Southern Weddings

{Sarah Maren Photography} did a stunning job capturing Stevie + Blake’s charming wedding at {The Citizen Hotel}. Wedding planner {Kate Miller Events} did a wonderful job bringing the couple’s vintage theme to life while staying within their budget. The big day was catered by the hotel and {Ettore’s} provided the wedding cakes. The bride’s beatiful dress is from {2000 Dreams Bridal}. To see more of Stevie + Blake, check out Sarah Maren’s {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story We initially met at our church in Los Angeles. Well, really it was after church while hanging out with friends at “The Alcove”, a favorite coffee shop of ours – we both share an intense love for coffee and we kinda feed each others addiction for the cursed caffeine. Its divine! (Blake) “(Sigh)…It was a dreary, cold night. I had a panini. Rey had a burger. Across 3 adjoined tables, in response to the offer of a sandwich, a girly voice uttered, ‘Um no thanks, I don’t eat meat.’ ‘Huh,’ I scoffed, looking down at my juicy, chicken panini, then turning to Rey, ‘that’ll never work!'”(Stevie) “Little did he know…..haha!!!” And that’s when it all started… (cue romantic theme song).
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted a vintage feel to color the entire day. We are both very traditional but also trendy so we wanted to combine all that together. I (Stevie) met with Kate Miller Events to describe what I wanted. Simple. Beautiful. Old-fashioned. Quirky. Lovely. And that’s exactly what I got. I was amazed when I walked through the doors and saw how everything turned out. Especially that groom down at the end of the aisle. You can’t dream that up. We were on a very tight budget – we hosted 100 guests for a little over $13,000 – so everything had to be cheap and chic. Kate gave us lots of DIY projects to add our personality without spending a ton – like the lemonade drink umbrellas and our vintage telegram programs. We also had mostly candle centerpieces to add cheap ambient lighting.
Favorite design element of your big day: Our Dessert table. Amazing. Delicious. Delectable.The table contained seven different cakes on borrowed cake stands and was flanked by a small candy buffet on the ends that served as our favor to the guests. The glitter monogram cake topper, teeny little mushroom birds and the signage that Kate Miller Events created tied it all together. I also loved the Guestbook that Kate came up with. To defer costs Kate found us quilting fabric that we cut into square and fabric pens so that each guest could fill one out. They were all hung on a string accented by photos of Blake and I. My Aunt will be sewing the squares together to make a keepsake quilt that we will treasure for years.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: It’s one of those things – you just know. That moment when you put it on and you’re head starts filling up with all your ideas of that special day and you can picture yourself walking towards that man. That’s the dress. It was a Pronovias style that had a mock-neck neckline and I had it altered to a strapless sweetheart neckline.
Describe your wedding flowers: In this economy, a girls gotta’ save where she can.My mom had been a florist when she was younger and she’s always had a knack for aesthetic things.After the rehearsal,we all headed over to my parents house where my mom taught all of my bridesmaids how to make their own bouquets! Itmade for beautiful flowers that were fun to do, personal to each girl and inexpensive! Kate found vintage yellow velvet ribbon to wrap around their stems and a special beaded cameo for my bridal bouquet.
Describe your wedding cake: We purchased miscellaneous cakes from our favorite local French baker. While they were not a traditional wedding cake, it certainly saved our budget! Ettore’s decorates their basic cakes beautifully – but they taste even better than they look.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The telegram programs inspired by Amanda at Vintage Glam and the pom poms that our guests tossed at us during our farewell.
Favorite inspirational blogs or sites: My wedding coordinator Kate got me hooked on Weddingbee and the SWS Blog, of course!

Congratulations Stevie + Blake! We hope life brings you joy!

This beautiful Costa Rica Wedding at the {Buena Vista Villa & Casas at Tulemar Beach} was the picturesque wedding that both Edna + Brett wanted. We couldn’t agree more with the lovely flowers by Alvaro Ramirez Monge of Floristeria Cristal.  Edna + Brett thank their wedding coordinator with much help for making their wedding day possible.  With 61 guests from all over the world flying in and getting married in an area they were not fimilar with, {Tropical Occasions} was their saving grace.  Wedding cake by Sweet Constructions in San Juan.  Thanks again to {Beall and Thomas Photography} that shared this stunning wedding to us!

The weather on our wedding day was: Tropical!! We were on a beach in the rainforest. The day started out beautiful, rained right before the wedding, and then cleared as I arrived on the beach.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted a Tropical, Romantic theme. We worked with a Coordinator to select the soft lighting and colorful flowers.
Favorite design element of your big day: The flowers!!! I love orchids and they were everywhere! I loved the tall see-through arrangements. I wanted the height on the tables, but I didn’t want people to not be able to see across at one another. I thought the vibrant colors and soft lighting set off the night. We even had flowers and candles in the pool. I also loved that we used Antique Silver cake-cutters that matched my mothers’ silver pattern. Although the wedding was in Costa Rica, I still included some touches of home.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: It was a true hunt for the perfect dress! I wanted to shop in Chicago with my mother. Our bridal coordinator was a sweet lady who picked it and insisted I try it on.
My mom and I thought the dress was too intricate for a beach wedding. As soon as they clipped it to my body— my mom and I both knew it was “the one”. We knew it would work, as long as we could get it to Costa Rica!
Describe your wedding flowers: ORCHIDS! Pink, Dendrobium, Yellow, White. My bouquet was all white orchids with thick ivory silk ribbon and ivory silk organza.
Describe your wedding cake: The wedding cake had two layers covered in white chocolate fondant. The first layer was white chocolate velvet filled with a Pina-Colada Crème filling and the second layer was macadamia nut cake with Passion Fruit Crème filling.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? It was in COSTA RICA! We tried to take care of as many variables as possible—like bringing our own photographers—but we couldn’t have done it without them!!! We could not have done it without the talented duo!! They were there to capture everything from the zipline tour to the catamaran trip to the rehearsal dinner and wedding day!
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? We had so many little special traditions my mom and Brett’s mom snuck in there. Our families are both truly wonderful. We chose Costa Rica over Thanksgiving because we are so blessed to have them. Brett’s family put on a true variety show at the rehearsal dinner. Brett’s mother, Janis, an Opera singer, sang the French love-song she used to
sing to Brett’s father, Jerry while he was in Vietnam, and also learned a beautiful Spanish love song. Brett’s brother Kirk sang our favorite cute love-song and added a few special “home-made” verses!
Also, Brett’s sister Julie and her husband Jason wrote us a very special poem. But, I must say my favorite tradition would be when my mom and dad gave Brett the original Gold Coin. My mom is from Honduras and my grandparents told my father that although my mother (Antonieta) was not a wealthy girl, and came with no dowry, they would be honored if he would accept an old Gold Coin that had been in the family. Since my father died when I was a little girl, it was very touching for my dad (step-dad) Bob to present the gift to Brett. I am very fortunate to have not only had an amazing father, but also the most loving step-father a girl could ask for!! (also lucky because their first names are the same!)
Funniest moment? The Exit…We left as our guests held a veil of sparklers above us with me in my beautiful Ivory silk wedding gown and Brett left in an orange towel!
Hardest decision you made in planning? Deciding that we should forgo the Hometown Wedding. We both come from large families in a close community and we have many dear friends. If we were to have the wedding in Maryville, it would easily be larger than either of us really wanted (or could afford!) All of my friends that had big hometown weddings spent so much time and money stressing and planning. Brett and I just wanted to enjoy our day—not spend time stressing.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: Thank goodness you limited this question to just wedding DAY….we had a 7 day adventure so everyday brought something unexpected! On the actual day…I would say seeing my father-in-law and my father jump into the swimming pool with all their clothes on was totally unexpected.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Soft, Romantic, and Tropical.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? 1) Do NOT plan an overseas destination wedding without a Travel Coordinator, a Wedding Coordinator, and lots of flexible guests! I have a new appreciation for school teachers taking children on field-trips. When we started following the wedding agenda on the 3rd day— I was relieved because our Wedding Coordinator stepped in and took care of all the counting. 2)Take it all in! Even if the details get annoying (and they will)– it will all be worth it in the end. The day really is special, don’t rush it!
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. “May God Continue to Bless You” that was told to me in English, Spanish, and Portuguese! Since we planned our wedding over a Thanksgiving holiday, that really captured the theme.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? Since we went to Costa Rica, everyone that attended was very special to Brett and I. I was very touched at the guests that came from London, Brazil, and everyone that braved the trip down to the tropics. But I was most honored when I got a surprise appearance from my Grandmother from Honduras (she is 86). She brought 11 of my Honduran family members with her and the fact that she came brought me to tears.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are both extremely busy—so our next step is to keep-on- keeping-on! Neither of us has ever been away from home or work for more than 3 days FOR ANYTHING, so leaving for 11 days do get married AND go on our honeymoon left us both playing catch-up. We are looking forward to our next vacation (this time WITHOUT 61 other guests!). We enjoy vacation time when we can get it— but this time we are going to travel alone!!
Favorite inspirational blogs or sites (if any): {Beall and Thomas}, {Wedding Window}, {The Knot} and {Southern Weddings}.

Congratulations to Edna + Brett. May God continue to bless you each day!