Southern Weddings

Who’s ready for a sunny beach wedding?!  Good!  Me, too.  And, as usual, the talented Paul Johnson is here to deliver.  And if the Carillon Beach location isn’t enough to put a spring in your step, just take a look at Katie’s radiant smile — that is the look every girl should have on her wedding day, don’t you think?  Katie is a self-confessed SW addict (love that!), and we would love to think we had a little something to do with her fabulous style choices, including her orchid bouquet from Nouveau Flowers, her tiered Liancarlo gown, and her kelly green bridesmaid dreses from the Vineyard collection.  We’ll be back soon with the equally-stylish reception!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story.  I was an intern in Washington, D.C. and went to a happy hour that turned into a few hours!  Fueled by some liquid courage, I approached Steve and we began chatting.  Not too long after, Steve asked me out… a week before I was supposed to move home.  But we went out every night before I left, and decided our fledgling relationship had a chance long-distance.  That was more than six years ago.
Describe the proposal:  Steve knows my love for all things Christmas, but after telling me several times it was impractical to get a Christmas tree because we were going to be out of town for the holiday, I sadly caved.  Then one night, I came home and he had brought home a beautiful tree with tons of white lights and a single ornament.  On the ornament was the ring!  His proposal was personal and perfect and I’ll always be grateful for such a wonderful memory.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Fun, personal and natural.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  We wanted beach-elegant, but, most of all, we wanted people to have fun, which framed all our decisions.
Favorite design element of your big day:  Well, I loved Mama Margarita.  But I think in terms of statement and general appeal the lanterns in the tent were just phenomenal and looked stunning at night.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  I went shopping one time and when I put that dress on, that was it.  The other dresses I had been holding onto in the dressing room didn’t even matter anymore.
Describe your wedding flowers: I wanted mostly green and white with pops of fuchsia.  I didn’t know anything about flowers, so I pulled pictures of blooms I liked and deferred to my excellent florist, Christina at Nouveau Flowers.

Written with love by Lara Casey

We’re back with more from the OMG cute Erica + Chet and the talented duo of OLOL!  As Jesse said in her blog post about the wedding, “Erica and Chet were so calm and relaxed I tend to believe they marry each other often.”  The SW office loves the clean, modern aesthetic the couple paired with the rough brick of the King Plow Event Gallery, the music videos they projected on the gallery wall during the dancing portion of the night, the lovely florals by Bloom Floral Design, Erica’s custom gown, the cupcakes from Sweet Pockets Cupcakes, and, well, everything else.  And Erica loves SW (she said so!).  So all around, it’s just a big love fest, which is really, you know, what this wedding thing is all about.

Describe your wedding flowers: My mom and aunts did all of the table flowers, which we bought at a local flower wholesaler the day before.  They did such a great job, and the flowers looked amazing.  We went with a mostly white palette (ranunculus, snap dragons, lisianthus and spray roses) with tiny splashes of red and yellow ranunculus.  The bridal party bouquets and boutonnieres (which were made by Cathy of Bloom Floral Design) were entirely white ranunculus.
Describe your wedding cake: Rather than having a traditional tiered wedding cake, we opted for cupcakes from Sweet Pockets.  Not only are their cupcakes delicious (!), but they also offered a “giant cupcake” for the top tier, so we could still do the whole cake cutting with our little “Homie” on top.  Who doesn’t love unwrapping your own little special cupcake?  I illustrated a sign to identify the five flavors we chose, and everyone had a lot of fun finding their favorite.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  Without a doubt, the time Chet and I spent wandering off before the ceremony to escape the questions and decorating and chaos.  escaping the questioning and decorating and chaos.  It was definitely some of the best time Chet and I got to spend that day.
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?  We chickened out!  The plan was to write our own vows, but then the pressure of already being on display in front of an audience was just too much.  Instead, we wrote each other notes and exchanged them just before the ceremony.  It was really nice because it kind of set the mood for what was about to happen.

Congratulations, Erica + Chet!  We wish you all the best as newlyweds.

Our Labor of Love is a Southern Weddings sponsor.

First, can I just say that, aside from her lovely wedding, I am in LOVE with the color of Erica’s hair?  I kind of want to go out and dye mine the exact. same. shade.  Okay!  Now that that’s out in the open, let’s move on to Erica + Chet’s bash at the King Plow Event Gallery in Atlanta, photographed by the over-the-top fabulous Jesse + Whit (better known as Our Labor of Love!).  They really have a knack for bringing out the best in their portrait subjects, don’t they?  And in their still life subjects, I might add, like Erica’s custom-made dress (courtesy of Chelsea Cook) and pretty white ranunculus bouquet, designed by her mother and Bloom Floral Design.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met while working at Georgia State as Community Assistants.  We planned programs together, slowly started hanging out just by ourselves, became good friends, and, before we knew it ,were dating.  Our first date was to the drive-in to see the romantic classics “The Grudge” and “Saw II.”  Five years later, and here we are!
Describe the proposal.  Long story short[er], we were walking along a canal in Amsterdam last summer when I finally admitted to Chet that I had found the ring… I just couldn’t hold it in any longer, it had been days!  So Chet asked, right then and there, and I said yes!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Sparkling, perfect and normal.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  Since Chet and I are both designers, it was really important that we collaborate and make the wedding entirely “us.”  We wanted it to be classic, timeless and elegant, while still making it fun and upbeat in other ways.  The ceremony was mostly blacks, whites and ivories, while all of our printed material, cupcakes, etc. brought in the splashes of color.  Because of the detail of the space, especially the raw textures of the old brick walls, concrete floors, and metal doors, we wanted to keep the overall design very simple and understated.  Lots of ivory and white candles, not a lot of overdone floral arrangements.  We just let the space speak for itself!
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  The birds.  The symbolism of the birds flying over us as we said our vows made the ceremony even more special.  We carried the bird theme through the entire design of the wedding – from the Save-the-Dates all the way to the actual ceremony.  The purity and subtlety of the white birds against the raw brick walls was so beautiful, and we were just thrilled with how Our Labor of Love captured this balance.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Seeing how everyone experienced all of our details.  After spending countless hours and late nights designing and producing down to the very last detail of our wedding, it was so special to see all of the people we love and care about enjoying the time we put into the big day.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Well, I couldn’t find a wedding dress!  I would go in the expensive stores and oooh and aaah over the lovely dresses with their lovely details, but then I would see the price tags and knew there was just no way.  Then I would go to the bargain stores and be so utterly saddened to watch the mass produced factory dresses get tossed onto the dingy floors. Then, thanks to my beloved architecture professor LaRaine Montgomery, I got in touch with the extremely talented Chelsea Cook.  At SCAD we had done a fashion and architecture collaborative studio, and I had always marveled at her detailing and craft.  So we collaborated on my dress!  Chelsea is based in New York, so we did lots of emailing, sending samples, sketches, and muslins, and, in the end, the dress was just so perfect and everything I ever hoped it would be.  Chelsea hand stitched each and every little piece of lace onto the dress.  You could really see the love that she put into it, which made me love it all the more.  (Not to mention how it sparkled in the candlelight as I walked down the aisle.)

Our Labor of Love is a Southern Weddings sponsor.