Southern Weddings

This may sound cheesy, but looking through the images of Malloree + Jordan’s wedding makes me feel warm and fuzzy. The newlyweds crafted a ceremony that was thoughtful, filled with faith and full of love from friends and family. We’re grateful for The Reason for giving us so many great images from their “I do’s.” Scroll through and you’ll see what I’m talking about when I say their group prayer could bring tears to your eyes. Of course, you’ll instantly smile when you see M + J’s cute personalized paper items at their reception!

I brought my mom, my youngest sister, and four of my bridesmaids dress shopping with me. I had already gone dress shopping with my mom, but was stuck on two dresses. I was also stuck on what I had envisioned myself looking like on my wedding day (in all lace) or going with what my mom liked best (a ball gown). Most of my girls actually liked my mom’s pick better, but when I really thought about it, I knew that if I bought the ball gown, I would be thinking about the all-lace, vintage looking dress. So that is what I went with and I couldn’t have loved my dress more. It was a perfect fit for our farm wedding.

We will never tire of seeing adorable ring bearers! We especially love this one’s sign — a sweet change from the usual “Here comes the bride.”

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Washing each other’s feet during the ceremony and asking family and friends who wanted to pray for us to stand and join us. EVERYONE stood and gathered around us. It was beautiful.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We did. That was important to us. My favorite part was that both of us quoted Ruth 1:16-17, “But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. The bridal processional was to “Where I Belong” by Cory Asbury. We washed each other’s feet to “Wedding Day” by Casting Crowns, had the prayer to “Before the Throne” by Shane & Shane, and recessed to “Mine to Love” by Dave Barnes. Our first dance was to “Close Enough” by Sean McConnell.

Our wedding was located on a 500-acre farm complete with open fields and a beautiful, rustic barn. Some traditions we incorporated were having a groom’s cake. Jordan had two cheesecakes with a banner from his alma mater. The food served was delicious BBQ sliders, my grandmother’s macaroni and cheese recipe, apple cole slaw, chicken fingers and more.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert: Wedding cake was delicious. It was two-tiered with white buttercream on the outside. The inside was ombre and went from strawberry, lemon, to white wedding cake. The outside was decorated beautifully with flowers from the wedding.

The most memorable moment of the day was dancing with my two favorite men, my husband and my daddy. Also, our reception was probably one of the most fun dance parties I’ve ever been a part of.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met as missionaries in Australia. We were both at a missionary training school called Youth With a Mission. Dating isn’t allowed within the program while you’re there, which is great because it doesn’t allow for distractions. But our hearts were starting to change toward the other, without the other even knowing! So to make a VERY long story short, through much prayer and lots of waiting, leaving each other for two months to separate field outreaches to Papua New Guinea and East Timor, we finally started dating after our graduation on June 10. We traveled to Sydney for two weeks afterwards and then I made my trip back to Georgia and Jordan went back to Texas. We traveled back and forth for two months until we decided that I would move to Texas. I’ve been here happily ever since!
Describe the proposal. We dated for four months before we got engaged. Everyone always says, “When you know, you know.” I thought that was such a crock until it happened to us! I told Jordan that I didn’t want anything over the top because that’s just not who we are, and Jordan was up for the challenge. On Sunday, October 30th, we went to church in the morning and then made plans to spend the day with his family like we do every Sunday. I made plans to have coffee with his sister while the rest of the family was supposedly at home. In the middle of our coffee date, we get a phone call from our sister-in-law asking if we wanted to meet her and our nephew Jax for some ice cream. When we met them, my sister-in-law said, “Jax, show Malloree what you learned at Sunday school today!” He handed me a folded up piece of paper, so I unfold it and started reading it. It’s a letter from Jordan. I knew what was happening and just tried to whiz through the letter to get to the end. I looked up after I finished speed reading and my handsome man was walking toward me, all dressed up, ring in hand. After he asked and I finally said yes, the whole family came out of nowhere, as well as the surprise photographer! Jordan did a wonderful job, incorporating some of my favorite things, our nephew and ice cream, and I loved spending it with the family.
In what month did you get married? May
How many guests attended your wedding? 140
Did you decide to do a “first look”? We talked about it, but Jordan is very traditional and he did not want to see me at all the day of. I was really glad that we didn’t, because the anticipation of seeing each other for the first time was so great.
Describe your wedding flowers: Beautiful — coral peonies, Juliet roses, ranunculus, hydrangeas, and tons of wildflowers. Our flowers were one of my favorite parts of the whole wedding.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Planning a Georgia wedding while living in Texas and also keeping in mind that it was my wedding, my one day. I had to really consider that when others’ opinions rubbed me the wrong way.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000 – $25,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Having a videographer
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Don’t get caught up in the details. Hire a wedding planner, or at least a day-of coordinator. Remember that it is your wedding and it doesn’t always have to be traditional.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Right now, we are enjoying being newlyweds and starting life as just the two of us. We are looking forward to one day starting a family and potentially going back into ministry in the next few years.

Written with love by Nicole