Southern Weddings

Don’t you just love this pristine venue? The reception was at the beautiful Bellview Park Green in Carillon Beach, Florida.  Event planning by Victoria from {Carillon Weddings}.  Victoria worked with the talented Christina from {Nouveau Flowers} and Donna from {Townsend Catering} to make this event spectacular.  To see more check out Paul’s {Blog} and Victoria’s {Blog}.  Happy Friday!

The weather on our wedding day was:  Absolutely amazing.  It was cooler than normal because of the recent hurricane weather.  There was not a drop of seaweed on the beach and the most amazing sunset for great pictures!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  RELAXED.  I wanted all of it to be beautifully comfortable and relaxed.  The florist did an amazing job completing everything just to my personality.
Favorite design element of your big day:  The reception. I was very excited about having a lounge to the side of the tent.  I wanted everyone to be comfortable.
Describe your wedding cake: I wanted it to be simple on the outside, yet full of different flavors on the inside.  It was beautifully decorated with beach accents and each layer was a different and unique flavor.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?   HURRICANE IKE possibly hitting Florida 3 days before the wedding.  We had to have a “back-up” wedding in my hometown planned.  It was extremely stressful, yet a little exciting.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  When the reality hit me.  There I was, at the beach, with my best friends and family, and about to marry the love of my life!  AMAZING!
Scariest moment?   Again, Ike.  Having a hurricane possibly blow through your wedding tends to put all the other possible mishaps into perspective!
Funniest moment?   We had to move the reception site due to the hurricane.  During the middle of the reception, the sprinklers turned on.  There were men running everywhere trying to cover them.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding?   Do not plan a beach wedding during hurricane season.  Also, let your mother know constantly how much you appreciate her.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration.  To ENJOY it.  A couple of people told me that they can barely remember their wedding because they were too caught up in unimportant details.  I really tried to focus on the present and soak it all in.
What’s next for you as a couple?  Well, right now we are just settling in.  He is building his medicine practice and we are enjoying being back in his hometown.
What are you looking forward to in the future?  Traveling together!  We have a long list of places that we want to go to.  We are hoping to go to Africa in the near future.

Congratulations to Ellen + Richard! We wish you at lifetime of happiness!

This fresh Florida wedding highlights everything we love about outdoor weddings… stunning beach scenery, beautiful blue skies, a classic tent for dinner and dancing, beautiful flowers and a refreshing breeze.  And to think a hurricane was predicted to hit the area three days before!  Ellen + Richard had to move their reception venue at the last minute due to the hurricane predictions, but they were blessed with perfect weather in the end!  The ceremony took place on the Village Green in Carillon Beach, Florida.  Special thanks to {Paul Johnson Photography} for sharing these beautiful images with us!

How did the two of you meet? We met in San Francisco at a medical conference.  I was working in Melbourne, Australia and he was completing his fellowship at Mississippi Sports Medicine.  My father was celebrating his presidential year of an orthopedic society, AANA, in San Francisco.  I flew in from Australia to celebrate with my family and friends.  Richard came to San Francisco as a fellow surgeon under my father.  We met at the dinner/dance, the last night.  My father actually grabbed him and made him dance with me.  I returned to Australia the next day. I was a little sad that he had not asked for any contact info.  He did some research and I had an email from him when I got back to Australia.  We emailed every day for 3 months…. the rest is history.
Describe the proposal: It is hard to surprise me, but he got me! We both work in the hospital and we both take calls for surgery.  I was on call one busy weekend.  I did some surgery early Saturday and took a little nap before a nice dinner date.  Richard was picking me up at 7 to go to one of our favorite restaurants.  At 6:45 one of the hospitals called in a panic.  One of my surgeons had a patient on the table and he needed me RIGHT NOW.  I quickly called Richard and cancelled dinner, threw on scrubs, and rushed to the hospital.  When I got there, Julie, the main nurse, told me to hurry into room one, they were waiting on me.  I flew into the OR and passed room 1.  I realized that I had passed it and that things were unusually quiet.  I walked back to the room and he was standing there with roses and a ring.  I was so emotionally confused that I could not even answer his question.  He had a limo outside and our dinner reservations were not cancelled.
What attracted me to my husband was: His sense of humor and his childlike love for life and for people.
Why do you love your husband?   His sincerity and his passion in life.
What attracted me to my wife was:  Her sense of adventure and humor.  She loves to try new things and she can laugh at herself.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Our first date!  Once he completed his fellowship, he came to Melbourne to visit me.  He arrived around 10am in Australia.  I showed him all around my favorite city in the world.  We had waited for 3 months to see each other again.  It was amazing.  That night, I blindfolded him and took him to the highest tower in Australia.  Once we were on the viewing deck, I took his blindfold off.  The city lights were unbelievable.  It was unforgettable…. (However, I did not know he was that afraid of heights!)
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  It was one of the first that I tried on in San Francisco.  It looked horrible on the hanger, but the saleswoman talked me into trying it on.  I fell in love with it, however, I could not commit until my sisters saw it on me in Atlanta.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding?   Well, it is not exactly a family tradition, but my sisters, Kristen and Melissa, and I each carried up a separate set of flowers to place in a vase in memory of our sister, Sarah.  She passed away 9 years ago.  It was very important to me to have her “there”.

Check back later for more from Ellen + Richard…