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For these high school sweethearts, growing up in the same small town in East Tennessee was full of 4H, FFA, sheep showing, and countless memories of growing up together and falling in love! After Matthew left for the Navy, he wrote love letters to Jessica promising he’d come home and marry her one day–y’all, can we stop and swoon for a second? Delivering on his promise, Matthew married Jessica on a day rich with the history of their love story and the South at the Museum of Appalachia. With the help of beautiful blooms arranged by their family friend Whimsical Gatherings, Jessica and Matthew threw a wedding day that was the perfectly Southern, vintage-feeling, and naturally beautiful. And exactly what they had hoped for!

Big SW hugs to Dixie Pixel for sending along the sweet day!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met in high school. He was a Southern born-and-bred farm boy. His family raised sheep and lives on a beautiful farm on the Clinch River in East Tennessee. He and I were involved with agriculture together in high school, so I spent a lot of time with his family learning the basics of 4H, FFA, and, of course, sheep showing. We have countless memories growing up together and falling in love. During college, he left for the Navy. I still have his old love letters from the military, in which he always promised he’d come back home and marry me one day.

I am totally inspired by all things vintage, so I knew I wanted a simple, lace dress. I found the perfect dress at White Lace and Promises in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was from the Stella York collection, and featured a sweetheart neckline and trumpet silhouette.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our wedding crest and invitations designed by Lydia Sellers of The Darling Type. They laid the groundwork for our overall theme, vision, and color palette, which helped inspire the design for the entire event.

Matthew is very traditional, which I absolutely adore. He wanted to save that first look moment for our wedding ceremony when I walked down the aisle. It was captured by Dixel Pixel, and the photos turned out to be some of most spectacular ones of the entire day.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? We were both raised in the same small town of Clinton in East Tennessee, so we knew we wanted to get married in a place that captured the essence and history of the area. The Museum of Appalachia was perfectly fitting and beautifully displayed the heritage of the South, while also capturing the incredible landscape of our hometown area.

Our flowers came from Whimsical Gatherings of Alcoa, Tennessee. The owner, Leah McCall, is a long-time family friend, and her lead designer, Colby West, is brilliantly gifted. Matthew and I shared our inspirations with their team, and they made our dreams come to life. The wedding flowers were lush, colorful arrangements of garden roses, peonies, clematis, cosmos, hydrangea, and ranunculus, mixed with foraged lavender, pears, willow, and honeysuckle. My favorite details were the blue jay feathers, antlers, and bird nests throughout the centerpiece arrangements. It was perfectly Southern, vintage, and natural. The overall design plan was inspired by our wedding crest, designed by Lydia Sellers of The Darling Type.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Matt and I share a love of entertaining others. We were raised in homes with big arms, open doors, and full tables. Coming from the same small hometown, we sincerely wanted to invite everyone we knew to share in this celebration with us. The biggest challenge was finding the balance between inviting everyone we knew (which we both wanted to do), while, at the same time, maintaining an intimate enough setting with those who share life with us.

Tell us all about the proposal! It was Easter weekend in April 2015 and we were sharing a Bible study and coffee in our sun room. It’s one of our favorite things to do on Saturday mornings. At the end, Matthew prayed over our relationship. It was the most sincere prayer, asking God to give us guidance and wisdom in the days and years to come. I felt a comfort and peace like I’ve never felt before. It was an unforgettable moment. A few minutes later, I got up to take our coffee back to the kitchen, when he asked me to come to the front porch. As I opened the door, I noticed a chalkboard where he had written, “Will you marry me?” I turned around to the front steps and he was down on one knee. It was the best surprise of my life.
When did y’all get married? August 22, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 300
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Yes. From me to Matthew: “I vow to submit myself unto Jesus and unto you as we are one, because a strand of three chords is not easily broken. I choose to encourage you joyfully, forgive you freely, and love you unconditionally, possibly only by the power of God’s grace in me.” Matthew to me: “I will faithfully and courageously pursue you with a Christ-centered heart as our Shepherd with faith and love.”
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? My brother represented my dad by reading a letter from him, since it wasn’t possible for him to be present on this day. Matthew’s niece also read scripture from Isaiah 61:10-11.
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! Oh, of course! My something “new” was my wedding dress and shoes my mother bought me. Something borrowed was my matron of honor’s jewelry. Something old was a ring which my mom had specially designed at Markman’s Jewelers. It includes two princess cut sapphires, my birthstone, on either side of the center stone, which is my grandmother’s wedding diamond. Something blue was the fun part! I wrote a cute poem to each of my closest girlfriends which read, “So, now is the time to share and celebrate. My wedding day is near, I simply can’t wait! I have something old and my something new. I even borrowed something, but not something blue. I just have one thing to ask, to be a part of our special day with one small task. Please, please be my beautiful ‘something blue!’ Just wear the dress that inspires you.”
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? Premarital counseling was really awesome for us. It was a neutral ground for us to share about our strengths as well as our differences. It was great for us to have an older couple walk with us through the real aspects of marriage and to give us advice on how to love each other through our differences.
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? We wanted to celebrate at our reception, so we opted to cut out the timeline of events, such as the cake cutting and bouquet toss, to focus on fun! We saved big bucks by not having wedding cakes, and opted for a dessert bar designed by Echo Bistro instead.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Dream about the day. Create a vision together. Set a planned budget. Stay organized (your vendors will appreciate that!). At the end of the day, stay focused on the purpose of the marriage, not the day of the wedding. Plan for fun and fellowship at your ceremony and forget the details. You’re getting married!!!
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? We look forward to having children, growing a farm, raising sheep and building a home on his family’s land. Most importantly, we want to serve our church and give back to the organizations that impacted our childhood, such as FFA and local 4H groups.

Photographer: Dixie Pixel | Videographer: Kati Baird | Venue and Planning: Museum of Appalachia | Florist: Whimsical Gatherings | Caterer and Baker: Echo Bistro | Rentals: All Occasions | Lighting: Tennessee Lighting | Band: Pink Cadillac | Paper Products and Makeup Artist: The Darling Type | Bride’s Gown: Stella York | Bridal Salon: White Lace and Promises | Bride’s Jewelry: Stella and Dot | Hair Stylist: Amy Anderson | Menswear: Jos. A. Bank

marissa Written with love by Marissa
3 Comments
  1. avatar Daria reply

    Beautiful wedding! Love the little details, especially the framed reserved card; so pretty! The foliage table runner is to die for !

  2. avatar Victoria Chris reply

    Love these, such a clean pure look!

  3. avatar Emily reply

    What a great place to have your wedding!

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Just this morning, Lisa and I were discussing how we both cry while reading Real Wedding interviews, and I was telling her how the images can make me cry as well! And let me tell y’all, Jessica + Burton’s wedding was no different! Between the images of Jessica’s mama in the same gown she wore down the aisle to the series of incredible expressions as they saw her for the first time, these Dixie Pixel photos have both Lisa and I reaching for our monogrammed tissue boxes (a new office requirement!).

We just had to include all three of these precious faces! Talk about priceless moments, y’all!

I knew I didn’t want to go the standard route, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted either. So, I found a local bridal boutique that only made custom dresses and restored vintage ones. That sounded good and different to me. Right after I made my appointment, I remembered that my mom might still have her dress in the attic in the “dress-up/costume” box for the grandkids. I called my mom, rushed out there, and got the dress to take to my appointment the next day. It fit! No alterations were needed, just a good cleaning and a few minor replacements of the zipper and a button. My mom had her headpiece and veil, too. It was all perfect. I tried on one dress and was done.

Describe your wedding flowers. My florist was amazing. She did took my skeleton of an idea and made it gorgeous. The colors were soft–pale pinks, yellows, greens and some white. We used a bunch of gorgeous roses from Burton’s step-dad’s rose garden. I wanted to keep it loose and light for our casual, outdoor affair. The lake was already a great setting; I didn’t want to overdo it. Oh, and, she surprised me big time! Just before I walked out, she hit pause on everything and sprinkled white rose petals all the way down the sidewalk aisle and all over the boat dock. I had no idea. It was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me.

See, y’all! I can’t even look at Burton’s face in this photo without tearing up!

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? No, we didn’t do a first look. My wedding planner suggested it was a good idea, especially to get rid of some of the jitters, but I liked the element of surprise. We shared everything at that point, and not many things were a surprise regarding the wedding. Burton didn’t know I was wearing my mom’s dress, and I wanted to see his face, among other family members, as I walked down the aisle. It was also such a small wedding that we knew we’d have plenty of time for pictures, etc., after the ceremony.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We did not write our own vows. Our minister did a simple, traditional service.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? First and foremost, it was just family! Also, the food reflected an intimate, relaxed backyard elegance. At least, that’s how my caterer described it! She really set the Southern tone. We had tiny biscuits filled with chipotle pimento cheese and topped with crispy bacon as one of the delicious appetizers, fresh corn off the cob and cherry tomato relish, vanilla bean lemonade, and mason jar pies…to name a few. All family-style. I wore my mom’s dress–she was married at a church down the way in 1968 (45 years ago, this year!), and Burton wore a bow-tie.

We incorporated local flowers in my bouquet, including the roses from Burton’s step-father’s garden. And, the wedding was outside on Fort Loudon Lake formed by the Holston, French Broad and Tennessee Rivers.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. For something summery, we had a lemon cake filled with blueberry buttercream, drizzled in honey glaze, topped with fresh cream and fresh blueberries. The rest of the dessert table was spectacular: basil-peach mason jar pies, classic Petit Fours, assorted French macarons, vanilla bean Whoopie pies filled with coconut ice cream, and orange-scented chocolate cake pops. Yum!

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Bugs love me. A couple of weeks before the wedding, I either got too many bug bites or some poison ivy on my leg. This is par for the course, but my dress was short! So, I worried about that, and then, I realized I was having an outdoor wedding by the water! Not sure what I was thinking. After being overly cautious with lawn treatments etc., it was a miracle that I didn’t get one (additional) bite. Thanks, Dad!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Burton is from Baton Rouge and moved to Knoxville in 8th grade. We had some mutual friends growing up in high school and college. I became good friends with his sister, Sarah, at UT Knoxville, and more so after both of us spent time living overseas. Several mutual friends mentioned over the years that Burton and I should get together. Burton likes to say I gave him the “Heisman” (think of the pose) for about 5+ years. Finally, we went on a date. The rest is history!
Tell us all about the proposal! After about two years of dating, we talked about getting engaged, but when it happened, I really had no idea it was coming. He got me! We were visiting his aunt in France. While we were touring around Paris, I gave him a hard time at every spot that looked romantic enough for a proposal…so, everywhere. I was kidding! Then we took a day trip to the Palace of Versailles. In the gardens, while trying to decide if we should rent a little row boat, I proceeded to give him the daily, “Well, this would be great place to propose…just sayin’.” We got the boat, it was hot, and I then began to tease him, rowing me around. I felt pretty guilty afterwards! Anyways, I didn’t understand why he was paddling longer than the fifteen minutes we’d paid for. He ignored me and asked me to look at something on the map in my purse, and when I looked up…voila!
When did y’all get married? June 8, 2013
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? About 25 family members
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? Since we didn’t have any bridesmaids or groomsmen, I thought about having our sisters do a reading to include them as a special part of the ceremony. But, there was a 2-year old involved, and we just weren’t sure about how he’d do on the dock. My sister might have had to wrangle him at any moment, and we didn’t want just one of the three sisters missing, so we didn’t end up doing any readings.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. We had a jazz pianist and his wife, who sang, and they were absolutely perfect for the setting. Great, relaxed background music. Our first dance was to a Frank Sinatra classic, “Fly Me to the Moon.” It was lovely, but I kept insisting that Burton be more “playful” with me, and Tara got a pretty good pic of my attempt. I think he felt the camera on him! My father-daughter dance was especially meaningful. At some point, during those tough high school years, my dad gave us all (three sisters) the Lee Ann Womack single, “I Hope You Dance.” I’ve never seen my mom cry so hard. They couldn’t believe I’d remembered.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Wearing my mom’s dress and having the ceremony on my parents’ dock! I couldn’t imagine wearing anything else or doing it any other way.
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! Everything but blue. Something borrowed (and old) was my mom’s dress and veil. Something old (and borrowed) was a sixpence, from my mother-in-law’s friend, for my shoe. I had two pairs of shoes that I could not decide between: some 1960s shoes from a local, vintage clothing shop, and some new shoes. I wore both.
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? Seriously, all of them! Everyone was so easy to work with and “got me,” even when I couldn’t fully describe what I wanted. Tara at Dixie Pixel made me feel so comfortable and captured the day perfectly. And, I am SO thankful for Colleen at White Orchid Bridal and that she gave me the opportunity to wear my mother’s dress! So special!!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Walking down the aisle of rose petals and standing there for the ceremony on the dock. Burton says, “The first time I saw you in your dress!!!” Also, dancing to a special song with my dad (and seeing my mom cry)…it was so sweet.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? To each their own. Big or small. Do it the way you want. Surround yourself with family and friends who “get you.” And use vendors who are your speed! If you find a vendor you like, you should check out their recommendations for other vendors. I found one and everything else fell into place.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? We are excited to try to start a family. That’s not for everyone right away, but we both waited a little while to get married…code: we’re (getting) old. I’m most looking forward to having a partner in life, through it all.

Photographer: Tara Kneiser at Dixie Pixel Photography | Planner: Peggy Love at Plan it with Love | Ceremony and Reception Venue: Bride’s Parents’ House | Florist: Pat Felts at Clay Pots Floral Events | Cake Baker: Bettina Hamblin at The Sweetery | Caterer: Bettina Hamblin at Luxe Catering | Rentals: Bettina Hamblin at Restoration Rentals | Jazz Pianist: Keith Brown | Bride’s Gown and Veil: Mother of the Bride’s 1960s Priscilla of Boston gown and veil, restored by Colleen Moore at White Orchid Bridal | Hair Stylist: Mandy at Prive | Makeup Artist: Claire Balest | Bride’s Shoes: Vintage Kate Spade | Groom’s Attire: Brooks Brothers and Jos. A. Bank

marissa Written with love by Marissa
7 Comments
  1. avatar Lisa reply

    Seriously, everyone’s expressions are so priceless!! We need a rush order on those monogrammed tissue boxes with wedding pictures as sweet as these!

  2. avatar burton & jessica | Dixie Pixel Photography reply

    […] to Burton & Jessica! Be sure to check out their wedding featured on Southern Weddings today! Click HERE to see their feature. Venue: Jessica's Parents' home, Knoxville, Tn Dress: Jessica's mother's, […]

  3. avatar Caitlyn | The Aerialist Press reply

    I love the idea of getting married on a lake! So gorgeous!

  4. avatar Bridget reply

    Best mother of the bride photo ever! And there is nothing like a vintage Priscilla gown – so special that the bride got to wear her mom’s wedding dress.

  5. avatar Bethany Davidson-Widby reply

    My beautiful friend Jessica…these pictures brought tears to my eyes. You are beautiful both inside and out.

  6. avatar Rose { Rose and Ruby Paper Co. } reply

    Love this! The dress and veil look so cute! Wow. And all the details, so personal.
    x

  7. avatar Canopy Rental reply

    Beautiful location. Each and every part of decoration is done so thoughtfully. Inspiring!

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I am quite obviously biased, but I do sincerely think that we have some of the best Southern talent out there in our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory! If you’re searching for vendors for your wedding day, I highly recommend you take a peek. Here are ten of our newest members!

5 Rings Photo takes an “honest and simple” approach to wedding photography and is based in Tennessee.

Bourbon and Bloom offers a blend of rustic heirlooms and polished décor to those who want to add a warm touch of charm to their wedding or special event in Central/Southeast Texas.

Cru Catering has been voted Charleston’s number one caterer for twelve years in a row. We have to agree, as they produced the most delicious and adorable eats for our V4 polo shoot! (Photo by A Bryan Photo)

Dixie Pixel believes in letting moments happen rather than forcing them, and that all weddings are beautiful, no matter the budget. Tara is located just outside the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.

Geomyra Lewis would love the chance to help you tell your love story. She is a wedding planner based in Virginia.

J Morgan Flowers is one of South Florida’s most sought after and respected floral and design studios. An event designed by Jacqueline and her passionate team is a blend of charm infused with the personality of the couple. (Photos above by Jessica Lorren, another Blue Ribbon Vendor!)

The Monaco Alexandria is a luxury boutique hotel in Old Town Alexandria.

As your photographer, Nancy Ray hopes to give you an experience you will never forget and to show you how beautiful your love truly is. She is based in North Carolina.

Taylor Lord thinks of natural light, photojournalism, and fine art as the three main ingredients in her photography. She is based in Austin, Texas.

Tie That Binds is a full-service boutique print and design shop with a true passion for weddings.

To check out all of our Blue Ribbon Vendors, just click over to the full directory! You can search by category or state to find your perfect match.

Vendors, if you’re interested in getting involved, just fill out this form and we’ll get in touch! Brides, did you particularly love a Southern vendor from your wedding day? Leave a comment below or email Emily, because we’d love to hear about them!

emily Written with love by Emily
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