Southern Weddings

Emily must have been on the prowl for some inspirational tablescapes and floral arrangements when she found Chandra + Matt’s Cedarwood wedding, and Phindy Studios definitely didn’t disappoint with their fun images.  (Fun fact: the newlyweds are a match.com success story!)  Chandra wore a slim-cut gown from the Bridal Garden and classic Stuart Weitzman pumps, and decked her maids in royal purple sheaths from Nordstrom.  The cheerful bouquets and bold centerpieces were offset by the couple’s clean and ultra-modern square confection from Patty Cakes.  Emily is training me to be more detail-oriented, so let me direct your attention to the couple’s fun playbill-inspired menus.  (Did I say that right, Em?)  Visit Phindy Studio’s own post about this wedding for a few more shots from the day!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met on match.com in 2004.  Matt “winked” at me, which communicates interest without a formal email.  And, I, managing a flurry of winks, ended up sorting my inbox by height.  Matt (who is 6’5”) was first on the list, and that’s how it all started.  We corresponded via email and IM for five weeks before we met for the first time halfway between Manchester, CT and Tyringham, MA for a six hour dinner.  According to Matt, he knew from the moment he saw me that he wanted to marry me.  I, too, was equally intrigued by him, and secretly envisioned our future together, even from day one.

Describe the proposal: Matt and I were living in Chicago and he persuaded me to take a bike ride to the lake.  He had packed a picnic of snacks, so we sat on a blanket staring at the lake, nibbling and chatting about our highly-anticipated future in Nashville, TN (iwe were moving in two months).  Matt was in the process of editing videos – one of his many hobbies – so I didn’t think anything of it when he gave me his iPod and headphones, and told me he had a video he was working on that he wanted to show me. The video was a six minute overview of our 3.5-year relationship that ended with white text on a black background that said, “Our Future.”  I was in tears, and took of my sunglasses to find an engagement ring in Matt’s hands and tears in his eyes.  I was completely surprised.  Our wedding save-the-date was electronic and included the video Matt created to propose to me: http://www.mattandchandra.com/savethedate.html
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The Hatch-show print cards announcing our marriage tucked in the napkins at each guest’s seat.  Behind the Hatch-show cards were ten different cards corresponding to the ten guests seated at any given table.  These cards gave guests extra details about our wedding and provided an opportunity for guests to interact with each other.  Here’s the list of card topics:

1. First Dance Lyrics, Ben Folds “The Luckiest”
2. Explanation of the Beer & Wine selection
3. Specialty Drink Menu
4. Dinner Menu
5. How well do you know Chandra & Matt TRIVIA: The Early Years
6. Details about the cake flavors & the surprise late-night snack:  empanadas & fondue
7. Part of Matt’s Match.com profile
8. Our first email exchange

10.  Comments card

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Every Thanksgiving, we visit Matt’s family in Greenwich, CT.  On black Friday, my mother-in-law and I ventured into NYC to find my dress.  I had an appointment at the Bridal Garden, which is NYC’s only bridal boutique whose proceeds benefit education for NYC children.  I loved the concept, and the fact that all their designer gowns are up to 75% off retail prices. The first dress I tried on at the Bridal Garden ended up being “my dress.” It was a fun-filled afternoon with my mother-in-law who was an incredible support throughout all phases of the wedding planning.
Describe your bouquet: I carried a hand-tied bouquet with green mini hydrangeas, green roses, plum dahlias and mini calla lilies wrapped in green moss satin ribbon with copper satin ribbon crossed on the stems.
Describe your wedding cake: We served a four-tier square cake with dark brown ribbon and marzipan green apples, plums, acorns and leaves with a fresh plum dahlia and berries. The entire cake was covered in white chocolate cream cheese frosting.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  My favorite memory of the day was our ceremony. It was written by us, but still full of surprises and filled with humor.  We had two friends pick and share readings, one of which was personally written.  Others shared photos that symbolized something about us, resulting in lots of tears and comic relief.  We also had a close friend officiate the wedding. As this happened, our rings circulated the crowd to be touched and “blessed” by the hands of our guests. Since I am from Oceanside, California and Matt from Greenwich, CT, we blended sand from the east and west coast to symbolize our past, present and future.  It was beautiful in every sense of the word and VERY memorable.
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? A week before the wedding, we talked about what we wanted from each other.  Those requests became “promises” and we each said 3 promises as our vows. Here’s mine:

Chandra: “I Chandra, choose you Matt, to be my lifelong partner. I promise to be the healthiest version of myself I can be; to support you, and all of your interests and endeavors; and to prioritize our family, friends, and loved ones amidst the day to day business of my life. These things I promise you, my partner and best friend, on this day, the next day, and every other day, for the rest of our lives.”
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We’re excited about buying a home, traveling before kids and enjoying each other’s company in Nashville.

Congratulations, Chandra + Matt!  We wish you all the best as newlyweds and beyond.

Want gorgeous wedding photography? Be sure to enter the Brion Hopkins giveaway by March 1 for a chance to win a wedding photography package!

I don’t know if y’all know this, but our lovely Emily designs all our real wedding image boards herself, meaning she hand selects every picture of every wedding you see on the blog.  Naturally, it’s always fun for me to try and guess what Emily liked best about each wedding, and with Jessica + Jeff’s Oklahoma affair, I think it’s pretty obvious.  (Did you guess floral arrangements, too?)  I don’t think I could name half of the flowers the florists and Mom and Me Events selected for the sweetly Southern centerpieces, but I sure do love the loose clusters of sherbert-colored stems resting in rock-filled Mason jars.  Looks like the bride and her bridesmaids (in coral Bari Jay frocks) picked and tied them right before the wedding!  In lieu of a traditional wedding cake, Jessica + Jeff treated guests to a cupcake tier from Nibbles by Grandeur Affairs.  Take a peek at Josh McCullock original blog post here if you want to see a bit more! 

Describe your wedding flowers: Oh, they were just lovely! I wanted rustic wedding flowers but was open to pretty much anything! I think we chose peach roses, mums and fillers.  
Describe your wedding cake: Cupcakes with three different flavors: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.  The cake topper was custom-made by an Etsy vendor.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?  The early planning of the wedding was the hardest.  All of my family live out of the country and were not going to be in Oklahoma until the week of the wedding.  Jeff was in Kuwait, and, to top it off, I was in the middle of finishing my thesis to get my masters in food science.  I started searching online about how to plan a wedding and that’s when I found the world of wedding blogs.  I learned a lot and as time went by, planning our wedding became easier and so much fun.  Of course, I was definitely blessed to have Jeff’s family there every step of the way, both physically and spiritually.  Our wedding would not have turned out as perfect as it was if it hadn’t been foe them.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We just bought a house! We will be busy moving, re-arranging and decorating for the next few months, but are so excited to make it our home.  I also started a new hobby (knitting) and hopefully will be launching my diary blog soon.

Congratulations, Jessica + Jeff!  Thank you for sharing your too-cute wedding with us.

You only have until Monday, March 1st to enter the Brion Hopkins giveaway for a chance to win a dream wedding photography package! Don’t forget!

Written with love by Lara Casey

I know everyone’s supposed to say this, but Jessica + Jeff just look so happy to be getting married!  I mean seriously, how comfortable and in love do the newlyweds look in these sweet portraits from Josh McCullock?  The college sweethearts celebrated their wedding in the barn at Vive le Ranch in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  See how the bride’s orange and green bouquet from Mom and Me Events perfectly match the early autumn foliage?  And for a girl who weathered some serious dress drama that would make most brides pull their hair out, Jessica looked positively radiant in her flowy Casablanca gown.  1 point Jessica: 0 points Bridezilla.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  Jeff and I met at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.  I was one of the Resident Assistants in the dorm where we both lived.   During the first week of school, we held a series of events to welcome the residents, and that’s when I saw Jeff for the very first time.  My first impression was that he was very friendly and outgoing.  I did have a bit of crush on him, but after that day it was never more than just a hello every time we passed each other.  I got busy with school and work and saw him less and less, so I eventually forgot about him.  A year later, we met again through mutual friends.  Little did I know, he also had a crush on me that first time we met. He took me out on a date and the rest is pretty much history.
Describe the proposal.  Jeff proposed at the restaurant where we had our first date.  This was two weeks before he was deployed to Kuwait.  It was bitter sweet: I was not looking forward to see him gone for 4 months, but at the same time I was very happy to be engaged and decided I could use the time he was away to plan our wedding and keep myself busy.
Three adjectives that describe the day are:  Fun, laid-back, sweet.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My hairpiece that was custom-made by a seller on Etsy.  I adored it so much, I didn’t ever want to take it off!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  It did not take me very long to find “the dress.”  I knew I wanted  a dress with a vintage look and lace was a must.  I found and tried on a dress by Casablanca and fell in love with it instantly, so I made an order, paid in full, and was told that they would call when the dress arrived.  I called them back four months later to check on the dress, only to find out the dress was never ordered because they forgot about it.  The worst part was when they told me that I still had enough time to go to a different store to order the same dress since they decided not to carry Casablanca dresses anymore.  Jeff’s parents felt really bad so they decided to call every store in Oklahoma to see if they had the dress in the store so we could just buy it off the rack, and they finally found one that said they had it.  When we got there, it wasn’t the dress, but it was very similar and also by Casablanca.  Long story short, I decided to get the dress.  Though it was not my original pick, it was just as pretty!  The dress was not everything so it wasn’t worth stressing over it for too long.

Remember, you have until Monday, March 1st to enter the Brion Hopkins giveaway for a chance to win a wedding photography package!

Written with love by Lara Casey