Southern Weddings

What a pretty South Carolina wedding from Cheyenne Schultz Photography!  I love the bright pops of violet (check out the sophisticated orchids in the arrangements from Tim’s Touch Florist) and turquoise that accent Ashley + Jason’s soft color palate almost as much as I love the Landing on Shem Creek where the couple said their I-Do’s.  Did you catch the red clown nose the bride wore during her vows?  (There’s a cute story, I promise!)  Ashley looked sweetly Southern in a handmade gown (courtesy of Jason’s mom!) and her bridesmaids dazzled in blue-green frocks from David’s Bridal.  I keep coming back to the bride’s ultra-feminine bouquet of hydrangeas and calla lilies offset by a chain of purple orchids… wedding flower perfection!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story.  We met at a district in-service.  After being introduced at the Koger Center by some friends, we all decided to go to Wild Wing for a bite to eat.  We talked over drinks and found out that our families were a lot alike.  We had so much in common, we talked for hours.  After that night, we both knew we would be seeing more of each other.  The only problem was, through all of the talking, Jason never asked for my phone number!  My friend finally gave Jason my number and we’ve been together ever since.
Describe the proposal. We were going to meet some friends downtown one Thursday night.  It seemed like Jason wanted to do the exact opposite of everything I wanted to do.  We did not want to drive the same way, park in the same place or cross the road in the same direction.  Little did I know, he was trying to get us to the spot where we had our first kiss.  By the time we actually parked, I was frustrated that we were running late.  As we walked by the restaurant, Jason started slowing down and saying really sweet things (which made me even more frustrated because we didn’t have time to be “lovey-dovey”).  He got down on his knee and I told him to get up!  This was the last thing I expected.  Jason is not very good at keeping secrets and I was so sure I would know when he was going to propose.  I was so caught off-guard that I didn’t even answer him.  I just kept repeating, “Shut up, are you serious?  No really shut up, seriously?”  He finally said, “Would you just stop telling me to shut up and answer me!”  Finally, I said yes and we spent the night celebrating with our friends!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Surprise-filled, surreal, “us”
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  Lights!  My mom made sheer curtains to hang on both ends of the venue.  We had aqua lights shining up behind them.  When the sun went down, it was amazing how awesome the room looked!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: My dad surprised us with a boat ride in the Charleston Harbor.  It was a nice alternative to leaving in a limo or a carriage.  The view of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge at night was amazing!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  Actually, I didn’t have to find my dress.  Jason’s mom made it!  They live in Iowa so I wasn’t quite sure how we would pull it off, but with a couple of trips back and forth, we made it work!  I drew a rough sketch of what I wanted and we went to the dress shop to pick out fabric and details.  We bought material from Wal-Mart to make a practice dress to use for a pattern.  His mom had a friend stitch appliqués and then she came down for a week so that I could help her bead the dress.  After a few hours, I got the hang of it and we finished beading in about two days.  Jason’s little sister even helped!  When the dress was finished, it was exactly the picture I had in my head, detail for detail.  It was such a neat experience!

I think it’s safe to say that we’ve never seen floral arrangements (or a six-tiered cake!) like the ones at Kate + Pedro’s reception at the Four Seasons Austin.  I mean, have you seen the towering centerpieces or lush floral arch decorating the couple’s reception venue?!  Now I’m a self-confessed sugar addict, but even I wouldn’t know where to begin with this six-tier floral-topped confection.  Be sure to visit Ashley Garmon’s blog post of Kate + Pedro’s Southern celebration here!

Describe your wedding flowers:  We had flowers everywhere!  The main room had all-white tulips, roses, and orchids.  The bar room had blue and green flowers with thistle and hydrangea.
Describe your wedding cake: Our bride’s cake was white with bavarian cream and strawberries and blue sugar flowers.  The groom’s cake was chocolate with chocolate fudge. We really didn’t want any fondant on either cake so both had butter cream frosting.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Planning a Texas wedding while living in California.  I was so lucky to have such great help from my mom and our fabulous planner.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding? I carried  a horseshoe necklace on the bouquet… a spin on the Irish tradition of carrying a porcelain one.  We also ate dinner before going to the reception.  This way we actually got to taste all the food we had chosen since we did not have a seated dinner.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? We are so excited to be married and living happily in California.

Lovely, lovely, lovely!  An elegant lace-trimmed Romona Keveza, rich blue Amsale bridesmaid gowns and bright, full blooms from David Kurio Floral Designs are just a few of the things that made Kate + Pedro’s Texas wedding such a spectacular Southern affair!  Hats off to the couple’s wedding photographer, Ashley Garmon, and planner, Victoria Hentrich.  Check back soon for photos from the couple’s lavis Four Seasons reception!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story. We met by chance in Spain in a disco.  We started talking and realized that Pedro was renting a house from a friend of mine when he moved to Austin the following month.
Describe the proposal. Pedro took me to Santa Barbara for the weekend.  After a full day of running, swimming, drinks on the beach and a fabulous dinner, I told Pedro that this was ‘the best day ever.’  He said he could make it even better and got down on one knee.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Loving, fun and joyous.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Bringing the outside indoors.  We really wanted to have a fun party atmosphere and tons of flowers.
What was your favorite design element of your big day? The flower arch: it just smelled so wonderful when you walked through it.  We caught all the guests with their nose right up against the wall.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I chose an ivory Ramona Keveza with a touch of lace at the bust. The lace was embellished with beading to give it a bit of sparkle.