Southern Weddings

A lot of our Southern Weddings couples have met online through dating sites and social sites.  But there is a bit of a spin to the online meeting of Brieon + Kenneth.  Through {Friendster} and a search for Full Metal Jacket, Kenneth found Brieon and an email relationship flourished.  Months later, the two went out for the first time, and when the date was over, Brieon just knew.  Calling a friend the next day, she said that she had found her husband.  The two tied the knot last fall.  The event was planned by the bride and groom with coordination by {Ashley Baber Weddings}.  The lovely reception took place at {The King Plow Event Gallery} with catering by {Bold America} and wedding cakes by {Deborah’s Specialty Cakes}.  The beautiful floral design was done by {Southern Bouquets by Tamela}.  Brieon wore a wedding gown by {Jim Hjelm} and heels by {Nine West}.  This wedding celebration was captured by {www.TheDecisiveMoment.com}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. What can we say? We found love online and although we weren’t tested on the 29 dimensions of compatibility which have been scientifically proven to lead to “happily ever after”, we’re pretty sure that together we’ll make our way there! We met through {Friendster}, which for those of you who are unfamiliar, is a social networking site similar to MySpace. Kenneth has recently moved to Atlanta and was interested in learning more about the city and what it had to offer in terms of entertainment. Instead of picking up the latest edition of the Atlanta Guide, he conducted a search in Friendster for people who had “ Full Metal Jacket” listed in their movie favorites. (Because that’s what normal people do!) Needless to say, my profile was among those listed. Kenneth sent an email my way, said something about us having similar interests and that he wanted recommendations on things to do around Atlanta. I thought it was strange that he didn’t just conduct a Google search, but thought, who was I to deny someone who clearly was in need of my help. (Translation: Who was I to deny an attractive guy who, if nothing else, could be my friend…and very fun to look at!) Fast forward a couple of months and many emails later…we decided to meet at Front Page News in Midtown for our first date, and have been inseparable ever since!
What attracted me to my husband was: I was attracted to the thoughtful (and grammatically correct) emails he sent when we first connected online. This goes without saying, but I also thought that he was pretty cute.
Why do you love your husband? I love Ken because he loves me wholly and unconditionally.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: I will always remember my first date with Kenneth. After meeting at Front Page News, we decided to head to a quaint little dessert shop in Midtown that was a little more conducive to having a conversation. We made such a connection that we talked well in the night. I remember calling a friend the next morning and exclaiming that I had met my husband!
The weather on our wedding day was: We were a little nervous because the evening of the rehearsal dinner there was a torrential downpour. But, the gray skies cleared up and the weather on our wedding day was absolutely gorgeous!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted an elegant fall wedding that captured the richness of colors that the season brings. Our main colors were cream, sage, and mocha, accented with “pops” of color like pomegranate and burnt orange. Once we picked the venue, we had to really fight the urge to go completely contemporary. In the end, we fell in love with the idea of juxtaposing the classic and feminine details of the day against the industrial backdrop that is King Plow.
Favorite design element of your big day: I absolutely loved our centerpieces. Cylindrical vases were filled with curly willow anchored in earth-toned river rocks. The curly willow was tipped with rust colored Cymbidium orchids and accented with hanging tea lights. The branches and rust colored orchids reflected the season nicely without being too “Fall”.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I visited at least 25 boutiques and tried on an ungodly number of dresses. Of course, I ended up purchasing one of the first dresses I ever saw!
Describe your wedding flowers: I carried a hand-tired bouquet of rust colored cymbidium orchids, black Bakara roses, mango mini Calla Lilies, and dark red Dahlias. The bouquet was accented with Hypericum berries, Astro leaves and seeded Eucalyptus, and wrapped with bark-wire. Each bridesmaid carried a bouquet of circus roses and burgundy Hypericum berries, which really looked great against their mocha colored dresses.
Describe your wedding cake: Our wedding cake was a delcious four-tiered square confection. Each tier was a different flavor (carrot with cream cheese filling, red velvet with cream cheese filling, chocolate with marmalade filling and vanilla with raspberry filling). The cake was decorated with cream colored butter cream. Speckled Mokara Orchids and birch branches completed the look.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Since Kenneth and I met in Atlanta, both attended Emory (aka Coke University), and Kenneth works for the North American division, we thought it would be nice to incorporate Coca-Cola into our wedding celebration. For our toast, we served ice-cold, old-fashioned bottles of Coke to guest in lieu of champagne. Each bottle was delivered complete with a Coca-Cola shaped bottle opener attached with a ribbon. After the best man gave his well wishes, everyone popped their bottles at the same time and drank to the happy couple!
What was the biggest challenge you has to overcome while planning your wedding? One of my biggest challenges was trying to convince my fiancé that I was, in fact, not obsessed with planning the wedding! It was difficult to get him to understand that there was a timeline to be followed, and that yes, it was necessary to start planning a year out!
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? We ended the evening with an impromptu Second-Line in true New Orleans fashion (my mother hails from the ninth ward). Everyone grabbed their dinner napkin and weaved their way through the King Plow Arts Center with Kenneth and me leading the way. We had a blast and it proved to be the perfect ending to the perfect night!
What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day? The most memorable moment of the day was walking down the aisle with my father. I remember walking as slowly as possible so that I could take it all in. It was such an amazing felling to be surrounded by the ones that I love. Initially, the glow of the candles on the “altar” and the rose petal-lined aisle captured my attention. As I looked around, everything was as imagined it in all of those hours of planning. As we made our way further down the aisle my eyes locked with Ken’s and in that moment everything else seemed to disappear.
Scariest moment? This is relatively benign, but a few minutes before the ceremony began, we were informed that we had a candelabra, but no tapers for the unity candle. Our planner, Ashley, worked her magic, and by the time our moms walked down the aisle, there were the candles waiting to be lit.
Hardest decision you made in planning? The toughest decision we made in the planning process was deciding not to get married in a church. Ken is Southern Baptist and I am Roman Catholic, and we thought it best to recite our vows on neutral ground.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: I don’t know that anything unexpected happened on my wedding day. Between my bridesmaids and day of coordinator, I was pretty well insulated from any catastrophes that may have occurred.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Dream-like, radiant, exciting.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? My advice to any bride would be to become intimately connected with the wedding blogoshpere! There is so much great information out there to be shared and adapted to meet anyone’s wedding needs! I would also recommend hiring (at the very least) a day-of coordinator. Murphy’s Law was in full effect the week before our wedding…I honestly don’t know if there would have been a ceremony had it not been for Ashley. She was truly a godsend and the best planning decision I made by far!
Best advice or most memorable comment so
meone made to you during the wedding celebration? Countless people commented on how they had never seen Ken so happy. It really felt good to know that I was part of the reason for his smile that day!
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? Everyone who attended has a special place in our hearts. We were overjoyed, almost overwhelmed, by the outpouring of love that we felt from our family and friends on our wedding day.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Because we decided to get married in the middle of Ken’s fall semester, we were unable to take extended time off for a honeymoon. Instead, we opted for a three-day excursion to the lovely Barnsley Gardens Resort in Adairsville, Georgia. We are in the process of planning for, and looking forward to, an exciting trip to Kaua’i in May.

Congratulations to Brieon + Kenneth.  We hope you have a wonderful (long awaited) honeymoon in May!

It’s a chilly day here in North Carolina… what a perfect day to showcase this lovely winter wedding! Brooke + Justin found inspiration for their celebration while on a hike in Colorado. The couple achieved a natural and organic vibe with handmade rustic programs, bridesmaids carrying lanterns instead of flowers, and a gorgeous woodland cake, to name a few of the natural elements incorporated into their celebration. Brooke fell in love with a {Monique Lhuillier} gown from {The Bride Room} and added a chocolate satin sash to make it her own.  Flowers by {Elaine Mccord Floral Designs}.  {Michael Howard} captured the special day at Wightman Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee.  Catering by {Chef Penelope’s Catering}.  Wedding cake by {The Sweetest Day}.  Bridesmaid’s dresses by {White House|Black Market}.  Planning by {Weddings by Mary Natalie}. Be sure to check out more of Michael’s lovely shots from this wedding on his {Blog}.  How unique and fun are these pinecone bases for the tall arrangements!?

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met after a show Justin played. I was friends with the musician he was playing for so we all went out to dinner afterwards, and Justin and I sat by each other.
Describe the proposal: We made our favorite dinner together at my place, and then when I was least expecting it he got on his knees and popped the question and then told me to put on a dress because all of our friends were at a restaurant down the street for our engagement party
What attracted me to my husband was: His love for God and people and his depth.
Why do you love your husband? Just because.
What attracted me to my wife was: Her smile and kindness
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Going on the road with him while he was on tour. It was a long date :).
The weather on our wedding day was: Picture perfect for January in Nashville, blue skies and 60 degrees.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Justin and I were on a hike in Colorado this summer, and we found the most beautiful pinecones everywhere. We wanted our wedding to have a natural, organic feel so those pinecones became the theme of our wedding.
Favorite design element of your big day: My programs were handmade by my mom so definitely those were a favorite and then I had the idea to have my bridesmaids carry glass lanterns instead of flowers. and they were so unique. They loved them.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: My mom and sister flew in from Texas to surprise me the night I got engaged and my sister, being a new bride herself, was so excited that she informed me that she had already scheduled appointments for me to try on wedding dresses the next day. I fell in love with a Monique Lhuillier (Elle) ball gown. To make it a little more me and a little less ball gown, I added a chocolate satin sash that we tied in a bow off to the side in the front. When we all cried I knew it was the one.
Describe your wedding flowers: My bouquet was very natural with green cymbidium orchids, white lisianthus, freesia, lotus pods, seeded eucalyptus, and green hypericum berries. The altar centerpieces were beautiful arrangements of white French tulips, winter greens , berries, branches, and hydrangeas in tall glass cylinders with green apples. They were coming out of these large round vases made out of pinecones.
The reception decor consisted of many natural elements: Tall square vases filled with green apples, cedar, pinecones and tall white french tulips. Large short square vases filled with snow, votive candles, cedar and pinecones. Tall cedar branches coming out of birch bark wrapped containers. We had lots of wooden lanterns, pinecones, reindeer moss, snow , and winter branches lit up the dance floor.
Describe your wedding cake: My wedding cake had four tiers. It had an ivory base and then green ferns all over it! It could not have been more perfect.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Probably our programs that my mom handmade. Justin and I also added a page of all our favorite quotes at the back of our program.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I am not detail-oriented and my mom is, and we were trying to do it on a budget that was a bit tight so it was challenging to trust that all the hard work on the details was going to be worth it….BUT it most certainly was.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? No
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing Justin as I walked down the aisle and taking our first communion together.
Funniest moment? We had a friend of ours teach the whole reception square dancing! It was a blast, and everyone loved it!
Hardest decision you made in planning? The groomsman suits.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: I cant think of anything that happened that was unexpected!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Meaningful, Joyous, Beautiful
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Breathe deep. And remember in the planning why you are planning and that the most important part of the wedding is the person you are marrying.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Justin has another year of school, and I am focusing on building my career as a personal trainer and healthy lifestyle consultant.

Congratulations to Brooke + Justin.  We wish you the best as your careers take off!

Pete may have used the most clever and original proposal we’ve seen. What did he do? Read on to hear about it but it involves a puppy, oh so cute! This wedding took place at Bicentennial Beach on the Indian Harbor Beach right before sunset.  With Becca and Nate from {Studio222 Photography} there to capture these amazing details and all the fun, we knew we had to showcase it on our SW Blog.  Katie + Pete took care of all the planning which included bridesmaids dresses from {J.Crew}, a wedding cake from {Publix} and catering by their favorite place, {The Yellow Dog Cafe}.  To see all the shots check out Studio222’s {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? My friend and I stopped by a local English Pub on our way home from a baseball game. We were talking to the doorman at the entrance to the pub when Pete walked out and also began talking to the doorman. After they talked for a second, he sat down outside  to relax and get out of the smoke. I thought he was cute and looked very familiar. I actually met him briefly a year before so I walked over and said, “you look familiar”. We talked for a while but got interrupted when friends of his arrived. I went back to talking with my friends when about 20 minutes later a girl friend of his came up to me and asked if she could talk to me for a second. She told me, “Pete is upstairs and won’t stop talking about you. He asked if I would come down here and bring you upstairs to talk with him more”. Of course I said “Yes!”. We talked for an hour and half upstairs then he asked for my phone number and the rest is history.
Describe the proposal: Katie had been looking at a Malti-Poo puppy online for a month or so and really wanted it bad. I kept telling her there is no way. It was too expensive, and we didn’t need a dog at the time. Understand that she is very hard to fool or surprise and figures everything out. Because of that I had been trying to figure out a way to propose without her having a clue. I also tried to think of a way that it would be hard for her to say no. She kept asking, and I kept shooting her down making her think there was no way we were getting a dog. I called the girl that she was emailing about the puppy and asked her to tell Katie someone had already bought the dog. She did, and Katie was very sad when she found out. I had the puppy flown in on a Saturday morning, and my sister picked her up. I told Katie I was going surfing and afterwords we would go to lunch in Cocoa Village, a place where people take their dogs, and there are many places to eat outside. So I went surfing and when I got back I asked her to get ready to go eat. While this was going on our families and close friends were at the restaurant with the puppy waiting for us to show up. She still had no clue. We finally got to the restaurant and sat down outside. I wasn’t aware that the whole place knew what was going on because my family told everyone before we arrived. So we were sitting outside, and I had a friend of my niece sitting across the street holding the puppy while family and friends hid in the bushes. As soon as we sat down Katie noticed her holding the dog and immediately started saying there was a girl holding a puppy just like the one she wanted. She tried to get up and go over to the girl which would have ruined my plan so I had to make her sit back down by telling her not to bother her at least twice. The girl started walking over towards us, and Katie started going crazy asking her all kinds of questions that the girl had no clue about. Her part was to just walk over with the dog and ask us to hold her while she went to the bathroom. She finally asked, and Katie jumped up to grab the puppy but the girl was told to hand her to me first no matter what. So I grabbed the dog and sat down. Katie was so upset I took the dog first and started scolding me for doing so. I had to make sure the ring was on the dogs collar so she couldn’t see it right away. I finally handed her the dog and she didn’t see the ring for at least 2 or 3 minutes. I thought to myself, you’ve got to be kidding. She finally saw it and said ‘”Oh my gosh Pete, this girl has her diamond ring on the dog’s collar'” still clueless it was her engagement ring. I was trying my hardest not to start laughing. I gave her a funny look and finally she started screaming, “No way, is it mine? Is it really for me?” So finally the time had come to get down on my knee and propose. There was no way she could say no. It was the cutest puppy she had ever seen and the ring wasn’t half bad either. My plan was a success.
Why do you love your husband? I love my husband because his first love is Jesus Christ, he doesn’t take life too seriously, doesn’t hold resentment or anger for more then 5 minutes and because he shows me on a daily basis how much he loves me.
What attracted me to my wife was: The first time I laid eyes on her I thought she was beautiful with a very athletic figure. Just my type. Then after we started talking I realized she was more than just pleasing to the eyes, she was intelligent and made me laugh a lot. She was very witty and had many of the same interests as me. Most important was the fact that she went to church and was a Christ follower.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Our first date we went out for what I thought was only dinner at a sushi restaurant then home, but he surprised me by taking me an hour away to an indoor sky diving wind tunnel. It was super fun.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? Yes, we wrote our own vows. My vow to Pete, “Everyone has a definition of perfect, what in their eyes they see as the person that compliments them in every way, you are the most kind, laid back, and patient person. You are perfect for me. You are my perfect.”
The weather on our wedding day was: Sunny and very beautiful. There was a cold front coming in which was supposed to bring heavy rain, but there was not a drop of rain and as the day went on it got nice and cool.
Favorite design element of your big day: The beach
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I really wanted the Melissa Sweet “Lia” more then anything but did not want to pay the money for a new one so I bought a used one online. It was the perfect simple but elegant dress for the type of wedding I was having. One of my favorite elements of my wedding.
Describe your wedding flowers: I was going for a simple, chic look so I thought Gerbera Daisy’s were perfect to keep the simplicity. The pink was chosen because it stands out against the blue water at the beach.
Describe your wedding cake: It was a vanilla cake with chocolate pudding filling and butter cream frosting from Publix. I got so many compliments on it and everyone loved it.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Making sure the wedding was what I wanted, not what everyone told me I should have.
Hardest decision you made in planning? The reception place was very hard to decide. I wanted quality food with a laid back atmosphere. I definitely picked the right place. The Yellow Dog Cafe surpassed my expectations.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Simple, relaxed, and fun.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Remember your initial vision for your wedding and don’t compromise.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? I can’t narrow it down to one, but I really appreciated the guests who traveled long distances to come to our wedding.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Traveling and being best friends.
Any DIY items? The entire reception decor was envisioned by me and put into reality by my mother and her two friends.

Congratulations to Katie + Pete. We wish you the best as you enjoy being best friends!

Written with love by Lara Casey