Southern Weddings

Every now and then we get a wedding where the couple really looks truly, madly and deeply in love, and, after a quick look through Nicole + Danny’s wedding pictures, there’s no question this couple was ecstatic on their wedding day.  (Kudos to Rachel from Millie Holloman Photography for so expertly capturing the heartfelt emotion of the day and Courtney Arnold of Stellar Events for executing the North Carolina affair.)  Stunning in a short, pleated frock from Lillian Banderas, Nicole reminds us that it isn’t the long white gown that makes your wedding day… but the hot aqua patent stilettos from Valentino!  As a fan of all-white blooms, I especially love the sophisticated floral arrangements from Salt Harbor Designs.

Emily’s note: Can I just say — I don’t know much about what my eventual wedding will look like, but I sure hope I have as big of a smile on my face as I walk down the aisle as Nicole did.  She is beaming!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story. We meet just over three years ago.  I was working as a Fashion Editor at Ocean Drive Magazine in Miami, Florida and Danny was working as a rep for WESC, a Swedish clothing company.  WESC was launching the brand in Miami and came into the magazine for a meeting to promote their brand. Danny, along with his associates, invited us to the launch party later that evening.  My best friend, Meagan, and I decided to go to the party and had the best night!  Danny and I were in touch the next day and started dating.
Describe the proposal. Danny proposed to me in Buenos Aires, Argentina just two days after my sister’s wedding. My sister was married on my father’s estancia in Salta, Argentina in April 2009.  Danny and I had been talking about getting married and engaged for months. I had no idea when he would actually pop the question.  His plan was to wait until after my sister’s wedding to propose.  After the wedding, Danny and I had planned to spend a few days in Buenos Aires for fun. The second night we were there, I wanted to make dinner plans with friends of ours who were visiting for my sister’s wedding, but Danny really wanted to go to dinner by ourselves after spending so much time with family and friends during the wedding.  I agreed, not giving it a second thought. We went to a really cool restaurant in an old city mansion and were having a great evening. On the walk back to the apartment in Buenos Aires, Danny suggested that we take a walk around the square located directly in front of the apartment: a little city plaza with a monument and fountain. I had no idea why he would want to walk through there. As we were turning the corner around the monument, Danny stopped and said, “Look at that on the wall.” There was graffiti and I was baffled at what he was trying to get at. He looked at me and said, “Don’t you remember in high school, when you would text that?” That’s when I realized that the “143” scrawled on the wall was code for “I love you.”  By the time I turned around to look at him, he was down on one knee with a ring in his hand. I was in total shock. I had known he was the one I was going to be with forever, but I had no idea when he was going to propose and certainly did not think it would happen on that trip. The graffiti was a total coincidence!  He claims he had no idea how we was going to lead into the proposal and that he was really nervous, but when he looked up and saw the numbers it clicked ! The location of the proposal was very special to me because the balcony at our family apartment in Buenos Aires looks over the plaza. We have not been back since the proposal in April, but I know it will be such a beautiful reminder every time we visit.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Exciting, comforting and CRAZY fun!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Simple and sophisticated. We wanted everything to be very clean and elegant. We both love and appreciate design and wanted to incorporate nice details without over doing it.
What was your favorite design element of your big day? I have to say the dining room (and especially the dinning room tables!) was my favorite design element!  We were able to create a sort of u- shape with the tables that lined the dance floor. It made for the most intimate setting, and it was just as we had imagined our wedding: a large dinner party with all of our closest friends and family. We did not use linens on the tables, as they already had such a rich color and texture.  Instead, we decorated with lots of glass, candlelight and flowers for a really clean and crisp feel.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: At weddings in Argentina at midnight, guests always pass out crazy has, noise-makers and party favor, so we decided to incorporate this tradition into our wedding. After a couple of hours of dancing, all the fun supplies were passed out and it took the party to another level!  We had masks, boas, hats, crazy glasses and even glow sticks.  I also loved the Macaroon tower that was part of our candy bar.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I love wearing shorts and short dresses, so I assumed I would wear a short dress for my wedding. I went to try on dresses with my mother-in-law and found a dress I loved.  To my surprise, it was a long beautiful wedding gown, and I just didn’t feel quite myself so decided not to buy it.  At that moment, I knew I had to go with a dress that was really a reflection of me and my personality. I called my friend Lillian, who is a stylist and designer and who had designed my dress for my sister’s wedding, and asked if she would make a dress for mine. We had so much fun working on a design together. We looked loads of inspiration images and went to all types of fabric stores. And, step-by-step, I would go for fittings and she would keep tweaking the dress slightly. I am obsessed with bows- I wear a bow charm necklace everyday – and she managed to incorporate it on to the back of the belt she made to go around my waist. The best surprise of the dress was she had sewn in a blue lining with white polka dots. This was my “something blue.” She nailed the dress! If I were a dress, I would look like the one she made for me.

Millie Holloman is a Southern Weddings sponsor.

Heaven.  I am officially in my wedding heaven.  Humor me here while I indulge in my gold, black + white wedding fantasy.  Kristen + Grant’s reception at The Cloister Clubroom on St. Simons Island in Georgia is literally dripping with luxe crystal details and gold accents, but what I really like is how the happy couple gave their elegant affair a sophisticated update with chic feather accents (did you see the plume on their four-tiered confection from Natasha Zeal of the Sea Island Culinary Team?) and subtle black details.    And the lighting – oh the lighting! – is really spectacular.   (Note to self: must add this wedding to my inspiration folder.)  Emily is going to make fun of me if I don’t stop gushing, so, for your sakes, I will, with just one question: this wedding really is something, right?

Describe your wedding flowers: The chapel had such a beautiful, simple elegance that we decided not to use any flowers. Instead, we used two tall arrangements of white ostrich plumes by the altar.  Rose at the cloister did such an amazing job on the flowers! On the head table, we had a trumpet vase filled with lush, fragrant all-white garden arrangements featuring hydrangea, stock, lisianthus, vivianne spray roses and heiress garden roses with plumes of white ostrich feathers rising from the center. The look was completed by the addition of hanging Swarovski crystals, beaded crystal votives and cut crystal candlesticks along the entire length of the table.  In my bouquet, I carried white heiress garden roses accented with feathers and Swarovski crystals. The bouquet was wrapped in silk and pinned with Grant’s great grandmother’s vintage brooch.
Describe your wedding cake: The cake was gorgeous! So gorgeous, in fact, that we had it displayed in the center of the room. It was so close to the dance floor, I was afraid a guest might fly into it while dancing! I knew I wanted to include the ostrich feathers and the crystals in the cake and the Sea Island culinary team did such a great job designing it!  It had huge ostrich plumes coming out of the top.  We wanted to create a chandelier effect with crystals on the cake, so we hung Swarovski crystals from the top layer. The cake was also covered in sugar crystals which looked so amazing against the candlelight and crystals.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding? Everyone knows that I love a good costume party, so we decided to have a “fancy dress box” on the dance floor. We had a vintage trunk filled with boas, top hats, gloves, canes, mustaches, fake jewels and feathered headbands. It really took the party to a whole new level! Everyone was dressed in costume by the end of the night.  We had so much fun and the pictures are priceless.  In addition, I asked all of the guests to wear silver, black or gold and the women to wear floor length gowns. It really added to the glamour of the night. All of my friends and family looked like movie stars and the pictures were amazing.  Also, Grant’s uncle Zeke (the judge who married us) and his wife Linda had a beautiful vase made out of the glass that Grant stomped on at the end of the ceremony. It is now proudly displayed in our living room as a wonderful reminder of our wedding day.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  Grant insists his favorite part of the wedding was seeing me walk down the aisle!  For me, it was when Grant and I snuck down to the boat dock to be alone for a few minutes in between courses.  It was very dark and there was one single chandelier hanging from the tree above us. The wedding planner had left the 40’s music from the cocktail reception playing on the terrace, so Grant and I had a single dance there under the chandelier next to the water. It was one of the sweetest, most romantic moments of my life.
Funniest Moment: During the ceremony, Grant accidentally said “I do” before being asked!  So adorable!
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We both knew that we wanted our ceremony to be short and sweet! Grant was raised Jewish and I was raised Christian so we created our own ceremony in which we could celebrate the traditions of both religions. It turned out to be a very intimate and special ceremony! We had so many guests comment on how sweet and unique it was. We also had a special part in the ceremony where we honored our grandparents who had passed. I was very close to my Grandmother Haralson, so that had extra special meaning for me.
Fun Fact: We were married on the same day as JFK and Jackie O’!
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? We are really looking forward to our long-awaited honeymoon in Greece!

Congratulations, Kristen + Grant!  Enjoy your fabulous honeymoon!

Why yes, I do adore this Gatsby-inspired wedding from The Parsons, thank you very much!  (If you’re a regular here, you probably already knew that, though.)  But, seriously, classic black – make that white – tuxedoes with sharp bowties, a chic and sophisticated Palazzo gown, a bouquet of all-white roses courtesy of Rose Sinclair at the Sea Island Florist?  Kristen + Grant’s upscale black tie affair, held at the Sea Island Chapel, makes my traditional heart go pitter-patter.  Add in the fact that this beautiful couple tied the knot in the Southland (Georgia, to be precise) and you pretty much have my recipe for a perfect Southern wedding.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  A mutual friend, Thom, had been trying to set us up for months. He invited me to a happy hour and brought Grant, and we ended up flirting most of the night. Grant claims that he knew he wanted to marry me that night. (So sweet!)  Soon after we met, he asked me out for sushi. After dinner and a lot of sake, we literally shut down the restaurant. Grant was living in San Diego, but also had an office in Chicago where he worked a lot. After dating a couple of months, I somehow managed to convince him to move from the warm and sunny beaches of San Diego to Chicago in the middle of the winter.  Now that’s love!   He moved to Chicago, then we both moved to Denver, Colorado a year later and the rest is history!
Describe the proposal. It was Super Bowl Sunday and a powder day so we decided to forgo watching the game and head to nearby Breckenridge to ski. We both love to ski so I expected nothing out of the ordinary. Breckenridge boasts the highest lift in North America, which I’d been dying to tackle. Mid-day, Grant casually asked if I wanted to head up to the top. We jumped on the lift and, when we got to the top, I skied on, anxious to get down (I’m afraid of heights). When I turned around, Grant was on his knees on his snowboard about 20 feet away from me. He then started inching awkwardly toward me in the snow. I was cracking up! I had no idea what he was doing and was urging him to hurry up. When he finally got to me, he was exhausted but still able to say, “Will you marry me?” I was shocked, but absolutely thrilled!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Can I say four? Vintage, elegant, unforgettable and FUN!!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? The Cloister hotel in Sea Island, Georgia.  Grant’s family has a home in St. Simon’s, Georgia where we have been vacationing together since we started dating. It is one of our favorite places on Earth! We knew we wanted to get married there and the Cloister proved to be the perfect spot. We loved the glamour and rich history of the old hotel combined with the rustic marsh in its backyard. The Cloister was built in 1928 and has since become a legend in the South. We wanted to celebrate the Cloister’s history with a theme that romanticized old-Hollywood glamour the 30’s and 40’s. The Clubroom at The Cloister, where we had our reception, is absolutely stunning: a perfect backdrop with its breathtaking vintage chandeliers, old-school charm and antiqued mirrored panels.
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  The unbelievable vintage chandeliers in The Clubroom. I am just in love with them! The room was filled with candlelight that just looked amazing bouncing of the chandeliers. We wanted to bring the glamour and drama of the chandeliers into the outdoor areas of our wedding so we hung more chandeliers from the old oak trees on the terrace and in the garden. They were so amazing!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Instead of doing the traditional sendoff in a fancy car, we used a good family friend’s vintage restored CJ7.  Over time, it became a tradition of ours in St. Simon’s to take the jeep to watch the sunset on the marsh. We knew the jeep had to be part of the wedding!  And even though it rained the night of our wedding, my two brothers-in-law drove the Jeep home for us in their tuxes. They were soaked and loved every minute of it!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I was the girl that had to try on hundreds of dresses before I found “the one.” (I actually ended up buying two wedding dresses when it was all said and done.) I bought the first dress in Savannah, Georgia when I was on a wedding planning trip with my Mom and Aunt Nancy.  I was newly-engaged and overly excited, to say the least. I found a gorgeous Reem Acra dress and bought it on impulse. I think I got swept up in the idea of getting a dress that day even though I had not tried many dresses on. When I returned to Denver, I had the sinking feeling that I had made a mistake. After months of trying on dresses in multiple cities, I found the one! It was so sleek and glamorous, just like what I imagined a 40’s Hollywood starlet would wear.  I learned my lesson the hard way. Take your time ladies!! It’s the most important dress you will ever wear!