Southern Weddings

What did you do for New Year’s Eve 2008?  If you’re Libby + Jimmy, you got married.  And if you’re friends or family of Libby + Jimmy, you attended their smashing reception that carried on well into the New Year.  Why have a New Year’s Eve wedding? For the lovely bride and groom, it was a perfect long weekend for guests wanting to travel to this destination wedding in Florida.  Wedding details include: wedding coordination by {Wonderful Weddings}, bride’s gown by {Peter Langner}, groom’s suit by {Brooks Brothers}, flower decor by {Flourish Floral Productions}, wedding cake by {The Pastry Studio} and photography by {Garrett Nudd Photographer}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Libby: We met at a Greek (fraternity and semi-formal event) at UC Berkeley, when Jimmy was 21 and I was 19 years old, when Jimmy danced up to me during the song Red Red Wine. A month later we recognized each other at a popular undergraduate bar, KIPs, in Berkeley and realized we had mutual friends and also that we got along fantastically. After a few months as friends, I asked Jimmy to a Sorority Dance party and seven short years later we would be engaged. We moved across the bay to San Francisco after Berkeley and lived in the Marina and North Beach for three years before Libby left Jimmy behind to pursue a career in entertainment in LA. In a rare case of a successful long distance relationship, after a year Jimmy moved to Newport Beach to join Libby where we lived on Balboa Island.
Describe the proposal: Jimmy: I proposed to Libby in the summer of 2006 on her 26th birthday after we had dinner and drinks over-looking the ocean at Las Brisas in Laguna Beach. I took her down to a secluded cove at sunset and gave her a USB device key chain which she assumed was her birthday present. Before she threw it into the water I told her to look at the end of the key chain and attached was the ring. I then got on one knee and she said Yes.
A date we’ll always remember: On our first date we rented bikes in San Francisco and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge to Tiburon where we had lunch at SAMS. We then took the ferry back to San Francisco and had dinner in North Beach at Rose Pistolla.
Why did you choose a New Years Eve date? New Years Eve worked out perfectly because we could make a long weekend out of the wedding since many of the attendees were flying across the country from California and could take advantage of extra vacation days. We had festivities for four nights and four days, which made it more of a mini-vacation for those making the long-journey.
Another reason we liked New Years was that we thought it was a good idea to get all of our friends together for a big party; we thought that a New Years wedding would further heighten the celebratory vibe to enhance the liveliness of the party. The trick was that we had to have the party extend past midnight and wanted to get married at sunset. That resulted in a seven hour reception in which a few of the guests “became overly excited, escalating faster than the party” and did not make it until midnight. Regardless the dance floor was packed until the band stopped playing at 1:00.
Where did you honeymoon, What places did you stay? We honeymooned in Aspen Colorado and stayed at the Sky Hotel which was ski-in and ski-out. The hotel is very hip with a younger crowd. For the first two nights we were exhausted from the wedding festivities and went to bed around 8PM. The third day after getting back to the hotel from a day of skiing the concierge greeted us “hello Perkins’, I can get you in for the 5:45 early bird dinner special. It was then we realized we had to step it up a notch to see what Aspen had to offer. The great part about Aspen is that you can ski all day and then enjoy the amazing restaurants and the nightlife. We met some very interesting couples most of which involved 50-year-old men and 25-year-old women.

Congratulations to Libby + Jimmy!  We wish you a lifetime of happpiness and joy!

For those that have been addicted to their televisions (on say, Thursday nights at 8pm on CBS) then for countless seasons you have watched {Survivor}.  I am once one of those fans myself.  My mom and I used to watch it each Thursday and chat about the tribes, buffs and the alliances.  I even considered applying to be on the show once.  So why is this relevant? Erica + Craig met on the set of Survivor!  Not as contestants, but as executive producers.  They were married in Georgia at the {The John Oliver House}. This country wedding was complete with cowboy boots, bluegrass music, 7 Eleven cakes and even, {Jeff Probst} as the officiant.  More wending details include: {Southern Bouquets by Tamela}, Erica’s dress and bridesmaids dresses were by {David’s Bridal}.  Photography by {Sarah D. Harper Photography}.  Check out Sarah’s blog post on Erica + Craig {here}.

How did the two of you meet? Craig and I met in the Amazon on the set of {Survivor}. Craig was the Executive Producer and this show was my first Hollywood gig since moving to Los Angeles 4 months earlier. I’m a Georgia girl and he’s a sweet Texas man and we just felt like we were home the moment we met. Within two weeks of being on location – which was a two and half- month job, we knew that we were meant to be together.
Describe the proposal: After five years together Craig took me to Monterey, California for our anniversary. Little did I know that he was planning a gorgeous dinner at the Sardine Factory in their private wine-grotto. Once we had dinner the dessert was delivered with something else on the plate – my 1821 antique ring that I showed Craig a month earlier. He says he went back to the antique shop the next day and bought the ring. He came around the table and got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes.
A date we went on that we’d always remember: We’ve been very lucky to have some amazing locations to share with each other. We had a date in the Amazon in a tree house watching the monkeys play in the trees. We ate lunch on the Panama Canal. We had dinner overlooking Sydney Harbor. We had a massage in the Bahamas while a hurricane whipped around us. And we watched the sunset in the Yosemite National Park among the giant Sequoias. We couldn’t pick just one.
The weather on our wedding day was: Our day was beautiful, partly sunny and cloudy and a warm breeze. When I arrived at the altar it started to sprinkle. My mom yelled out, “Look, there’s a rainbow!” The rainbow was right over the altar. The rain shower lasted 10 minutes and our reading “The Invitation” was so dramatic because of it. My brother sang, “I Never Saw Blue Like That” and the second verse describes that moment perfectly, “And even now, I’m so amazed, It’s like a dream, it’s like a rainbow, It’s like the rain.” We couldn’t have said it better.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Country Elegant
Favorite design element of your big day: The Altar was wrapped in grapevines and heirloom hydrangeas.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: It was like everything about this wedding, it was perfect and easy. I wanted to take my mom, sister and sister-in-law to go shopping together to find the dress. I was home for Christmas in Georgia, I live in California, so I wanted to just have the experience of shopping with my girls. Little did I know that we would find it that day and that it would be the second one I tried on.
Describe your wedding flowers: My colors are autumn orange so my florist used dark orange lilies and heirloom hydrangeas – my favorite.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We have three favorite details: We had our very good friend, Jeff Probst marry us. He has been there with us from the beginning of our relationship. He was in the moment and so sweet. He was great!  Our second moment was when Craig’s 13 year old son sang, “I’m Your’s” for our processional and then “Making Memories of Us” for our first dance. It was his first time performing on stage with other musicians and it was magical. Our third favorite detail was the location, The John Oliver Michael House. This beautiful rustic old place in Statham, GA was the perfect setting for our Country Elegant wedding. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful place.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I live in California so planning a wedding 3,000 miles away in Statham, GA was challenging. I had to learn to trust…not an easy feat for me.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? One tradition we wanted to keep was to have the empty chair in the front row that represented those that have passed and could not come to the wedding. We both grew up in the south so we wanted to maintain our heritage with bluegrass music and a good old- fashioned hoe down. We had cloggers as our entertainment as well.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? When Jeff, our officiate, introduced the empty chair in the front row – it started to rain harder. He had the perfect come back, “Well, I guess they want us to know they’re here.”
Scariest moment? Right after the ceremony my bandleader came to me to tell me that the band equipment got wet and they were trying to dry it but they couldn’t start playing right away. Instead, they just got out their instruments and played acoustically during the dinner. It was so intimate and special that I’m so glad it rained.
Funniest moment? During the ceremony after Craig said his vows and put my ring on he tried to kiss me but the kiss was supposed to come later so I ducked out of the way. The look on his face was priceless. I felt bad so I kissed him anyway.
Hardest decision you made in planning? Nothing was hard about planning this event. Everything fell into place and everyone we hired to be a part of our day from the music, the catering, the location to the flowers – everything was perfect.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The rain was a surprise no lie but so sweet. Jeff Probst said as it started to rain, “ Well, they did meet in the Amazon, so this is just reminding them of how they met.”
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Perfect, sweet, inspiring
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? Craig and I both decided to make an effort to make a commitment to each other every month since we’ve known each other. On the 10th of every month we look at each other in the eyes and say, “Craig/Erica, I’ve lived an honest life with you. I haven’t lied to you this month and I love my life with you.” These words were said on our month-versaries, and our wedding day.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. Your vows made me want to make that kind of commitment with my husband. That was inspiring.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? Everyone was there for us. Even my well-known brother and our celebrity buddy Jeff Probst couldn’t take the light off us. My only grand parent, Jane McAbee was the oldest person there and she was a delight. She even got out on the dance floor.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Making a baby is a priority. We are love working together and look forward to making our family bigger.
Any DIY items? My mama raised us right, we made everything! We made the boiled peanuts packaging (our favors), printed our own menus and programs.

Congratulations to Erica + Craig!