Southern Weddings

Alabama newlyweds, Ashley + Patrick know Southern hospitality! They served up shrimp and grits, sweet tea, and root beer floats all night, as guests weaved in and out of the Historic Rucker Place’s garden, rooms, and double wrap-around porches (be still my heart!). A Motown band played while guests ate and partied. At the end of the night, Ashley + Patrick made their getaway down the porch of the house as they ran through a line of sparklers. I love looking at these last few photos from Spindle Photography as the couple enjoys their first dance and savors the getaway.

See all the photos from Ashley + Patrick’s wedding in their Real Wedding Gallery!

Describe your wedding flowers: My flower design was full of Alabama-native white hydrangeas, freesia, green berries and lots of greenery.
Describe your wedding cake: Like the rest of our wedding, I wanted it to feel natural and organic. The cake was an offset octagonal four-layer cake. Vanilla with butter cream icing that was a stucco pattern. It was adorned with white peonies, white hydrangeas, greenery and sporadic twigs. It was uniquely my style!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: It’s hard to pick just one thing, but the root beer float station is a fun detail that is definitely near the top of the list.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? I think a wedding’s Southern charm can mainly be attributed to the inherent warmth, long vowels, and the elegance of the people in attendance. However, the surroundings, and details of the day, do their part to polish it. Our wedding and reception where both in a historic Birmingham, AL home, complete with double wrap around porches that overlook a hydrangea filled garden, where the ceremony was held. The food, Motown band, and bars where scattered throughout the rooms and grounds of the house, making it necessary for guests to weave in and out of the old home, like it were their own and giving a very personal feel to the whole event. My bridesmaids, as elegant as ever, looked like Southern ladies in their pearls and taffeta dresses. To complete our Southern wedding, a variety of Southern treats were served for dinner including shrimp and grits, pulled pork and, of course, sweet tea!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? By nature and by trade, I’m a stylist and designer, so I wanted to have a hand on every detail. It was hard to let go and allow other people to execute my ideas on the actual day.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We both hope to stay in Birmingham for a long while. Next on the list is buying a house. I think we are both so happy that we are just living in “the now.” There will be so many wonderful things to come in the future, but we are soaking up life just as it is right now!

Photographer: Spindle Photography // Venue: The Historic Rucker Place // Florist: Lillie’s // Wedding Cake Baker: Olexa // Caterer: The Historic Rucker Place // Paper Products: Alan’s Invitations and Sweet Bay Prints // Bride’s Dress: Vera Wang // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: BHLDN // Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew

Written with love by Nicole

Tory + Doug’s church ceremony was sweet in more than one way. While we love the green hydrangeas and white tulips that hung from the pews and lined the aisles and the kiss that the couple shared after their vows, we were even more moved that Tory’s walk down the aisle didn’t leave a dry eye in the place! Tory got to walk down the aisle with her father, who had been sick and in and out of hospitals leading up to the wedding. We love how it reminds us about this simple but meaningful tradition. Another tradition we love? How the groom doesn’t get to see the bride before the ceremony! Doug’s blindfold even matches Tory’s bridesmaids’ Lula Kate dresses. Big thanks to Kristen Gardner who shared this wedding with us!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We were both at a Lance Armstrong fundraiser in Austin, Texas. Doug was friends with the person I was with and he asked me to dance (which we did) and we started talking. A few weeks later we had our first, second and third date.
Describe the proposal. Doug hired a driver just after midnight (making it June 6, our 2 year anniversary) to take us around DC to see the sights. We asked the driver to pull over and take our picture. He took one and said, “Let’s try from another angle.” When I turned back around, Doug was down on his knee.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Unique, perfect, amazing.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The horse races it provided the perfect atmosphere. Everyone dressed as if we were at the Kentucky Derby, drank mint juleps, smoked cigars, wore Derby hats and enjoyed the outdoor venue. A majority of our guests were not from the area so we wanted the reception to have a party feel, thanking them for all making the trip out to horse country Virginia for our big day!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? My dad telling me how gorgeous I looked right before we walked into the church. Since he had been sick, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place when he walked me down the aisle. It was amazing!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I had tried on around 40 dresses that were all very similar in style, but I was waiting for my Mom to come into town before making the final decision, so I took her to the shop almost as soon as she landed. As I went to grab the dress, I saw the one beside it and thought that it looked perfect for an outdoor setting. I had to try it on. The next thing I knew, I was calling one of my bridesmaids to meet me the next day so she could see the new dress. She said it was obvious that it was the one because of how excited I was.

Photographer: Kristen Gardner // Planner: Lauren McWilliams // Ceremony venue: Grace Episcopal Church // Reception venue: Virginia Gold Cup at Great Meadows // Florist: Robin Pegler & Vicki Hanley // Wedding Cake Baker: Market Salomander // Caterer: Marriot Ranch // Paper Products: Marriot Ranch // Bride’s Dress: Alexia Gavela // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: Unbridaled // Bride’s Shoes: Lilly Pullitzer // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Lula Kate // Accessories: Blue Nile

Written with love by Nicole