Southern Weddings

Pre-wedding shots at a local baseball field… now there’s a way to make your wedding pictures stand out and your own personalities shine through.  Not surprisingly, I think this is what we love best about Erin + Matt’s wedding, photographed by Caleb Chancey!  The bride, in cute white leggings and matching Converse sneakers, and the groom, with baseball bat and glove in hand, made their Alabama nuptials all about them.  Erin was effortlessly vintage in a high-neck halter gown from David’s Bridal and her mother’s heirloom veil, and her ten attendants were equally chic (and warm!) in navy David’s Bridal frocks and cold-weather ready pea coats.  The girls carried wild + rustic bouquets designed by one of the bride’s close friends.  (We love Caleb’s work and think you will, too!  Take a look at his post of Erin + Matt Birmingham wedding.)

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We met at Samford University through mutual friends.  I was in town during a long winter break my senior year and Matt was living in Birmingham working part-time after graduating that December.   We both spent most of our free time at our mutual friend’s apartment and really began our friendship there.
Describe the proposal.  Matt and I took a road trip to Glacier National Park, Montana last July.  I was hoping that he would propose while we were there, but we got in a huge fight the first day.  He asked me if I was happy in our relationship and I told him I was ready to move forward.  That was the answer that Matt was looking for, but he had not thought of a good follow-up, so he mumbled something vague about trusting that we were in this place for a reason.  I was upset with him the rest of the day, so when he proposed the next day it was a complete surprise!  He asked me to marry him as we were hiking Avalanche Lake.  It was gorgeous and perfect!  I, of course, said yes and we spent the rest of the day celebrating!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Relaxed, cozy and fun.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I tried on a number of dresses at different bridal boutiques, but could not find one that fit my simple style.  My mom and sister finally talked me into going to David’s Bridal, and the one I ended up getting was one of the first that I tried on. I knew instantly that it was exactly what I was looking for!
Describe your wedding flowers: Rustic and wild… beautiful!
Describe your wedding cake: Delicious!  Our primary focus in selecting a wedding cake was taste.  We had Malinda make a small white cake with her famous swiss meringue buttercream frosting for the bride’s cake as well as a lot of different flavored cupcakes (including tiramisu and coca-cola) so everyone could have something they liked.  Matt had a friend make his favorite key-lime pie for his grooms “cake.”
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? A short engagement (only 4 1/2 months!) and a small budget.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? My most memorable moment was right after we walked down the aisle after the wedding.  We were just so giddy and happy that we were able to spend some time together outside of the church before leaving for the reception.  Matt says his favorite moment was our inability to contain our joyful giggling through our vows.
What was your favorite element of your wedding?  I loved how involved all of our friends were in our wedding.  We have extraordinarily talented friends, and we wanted to include them in as many aspects of our wedding as possible.  We had friends play all of our music at the ceremony, as well as our first dance, father/daughter and mother/son dances.  Our friends decorated our reception site, made our cake/key lime pies, did our flowers, did our photography (thank you, wonderful Caleb Chancey!), created our tree guestbook, and so much more!  We are extremely lucky to know all of those wonderful, talented people.   Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?  “To strive for your holiness and encourage you to press on and know the Lord, praying for God to keep us faithful to the Gospel and to each other as long as we both shall live.”
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? Living the ups and downs of life together, traveling, and raising a family to know Christ.

Congratulations, Erin + Matt!  Enjoy this incredible journey together.

Written with love by Lara Casey

I just love when wedding receptions turn into all-out parties, and that seems to be exactly what happened at Allie + Jonathan’s celebration at the Duck Woods Country Club!  Did you see the blue and green pinwheels (all 120 of which were handmade by the bride’s family!) decorating the banquet tables, or the couple’s crisp blue-and-white square cake from Just Desserts?  Adorable!  Thank you again to Eleise Theuer for capturing this sweetly Southern wedding.

Describe your wedding flowers: I think I’ll quote my florist here: “The flowers were modern with a whimsical edge and a dash of preppy and a pinch of etsy!”
Describe your wedding cake: Our cake was square with three layers. It had navy ribbon around each layer with a monogram of my new initial, “R.”  There were orchids on top of the cake that overflowed down the side of each layer. It was beautiful, but the best thing about the cake was how delicious it was! Two of the layers were tiramisu and the other layer was cocoa chocolate mousse.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?We incorporated a lot of the traditional aspects into our wedding but we also broke tradition in some ways. Instead of having a father/daughter dance, for instance, my Dad and I sang my favorite childhood song, “Sweet Baby James,” backed by a classical guitarist (Jon’s cousin). Another twist to our night was when Jon’s brother delivered his best man toast in the form of a very entertaining, and surprising, rap.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Actually, it was a week full of memories. Our families, the bridal party and many of the guests had rented cottages for the week leading up to our wedding day. We had cocktail parties and other social events throughout the week. By our wedding, everyone on both sides of our families, as well as our friends, knew each other very well. That made for a particularly friendly and joyful wedding experience.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? I’m going to finish school in a few years and, afterwards, we hope to move back to Virginia to be closer to our families.

Emily has quite the eye for exceptional floral arrangements and unique details, so it’s no surprise she fell in love with Susan + Troy’s romantic garden wedding.  I’m in love with the miniature bunches of fresh herbs and slim thistles next to the bride’s ivory and orange wildflower bouquet.  Wearing her mother’s lace-trimmed wedding gown, Susan married Troy at her father’s home in North Carolina.  As a sugar addict, I’ve enjoyed my fair share of great cakes, but the fruit-trimmed and sugar-dusted raspberry marsala confection served at their reception looks unbelievably delicious.  Special thanks to Aregrayline Weddings for sharing their lovely work with us!

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story.  We Met at Pearl Art & Craft Supply in Chicago.  Troy used to sneak up on me in the aisles and startle me so I would drop everything I was holding.  On our first date (my birthday), we collected all the old light bulbs in the basement and broke them in the alley behind Pearl.
Describe the proposal:  We were visiting his brother in Brooklyn and had spent a day roaming the city.  As we were crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, Troy said, “Wouldn’t this be a romantic place for someone to propose?”  I agreed and he just said, “So?…”
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Busy, happy and beautiful.  
What was the design inspiration for your wedding invitation?  Well, the wedding was at the very top of a mountain in North Carolina.  The location was so beautiful that we really just wanted to work around what was already there.
What was your favorite design element of your big day?  My best friend did all the flower arrangements.  She used a variety of leafy greens and bright orange flowers accented with peacock feathers.  They were so beautiful and unique. 
Our favorite detail of the wedding was:  We are so lucky to have a very talented and generous group of friends.  The most wonderful detail was the participation of all our friends and families.  From the flowers to the cake to photography, everyone was involved.  Troy’s best man even played the wedding march on his accordion.  We were married by one of our close friends.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress:  It was my Mom’s.  She was married in the 70’s and, while the dress was made of lovely French lace, the style was rather dated.  We had the turtleneck cut out and cap sleeves added.  It was beautiful, and my Mom was so happy.
Describe your wedding cake:  Troy’s good friend, Judy, made the cake.  She baked it in Madison, Wisconsin and had to transport it all the way to North Carolina.  We just asked her to make something great and she did!  Raspberry marsala cake dusted with powdered sugar and dressed with fresh fruit.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Distance was definitely our biggest challenge.  We live in Brooklyn, and the majority of our families is in the Midwest.  The wedding was at my father’s house, so we had to put a lot of responsibility on him.  He did a great job!
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding?  We excluded a lot of the typical wedding traditions:  no garters, no bouquet tosses, no father/daughter, mother/son dances, etc.  I do think we took the record for the most speeches, however: 6 of Troy’s 9 siblings made speeches, to mention a few.  My favorite ”non-tradition” was having our friend marry us.  Jenny is an actress by trade and a very funny girl.  Her ceremony was sweet, funny and far from the norm.  It suited us well.
Did you write your own vows?  If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?  We did.  I loved having the opportunity to sit down with Troy and talk about what we loved about each other, what we hoped for and what we were looking forward to.  We agreed on a mutual promise to give each other and then individually wrote our own vows around this promise.  
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  We’re certainly enjoying married life.  We’ve opened a small gallery and studio space here in Brooklyn and have been busy getting it up and running.  We hope to continue with the enterprise and to build a strong artist community and network here in Brooklyn.   

Congratulations, Susan + Troy!  Best of luck with your new family business!