wedding was a destination wedding everyone who came was an honored guest.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Remodeling our home.

Congratulations to Christine + Travis.  We wish you many more victories in life!

Written with love by Lara Casey

{Casey Cunningham Photography} shared this fantastic wedding with our team and we knew we had to share it with our readers.  Not only is it Southern fabulousness but it also has a great story behind it of Margret + Andres combining their heritage to create one spectacular wedding.  Read on to hear how Margret used magnolias from her Grandfather’s farm in the wedding flowers, how Andres selected Spanish wines for the evening from his native Spain, Margret’s mom made the Pecan Pies for the reception and the list goes on. The reception was held at the {Charlotte Country Club} and the beautiful cake was baked by {For Goodness Cakes}.  For more photos click over to Casey Cunningham’s {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? I was a junior at Davidson College when my best friend, Chiqui, announced that her brother, Andres, was flying from California for a visit. Andres and I hit it off instantly and began dating shortly thereafter, but distance and timing made it difficult for anything serious to emerge. Several years later, I went to visit Chiqui in Houston to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Andres and I reunited for the first time in over a year and the rest is history!
Describe the proposal: My little sister, Lee was visiting us in Houston in April 2008. Unbeknownst to me, Andres also flew in my parents from North Carolina so we could all “spend the weekend together.” Andres and Lee picked up my parents at the airport on Saturday evening, asked their permission, and took them to a restaurant where Andres’ parents were also waiting. I had been getting ready at his house when he returned to pick me up. He proposed at home and after I said “yes!”, we joined our parents and Lee for a celebratory dinner.
The weather on our wedding day was: Chilly, a bit cloudy, like a crisp winter day.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted it to be elegant and reverent but also understated. We wanted to balance the luxurious romance of lace on lace and candlelight glow at the old historic church and at the reception with warm Southern hospitality, magnolia leaves from Grandpa’s farm, quail prepared to perfection, and favors of homemade pecan pies
Favorite design element of your big day: I loved our touches of dark red. It was the “bride’s color” and was only used for my bouquet, Andres’ boutonniere, rose petals around the wedding cake, and my favorite use – our red velvet wedding cake! I also loved the bridesmaid’s dress. I wanted something my bridesmaids would enjoy wearing and feel good in. Luckily, we were able to order the Saja dresses through our favorite boutique, Luna.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I went to at least 5 stores in Charleston and Charlotte with my mom and sister trying to find a gown. We quickly decided that the mermaid silhouette was perfect for my small frame. I have always admired Monique L’hullier’s work, so when I tried on her strapless Alencon lace mermaid gown, it was perfect! It just happened that my mom’s Alencon lace mantilla was striking over the lace gown; I was so happy to get to wear it.
Describe your wedding flowers: We used white everywhere with magnolia and other rich foliage with lots of different kinds of flowers – lillies, hydrangea, roses, Queen Anne’s lace, lilacs. The only pop of color was the deep shades of red roses and tulips in my bouquet, Andrés’ boutonniere, a scattering of red petals around the wedding cake and on our dinner table. All containers were silver, including family candelabra, and real beeswax tapers and votives provided a beautiful glow all evening.
Describe your wedding cake: White on white with cascades of sugar paste roses streaming down the cake. Red Velvet flavor with cream cheese filling! Elegant, beautiful and so delicious that every piece was eaten!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We wanted to acknowledge Andrés’ Spanish heritage. Our Director of Music, chose one Spanish composer for the Prelude and after the Seating of the Mothers, a beautiful soloist sang, acapello from the rear balcony, first in Spanish, and then English, “Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place”. We also loved that Andrés’ sister and my dear friend, Chiqui, was both a bridesmaid and lay reader.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? Andrés and the men enjoyed skeet shooting and barbecue on the Wedding Day at my Grandfather’s farm – just as my father and uncle had done on their wedding days. All the magnolia used to decorate the reception and church came from Grandpa’s giant magnolia, that was the backdrop for my parents’ wedding reception. My mom made all the reception favors, pecan pies, using my late grandmother’s recipe. The reception included a selection of Spanish wines and pan sautéed quail – cooked in a manner deemed awesome by all the Texans, including my husband!
Funniest moment? My cousin, Leah Marie, was enjoying dropping petals, then she turned around to pick up her “mess”….oh it was so sweet when the older Flower Girl, Hannah, encouraged her to join her in the walk down the aisle – hand in hand.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: Andrés’ ring was too large! Later, we would find that the highly respected jeweler had engraved and sent the wrong size.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Reverent, joyful, true.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Living together in Houston! For two years we have been splitting weekends between Houston and Austin while I’ve been completing the MBA program at the University of Texas in Austin.

Congratulations to Margret + Andreas. We wish you the best in love and happiness!

Written with love by Lara Casey