Southern Weddings

There were too many great details from Danielle + Nathan’s New Zealand nuptials for a single post, so we wanted to show off a few more of our favorites, including more shots of the swoon-worthy Sarnia Park.   Another highlight?  The dramatic silhouette of the bride’s embellished Temperley London gown.  (Love the cutouts, love the jewels, love love love the dress’ glitzy 1920’s vibe).  Other faves?  A a crisp three-tiered cake, the sophisticated spread from Kerr and Ladbrook and Jason Wright St. Clair’s photography.  Natch. 

Describe your wedding flowers: I wanted really prominent flower arrangements, so I picked a few varieties I liked (stargazer lillies, phalaenopsis orchids, peonies and chrysanthemums) and gave my color palette to the florist. I desperately wanted peonies for my wedding, but kept getting told the season would be over in January.  Luckily, my Mum found a grower with late-blooming varieties, so we had those coolstore freighted up to Hamilton and refrigerated until the week leading up to the wedding.  I also secretly wanted a trailing bouquet rather than a round bunched one, but my Mum kept telling me I wasn’t tall enough! My florist made me a trailing bouquet of phalaenopsis orchids and asparagus fern that was just perfect!
Describe your wedding cake: We had a three-tier square cake with white icing and icing pearls, topped with a fresh pink peony cake topper that was similar to the girls’ bouquets. It was simple and elegant and had three different flavors to suit everyone!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? When we had the Bridal Party pictures, the two flower girls were playing with the leftover petals from the aisle and we joined in!  We got some really fun candid shots and had a great time running around the garden with our shoes off!
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?  Yes we wrote our own vows. They were short, sweet and heartfelt. It was a surprise to each of us what the other person was going to pledge. Nathan’s were very romantic, and mine were more cheeky. I think everyone loved my words of wisdom from Kung Fu Panda:  “Together, we are pure awesomeness.”
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  Next, we’d like to continue our travels around Europe.  So long as we’re together I don’t mind where we are, because we always have fun!

Congratulations, Danielle + Nathan!  Enjoy your glob-trotting as newlyweds.

Like the ladies of SW, St. Clair Photography is a big fan of film, and their talent clearly shows in Danielle + Nathan’s lovely wedding.  Though located in Hamilton, New Zealand, the gorgeous estate (Sarnia Park) where the reception and ceremony took place have the same feel as a true Southern plantation (Drayton Hall in Charleston pops immediately to mind).  The highly-edited details this couple chose to include would be equally at home at a Southern soiree, I think!  The bride’s dress is by Temperley London, and the delicate florals were put together by Flower Concepts.  More soon!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We were introduced by a mutual friend, Rachael, who worked with Nathan. On the day that he got his new job, he was out celebrating at the pub all afternoon, and we met in the local pool hall where I hung out a lot with Rachael. I took his number but didn’t want to give mine, as I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend at that time. At some insistence from Rachael, I called him later the next week and arranged to go on a “proper date” with him at a little Italian restaurant. He was nervous, which was cute, and I was late, as usual, and we got on like a house on fire. Plus he let me eat both of the desserts I ordered for us, which is definitely one way to win over a keen dessert person!
Describe the proposal. We were on holiday in Madrid, and I didn’t realize Nathan had a ring in his backpack. We were wandering around a beautiful secluded garden in the Casa de Campo and Nathan kept trying to get me to sit and rest in the shade with him. I was too hot and in desperate need for a drink of water, so I was very uncooperative and basically ruined the moment. He ended up waiting until after we’d had our siesta and a cool shower before asking me a simple “Will you marry me?” over dessert at the restaurant.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The rose petal aisle and the after-dinner indulgence table filled with goodies!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I had looked in a few different places around London, but there wasn’t anything in my price range with wow-factor, so I ended up at a boutique in Notting Hill that I knew was going to be out of my budget.  There were so many gorgeous dresses that were “my style,” and then I tried on the Long Jean Dress and knew it was the one!

Written with love by Emily

There’s something about Joshua Caine’s soft and subdued images that are spot-on perfect for Dominique + Taylor’s California shindig.  The eclectic, mix-and-match details from the couple’s reception (the bridesmaids’ coordinated Betsey Johnson dresses and mismatched place settings) were a great way for the newlyweds to sprinkle a little personality into their celebration.  The too-cute two-tiered cake (complete with owl toppers) was a joint work of love from the mothers (of the bride + groom, that is.)  And yes, folks: the 1952 Chevy was, in fact, what Dominique + Taylor used as their guest “book.”  I want that for my own wedding!  Well, maybe not a ’52 Chevy, but something equally unique and memorable.  I’m guessing you’re probably hope to see more from this West Coast affair.  (Don’t worry: we do, too!)

Describe your wedding flowers: Our flowers were very simple and understated, but added so much. Because of all the other details on our tables and the natural decor that our venue offered, we wanted very simple flowers that fit within our theme. Lori Boe, who did the flowers, completely read my mind. Everything she created was as if I had done it myself. We had collected some containers through flea markets, swap meets and garage sales. I gave them to Lori and she filled them with dalias, garden roses, feathers and all sorts of magical things. My bouquet was a mixture of soft whites. She filled it with garden roses and gardenias. The bridesmaids honored my grandmother by carrying a single stem of her favorite flower, the gardenia.
Describe your wedding cake: Our cake was made by my mom. It was made from an amazing, very exclusive recipe called, “funfetti!”  She decorated it with lace and our monogram. It was only a little cake for display so we would have something to cut. For the groom’s cake, my mom made tiny felt bride and groom owls wearing a birdcage veil and suspenders that sat on the top of the cake.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? There were definitely a few obstacles to overcome! The biggest challenge was trying to move out table settings for 350 people an hour and a half from where we live! We really had to coordinate getting everything out that far.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  Any and everything. Our plan is to have no plans, because then we are always ready for whatever opportunity presents itself.

Less than a week left to enter the Brion Hopkins giveaway for a chance to win a wedding photography package! You don’t want to miss this one.