Southern Weddings

This month we are focusing on giving back.  There are 12 fabulous giveaways waiting in the wings (the number grows every day!) and along with these giveaways we will be introducing you to some amazing charities.  I know everyone is busy, but we want to encourage you to spend some time learning about these important causes.  We spend hours pouring through inspiring wedding details, so why not take a small bit of that time to give back?  {The Hostess with the Mostess} just posted a great entry about our first charity, {Let’s Eat Cake}, that benefit’s St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  Melissa from {Masterpiece Weddings} has created this phenomenal event that you MUST read about.  We are one of the many sponsors for the event, but the real kudos go to Melissa.  What an inspiring event you have created!   Which causes are important to you?  Leave a comment and we will be sure to post them this month.

Many thanks to the following people who featured or linked to SW last week: {Once Wed}, {Bridal Blog Bar}, {Blogger Brides}, {C+D Photography}, {Stacy Reeves Photography}, {Anne Ruthmann Photography}, {TM Photography}, {Wedding Bee}, {A Bryan Photo}, {Wedding Bee Blogs We Love}, {Style Me Pretty}, {Carrie Patterson Wedding Photography}, {Jennifer Bowen Photography}, {Style Me Pretty Little Black Book}, {Ritzy Bee Blog}, {Sarah K Chen Photography}, {The Knot}, {Weddings Alltop}, {Starry Eyed Barefoot Bride}, {The 100 Top Wedding Planning Blog}, {Weddings with Tara}, {Junebug Weddings}, {Elizabeth Anne Designs}, {Weddings by Michelle}, {Puttin’ On the G.R.I.T.S.}, {Brenda’s Wedding Blog}, {Blue-eyed Bride}, {Table 6 Productions}, {Sublime Photography}, {Toast & Tables}, {Joyful Weddings and Events}, {The Little White Book}, {Sparkliatti}, {Gandy Photographers}, {Melissa’s Greetings}, {The Smart Planner}, {The Unbride}, {Victoria with Roses}, {Untitled Bride Blog}, {Huckleberry Karen}, {Meant to Bee}, {Amy Squires}, {Budget Savvy Bride}, {glass EYE video}, {Snippet and Ink}, {Nearly Knotted}, {Leaving and Loving On a Jet Plane}, {Critsey Rowe}, {Granny Smith Green}, {Jessica & Ben’s Wedding}, {Oh La La Chic}, {KUGA}, {Paul Johnson Photo}, {Toast and Tables}, {Lucky Me}, {I Carry Your Heart (I Carry It In My Heart}, {Swanky Tables},
{The Finer Things}, {Bizuteria I Inne- Hot Fashion Boutique}, {The City Sage}, {Rae Leytham Photography}, {In This Instance}, {Housemartin}, {Fickle Bride}, {Fabulously Lizy}, {DrewB Photography}, {Tastefully Entertaining}, {Cook Images}, {Glass EYE Video}, {Delicious}, {Weddings By Socialites}, {MasterPiece Weddings}, {The Wedding Workroom}, {Woodward + Rick Photographers}, {Lovely Morning}, {A Delightful Day}, {The Fairmount Bride}, {Platinum Weddings By Kerrie}, {Creative Odds n’ Ends}, {The Blissful Bride}

If you added a link to us or featured us in the last week and don’t see your link here, be sure to leave a comment with your link and we will add it. Thank you so much for the link love!   ~Rachel

UPDATE:

How wonderful!  I just found out that Meg from {A Practical Wedding} posted my brother-in-law and now sister-in-law’s wedding on her lovely blog!  I have been meaning to post about Amy + Andy’s incredible Oregon wedding and promise to share more details very soon.  For now check out Part I, Part II, and Part III on {A Practical Wedding}.  Thank you so much, Meg, for featuring such a beautiful pair that is near and dear to my heart.  [Image at left in front of the chicken house from {Joseph Milton Photography}]  Amy was such a stunning bride!  More to come ….  Congratulations, Amy + Andy!

Love,

Link Love:  The amazing people who linked to us or featured SW last week… {Top 100 Wedding Blogs}, {Sarah K Chen}, {OnceWed}, {TM Photography}, {Weddingbee}, {Junebug Weddings}, {Monogrammed Life}, {Growing Up Southern is a Privilege Really}, {Joy Marie Photography}, {Platinum Weddings by Kerrie}, {Teardrop Weddings}, {Weddings with Tara}, {Best Wedding Sites}, {Weddings by Michelle}, {Joyful Weddings and Events}, {Heather Crabtree interviewed on The Smart Planer}, {In This Instance}, {Orange Tree Weddings}, {Huckleberry Karen Designs}, {Brides Little White Book}, {Love and Splendor}, {Bridal Bar Blog}, {Untitled Bride Blog}, {Budget Savvy Bride}, {Style Me Pretty}, {The Finer Things}, {Cook Images}, {The Wedding Workroom}, {Bridal Opulence}, {Jeune Marie}, {Head of the Table}, {Fickle Bride}, {Southern College Girl}, {Wholly Matrimony}, {Victoria with Roses}, {A Lovely Morning}, {The Wedding Planning Audiocast}, {The Unbride}, {Wedding Obsessed}, {Your Dream Day – South Africa}, {Meant to Bee}, {That Bride}, {Weddings & Celebrations – Tara Lazar}  As always, if you added a link to us or featured us last week and don’t see your link here, be sure to leave a comment with your link and we will add it.  Thank you so much for the link love!

Must Read: Lyndsey Hamilton emailed me about her new fabulous blog, {LHEverything}!  Be sure to check it out.  So many fun and inspiring posts – a definite must-read. How about this gorgeous Prairie Chic spread they put together for The Knot. “We were so excited by the theme and called Matthew Robbins from Artfool. We came up with some cute ideas and are so pleased with how everything looks!  Bubby’s provided the pies, Mira Aster provided the invitations, and Matthew provided the floral arrangements and place settings. Hope you enjoy…”   We certainly do!  Lyndsey and her fabulous team will be guest blogging on SW very soon. Stay tuned…

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I’ll be out of the office until next Wednesday doing a wedding and visiting family in FL, but take care of the blog while I’m gone with all of your comment love.  We have some killer posts set up while I’m gone. I promise to share pics from the wedding when I return.  I’ll be working with a really fun team this weekend including {Cook Images} and {KH Floral}.  You can follow my week ahead on Twitter.

The {Hello!Lucky Contest} winner will be announced in the next couple days.  Sorry for the suspense!  We will post the winner ASAP.

OK, forgive the gushing that follows, people.  I am just feeling the love right now!  On a personal note, after seeing the ABC Diane Sawyer special on Randy Pausch, I will be shutting off the computer for most of the week to spend some time with family.  My 90 year-old grandmother, my mother and I will be spending some girls-only time together sans my dad.  My father (in his mid-seventies) is taking the ultimate adventure trip with my brother for the next 8 days.  This is such a significant trip for them that I am tearing up as I type this.  My brother broke his spine 3 years ago in a snowboarding accident and was unable to walk.  By the grace of God, he is almost completely healed now and has taken on intense long-distance biking.  Just him being able to walk amazes me daily, but in the last year he has gone back to the site of his accident at Vail….  zoomed right past it on his snowboard in fact!  And now, he and my 70something year old dad are spending the week in Alaska hiking, dog sledding, salmon fishing (a life-long dream of my father’s), camping, and to top it all off biking near 150 miles together through some of the most beautiful terrain on the planet.  My dad (who has had two knee surgeries this year) started training for this trip a couple months ago with daily 20 mile rides and double on the weekends.  My mom says, “he could have worse hobbies.”  Ha!  I agree, mom.  Dad and Stephen, I am so proud of you both.  I feel so blessed to have such an inspiring pair of men to call family.  I hope this week fulfills your dreams and you wake up every morning invigorated.  I can’t wait to hear all about your Alaskan adventures!

Have a great week everyone!