Southern Weddings

This gorgeous wedding ceremony was held at the breathtaking {Peachtree Road United Methodist Church} in Atlanta.  Kari Beth’s bridesmaids wore her favorite color, pink, and carried bouquets of various pink flowers from {Foxgloves & Ivy}.  Enjoy these beautiful images from photographer {Laura Negri}. Wedding
Coordination by the fabulous Lindsay Pitt of {Toast Events}. Wedding dress designer: {Anne Barge}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story… We met at Taylor Road Middle School in Alpharetta, Georgia, but became very close friends in high school. Josh took me to our Senior Homecoming Dance in the fall of 2001, with a group of friends. We lost touch in college when I went to Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and Josh went to rival college, the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. We met up again after I had graduated from Auburn, when a bunch of our high school friends were getting together at my house. We talked for hours and I found out that he was currently in the United States Coast Guard and was going to be stationed in Destin, Florida. We dated long distance for two years as I was in Suwanee, Georgia working as a First Grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School. He proposed on November 8th, 2005 by surprising me with lunch in my classroom while I was teaching. He read to my kids and answered their questions about the Coast Guard. When we dropped the kids off at the cafeteria, we went back to my classroom to eat our lunch. That is when he asked me if I would spend the rest of my life with him. Of course I said yes, and my students were absolutely thrilled to be the first ones to know!
What attracted me to my husband was: I love how laid back and fun-loving Josh is. He is rarely in a bad mood, and when he is, you would never be able to tell. He is also not too bad looking if you ask me!
Why do you love your husband? He is so thoughtful and is ALWAYS putting other’s feelings before his own. He is very family oriented and spends a lot of time with his family, as well as mine. Josh is the sweetest man that I have ever met!
What attracted me to my wife was: She is so goofy, just like me! She doesn’t care what other people think of her, and she has a certain confidence that lights up a room. Kari Beth is a very beautiful, smart, kind and loving person.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: My parents own a condo in Destin, Florida where Josh was stationed in the Coast Guard, and whenever I would come to visit, we would borrow the condo to feel like we were on vacation. Next door to the condo is the best seafood restaurant, right on the beach. The first time we went to this restaurant, we hadn’t seen each other in a while, so we wanted to make it really special. We sat outside right on the beach, ordered a nice bottle of wine, and didn’t hold back. We ordered almost everything on the menu and had the best time catching up with each other. We walked on the beach back to the condo, and I will never forget the crisp, beautiful moonlit scene. So romantic!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Believe it or not, it was the very first wedding dress that I ever tried on! My mom and I went to Anne Barge one Saturday in November thinking that we would try on several there and then compare at another boutique. I looked around and found several that I wanted to try on, but one really stuck out to me, so I tried that on first. Anne Barge was in the store that day and when I put the dress on she said to me, “That is the prettiest dress that I have ever seen on a bride!” I fell in love with the dress, but tried the rest on just to compare. Of course every dress after that that I tried on was still beautiful, but I knew that I had found my dress with that first one!
Describe your wedding flowers: I love pink; therefore, there were a lot of different pink flowers (roses, hydrangeas, mini calla lilies, etc.). The bridesmaid’s dresses were pink, so I chose forthem to carry white bouquets, and I carried a bouquet of mostly pink. The maid of honor had a slightly different bouquet, in that hers was mostly pink, but richer pinks than those that were in my bouquet. The flowers at the reception were absolutely gorgeous! There was a mixture of tall vases with big arrangements of pink roses, hydrangeas, calla lilies, etc. There were also short cube vases filled with pink roses to add some variety. There were several arrangements on the bars, credenzas, and any other nook and cranny we could find to place them. Foxgloves and Ivy in Atlanta, Georgia did a fabulous job!
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? The Gentry’s started a family tradition of eating dinner together as a family on the Wednesday before the wedding during his sister’s wedding in early November 2007. We carried that tradition over into our wedding where the Gentry and Freeman family had a combined family dinner on the Wednesday before our big day to bring the families together in a more intimate setting before the wedding so that our families could get to know each other even better.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Kari Beth: Getting to celebrate our marriage with all of our friends and family, and bringing everyone together again! Josh: Seeing Kari Beth come down the aisle at the church. She looked so beautiful!
Scariest moment? Both: Having to say our vows in front of 500 people!
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: The father of one of the ushers was hit by a car while walking across the street to the church. Josh and I didn’t find out until after the ceremony, and we were so worried. However, he is doing well and is recovering just fine.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: beautiful, romantic, fun
Did you write your own vows? We chose to repeat the traditional vows to each other, which is still very nerve-wracking to do in front of so many people!

Be sure to check back shortly for Part II of Kari Beth + Josh!

Written with love by Lara Casey

Welcome back for Part II of Esteban and Somerlea!  A million thanks to Poser for sharing this very special wedding with us.  Have a beautiful weekend!

Funniest moment?  Esteban: Diego, my brother, gave a great speech at the party. It was super long! And really really funny.

  Somerlea: Our ringbearer was actually a bunnybearer, he carried a live bunny up the aisle, because my little sister Elli loved bunnies and anytime my family see’s one they remind us of her, so it meant a lot to have an Elli bunny at the wedding. As the bunny bearer was walking up the aisle he turned around to where all the rest of the wedding party was waiting to walk up the aisle and said ” guys its too heavy, help the bunny is to heavy, uggghhh, help, bunny is so heavy”.  We all were laughing so hard.



The most unexpected event on our wedding day was:  Esteban: The dancing. We weren’t sure the whole dancing part was going to take off but it did and it was fun. My dad dancing was awesome to watch.

Somerlea: I was honored to have friends come from lots of different places. A friend came all the way from Korea just for the weekend.



Describe your wedding cake:  Esteban: We had two. Mine was chocolate with strawberries. It was great. Somerlea’s was white.

 Somerlea: By white he means amaretto.

 Esteban: Chocolate still wins.



Our favorite detail of the wedding was:  Somerlea: We had a canvas on an easel at the reception with paints and paint brushes with a sign that said ” Add your creative stroke to our painting.” It looked so gorgeous at the end with all the different swirls and designs we have it in our house now. Esteban: I really liked the way everything looked. I’m guessing this is very biased but it’s the coolest wedding I’ve ever been too. The gigantic sparklers at the end were really cool too. Some of our friends chased us out of the wedding with the sparklers; it was so cool to see people being happy for us. 


What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding?  Somerlea: It may be hard and there might be some big fights, but remember that you love each other and you are both under a lot of pressure, give each other lots of grace!

 Esteban: Enjoy the planning and be creative. Consider family and friends, but make sure to love your future spouse through it all. Planning can be stressful, but it can also be a great way to prepare for marriage.





Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. Esteban: Everybody kept telling us to kiss. That was fun. Best advice was probably the advice and support that my parents gave me throughout the day.
Fun details:  Esteban: We put corks in water in the centerpieces. I liked that idea. It was better than it sounded at first.

  Somerlea: We had the patio at our reception set up like an Italian marketplace, with a flower stand, candy shop, bistro tables, gelato vendor and a canvas and easel. I loved how eclectic and authentic it looked, not so structured like most wedding decorations are!



 What’s next for you as a couple?   
Esteban: I’m looking forward to living life together, the ups and the downs. We just got a puppy; a miniature Daschund named Choripan. It’s a challenge sometimes but it’s yet another way to get to know each other better. We don’t plan on having kids for many years, but I look forward to that day too.

  Somerlea: Its amazing to be living with my best friend and I am so excited to see what new adventures life will bring. There is a chance that we may move to Canada in the future so I am looking forward to exploring a new place with my husband!! And of course our new puppy or “son” as we call him, he is adorable and weird at times.

Congratulations, Esteban + Somerlea!

This wedding gave us all chills when we first saw it and read this couple’s beautiful story.  Chills turned to tears as we poured through these beautiful and moving images from the amazing Erik Clausen aka {Poser}. The wedding was planned by the bride who put her heart and soul into every detail. This outdoor Texas wedding was transformed into Tuscany with a flower cart welcoming guest to the ceremony and a yummy gelato cart at the reception. Floral design by {A Man & A Women Floral Design}.To see more details of this amazing wedding, check out Erik’s {Blog}.  Stay tuned for Part II of this beautiful celebration…

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Esteban: We met in Guatemala City (where I’m from) in December of 2002.

Somerlea: I was on a missions trip with my family in Guatemala and friends of mine invited me to go to church with them, soon after we got there a car pulled up and this guy with chizled features got out and took my breath away, I thought he seemed cocky and stuck up(cause he was so good looking and quiet) and Esteban told me later he had thought the same about me. Once we finally talked we felt and instant connection and realized our first impressions about eachother were way off. We only actually spent about 10 days together before he left to go back to school, but it was enough to get me hooked, we started dating three months later and then did long distance for five years.

 Esteban: I thought she was beautiful and was really nervous every time I was around her. I finally called one day and we spent 3 hours on the phone. We had long distance relationship for many years and that first phone call was a great way to start getting to know each other. 




Describe the proposal: Esteban: I was in LA for work on a Thursday and asked her to open her email. I had sent her a PowerPoint presentation telling her that I wanted to travel the world with her. I told her to pack her bags because we were going on a trip on Saturday. We went to the airport, had a layover in Chicago, and she didn’t know where we were going until I told her where “Newark”, our final destination, actually was. It was really funny when she thought I was joking that we were going to “Newark” (New Jersey airport). Somerlea: Esteban called me and told me to check my email, there was a power point with music that told our whole story and end with him asking me to see the world with him, starting on Saturday with a mystery flight. I didnt actually know where we were going until we got there and it was NewYork!! I am a dancer and so I have always dreamed of going to the city dripping with art and inspiration! It was a weekend out a dream world, Lion King, Hairspray, Jazz clubs, 5 star hotel, hot dogs, Julliard, dancing on broadway and it ended with the most amazing afternoon in central park, he rented a row boat and paddled us around a pond, I felt like a victorian lady out of Sense and Sensability, then he rowed us into this little lagoon where the branches touched the water and enveloped us with privacy.  He was so nervous and he was shaking.  He told me to close my eyes, I was so nervous I started to shake, then I felt the boat rock and when I opened my eyes he was kneeling in the boat facing me.   He asked me to marry him and told me he would always love me and take care of me(and lots of other stuff I dont remember).  I was so overwhelmed I actually said “I do”, like I was getting married or something, it was amazing! Oh yeah and the ring was incredible perfect!



What attracted me to my husband was:  Somerlea: His soft and inviting soul, I felt understood and appreciated every time we talked. When he looked into my eyes I felt transparent and free. I have never been more myself around anybody than I was with him,even my mom noticed it!



Why do you love your husband?  Somerlea: He is a handsome, strong and deeply driven man, that wants whats best for everyone around him. He is brilliant and fights for what he believes in, and its amazing when he believes in you, cause he fights for you then! He protects me and loves me with all his heart and is the most giving person of himself, and he truly enjoys it when he helps others.



What attracted me to my wife was:  Esteban: Somerlea is the girl of my dreams. I knew I wanted to marry her shortly after we met. She is intelligent, beautiful, fun, talented, and genuine. She is my best friend. She loves fully and selflessly; that’s the kind of girl you want to marry and spend the rest of your life with.





A date we went on that we’ll always remember:  Esteban: We went to Maui for Som’s birthday a few years ago. We rented a car, got on the famous road to Hana, and had breakfast at the 7 Sacred Pools. It was one of the most incredible places in the world, but we were also going through a difficult time in our lives. We had a fight, and we got through it. Love does not occur in romantic situations or beautiful places, it happens when you choose to do so regardless of circumstances. It takes a lot of commitment and dedication. 



The weather on our wedding day was:  Somerlea: It was a little too hot but we were so glad it didn’t rain.



What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Esteban: Tuscany + Modern

.  Somerlea: A Tuscan Wedding Feast!



Favorite design element of your big day:  Esteban: The designer herself, Somerlea! Somerlea’s creativity and attention to detail made the whole wedding awesome.

 Somerlea: Oh man thats hard, everything! I guess I really loved the ceremony outside, we had sunflowers and a perugula that was covered with greenery and grapes, I felt like I was in a fairytale.



Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  Somerlea: It was technically the first dress I tried on.  My sister saw it and made me try it on and it was perfect. I tried on so many after that to see if there were any others, but none could compare to the first one. Thanks Jess!

  Esteban: I was not allowed to give any input on this area. Once I saw it, I thought it was beautiful. And hot.



Describe your wedding flowers:  Esteban: Somerlea had a really cool large sun flower, and I had one too. The flowers inside the room were simple and elegant. 


Somerlea: We had simple cream roses for the centerpieces in vases with corks floating in them and two pears sitting in front. I carried a single sunflower (it represented my sister Elli) and my bridesmaids carried long stem cream roses tied with a single burgundy ribbon tied around them. We also had a “flower market” outside that went along with the Tuscan theme and our guests were able to give them to each other.



Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line?  Esteban: We both wrote our own vows. I liked all of hers. 

Somerlea: The whole thing was incredible but the one thing that stuck out to me was a line from a favorite song of ours, ” Beauty cannot describe the ground that you walk on.” He is a writer and the vows were flawless, they blended beautifully and should be published.



What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?  


Somerlea: I really struggled with the whole concept of getting married without my little sister there, she passed away three years ago. Esteban was always very supportive and understood when I couldn’t handle something that was normally expected of a bride.  Esteban: That was definitely the hardest. I guess logistically, we also had to do a lot of thinking to get people in from our home countries (Guatemala and Canada). It was difficult to decide when to do it and where, as well as figure out how to do certain things because we come from different cultures. 


Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding?  Esteban: We are Christians and we are really close to our families so we had family members play and sing worship, read poems, and pray over us during the ceremony. We also asked our parents and siblings to speak at the party, and they said incredibly special words. Somerlea’s dad had been carrying a key
(to Somer’s heart) for 12 years and he passed it on to me.



What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  
Esteban: Our vows and the first kiss.

  Somerlea: When Esteban was reading his vows and he started to well up with tears and could barely get the words out, it was the most beautiful thing I have every seen.



Scariest moment?  Esteban: I finished writing my vows at 4am on the day of the wedding. I think I was pretty scared the whole time I was writing them because those words had to mean so much. 

Somerlea: We didn’t have an actual wedding planner so getting all the details together for the wedding day was crazy! The best thing I did was delegating on the wedding day and not obsessing over any of the details, my Aunt took over on that day and directed everyone so I didn’t have to worry! Thanks Auntie Carol!




Check back shortly for Part II…