Bride Callan shares her sweet Alabama wedding at Lazenby Farms.
Please meet today’s bride Callan! Though she might be an Auburn fan, this fellow Alabamian is a girl after my own heart. Not only did she wear my favorite wedding dress designer, Heidi Elnora, but her beautiful wedding to Camp was a filled with sweet Southern details all the way through! She said, “We just adore the South, and we were so excited to include details in our wedding that were special to us and in our upbringing!”
Be sure to keep scrolling and read their love story! The way she told it in one sentence might be one of my favorites to date!
Big SW hugs to Taylor Dane Photography for sharing!
Tell us the highlights of finding your wedding dress. Oh my, this was one of the most fun parts of the wedding planning process! I had been following some wedding dress designers on social media for a few years, so I was constantly looking at beautiful gowns (and of course, imagining what my own dress would look like!). My mom and I did some research on a lot of different bridal boutiques in Birmingham, where I am from, and we came across Heidi Elnora Atelier. We had heard so many good things about the designer, Heidi, and her team.
I ended up having the most incredible experience there, and finding my dream dress! It’s funny looking back now, because my dress ended up being the one I picked out first, and the one that I tried on last. With tears in mine and my Mom’s eyes, I looked in the mirror and said “this is it” the minute I tried it on. Alongside my sweet momma, mother-in-law, sister, and two sister-in-laws, I found my PERFECT dress!
Did you decide to do a first look? Yes! We both knew from the beginning that we wanted a first look. We wanted to have that special moment between just the two of us before the ceremony to see each other and exchange our hand-written letters. It was one of the best decisions we made!
What was your favorite detail from your wedding? One of my favorite details was that during our first look we exchanged letters, and Camp surprised me with his gift. He had someone make a sign with a Bible verse on it from Habakkuk 3:17-18, and in the letter he said that he wanted that to be the definition of our marriage. It says, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” I was crying my eyes out because it was such a beautiful and meaningful gift. I will forever remember that moment!
What was Southern about your wedding? Our wedding was Southern for many different reasons! Our venue was located on a beautiful family farm in Alabama, and the backdrop of our ceremony was one of their cultivated fields. Our drink choices included sweet tea and lemonade, and Camp’s signature cocktail was an Old Fashioned. Southern cuisine was a must at our wedding! With that in mind, we chose Southern classics like fried chicken (of course!), red beans and rice, turnip greens, cornbread, and BLT canapes as an appetizer during cocktail hour! We just adore the South, and we were so excited to include details in our wedding that were special to us and in our upbringing!
What were some of the most meaningful or special parts of your ceremony? One of the most meaningful parts of the ceremony for us was when Josh, our pastor, asked us to turn around and look at everyone that came to witness our wedding. It was so special to see all of those sweet faces that came to celebrate us! Our pastor also served us communion, and our parents came and prayed over us.
What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Our ceremony and reception were at a farm just outside of Auburn called Lazenby Farms. They are a third generation owned and operated family farm that produces multiple crops throughout the year. We both majored in Horticulture, so it was so special for us to have our special day at a place that embodied our passion for agriculture!
For my cake we chose a classic — white cake with buttercream icing! For Camp’s groom’s cake we tried to do something unique. Camp is working on his PhD in weed science, and we both are huge Auburn fans (War Eagle!), so we combined the two! Aubie (Auburn’s mascot) was carrying a backpack sprayer spraying in corn and soybeans. It was INCREDIBLE, and a huge hit with our guests!
Tell us your love story in one sentence. The sweetest of friendships turned into an incredible love story between two people who were just waiting for one another the entire time.
Tell us all about the proposal! Camp and I began dating in September of 2015 after a year of friendship. We started talking about marriage pretty soon after we began dating, and little did I know, in October of 2016, Camp had a conversation with my mom about proposing to me with a ring that I had looked at and fell in love with months before! A few days later we were driving through Birmingham, and we saw that there was going to be a rodeo on April 1st (April Fools’ Day!!) We immediately looked at each other (being the horse and rodeo loving people that we are) and said, “we have to go to that!” The day of the rodeo, we arrive at my Mom’s house, and out of nowhere, Camp stops the car and asks me if I want to see my horses before we leave. Of course, I didn’t think anything of this, so I hop out of the car and start calling the horses to come to the fence. Camp had hidden the ring in one of his boots in the car, and I was just oblivious to the entire thing until he was kneeling down to propose! Before he asked me to marry him he said, “Girl, I have to tell you something. I’ve been fooling you. We aren’t going to the rodeo, because I have a pretty important question I need to ask you!” At that moment, he dropped to his knee and asked me to marry him! After many tears, and many pictures taken, we drove up to my Mom’s house and both of our families were there waiting for us! Another surprise: Camp and our parents had rented out a private room at a restaurant with some of our closest friends and families there waiting for us! It was the most perfect day.
When did y’all get married? March 24, 2018
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 450
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. Worship music is a huge part of our lives, so our ceremony music was so important to us. Camp, his dad, and our pastor came in to a song called “Compass” by The Hedgerow Folk. It was extra special to us because some of our best friends wrote that song and they were able to sing it at our wedding. I walked down the aisle to “Broken Vessels,” a special song to me because it’s one of the first songs I heard when I first gave my life to Christ. Our first dance was to “Midnight Train to Georgia.” This was so fun to dance to as newlyweds because we moved to Georgia after our wedding, and the lyrics really tell our story so perfectly!
What was your favorite thing about wedding planning? Choosing our vendors and building relationships with them was one of our favorite things we got to do during the wedding planning process. Our vendors were the absolute best!
What was the hardest part about planning your wedding? We opted for a partial planning package with our wedding planner, so a lot of the responsibility fell on the two of us. It was hard for us to stay on track and get things done in a timely manner, but everything turned out exactly how we wanted it to!
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? One way we saved money was by purchasing all of the alcohol in bulk ourselves. We also only served two signature cocktails instead of serving our guests a full bar.
What was your most memorable moment from your wedding day? One of the most memorable moments was when the band started singing “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift and brought my husband and I up on stage. We were singing our hearts out, and our friends were going crazy!
What advice would you give to someone currently planning a wedding? Find vendors that truly care about your vision for your wedding and who invest themselves in that vision. Also, don’t get too stressed! At the end of the day, you are getting married and you will remember it as the best day ever with the most important people in your lives!!!
Photographer: Taylor Dane Photography | Videographer: The Film Poets | Planner: Wade Welch with Invision Events | Venue: Lazenby Farms | Florist: Fists Full Designs | Wedding Cake or Dessert Baker: Cakeitecture | Caterer: Wilton’s Catering | Rentals: PRE Event Resources | Lighting: Unique Event Elements | Band or DJ: Big Bling and the Funk Machine | Paper Products: Alex Fly Designs | Bride’s Gown: “Blaklee Darling” from the Heidi Elnora Atelier | Bride’s Veil: Heidi Elnora | Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist: Danielle Ivy | Bride’s Shoes: “Irenee” by Steve Madden in blue | Bride’s necklace: Perch Jewelry Studio | Bridesmaids Dresses: Steel blue dresses from Show Me Your MuMu | Menswear: Men’s Wearhouse | Cups, napkins, and koozies: Auburn Awards
PRE Event Resources, Heidi Elnora Atelier, and Invision Events are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!
So excited to see this sweet couple on here! Thanks for sharing xoxo
Love the idea behind the creation of the cake. What a great way to combine their interests.
The sweetest couple and the most perfect spring wedding day! Thank you for featuring their love story!