Southern Weddings

I am in love with this wedding! First, because of Jennifer’s dress. How classic with a chic twist. Jennifer shares that she went bridal dress shopping but couldn’t find what she was looking for. She went to Page Bradshaw who created this masterpiece of a dress that fit this wedding perfectly. This leads me to my next love, the ceremony site. Jennifer + Briggs were married at a old school house converted to a wedding chapel. Lucky for Jennifer + Briggs they were the first couple to say “I do” in this Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia chapel. After the ceremony, the couple and guests headed to {The Water’s Edge Country Club} where they were met with dinner by the staff and a wedding cake from {Billie’s Cakes}. This wedding was planned by {Smith Mountain Lake Weddings} and the flowers came Melinda at Petal Pushers. Photography by {Holland Photo Arts}. See more images on Holland’s photo {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met at Benjamin Franklin Middle school in the Sixth Grade. We were an item throughout Middle School, but the awkward phases hit, and we parted ways until right after High School. During the summer of 1998, we realized that there was a flame that could not be doused and we have been together ever since.
Describe the proposal: The ring was burning a hole in Briggs’ pocket! He wanted to wait for a special occasion, but was too antsy, so on a Tuesday night, he asked me if I wanted to do something fun for dinner and I said, “Absolutely!” (As a teacher, I have lots of free time in the summer). When I walked downstairs after I had gotten ready, there he was ring in hand!
What attracted me to my husband was: His silly personality.
Why do you love your husband? Briggs is the perfect man, he is gentle and sweet but still masculine. He is my biggest fan and would do anything to protect my wellbeing.
What attracted me to my wife was: I cannot remember not being attracted to her at any point – that means from age 11 until this very day. She is beautiful in a very unique and delicate way. I am thankful for everyday we have together.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: More like a summer-full of them. When we first started dating, Briggs would pick me up on his parent’s boat and we would go to an Irish Pub across the lake. Briggs’ brother John used to embarrass us by saying that we were a cross between Dawson’s Creek and the Blue Lagoon!
The weather on our wedding day was: It was made to order, a perfect October day.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? I wanted a very casual and relaxed feel to our celebration
Favorite design element of your big day: My dress.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I only tried on maybe five dresses and felt so overwhelmed in them all, finally I decided that I wanted something fun and it just was not out there. I found a wonderful lady, Page Bradshaw, who worked with me to design my dress. We went through so many different designs until we finally ended up with the final product.
Describe your wedding flowers: I really don’t remember much except for the fact that they were beautiful. My philosophy was to hire good people and not worry about the rest.
Describe your wedding cake: Our cake was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The chapel was our favorite detail of the wedding. The moment we saw the chapel we fell in love.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Logistics, we were married in a very rural area with a five hundred mile lake separating the only resort and our wedding location. It was a challenge getting everyone where they needed to be.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? It sounds so cliché, but I loved when the chapel doors opened and I saw Briggs waiting for me at the end of the isle, I wish I could go back and do it again in slow motion.
Scariest moment? The bouquets and boutonnières were lost for a short while, I think there was some miscommunication between the wedding planner and florist.
Funniest moment? Our bungled attempt at a wedding dance!
Hardest decision you made in planning? Whether or not to elope, we were very close, but we are so excited we did not!
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: My beautiful new wedding ring. Briggs was very secretive and picked out my ring on his own. I was absolutely what I’ve always wanted. I was so impressed with his choice.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Initially nerve-wracking, then beautiful, then relieving!
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase/verse/or line? My sister was the reader in our wedding and she read a selection from the Velveteen Rabbit.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Be nice to your mother.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration: Don’t eat the yellow snow.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? Briggs’ 92-year-old grandmother who made the twelve hour trip from Florida.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Lots of good days before children, and great days raising them!

Congratulations to Jennifer + Briggs. We wish you the best and enjoy all the days ahead!

Jenn is an equastrian and during college took a job at the track.  It was there that she met Josh.  For this celebration, planned by the FABULOUS {Amorology Weddings}, the signature drink was the Kentucky Derby and the table names were of famous race horses. The wedding took place at {The Crosby Country Club} with flowers by {Twigg Botonicals-florals}.  I love the beautiful arrangements on the lounge furniture by {Plush Lounge}.  Check out the beautiful cake by {Edelweiss Bakery}.  This entire event was captured by {EK Media} and incredible photographer, {Sara France}.  To check out more amazing shots from this wedding, check out Sara’s {Blog} and Amorology’s {Blog}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story: I grew up riding horses, which as any avid equestrian knows, doesn’t leave time for much else. So when I decided to take a part-time job at the local tack shop during my sophomore year at the University of San Diego, finding the love of my life was the last thing on my mind. But find him I did… Josh was working as the store’s accountant and the day our paths crossed, I was smitten.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? I always knew that I wanted a black and white wedding, something about it seemed so classic and elegant. After we selected {The Crosby Country Club} as our venue and saw the carpet that we had to work with, we decided to throw a color into the mix. I love the freshness that the apple green palette added to everything. It was the perfect way to modernize the look. We also decided to incorporate a few equestrian touches throughout as a special way to personalize our wedding.
Favorite design element of your big day: It’s so hard to choose; I loved everything! I think that my favorite design element had to be the lollipop favor/escort card boxes that our amazing wedding coordinator Heather Balliet from {Amorology} made for us – they were so creative and just really pulled everything together.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I was actually quite surprised at how quickly I found my dress. One weekend I made appointments at about six different bridal shops in my area (thankfully I live in an area that has a bridal shop on literally every corner, so my options were limitless). I took my mom and one of my bridesmaids with me and we tried on dress after dress. What a process it is to get in and out of those gowns! The dress that I picked was the last dress that I tried at the last boutique that we went to. It was in from a trunk show and I almost didn’t try it because I was so set on a strapless dress. The moment that I put the dress on I knew it was the one, just like they always say you will. It was perfectly classic – just what I wanted.
Describe your wedding flowers: I was in awe with the flowers my wedding; I thought that they turned out just beautifully. I love clean and modern looking flowers, so my florist, Twigg Botanicals, incorporated lots of calla lilies, roses and floating green cymbidium orchids. For crisp clean lines we used green Fuji mums and Star of Bethlehem which were white with black centers.
Describe your wedding cake: We decided on a round three-tiered cake by {Edelweiss European Bakery}. The first and third tiers were white cake with Bavarian cream and strawberry filling and the second tier was lemon cake with a lemon mousse filling. The cake was frosted with a white whipped cream frosting and was decorated with black ribbon and a selection of flowers.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Again, it’s so hard to choose… I would have to say our photographer, {Sara France}. Sara was amazing. I can’t help but look at the pictures of my wedding. They are just so beautiful. I am so thankful that we chose someone so special to document one of the most important days of our lives.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Modern, Elegant, Blessed.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Enjoy the ride. Your engagement goes by in the blink of an eye and you don’t want to have spent the entire time stressed out. Take some time to just enjoy yourselves. Also, it’s important to have help, even the most organized bride can’t go at it alone. The help of family and friends will take a lot of the stress out of planning. If you can, hire a wedding coordinator to help you navigate through, they are true experts and will help you negotiate the best contracts with your vendors and will make sure that your wedding day vision is executed flawlessly, leaving you and your family free to relax and just enjoy the day.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Traveling and House Hunting!

Congratulations to Jenn + Josh.  We wish you the best as you house hunt!

Written with love by Lara Casey