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Erin and Joe’s love story is a testament to the idea that “when you know, you know.” They knew after their first meeting that what they had found in each other was worth starting a long-distance relationship for. Joe knew by his first Christmas with Erin’s family that he would someday ask her to marry him. That same confidence carried into their engagement as they planned their Salt Harbor celebration, knowing that they wanted to start their marriage surrounded by community. Their big bridal party and the effort they put into caring for their guests is proof of that, and I can only imagine how palpable the love for this sweet couple was on their special day!

Thank you so much to A.J. Dunlap for sharing Erin and Joe’s wedding with us!

I traveled down to my friend’s bridal store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to find the perfect gown. I thought I wanted something with lace, but after trying some on, all of the lace dresses felt too formal for me. When I tried on my beautiful ombre gown, I knew it was the one. It had the special touch I was looking for, and the silk organza was so soft and light. It was perfect, and I knew right away that it was the dress I would wear on my wedding day.

Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! As my something old, I had a gold “A” brooch that belonged to my paternal great-grandmother and a gold heart charm necklace with my maternal grandparents’ names on either side that I attached to the stem of my bouquet. My grandparents were not able to make the trip to the wedding, so the necklace was in honor of them. My dress, shoes, veil, jewelry, hairpiece, and garter were new. At the last minute right before the ceremony started, my mom gave me her engagement ring to borrow for the evening–since she has such small fingers, I wore it on my pinky finger!

Our favorite detail was our GIANT wedding party, which included important people in our lives from lower school and beyond. We also had gentlemen (my brother and a friend) who stood on my side and ladies (Joe’s sister, sister-in-law, and a friend) who stood on his side.

For our ceremony and cocktail hour, we had a quartet that was led by my former high school orchestra teacher. I knew from the beginning of wedding planning that I wanted him to play for the ceremony. It was especially meaningful because our officiant, my maid of honor, and my brother are all former students of his as well, so it felt like a little reunion.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? Our ceremony and reception were held in the same place–we were aiming for simplicity and did not want guests to have to travel between different locations to get from the ceremony to the reception. We “flipped” the ceremony space into a reception, which was the easiest and most efficient way for us to achieve that goal. The food and the cake were provided by the country club, and having an all-inclusive experience helped us streamline our vendor list.

We planned our wedding with the emphasis on making it as easy and fun for our guests as possible. We had shuttles take our guests to and from the wedding, so drinking and driving wouldn’t be a concern. We were blessed with cool summer weather, but held our events under nautical sail cloth tents that provided shade, and created our programs in the shape of fans, just in case of warm temperatures. We had corn hole boards set up that were painted with UNC and Vanderbilt themes (in honor of our alma maters). We also had a bourbon bar (Joe is a whiskey man), where guests could sip their favorites, and my brother painted us a sign to hang over the bar that said “Franklin & Broadway” in honor of the main streets in Chapel Hill and Nashville. During the cocktail hour, the bourbon bar served mint juleps and Moscow mules for guests to enjoy.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. We had a simple, three-tiered wedding cake, but as a little surprise, it was a funfetti cake with strawberry cream in the middle! It’s too easy for a wedding to feel “stuffy,” so we wanted to go with a cake flavor that so many of us loved growing up. We also had a groom’s cake that was Vanderbilt-themed (because Joe loves Vanderbilt sports), with a perfect replica of a football helmet on it. The cake was Rocky Road flavor, which was definitely a guest favorite!
Did you pull any wedding inspiration from memories you have together? Tell us about it! Joe and I enjoy going to UNC and Vanderbilt sporting events together, so our exit with pom poms in our schools’ colors was a fun little addition! As we were waiting for everyone to get lined up so we could run through, we could hear people yelling the schools’ chants. It was a very memorable end to our wonderful night.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met over Memorial Day weekend in 2011 on the patio of a little bar in Topsail Beach, North Carolina. We were both in town visiting friends for the holiday weekend, and met through mutual friends. After chatting for most of the night, we realized there was something special between us and we wanted to see each other again, even though we were living five hours apart (I was in Durham, North Carolina and Joe was in Washington, D.C.). We spent the next year driving to see each other on the weekends, before we got the chance to move to Boston together for two years of grad school (yay, no more long-distance!).
Tell us all about the proposal! Joe proposed over Memorial Day weekend in 2014, at the very same beach where we had met three years prior. I had spent most of the day at the beach while Joe stayed up at my parents’ house. Later in the afternoon, Joe met me down at the beach, and we proceeded to set up our beach tent so we could enjoy some time together. I was laying on my stomach reading when he got down on the beach towel next to me and started talking about how much he loved me. He then pulled a ring box out of his pocket and asked me if I would marry him. I, of course, said yes, and then we celebrated with a bottle of my grandpa’s homemade wine, which had been given to Joe the first Christmas he spent with my family. He said he knew when he received it that it would be the wine that we would use to celebrate our engagement someday.
When did y’all get married? May 24, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 150
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We did not have any formal readings, but Joe’s brother recited a verse from the Old Testament and a prayer, which talked about being physically and mentally present for each other throughout our lives, especially in the first year of our marriage. It was really special.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $50,000-$75,000
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? We purchased a GoPro camera for guests to use to videotape the ceremony and reception. We were able to save money, and the GoPro provided more personal candid shots of the wedding, which was what we wanted. We also made our own save the dates instead of purchasing them from a paper vendor.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Use spreadsheets to track everything (budgets, guest lists, gifts received, vendor contacts), and be as organized as possible. Also, let people help you with wedding tasks–don’t try to do it all yourself. You will find that you’ll enjoy the wedding planning journey a lot more if you distribute some of the work. People will offer to help, so let them (and then thank them for making things easier for you).
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? We just returned from our honeymoon in Puerto Rico, and we are excited to ease into a “normal” life of cooking together and spending our free time on the weekends together. There are many date nights in our future!

Photographer: A.J. Dunlap Photography / Planner, Florist, and Rentals: Salt Harbor / Venue, Catering, and Cake: Country Club of Landfall / Tents: Sperry Tents / Furniture Rentals: Party Suppliers / Lighting: High Performance Lighting / Band: Band: Mr. Potato Head via East Coast Entertainment / Invitations: Invitations by Dawn / Programs: Woodlark Designs / Save the Date Stickers: Social Print Studio / Bride’s Gown: Martina Liana / Bride’s Jewelry: Nadri / Bride’s Hairpiece: Richard Designs / Hair Stylist: Wedding Hair by Liz / Makeup Artist: Lauren Tedino / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Donna Morgan / Bridesmaids’ Necklaces: Stella & Dot / Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss / Groom’s Shoes: Ted Baker / Groomsmen Attire: Savvi Formalwear / Groomsmen’s Cuff Links: Release Me Creations / Bridal Salon: Bustle / Dress Alterations: Isabel Donnelly / Bridal Suite: The Loft on Front / Transportation: Wilmington Trolley Company and Cape Fear Transportation

Invitations by Dawn and Donna Morgan are delightful Southern Weddings advertisers. Bustle, Sperry Tents, and East Coast Entertainment are members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory.

lisa Written with love by Lisa
5 Comments
  1. avatar Yours Truly Wedding Albums reply

    Breathtaking images! What a gorgeous wedding!

  2. avatar A.J. Dunlap reply

    Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful southern wedding that we had the privilege of photographing. We are so honored to see it featured here!!! xoxo~A.J. & Kyle

  3. avatar Dana reply

    I like his sweet, low-key proposal!

  4. avatar Reece reply

    Love Social Print Studio!!! I used their photostrips and tinybooks as my save the dates. ❤️

  5. avatar Tatyana Lee reply

    That bouquet is incredible!

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One of the best parts of Kristin’s and my jobs is connecting the amazing vendors the South has to offer with our darling brides through the Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory! It is also a joy to see our Blue Ribbon Vendors work together to create beautiful events. Molly and Richard worked with four of our delightful members for their wedding day, which was filled with lovely details, nods to their families, and the Southern hospitality to host 400 joyful guests. One of my personal favorite details (beside’s Molly’s super chic gown!) is that they decorated with Molly’s grandmother’s china, silver, and crystal that was passed down to her when she got married. So special!

Big hugs to our friends Landon Jacob for sharing this Columbia wedding day with us!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I knew I had to have my mom and my best friend come with me to find my dress. We went to the most beautiful bridal shop in Charlotte, J. Majors Bridal. It felt just like the movies–I tried on all these wedding dresses and knew exactly which one was the right one the second I put it on. When I walked out in the dress, my best friend started crying, and my mom and I both got teary too. I didn’t want to make the final decision until my dad and sister-and-law saw it, and they both loved it immediately too.

When I went to the church to make the final music decisions, it was truly a magical experience. My parents came with me and we walked up several flights of stairs to the music director’s office of Richard’s church, which has been around for over 200 years. His office was beautiful, complete with huge windows, and the music director played all the songs we liked on the piano so we could get an idea of how it would all sound together. We were all very impressed and left extremely excited for the ceremony, knowing we were in good hands. The song my bridesmaids walked down to was Canon in D–I love this song and I feel like it really sets the mood for a wedding ceremony. My dad and I walked down to Trumpet Tune. We had the hymn “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” played during the ceremony because it is one of my favorites, and it seems so holy when an entire church is singing the same song. The song Richard and I walked out of the church to was Toccata, From Symphony V, which was so joyful!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing Richard in the church for the first time. The aisle in the church is so long and my dad and I waited for what felt like forever before he walked me down the aisle to Richard. It was magical, just liked I had imagined it would be!

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? My mom and all her siblings got married in the same church, and I have always thought that was so special. When I realized I could get married in the same church my brother and his wife got married in, I knew that’s what I wanted. For the reception, I wished I could have had the entire reception outside, but I didn’t want to worry about the weather during the entire 11 months of our engagement. My mom and I visited several beautiful venues that could hold 400 people, but knew immediately when we walked into Forest Lake that it was perfect. The ballroom is so grand and beautiful, and the outside area looks out over the lake. To me, it doesn’t get much better than that!

The flowers were the most important detail to me out of everything. I grew up going to my aunts house in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and she has the most exquisite garden I have ever seen. I used to spend hours walking around with her outside when I was a little girl, so I wanted the flowers to look like they were fresh out of a garden. I could not have been happier with how they turned out. I wanted as much color as possible and my florist gave me exactly that, while sticking to a fall color palette.

I told the bakery I wanted the cake to be as smooth as possible. I asked the florist to drape flowers down the five tiers, and I placed it on a gold cake stand. A gold cake stand is not easy to find, but my wonderful wedding planner made it happen! The cake was placed in the foyer of the ballroom and it was the first thing guests saw when they walked in. I am a huge lover of chocolate, so it just didn’t feel like my wedding until I finally added the most delicious and beautiful chocolate truffles made by the in-house pastry chef at Forest Lake to our dessert offerings. They were placed on beautiful vintage trays and served to the guests. I made sure I ate three of them while I was at the reception, and I asked my wedding planner to pack some up for the car ride after the reception, too!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Richard and I went to the same high school and college, but we didn’t start dating until after college when we were both living back in our hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. We ran into each other one night and he asked me to go to the South Carolina football game with him the next day. Thinking I would ride with him and meet up with my friends once we got there, I said yes. He picked me up, and our drive was the first time I had ever been with him without our friends around. He was the most interesting person I had ever met. We have been together ever since!
Tell us all about the proposal! Richard’s mother had been planning a birthday dinner for him. They invited my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, Richard’s sister and her husband, and one of his best friends. He was living in Charlotte, North Carolina and I was in Columbia, South Carolina at the time. Dinner was planned for Thursday night in Columbia, and then Richard was going to take Friday off so we could go to the beach for a long weekend. He came into town and picked me up to go out for a drink downtown before dinner, since we hadn’t seen each other all week. We were on the way to the restaurant when Richard decided to take a side street by my church to avoid the downtown rush hour traffic. I was on the phone with my best friend, so I wasn’t really paying attention. Richard stopped the car in front of my church and said he wanted to get out for a minute to wait out the traffic. I got off the phone and we walked toward the benches in front of my church. There were cars everywhere, but Richard got down on one knee and proposed in front of my church. After lots of excitement and shock, we went to dinner, where everyone was waiting for us!
When did y’all get married? October 11, 2014
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 400
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? The ceremony was held at a large, historical, downtown church that has been around since the Civil War. The church grounds have ancient Southern oaks and magnolias all over the property, and Southern generals and Revolutionary War heroes are buried in the graveyards. The menu for the reception consisted of ham biscuits, fried okra, fried chicken, figs, shrimp and corn fritters, and fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese, to name a few. The table outside was decorated with my Grandmother’s china, silver, and crystal that had been passed down to me when I got married.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Have fun and be happy. All of the planning is for something that is so joyful, so be happy planning it! I felt so lucky to be able to plan such a special event in our lives.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? We are living in Charlotte and are excited to finally be in the same city. We are most looking forward to doing normal day-to-day things together, like waking up together and eating meals together at our house!

Photographer: Landon Jacob / Videographer: Caravan / Planner: Jessica Rourke / Ceremony Venue: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral / Reception Venue and Catering: Forest Lake Club / Florist: Fern Studio / Cake Baker: Parkland Cakes / Rentals: Ooh Events! / Lighting: Tony Sharp / Band: CEO / Paper Products: Brian Faulkenberry / Bride’s Gown: “Paz” by Augusta Jones / Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil/Jewelry: Augusta Jones / Hair and Makeup: Greg Garrett at Metropolis Salon / Bride’s Shoes: Tory Burch / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Annabelle” by Jenny Yoo / Menswear: Granger Owens / Calligraphy: Lydia Hendrix / Signage: Lady Letterpress

EastCoast Entertainment, Lydia Robins Hendrix, Fern Studio, and Jessica Rourke are all delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

marissa Written with love by Marissa
8 Comments
  1. avatar Alex reply

    So beautiful! Love the florals behind the bar and the deep color palette! And grandmas china, so sweet!

  2. avatar Claire reply

    What a timeless and elegant wedding! That dress!! A sweetheart neckline with a lace overlay has my heart pitter pattering, for sure!

  3. avatar Michael and Carina reply

    This wedding is absolutely stunning, and Landon’s photography captured it perfectly!

  4. avatar Joan reply

    I have had the Augusta Jones Paz dress picked out for me to try on and about twenty minutes ago I decided my colors with my fiancé. Funny thing is when I went to research the dress I came to this page and the colors were exactly the same I picked out. Thought it was neat for the dress and colors to match what I want. I hope I can find this dress in retail.

  5. avatar Amanda DeAngelo reply

    Hi there, these pictures are beautiful. I recently got engaged and am looking for bridesmaids dress ideas. I absolutely love the color and style of the bridesmaids dresses in this wedding. Is it possible to get the name of dress company and color choice?
    Beautiful wedding.
    Thanks

  6. avatar Top Ten Wedding Colors For Summer Bridesmaid Dresses 2016 | TulleandChantilly.com reply

    […] Photo Credits:Eric Kelley Photography via Once Wed/ via B Miller Weddings /via SMP/Vpon Sale Wedding/Julie Cate Photography/Landon Jacob Phtography via Southern Wedding […]

  7. avatar Sonia reply

    Is the bride looking to sell her dress by any chance???

  8. avatar 10 Darling Ways to Dress Up Your Mantle – reply

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Ashley and Matt fell in love in the Southern Weddings hometown of Chapel Hill, but for their May wedding, they chose the special place where both of their families have vacationed for years: Charleston. To match the old Southern elegance of Lowndes Grove Plantation, Ashley and Matt loved filling their wedding with meaningful, classic details, their favorite being a custom crest that combined the coats of arms of both of their families. Just like their crest, their wedding joined their families together in the loveliest way!

Thanks so much to Ellis Photo Studio for sharing Ashley and Matt’s wedding with us!

Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! I borrowed my veil from my mom–she had the most gorgeous veil with scalloped lace edges, that we layered over a cathedral-length raw satin-trimmed veil. The lace on my mom’s veil nearly matched the lace on my dress perfectly, and having a piece of her at the altar with me meant the world. For blue, since Matt and I are both Tar Heels, you could say that we are always bleeding blue! Everything else was new–the dress, my shoes, and my earrings, but the best new thing was my new husband that I was on the arm of walking back up the aisle!

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? Yes, and it was one of our favorite parts of our day! Matt and I wanted to have a chance to see each other and have a moment to ourselves to really relish in our wedding day together. It gave us a chance to share our last single moment together; not to mention, keep us from kissing right when I got to the end of the aisle!

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We didn’t write our own vows, but I wrote the whole ceremony. It felt so amazing to come up with everything from beginning to end, and it was something I truly enjoyed. We got to interject how we felt about each other, while still keeping it traditional.

We wanted to keep our flowers simple and elegant with lots of white, some pops of blush, and greenery. I’m a big believer in a clean aesthetic and didn’t want any over-the-top colors jumping out. My bridesmaids carried graceful stems of white phalaenopsis orchids, and my bouquet was made up of several flowers, including peonies and gardenias. Gardenia is my mom’s signature scent, and every time I smell it, it makes me think of her! For the tables, we had a mixture of high and low arrangements, echoing a French aesthetic, with a mixtures of herbs in navy cachepots and love knots painted in white, complemented by sweeping orchids.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: We worked with a graphic designer in my dad’s office who created a custom family crest for us. It united the Travis and Peterson coats of arms into a gorgeous detail that graved everything from the top of the cotton printed napkin menu, to the stamp on the invitations, to the custom pillows on the couches in the lounge area.

They say that you learn a lot about each other while planning a wedding, and one thing we learned was that we don’t like any of the same cake flavors except the traditional ones! We each kept vetoing each other’s options until we landed on chocolate and vanilla, but hey, who doesn’t love a traditional cake? We ended up going with a white cake layered with chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries, covered in buttercream. We kept the design very simple with swiss dots and rosette swirls throughout the layers.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Matt and I have known of each other since we were in elementary school, but it wasn’t until high school that we became friends. Matt left for UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall of 2005, and we talked every now and then, just to keep up with one another. When I got to Chapel Hill the following fall, he invited me to one of his fraternity’s parties the first week I was there. We started dating the following spring and haven’t looked back since!
Tell us all about the proposal! I’m the hardest person in the world to surprise, but somehow, this man pulled it off! We were out skiing for a long weekend in Park City, Utah at Deer Valley. We got in Thursday night, and my birthday was on Saturday. My mom mentioned that we should get some professional pictures done while we were there, and on Saturday morning on our first chairlift up for the day, Matt mentioned that we should get pictures taken at the top of the mountain before skiing down. Once we were at the summit, we realized the photographer was a little trek over. Matt took off quickly, and my first thought was “That is so out of character that he’s not waiting for me!” I figured he must really want to take these pictures and get to skiing. I caught up and we began our photo shoot, when the photographer told Matt to kneel on one knee and for me lean over and hug him from behind. We took that shot and I straightened back up, but then Matt paused and swiveled around. I didn’t think anything of it, but as he unzipped his jacket, I knew! He told me how much he loved me and how he couldn’t imagine his life without me, and he asked me to marry him! I immediately said YES!
When did y’all get married? May 31, 2014
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 200
What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? Charleston is our home away from home. Both of our families have been vacationing there for years, so it was a natural choice for our wedding. About a month after getting engaged, we started researching places in Charleston that included what we wanted: outside, in Charleston proper, and available for spring. The minute we saw Lowndes Grove, we knew this was it!
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We had both of Matt’s sisters do a reading, and my brother, Chase, led everyone in the Lord’s Prayer. Maggie, Matt’s younger sister, read Ruth 1:16-17 and Matt’s older sister, Jessica, read an anonymous love poem.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. We were very traditional in our processionals and used a lot of the music that my parents had used in their wedding. A string quartet brought everything to life and gave a romantic feel to the opening of the ceremony. Matt and I decided on Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” for our first dance. We both love to dance and wanted something we could move around to!
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? My aunt is a master seamstress and helped to sew things like our custom pillows and the cake table skirt.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Enjoy it! You’re only going to get to do this once, so soak up everything and be present throughout the process. Surround yourself with a great team and have fun with it!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? Being married has been nothing short of amazing and we are just having fun with this crazy life. We have been watching our wedding video on repeat, so hopefully that doesn’t die down anytime soon!

Photographer: Ellis Photo Studio / Videographer: KLC Video Productions / Planner: Lizz Akerman of Southern Protocol / Venue, Catering, and Cake: Lowndes Grove Plantation / Florist: Charleston Stems / Rentals: Snyder Events and EventWorks / Lighting: AV Connections / Band: Groovetown of East Coast Entertainment / Paper Products: Ancesserie / Bride’s Gown: “BO53″ by CB Couture” / Bridal Salon: Lily Rose Bridal / Hair Stylist: Hunter Johnson of Updo Charleston / Makeup Artist: Pamela Lesch Makeup / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Bridesmaid Dresses: Ann Taylor / Menswear: Berlin’s

lisa Written with love by Lisa
1 Comment
  1. avatar Gillian reply

    Thank you so much for featuring our photography today! We absolutely loved shooting this sweet blue + white wedding!

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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