Southern Weddings

Really, who wouldn’t want to be a guest at Lisa + Blake’s farm wedding? With antique farm equipment, hay bales, and cows dotting the reception, this is Southern at its finest. Family and friends played corn hole on boards hand painted by Blake’s mom and were then treated to a Southern feast of barbecue, potato salad, and coleslaw. A claw foot tub full of Coca-Colas stood by to wash down the meal. I’m so impressed with Lisa + Blake’s just-decorated-enough strawberry shortcake — it’s the perfect dessert for their country wedding and I’m dying for a piece. Big thanks again to Jamie Clayton for sharing!

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The homemade corn hole boards made by Blake’s mother.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? We decorated the tables with burlap, lanterns, and African violets. Our meal was barbecue, potato salad, coleslaw, and, of course, sweet tea. We draped rope along the walls of the barn and hung pictures of Blake and I by clothes pins. The wedding was on a farm in the middle of the country in Lebanon, TN with donkeys in the back of the farm, and a huge cow field to the right. The ceremony was on the porch of a log cabin, with the guests sitting on old church pews. The reception was in a barn, with wagon wheel chandeliers, lots of old farm equipment, hay bales, and an old claw foot tub that was used as a beverage holder complete with glass bottles of Coca-Cola.
Describe your wedding cake: It was a three-tiered strawberry shortcake with cream cheese icing.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Finding a location was difficult because we wanted it to reflect us and our personalities, but when we finally went to the farm we knew it was perfect. Other than that, Blake and I and our family and friends spent the entire week before the wedding decorating and preparing. It was very much a DIY wedding and we were pretty exhausted by the wedding day.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000-$25,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Our fabulous photographer!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? The reveal was really great, when Blake and I saw each other for the first time. We were both so emotional and happy. My mom and bridesmaids were peeking through a window, watching during the reveal. We could hear them crying and cheering from inside.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We just bought a house in Knoxville and have been enjoying fixing it up and decorating it. Blake is in nursing school currently, and we look forward to doing travel nursing and traveling around, and hopefully out of, the country after he graduates.

Photographer: Jamie Clayton Photography // Videographer: Joshua Cox // Planner: Linda Ligon (family friend) // Venue: Cedar Springs Farm // Florist: Oakley’s Flower and Gifts // Wedding Cake Baker: Patti Vaughn // Caterer: LaDonna Brown // Bride’s Dress: Pronovias // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: bride’s mother’s // Bride’s Shoes: Nine West // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: David’s Bridal

Written with love by Nicole