Southern Weddings

This beautiful beach wedding was coordinated by Penelope from the {Amelia Island Plantation}.  Catering by the Amelia Island Plantation and fudge favors by {Fantastic Fudge}.  Yum!  Bridal party attire by {J.Crew}.  To check out all the shots, click over to Scarlett Lillian’s {Blog}. 

The weather on our wedding day was: The most beautiful Florida day we could have been blessed with, as if God painted the canvas to match the rest of our design….
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Classic Americana Beach Wedding
Favorite design element of your big day: I loved that the overall simplicity (J Crew attire for the bridal party, shells, starfish, sea grass, white votives, steel drums, close family and friends) is what created the most perfect beach wedding. Both indoors and out.
Describe your wedding flowers: Timeless. I love the wild daises that grow in the south and I especially love when you see that patch near the east coast, the ocean in the background, with the sea grass setting off the bright white and yellow color of the daisy. We used that picture to create the bouquets and centerpieces adding the shells, lemons and limes to tie in that ideal fresh look. Even my three pound yorkie, Cletus, wore a daisy necklace around his collar.
Describe your wedding cake: Quintessentially classic. We kept traditional details like the tiers, the white color with dainty edges but added the clean details we had incorporated elsewhere – lemons, limes, daisy blooms and shells.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We couldn’t decide between these two:
The music: the sound of the steel drums on the most beautiful beach evening was like something out of a romantic movie … and my cousin and her husband playing acoustic guitar and singing the song that seemed to explain our relationship so unequaled, “God Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts. The pictures of Brian with tears streaming down his cheeks and the minister holding us close, are some of the most dear.
The bringing together of two families: symbolized by the minister when he mixed the dark Tennessee soil, brought from my childhood home by my parents, with the white Atlantic sand at the wedding ceremony on Amelia Island, Brian’s childhood home.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? A destination wedding can be somewhat stressful especially when your fulltime job has you working 80-90 hours a week. What could have been enough for a bride to have a breakdown was solved when Brian and I decided to seek the help of Penelope; a best friend’s wife who lived on Amelia and had taste I knew would work well with mine. It was great to solve the challenge before it became a problem and Penelope and my mom worked hard together to narrow down choices so that I only had a few options with each wedding category that needed a decision.
Scariest moment? This is such a girly scary moment but the rest of the day seemed so painless, so effortless it was scary in the moment. I had not tried on my dress since it had come back from the last fitting that was weeks prior. I had been in Florida for the week before my wedding – eating my favorite foods like shrimp, key lime pie and the good stuff. So the first step into my dress, with my bridesmaids, I am laughing while sucking in at the same time and holding my breath. Also, praying the dress would still fit as perfectly as I’d remembered, weeks prior.
Funniest moment? Scarlett Lillian, our photographer, takes the most astonishingly creative pictures. It was one of the first qualities that first drew us to her. She had us taking some great bridal party group pictures like with jumping, running, sitting. Well, one of the groomsmen split his pants from the funky position he was posed in. And he had forgotten his undergarments. We insisted he keep taking pictures. It sure did help create genuine smiles on everyone’s faces in the last few frames.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The seamlessness with which everything flowed the entire day. Brian and I looked at each other on the terrace outside the reception as the night was drawing to a close and both agreed, we couldn’t have imagined a more perfect beginning to start the rest of our lives together.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: exhilarating, time-honored, romantic
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Enjoy the time, be grateful for each day of anticipation and even when time won’t allow you to focus entirely on the special day. Find a little something, a detail you can make all your own: the gifts we gave our guests, the sand pails filled with items representing the island, Brian and myself (sand dollar shaped chocolates from local Candy store, green tea bags, photo albums with an inset seashell and one of our engagement photos to hold the rest of the pictures from their trips to Amelia Island) were something I worked on personally with my part time planner Penelope. It helped me feel really involved and they were such an awesome addition to the setting we had already created.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. I don’t believe there was one most memorable as Brian and I sat amazed at our dinner table as guest after guest stood up to affirm via a story, a toast, a few words. This was exactly what Brian and I knew, we were meant to be together. How cool to have those closest to you personally give their blessing as well.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? A baby! Before we reach our first wedding anniversary we will be blessed with a new addition to our family. The future is no further than tomorrow as each day we wake to a new experience, a new feeling and a sense of hope for our little one to arrive healthy in the late spring…
Other details you want us to know about your wedding: The Amelia Island Plantation was the site of our wedding and reception and the wedding coordinator and team were a pleasure to work with on helped us with recommended florists, our menu, our cake and everything else. Our minister, Jim Tippins, was also amazing and instantly bonded with our families. His added special details that included bringing the soil and sand from our hometowns, and the water ceremony, incorporated our love ones into our celebration just as we had wished. Scarlett Lillian – what can I say? You will not find a photographer who captures the emotions, the passion, the love felt, not only by the bride and groom but by everyone who attends in their pictures.

Congratulations to Sarah + Brian! We wish you happiness and joy as your family grows to three!

I’m dreaming of a …beach wedding… just like the ones we used to feature.  Alright, alright, I’ll stop humming Bing Crosby Christmas carols!  Now that we are nearing the New Year, we thought we’d bring you something fresh!  Sarah + Brian’s Florida wedding is the perfect cure for cold day in December. Capturing this fantastic wedding at the {Amelia Island Plantation} was the hot Florida-based photographer, {Scarlett Lillian}. Thanks so much, Scarlett, for sharing this fun wedding with us today!  More to come in part II…

How did the two of you meet? Brian was transferred temporarily to my hometown of Nashville TN. It was not my territory but after a couple months of working long days and still finding time and reasons to spend much time together as possible (any excuse – extra work so staying at the office late, dinner time, needing a ride somewhere) and a “break-up” dinner before ever dating dinner, Brian finally asked me out on an “official date”. Our first date was in Brian’s hometown, a tiny beach side restaurant called “The Surf”, staying at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton and meeting all of his wonderful friends and family and we knew from that moment, we would be together forever and yes, the temporary became permanent.
Describe the proposal: On our one year “dating anniversary “Which we spent back in Amelia Island, the site of our first official date”, I wanted to surprise Brian – I had packed little gifts in my suitcase and a sweet card filled with words about how much he meant to me, how he inspired and surprised me and how grateful I was that he was brought into my life. Brian looked at me when I said “happy anniversary” and said, “Why are you celebrating and giving me gifts? It’s just a dating anniversary…” I took a deep breath and tried not to cry, little did I know this was part of his elaborate plan. Brian made little comments about it not being a big deal, it was a just a “dating anniversary” all day. But for me, it was a such an important marker – not only a year, but a year with the person who seemed to be my soul mate. But Brian was laying the groundwork for his surprise. His friends and family met us that evening at the same restaurant in which we had our first date, The Surf. We ate dinner with everyone, me trying to fight back my tears of frustration with him as we started a discussion of “if this doesn’t mean that much to you, maybe we should take a break?” We headed back to the Ritz, where Brian dropped to a knee and proposed on our balcony. When I finally felt like I could make sounds again, I screamed, “I can’t believe you” at Brian, in which case he said – “could you answer me please?” I said yes and his family rushed into our room to celebrate. We made our way downstairs to dance the night away to the jazz band in the lobby bar. It could not have been more splendid.
What attracted me to my husband was: His gentle spirit and sense of humor that he tries to cleverly mask with a “tough guy” exterior. I loved watching the smile start to spread across his face when I did something frivolous, flirty or in my usual style – goofy.
Why do you love your husband? As cliché as it is… his love for my family, his family, and now – our unborn child and me. He makes me want to be a better person. He balances me and at the same time, knocks me off guard, he absolutely completes me.
What attracted me to my wife was: Passion, belief, faith, and forgiveness. She has a gift, an ability to see the good in everything and everyone and to believe in that goodness. I was truly intrigued when we first met. Listening to her stories and hearing no matter how bad anything seemed to me she was always able to see the good. After a while I came to the realization that she actually is the person I was so intrigued by.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Our non-dating “break-up dinner”. After weeks of enjoying each other’s company, spending time together whenever we could. Rendezvous in Memphis, Tennessee (one of our favorite restaurants to this day) was the location for the infamous dinner in which we discussed our breaking up. Mind you – we’d never been on one date. Brian asked “Did you just break up with me even though we aren’t dating?” to which I replied “I think so, but it’s just better this way. This thing we have going is just too good so let’s just make sure it doesn’t start…then we don’t ever have to end it bad.” We laughed, agreed, finished our dinner and Brian asked me out “officially” two weeks later, it was such a sign of things to come. No matter the circumstance we seem to find the sense of humor in it all.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Some people say that looking for a wedding dress can be stressful, a little more difficult than what you imagine it to be. But, with my absolute affinity for clothing (some close to me might call it an addiction ) dress shopping was such an amazing experience. The girl, who can never have enough beautiful clothes, gets to try on the some of the most fantastic dresses in the world. My mom, my sister, a good friend and even my father, alternated days spent shopping with me. As I played dress-up, trying to find that “it” dress from online designer galleries to every store offering a variation of a wedding dress in Nashville. My only struggle was that the “it” dress had to be perfect for the beach … it had to move in the breeze, retain the simplicity of the classic design we had incorporated throughout but still be my perfect “wedding” dress. I found the designer at a local boutique near my home, in Franklin Tennessee, {Faccio}. They had also worked with my sister to create her dream wedding gown and it was my last stop. The designer was {Rivini}, who I absolutely loved every dress in the collection and tried on the pieces from the latest runway show, they were elegant, simple and seemed to be as close to what I saw me wearing in my dreams about the now quickly approaching BIG day. I found that very Americana yet “beach wedding” dress in almost all of the Rivini dresses from the new collection. Picking one that seemed to be “the one”, and everyone gave their seal of approval. We did leave the boutique to go eat lunch so that we could come back to sign the papers without stomachs growling. My mom and I turned around as we closed the door to the shop and saw in the window – the “it” dress! It had been forgotten in the search, hidden in the front of the store. We just knew without exchanging words, such a classic strap less dress with layers that looked like they would blow so effortlessly in the wind at the perfect beach ceremony – we had to try it! Forgoing lunch (it was as though we were never hungry), I stepped back in to try on that dress and the teary eyed smile from my father and that look from my mother that said “that’s it”. I knew I had found my “it” dress!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? We still remember the first time we saw each other that day, as I came over the boardwalk, Brian was on the beach. We smiled and if it was possible, without words, it was as if we fell in love even more.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? My dad walking me down the aisle. I couldn’t imagine changing that tradition not being our ceremony, no matter where the wedding occurred. My father and mother being married for thirty plus years, their marriage teaching me what genuine unconditional love is and being the first born, I was and will, always be daddy’s girl.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? We didn’t write our vows but worked with the minister to create ones more tailored to our ideal, which was to tie in our families and friends, those we care about most, to the ceremony. Our vows included interaction from those gathered
to help us celebrate – He asked our parents each for their blessings, in which they responded with “they do”, and then he had all guests stand, Brian and I facing them and asked – “Will you, family and friends, stand beside them, celebrating their decision and do all in your power to uphold this marriage in the days and years ahead?” In which case they all responded with, “We will”. It was such an emotionally charged moment in the ceremony and one we will remember always.

More from Sarah + Brian to come!