Southern Weddings

Stephanie + Erik’s color palette pulls at my heartstrings! I love the way the similar tones mix together like an eclectic Valentine’s Day in October. The confetti and the watercolor heart notes? I die! The details aren’t just cute, though, they’re also heartfelt and thoughtful. Stephanie’s aunt surprised the couple with a multi-flavored cupcake tower, each individually decorated and looking scrumptious! The sweet treats continued with favors. The newlyweds sent their guests home with local honey that was made from the nectar of flowers on the grounds of their wedding venue at Glen Ella Springs Inn. I love how connected the treats are to the couple and their big day! Thanks again to Kate Byars for sharing!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert: Terri at Watts Farmhouse made us a three-tiered traditional wedding cake, along with several tarts. She even made some gluten free (Erik and I are both gluten free) and they were absolutely delicious. Additionally, my aunt made us a gorgeous multi-tiered cupcake tower. She hand crafted each of the cupcakes and had several flavors. It was beautiful and the sweetest surprise ever when she drove five hours with the cake for us as a wedding surprise.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Erik and I are both from the Atlanta area, so it meant a lot to us to get married in Georgia. We chose The Glen Ella Springs Inn because it is absolutely beautiful and charming in a Southern kind of way. We also included some Arabic traditions into our wedding, as my father is Arabic. We had “Arabic style” food and Arabic music/dancing, which all of our guests really enjoyed.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I think the biggest challenge was not taking on too much. There are so many wonderful ideas out there for weddings that I ended up with a very long list of things I wanted to have. It was a challenge narrowing down the list so that we could stay within budget, while still having the wedding of our dreams and incorporating meaningful details. In the end, everything was absolutely perfect and I think we made the right decisions, with some great help from Ginny and Kate.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? Our wedding cost right around $40,000.
What are the things you are most happy you splurged on? The venue and food. Food, in general, is very important to the two of us, so it was a non-negotiable for us to have the best food possible. One of the biggest reasons we chose Glen Ella as our venue is that they have an award winning chef and they were willing to work with us on a custom Arabic-style menu for our wedding. The food was fantastic, so it was definitely worth it! We loved our amazing photographer, Kate, who also did our engagement shoot. She captures moments beautifully and I am so thankful we will have the most amazing pictures to remember our day by. A good photographer will be one of the biggest wedding day expenses, but it’s absolutely worth it! The wedding only lasts one day, but these pictures are forever. We were also happy to splurge on Ginny, our wedding stylist. I travel often for work and was limited on the time I could spend making all of the hand-crafted details for our wedding. Working with Ginny, I was able to craft my vision for the wedding and work with Ginny to make sure it all looked exactly how I wanted it. She helped me narrow down the hundreds of ideas I had for the wedding into a cohesive selection that would work well together. Without Ginny, a lot of the personal touches from our wedding day wouldn’t have happened.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? There are so many, it’s hard to choose! My dad isn’t one to speak publicly very often. He is the only person we asked to speak at our reception and his words brought the house down. I will never forget his kind words to both of us and the look in his eyes as he spoke. It was truly moving. He’s the best.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Throughout your planning process, keep in mind that at the end of the day, all that matters is that you are going to be married to your soul mate. Just think about that every time you get stressed out about some tiny detail. Also, take a moment during your reception to step back, take a breath, and watch the magic around you. I am so happy we did it. It was amazing to look around the reception and see all of our nearest and dearest celebrating our special moment. Remember to appreciate all the people that love you and support you throughout the process. They are such an important part of the special day and I think you can never say “thank you” enough to those that help you through this process.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We bought a house in Grant Park, a historic neighborhood in Atlanta. We are enjoying being married and are looking forward to continuing to travel!

Photographer: Kate Byars // Videographer: Nora Figlia // Day of coordinator: Misty Paige // Stylist: Ginny Branch Stelling // Venue: Glen Ella Springs Inn // Florist: Ginny Branch Stelling // Wedding Cake Baker: Terri Watts of Watts Farmhouse // Caterer: Glen Ella Springs Inn // Rentals and Linens: Glen Ella Springs Inn // Paper Products: Ginny Branch Stelling // Bride’s Dress: Matthew Christopher from Gabriella New York // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: Gracylu Originals and ban.do // Bride’s Shoes: Butter // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew // Accessories: vintage and Bloomingdales // Invitation Suite: Christy Thiessen // Hair & Makeup: Scoobie West // Photobooth design & props, Reception garlands, Aisle Runner, and Love Always sign: Erica Loesing // Groom’s suit: Sid Mashburn

Written with love by Nicole