Southern Weddings

This Suffolk, Virginia wedding is so lovely!  Cristin + Christiaan were married in the {West End Baptist Church}. This classic church was packed as the two said “I do”.  After the vows were exchanged, the two rode in a classic car to a boat that took the couple on a sunset ride to the {Suffolk Hilton Garden Inn}.  Little did the couple know, they would be greeted on land by the local high school marching band playing “When the Saints Come Marching In”.  Photography by {Echard Wheeler Photography}.  Check out more of his work and see his post from Cristin + Christiaan on his {blog}.  How incredible are these bridesmaid’s dresses and matching boleros!? I’m in love…

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We are from the same town and went to the same High School but because of our age difference we never knew each other growing up. We were set up on a blind date by our good family friends Chet and Sandy Hart, and Cristin’s Boss Kenda Council. I went over to the Hart’s house one night for dinner and they told her about this “special” guy I should meet. I was totally against it, but the next day at work I asked the ladies I worked with if anyone knew this “special” guy. Before I could say know they were on the phone calling him. We went on a date two weeks later and have be inseparable ever since
Describe the proposal: Cold, Rainy night atop the Empire State building in New York City…Zero Visibility! It was the backup plan he had when the Central Park Carriage ride got cancelled. It was much fun, we were the only people up there- and after he proposed the clouds parted for a few minutes and we had a beautiful view of the city all to ourselves.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Our first date, Dinner at our favorite local restaurant on the Nansemond River and then to the local Jazz club for drinks after dinner.
The weather on our wedding day was: 70 degrees, sunny, and beautiful…great Fall day in Virginia!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Rustic fall with a touch of glitz!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Buying a wedding dress is a once in a lifetime experience. So you want to have a once in a life time amount of fun. The first time we went shopping I brought my Mom, my grooms step-mom and Sandy Hart, the friend who set us up myself and Christiaan. We had the best trying on all different kinds of dresses, one time I came out of the dressing room to find all three of them in big veils! After shopping all day I finally settled on a beautiful off white Augusta Jones Silk gown with lace detailing on the train and a lace bolero jacket. After we picked out the perfect dress we celebrated with dinner and Bellini’s.
Describe your wedding flowers: How do you describe pure beauty! They were one of the most spectacular things about our wedding! Our dear friend Sandy Hart, and a team of wonderfully talented ladies of the Garden Club of Virginia worked many hard long hours arranging the flowers beyond my dreams! They featured alternating high and low arrangements of garden flowers, “roadside” and backyard finds such as Dried Hydrangea and sunflowers, grapevine, cattails, pheasant feathers, pumpkins willowy branches and brightly colored fall flowers.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: After the ceremony we took a classic blue convertible to a boat that we then took the Hilton. When we arrived at the Hilton and got off the boat the Marching Band from the high School that We both went to and I now work at marched us in playing when the “saints go marching in” (It was all saints day and our high school mascot is the Saint). It was like our very own parade.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? At every family wedding Christiaan’s cousins write a song about the bride and groom. Our song was to the tune of the Adams family since it was Halloween weekend. It was very cute!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? How amazing it felt to look out at all of our family, friends and loved ones cheering and smiling back at us after we had been pounced husband and wife.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Spectacular, wonderful, amazingly perfect!
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Hire a wedding planner if you can. Ours was so amazing, she handled so many of the last minuet details that my family and I were really able to enjoy the whole week of our wedding!
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. Best advice was to try and use all five senses to remember the day.
Best comment: “I’ve never been to a wedding before but I think I started with the best”
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are looking forward to getting settled into our house relaxing after a crazy year, traveling a little, and in a few years starting a family.
Other details you want us to know about your wedding: The lighting was beautiful with amber up lighting around the room, pin lights on the large flower arrangements and cake, and a branch pattern was projected on to the ceiling above the dance floor.
The food was also delicious! We had mashed potato and mashed sweet potato bar, beef tender loin, fresh Nansemond River Oysters, shrimp, crab cakes, a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, and a soup station with butternut squash soup and my Mom’s Tomato Basil Bisque.

Congratulations to Christin + Christiaan. We wish you the best as you begin your lives together!

Lindsay + Brantley wanted to wow their family and friends as they went from cocktail hour at the {Carlouel Yacht Club} to the reception on a beach. I have to say they succeed. Can you say amazing to the tent? I can. The fabric and draping of the tent was so well done and was quite a transformation from the traditional church ceremony. With the colors of raspberry, coral and mango, I think Lindsay really brought a joyous twist to this Florida wedding. Got to love the raspberry bridesmaid dresses from {The Droom}. This terrific event was planned by Shannon Wilson over at {Table 6 Productions} and the tent was from {U.S. Tent Rental}. The marvelous event deign and decor was produced by the team at {ConceptBAIT}. Paper goods were made by Amy Willoughby at {Not From A Box}. Wedding cake by {Chocolate Pi}. Thanks to Shannon from Table 6 Productions and Rebecca from {Limelight Photography} for sharing this fantastic wedding with us. Check out more shots on the Limelight Photography {Blog}.

*Editor’s note: Lindsay is the talented mind behind {Switchflops}. Check out the photo of the flip flops below that have straps that can be switched out to create multiple flip flop options.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story: Brantley and I met through a mutual friend. It didn’t take us many dates to know we wanted to be together forever.
Describe the proposal: On Saturday January 26th, 2008 Brantley had planned on a surprise dinner date. Knowing that we typically don’t decide on our dinner plans until last minute, I knew right away something was up. We arrived at Dominic’s Capri, which happened to be one of my favorite restaurants. After a fantastic meal and great vintage wine, out came two champagne glasses. I started drinking my champagne and I quickly realized there was a beautiful diamond ring in the bottom of my glass. All of the sudden, Brantley got down on his knees and asked me to marry him. At that point the entire restaurant was looking at us, which made us very nervous! Of course, I said yes, and the rest was history.
What attracted me to my husband was: I was attracted to Brantley the moment I met him. He had a sparkle in his eye that I could not resist. The more I got to know him; I realized he was my perfect match. He is extremely giving, motivated, and very supportive of me. He can handle any social situation and is my perfect complement.
What attracted me to my wife was: I was attracted to Lindsay as soon as my good friend introduced me to her. She was the most beautiful girl, inside and out that I had ever seen and met and from the moment I started talking to her. She also reminded me of my mother!
The weather on our wedding day was: The morning of our wedding day was gorgeous. In the afternoon a cold front came through, which brought a little bit of rain during our ceremony. However, this is thought of as good luck. Immediately following the ceremony, the weather cleared up and it was a beautiful night.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Designing my wedding was a lot of fun because I had never thought about my wedding day before I was engaged so I went in with an open mind. After we found our location we realized that we wanted to use the inside room of the yacht club for cocktails and have the main party on the beach under a spectacular tent. We wanted to create a wow effect walking from the cocktail hour to the lit up tent on the beach. I chose Raspberry, Mango and Coral as my color scheme, which really helped us crate a magical look. I would categorize my wedding as being elegant with a fun twist!
Favorite design element of your big day: I would have to say the ceiling draping of the tent with lighting and the flowers! These two elements made my wedding very magical.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Believe it or not, I purchased the third wedding dress I tried on. On a Saturday afternoon about 7 months before the wedding my mom, my mother-in –law and my grandmother were on a mission to find the dress. Our first stop was Malindy Elaine’s couture boutique in St. Pete, Florida. I started trying on dresses and on my third try I walked out in beautiful Melissa Sweet dress. All the sudden my grandmother my mom and my mother-in-law started to cry. They told me that I looked like a princess. At that point I realized that I had found the dress! It was a priceless moment.
Describe your wedding flowers: We had three different types of arrangements all within my color scheme. One was a tall glass cylinder overflowing with flowers. The second was a rose topiary and the third was a variety of mixed size vases filled with flowers. The combination of all three really created a beautiful effect.
Describe your wedding cake: Thinking about my wedding cake makes me hungry! It tasted so good but was also esthetically pleasing. We chose a raspberry framboise, which went, along with our colors. It was a 6-tiered cake with a custom design that matched my wedding dress. It also included an M monogram, which we just loved.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The biggest challenge we had to overcome with so many people at the wedding was making sure there were no lines for food or drinks.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? When we arrived to the yacht club from the church they had a golf cart waiting to take us down to the beach for pictures. Brantley and I jumped on the cart and drove on the boardwalk down to the beach. The first thing we saw was the tent! Seeing the tent all done with no one in it was a moment I will never forget. We were both in awe.
Scariest moment? I would have to say walking down the aisle in front of 450 people!
Funniest moment? Having to call a family friend to come help my dad put his bowtie on right. Getting the bowtie on right was more of a challenge then putting on my wedding dress.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: We planned our wedding date around all the Florida college football teams but we never expected that the Tampa Bay Rays would be in the playoffs the same night.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? No, we did not write our own vows. However, our favorite moment was the enthusiasm when I said, “I will!” Everyone started laughing. It was the perfect icebreaker.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Be proactive. Do as much as you can upfront so that tasks don’t lurk up and overwhelm you at the last minute. Enjoy every moment because it will all be worth it!
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. When Reverend Father John Hiers told us at the reception that he had never heard two people recite their vows with so much enthusiasm in all of the thirty years he had been marrying couples.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? As of right now, both of us a focusing on our careers. We are looking forward to traveling more and just enjoying being with each other.

Congratulations to Lindsay + Brantley. We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!