Southern Weddings

Southern Weddings turned nine years old on Saturday! That’s an occasion worthy of celebrating, because we couldn’t be prouder of how far we’ve come since 2008, what we’re doing now, and who we’re doing it with – y’all!! It’s already been an exciting year for us, and with the tenth issue of our magazine debuting this fall, we’re confident there’s more excitement in store.

We’re all about stories here (we celebrate them every day through real weddings and our editorials!), so in honor of our birthday, we’d love to tell you a little more about ours!

Jake + Heather

In 2008, our founder’s husband was deployed to Iraq with the Navy. Lara was looking for something to distract her from worrying about Ari, so she bought a domain name, pulled together some friends for photo shoots, and mocked up a wedding magazine cover on her humble PC! She was working with some of the biggest names in the wedding planning world at the time, and her goal was to share the jaw-dropping things that were happening in California and New York with Southern gals. That’s how our first issue was born!

Over the next few years, many of our current team members came on board, and our heart began to shift. Instead of using our pages to tell Southerners about what was happening around the country, we became inspired by the sweet, evocative, soulful things that were happening in the South, and began to share those with the rest of the world – a world that seemed hungry for what we had to offer!

Our last big shift came around 2012, with our fifth anniversary issue. Beneath that pretty gold foil cover, we shared our renewed heart for celebrating and equipping strong, growing marriages, which coincided with Lara’s unfolding story of renewal in her own marriage (it’s a really good one, if you’d like to read it).

This year, we welcomed a new Editor-in-Chief and a simplified mission: in all that we do, whether you’re a single college gal, a dating twenty-something, newly engaged, or freshly married, we want to help you cultivate what matters, right where you are. At Southern Weddings, we’ll equip you with the practical and inspire you with the pretty so that you can create a meaningful wedding day that celebrates your story and serves as a beautiful touchstone to a life full of love.

We are more in love with our work than we were nine years ago, and so grateful to y’all for being a part of it. Thank you, friends, for cheering us on and spreading our mission alongside us. You truly are the best.

To say thank you, we’re hosting some fun birthday festivities this week! First, did you hear about our cupcake decorating contest? There’s still time to get in on the fun! And don’t forget to download and print your Southern Weddings birthday hat template if you need a little help getting into the spirit! We’re wearing ours in the office today.

Second, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Shop Sweet Lulu to offer a birthday prize pack to one lucky reader! Enter below to win a Joyful Wedding Planner, a Memories of Us journal, a box of Funfetti cake mix, a Liberty cupcake kit, pretty floral plates, birthday cake caramels, an assortment of balloons in SW-approved colors, gold glitter candles, custom felt confetti, darling favor bags, and the sweetest happy birthday garland. Whew!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Finally, as a thank you to ALL y’all, we’re offering free shipping on everything in the Southern Weddings Shop from today through April 10 with code HAPPYBIRTHDAY. Maybe it’s the perfect time to pick up a Joyful Wedding Planner, a gorgeous guest book, or a ceremonial marriage certificate? I don’t know about y’all, but I prefer free shipping codes to almost any other kind of discount, so enjoy! :)

There’s lots more fun to be had on Instagram this week, so come on over and join us there! And here’s to nine more happy years!!

P.S. I was looking back through (really!) old posts for a certain photo, and came across this from Lara, written in 2009. It still rings true today! “I think the magic of Southern Weddings is the community that has formed around it. It’s not about weddings, it’s about inspiring and connecting with each other. I am so humbled by the love and overjoyed to see how people are supporting each other… not just us.”

Written with love by Emily