Southern Weddings

With V6, a brand new website and our exciting Southern Living announcement brewing, the holidays snuck up on us this year! Before we could say “scuppernong,” our Third Annual Gingerbread Barn Building Competition was before us! Of the many exciting things we get to do around this time of year (like our launch party), this event is definitely one of our favorites. It always marks the beginning of the merriest season and gives the SW gals a lot more time to talk to our readers and friends (and to eat lots of candy). We met our very own Kristin Winchester at our first Gingerbread Barn Building event, so it will always have a soft spot in our hearts.

Be sure to check out our live stream of the event on our Ustream channel. You get to hear Emily and I talk like sports commentators, as we take this competition very seriously. Huge hugs to the lovely Robyn Van Dyke for spending the evening with us and capturing all of the action!

The Carolina Inn is magical during the holidays. We were so lucky that they hosted us for a third year!

We saw so many familiar faces this year and were happy to welcome back some old pros at the gingerbread craft. We love that our former editor, Whitney and former intern, Melissa came! Aprons are encouraged, and it put a big smile on our faces to see so many people donning their favorites.

Y’all, the competition gets fierce as time runs out! Gingerbread barn builders are only given three rules: 1) you must build your barn within the bounds of your plate, 2) you may only use edible items and 3) you must be finished within 75 minutes! We snapped a quick photo by the Carolina Inn’s Christmas tree before we began judging.

We inspected many fine barns as we made our way around the room. We love hearing each group’s inspiration, their execution strategy and the explanation of their final product. We gave out prizes to some honorable mentions, including the lovely buildings below.

Above, on the left: Two-year-old Grace’s barn didn’t get an honorable mention, but kudos to such a young competitor! On the right: Honorable mention for Most Structurally Sound.

Above, on the left: Honorable mention for Most Architecturally Creative. On the right: Honorable mention for Most Festive. This barn featured a barnyard animal holiday party, in which the guests were instructed to “BYOH” or bring your own hay :)

Below: Honorable mention for Most Creative Story. This poor gingerbread barn was devastated by a hurricane, but its residents (who survived the brunt of the storm by climbing to the roof) are ready to rebuild for the holidays.

Finally, it was time to announce our winners! Anticipation filled the air…

…and these lovely gals won! Their structural integrity, red barn wood and happy reindeer stole our hearts!

We are giving giant hugs to everyone who came out to celebrate the season with us — we had so much fun with y’all! If you weren’t able to make it, we hope to see you next year.

Be sure to check out our Second Annual Gingerbread Barn Building Recap and our First Annual Gingerbread Barn Building Recap for plenty of holiday inspiration!

Written with love by Nicole