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Today is the day, friends!! Southern Weddings Volume 9 is available on newsstands around the South, and we are giddy thinking of y’all flipping through our pages — our heart on paper. Whether you’re curled up on your sofa or cozied in at a coffee shop to ooh and ahh, dog-ear and drink in, know that we are as excited for you as we are for this debut! We hope the practical and pretty we packed into this issue will encourage and equip you to live out your very own love story.

And speaking of love stories: we couldn’t have picked a better one to inspire our cover than Allie and Noah’s. The illustrated manor house on the invitation, the Spanish moss setting, the jewelry made from family heirlooms, the slightly-vintage bridesmaid dresses, the nod to Allie’s love of painting… it all combines for a joyful ode to Lowcountry style and lifelong commitment. We hope you love it.

Thank you so much to Blue Ribbon Vendor Davy Whitener for capturing these dreamy photos!

Lydia found the perfect shade of haint blue for our invitation suite – a nod to Lowcountry porch ceilings like the one on Allie’s dream house.

I mean, y’all. Dying over that dress, that bouquet (!!!), her radiant smile!

Isn’t our bride’s silver bracelet gorgeous? Gabrielle Jewelry creates their designs with a lost wax casting process, which incorporates textile patterns (like, for example, the lace from your Mama’s wedding dress) into metal. So cool!

Burying the bourbon worked like a charm for us – we had a cool 80 degree day in Hilton Head in June, which was more than we were hoping for!

Elaine worked throughout our shoot day to create the most beautiful painting of our ceremony spot. It was so neat to watch it come together!

Thrive Catering designed an innovative, beautiful, and delicious menu of updated Southern favorites, like two-tone pimiento cheese, fried deviled eggs, and deconstructed shrimp and grits. Yum!

One of my personal favorite details from this editorial is the signage at our sweet tea station – Lydia penned it on a vintage serving tray!

Such a sweet way to honor the marriages that have come before yours: assemble a board of your parents and grandparents advice beforehand, then, if you like, ask guests to add their own two cents during cocktail hour!

For a refreshing nod to the ’50s, Thrive Catering suggested vintage rootbeer floats as our “groom’s cake.” Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and choose a sweet you know your beau will love!

Order your copy now of Southern Weddings Volume 9 in the Southern Weddings Shop!

Photographer: Davy Whitener | Planner and stylist: Molly McKinley Designs | Film processing: Richard Photo Lab | Venue: Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn Plantation | Floral design: August Event Design | Hair and makeup: Jennifer C. Nieman | Cake: Minette Rushing | Caterer: Thrive Catering | Paper goods: Lydia Whitener | Furniture rentals: Savannah Vintage Rentals | Lounge area: Ooh! Events | Tabletop rentals: Southern Vintage | Live painting: Elaine Burge of Gregg Irby Gallery | Taper candles: Creative Candles | China: Peacock Alley | Sweet tea spoons: Milk & Honey | Table runner and ribbon: Nettle Textiles | Linens: I Do Linens | Bride’s gown: “Lainee” by Christos | Bride’s veil: Tessa Kim | Jewelry: Gabrielle Jewelry | Bridesmaid dresses: Paper Crown | Seersucker pants: Bonobos | Bow ties: Southern Weddings for High Cotton Ties

emily Written with love by Emily
6 Comments
  1. avatar Bumby reply

    I LOVE IT!!! I see a familiar face in there too I know around the group table. Cannot wait to get my copy!!!!

  2. avatar Rhiannon reply

    So so beautiful! Well done, SW and team!

  3. avatar Amy reply

    Beautiful bride, totally radiant, I can feel the love. Best wishes to all from Amy of https://poemstogo.tv!

  4. avatar Hilton Head Wedding Photographer | Davy Whitener Photography reply

    […] We were honored to photograph this editorial with Southern Weddings for their Volume 9 magazine.  It was a humbling and amazing feeling that they pulled one of images for the cover!  The great team that contributed are listed below.  See more on their website here – A Storied Love […]

  5. avatar A Storied Love | Part 2 – Davy Whitener Destination Wedding Photography reply

    […] cover!  The great team that contributed are listed below.  See more on their website here – A Storied Love. Also, see the cover reveal here – V9 Cover […]

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

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Friends, it is with bubbling-over delight and many happy squeals that I introduce you to… the Southern Weddings V9 cover!!!

We are so, SO, so, SO, so, SO very proud of this beauty. Not only because she is quite obviously beautiful, but because of all of the stories between the pages that she represents. Ready for a little bit of her own backstory? Here we go!

There’s a text chain for all the girls in our office, and at the end of every shoot day, Lisa and I load it up with behind-the-scenes snaps, so that the ladies back home can see how all of our dreaming and planning came together. (And yes, you can bet your bottom dollar there’s some high-voltage emoji use going on when the photos come through!)

At the end of this particular shoot day last June, along with the photos, I also commented, “I guarantee there will be a cover shot from today.” A bold statement, yes, but from the perfect weather, to the talented vendors, to the joyful models, to the gorgeous gown, to the stunning bouquet, I just knew we had created something truly special, something that would represent the heart of Southern Weddings perfectly.

And when the final images from Davy Whitener came back from the lab (thank you, Richard Photo Lab!!), it was unanimous: this was our cover. We never seriously considered anything else.

I really think this image does represent our heart, which makes it my all-time favorite cover we’ve ever produced. (There, I said it!!) Kelsie is the Southern Weddings girl, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes, from her joyful, beautiful smile to her modern lace wedding dress. As Jess in our office keeps saying, “I want to be her on my wedding day!”

Back to those sweet vendors for a moment. One of our values at Southern Weddings is working with new-to-us vendors, to introduce y’all to new talent and to champion it ourselves. We couldn’t be happier that both the stylist and photographer from our cover shoot are new to our pages, and that in addition to being two incredibly talented people, they are unbelievably kind and humble. We knew Davy would be excited about making the cover, so we filmed our call to tell him the good news :) Listen in to our convo with him and his wife Lydia below!

Aside from the couldn’t-have-happened-to-nicer-people aspect, I also love that our cover image came from this shoot because the shoot itself is inspired by one of the most beloved Southern love stories, and one that reverberates with the Southern Weddings’ mission: The Notebook. Yes, y’all!! In addition to an entire editorial inspired by Allie and Noah’s story, this issue is packed full of content that will spur you on to create your own legacy of a strong, rich, joyful marriage through 15 real weddings, six more editorials, practical planning advice, and an entire section devoted to newlywed life.

Our official release is one week and one day from today (Thursday the 10th!), but a little birdy told us copies have begun to pop up on news stands already! Be sure to snap a pic of yourself with your copy and hashtag #SouthernWeddingsV9 on Instagram — we LOVE seeing your smiling faces!! If you live outside the South or want your copy before everyone else, you can purchase it in our shop — and preorders ship TODAY!

THANK YOU, DAVY AND MOLLY!!!

In the meantime, we’re DYING to know: What do y’all think??? Are you as much in love with V9’s cover as we are? Are you as excited as we are about SW + The Notebook? :)

Photographer: Davy Whitener | Film processing: Richard Photo Lab | Planner and stylist: Molly McKinley Designs | Venue: Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn Plantation | Floral design: August Event Design | Hair and makeup: Jennifer Nieman | Bride’s gown: “Lainee” by Christos | Jewelry: Gabrielle Jewelry

P.S. A walk down memory lane… the V8 cover reveal, the V7 cover reveal, and the V6 cover reveal (including one of my favorite cover stories ever!)!

emily Written with love by Emily
6 Comments
  1. avatar Davy Whitener reply

    This is so beautiful!! Lydia and I love it! Can’t wait to celebrate with y’all at the Launch Party!!

  2. avatar Kelli + Daniel Taylor Photography reply

    Stunning! This is one of my favorite covers to date.

  3. avatar Dana reply

    LOVE IT! Another perfect cover :) Cannot wait to get my hands on V9!

  4. avatar Tamara Menges reply

    Ahhh!!! My favorite cover now! I my stars! She is radiant!

  5. avatar tammy reply

    The cover is beautiful!! She is so preciously lovely. And THAT dress!!! Dreamy!!

  6. avatar A Storied Love | Part 2 – Davy Whitener Destination Wedding Photography reply

    […] We were honored to photograph this beautiful editorial with Southern Weddings for their Volume 9 magazine.  It was a humbling and amazing feeling that they pulled one of our images for the cover!  The great team that contributed are listed below.  See more on their website here – A Storied Love. Also, see the cover reveal here – V9 Cover Reveal. […]

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

Reply to:
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Just like a wedding means the coming together of two families, planning a wedding can mean bringing together two, or more, different sets of opinions and priorities. It can certainly be a challenge, but with a focus on the true meaning of the day, a little bit of grace, and a willingness to compromise, everyone involved can pitch in to create something magical and memorable. Bolling and Moultrie worked together with Bolling’s sweet mama and the talented folks at Ooh! Events for their Charleston wedding, and from the custom invites designed by Moultrie’s cousin, to the sweetgrass-esque cake inspired by the wedding’s locale, everyone’s vision for the day came together beautifully!

Thanks so much to Britt Croft for sharing this Bolling and Moultrie’s special day with us!

Moultrie and I have actually known each other since we were little. He has a HUGE family and one of his cousins has always been a best friend of mine. Growing up, she would invite me to places with her family, like summers at the beach, and Moultrie would be there too.I developed a huge crush on him in middle school and let him know one bold afternoon over AOL Instant Messenger. He let me down gently, admitting later that he couldn’t imagine getting teased for dating “Bolling Ball!” Through the years, our circle of friends always tended to overlap somewhat, so we kept in touch. It wasn’t until the summer before senior year of college that we finally connected. I am a very private person, and my most favorite person in the world (my dad) passed away that summer. I didn’t tell a soul about what had happened, not even my closest friends. We had just pulled up to the church and stepped out of the car for the funeral when I saw Moultrie pulling up in his car. That’s absolutely the moment I fell head over heels for him, and I’ve loved him every minute ever since!

Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! After hearing that I wasn’t quite sure about wearing a veil, my godmother generously gave me her veil to use as my something borrowed. For my something blue, I used the same garter my mom and my aunt used in their weddings. For my something new, Moultrie surprised me with a beautiful gold necklace that he asked I wear on our big day.

Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? We very much debated over this. We had been in friends’ weddings when they did a first look, amd not only did the pictures turn out great, it freed up a ton of time for them to enjoy more of the reception. But, Moultrie was pretty adamant on the fact that he wanted to be completely surprised when I walked down the aisle. In the end, seeing his reaction was priceless and we loved that it was something we were able to share with all of our guests.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Thinking about everyone staring at us during the ceremony already gave me plenty of anxiety, so we decided to stick to the easy, repeat-after-me vows.

The venue fit our criteria perfectly. It was outside, by the water, and most importantly, it required the least number of decisions! So much was included, which made for a much less stressful planning season.

What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? Choosing Dunes West as a venue really helped us out with this. Not having to rent a tent, linens, or chairs truly made the whole day more affordable. The price is VERY competitive for the space and the team is so kind and accommodating. I’d choose them again in a heartbeat!

Our first dance was a no-brainer. We had chosen a band for our reception and were worried they wouldn’t be able to play our song, but the Right to Party band nailed it with their rendition of Bob Marley’s “Is This Love.”

Tell us all about the proposal! Moultrie’s biggest wish was that I be surprised when the time came for him to propose. He figured out the perfect way for me to not suspect a thing: propose without any fluff or fancy stuff! Moultrie and a few of our friends were already out at the beach one Friday afternoon, and the plan was for me to meet up with them once I was off of work. When I got there, Moultrie was ready for me to head out with him to try and surf before the sunset. Not understanding why he was so eager to go RIGHT then, I followed him out to the water and bent down to get my leash on. It was really tangled and I asked Moultrie what the deal was. He headed on over and got down on one knee to help me out. I still didn’t’ think anything of it, but then he started telling me how much he loved me. I was still wondering what the heck was going on when he pulled out a ring! I didn’t snap back to reality until I heard one of our friends screaming in the background! Obviously, I said yes and here we are now!
When did y’all get married? April 11, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? Around 150
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our handmade invites from Moultrie’s cousin and the logo he made along with it. We tried to use the logo throughout the wedding to tie everything together.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Merging all parties’ opinions into one. My mom, Moultrie, and I are all VERY strong-willed individuals. My mom did a great job of dividing up the decisions equally. For instance, Moultrie very much wanted his cousin to design our wedding invitations, but my mom prefers traditional designs. They compromised and my mom to chose the wording, while Half & Half designed the suite. In the end, we really worked well together and consistently reminded each other that we were all on the same team, trying to create lasting memories through the wedding.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000-$50,000
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? BRITTANY CROFT! Oh my goodness there are not enough sweet words in the dictionary to describe our photographer. Not only is her maiden name “Bowling,” so I knew we were meant to be, but she just got us. Y’all this woman is talented, but she doesn’t let that go to her head. She is so grounded and family-oriented and just a great human being. She works so hard and got us our pictures back in record time. She helped make our wedding experience perfect!

Photographer: Britt Croft Photography / Planner and Florist: Ooh! Events / Venue and Catering: Dunes West Golf and River Club / Cake Baker: Ashley Bakery / Band: Right to Party of East Coast Entertainment / Invitations: The Half & Half / Bride’s Gown: Christos / Bride’s Earrings: Sara Gabriel / Bridesmaid Earrings: Currie Jewelry / Hair and Makeup: Paper Dolls / Bride’s Shoes: Michael Kors / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Bridgette,” “Lulu,” “Wren,” and “Harlow” by Jenny Yoo / Groom’s Attire: Ralph Lauren / Groomsmen Attire: Jos. A. Bank / Calligraphy: Giovanna Alvino Calligraphy / Transportation: Lowcountry Valet

East Coast Entertainment is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
2 Comments
  1. avatar Shelby reply

    What a gorgeous venue! I’ve never heard of that one but definitely my type of place!

    Shelby
    http://www.prettyinthepines.com

  2. avatar Maureen reply

    I love the bride’s gorgeous wedges! Classic and comfortable – the perfect combo. :)

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

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