Southern Weddings

Jodi + Kurt’s is one of my favorite V4 weddings. Like yesterday’s bride, Stacy, J + K are wedding photographers and constantly surrounded by ideas. According to Jodi, “I knew I wanted a vintage-inspired wedding with lots of handmade elements. We, as artists, wanted something created by us, to truly reflect our lives and our relationship. Once I got engaged, I created several inspiration boards to really narrow my ideas. I showed them to everyone involved in the wedding. Most people didn’t quite understand the ideas we were dreaming up, but they went with it!” We think their handmade wedding came together beautifully and we just can’t seem to stop looking at these images by Stephanie of This Modern Romance.

P.S. Jodi + Kurt actually shot another wedding that appeared in V4! Check out Katie + Max’s colorful wedding here and here.

Jodi + Kurt’s wedding invitations were a true labor of love! “We wanted our invites to be personal and completely handmade so we could give our guests something special. We worked on these invitations for several months going through prototype after prototype until we finally found one we loved. Our invitations were a burlap folio, constructed out of thick board, burlap, twine, and cameos. In the inside, we attached envelopes purchased from Paper Source, which were lined with part of a doily. Each pocket contained several inserts with specific information pertaining to our wedding. One of the pockets contained a DVD of a stop-motion invitation video that Kurt and I made.”

How adorable is J + K’s ceremony setup? Those hay bales were used on the family farm after the wedding and those quilts all came from Jodi’s family.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We actually met in high school, though we never had any classes together and barely even talked to each other. Kurt secretly liked me, but never pursued me until we reconnected when I was a junior in college. We ran into each other at a church we were both attending at the time and Kurt pursued me for about four months until we started dating. We dated for four years, got engaged in September 2009, and married in October 2010.
Describe the proposal: (From the groom) Jodi had always wanted to go apple picking, so we planned a date in September of 2009. I wrote down the addresses of three orchards in the area and thought I was set. Little did I know none of them allowed you to pick your own apples. At this point, the ring was burning a hole in my pocket and I was almost at the end of my rope. Jodi, on the other hand, was having a good time driving around in the country. Not having any more leads to follow, she called one of her friends who recommended an orchard an hour and a half away. After driving most of the afternoon away, we arrived at Carter Mountain Orchard, outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. It was absolutely stunning with an incredible view of the valley. We wandered around the orchard picking some apples and after finding a nice secluded area, I asked her to turn around. As she turned, I held out the ring and asked her to marry me. There were lots of hugs and kisses and intermittently, she found time to say yes. The rest of that evening she couldn’t take her eyes off her hand. Lucky for us, we brought our cameras and a tripod along so we were able to shoot a quick engagement session of ourselves.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Elegant, simple, and handmade.
How many guests attended your wedding? We had about 100 guests attend.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I loved my wedding dress! Before I got engaged I knew I wanted a lace dress for my wedding, preferably one by Monique Lhuillier. Since my sister got engaged about four months after I got did, we both had the opportunity to go dress shopping together, which was so special! We both found our dresses the same day and both were Monique Lhuillier
Describe your wedding flowers: We loved our wedding flowers! We wanted a mixture of flowers that reflected our soft, vintage color palette. Janie, our amazing florist, incorporated dahlias, ranunculus, peonies, garden roses, eucalyptus, fern curls, mint, ornamental cabbage, dusty miller, and more. All of the flowers tied in perfectly with our vintage aesthetic! The boutonnieres were one of my favorite details from the day! Kurt and I knew we wanted to do something different and non-floral for the boutonnieres. We also wanted to tie in something camera-related, since photography is such a huge part of our lives. Kurt did some research and found a small lens on eBay. Our stylist fastened the lens to a burlap leaf and it turned out fantastically! Lynn also came up with the idea of using old film negatives for our best man’s boutonniere. She cut and folded the film negatives into a small flower.
What was the most memorable or touching moment about your wedding day? The most memorable part of our ceremony was definitely our prayer at the end. Our pastor had approached us about doing a communal prayer where everyone prays over us aloud and at the same time. During the entire ceremony it was overcast and cloudy, but during this prayer, the clouds parted and the sun shined right on Kurt and me. It was such a beautiful blessing from God! We had never felt more loved than in that moment.

Photographer: This Modern Romance // Videographer: Josh Gooden Cinematography // Designer: Sunshowers and Rainshine // Venue: Family farm in Mount Crawford, Virginia // Florist: JMFlora Design // Pie Baker: homemade // Caterer: groom // Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew // Bride’s Dress: Monique Lhuillier // Hair Stylist: bride // Makeup Artist: Erika Nixon // Bride’s Shoes: J. Crew // Bride’s Jewelry: earrings by Ten Things // Groom’s Fashion: J. Crew // Groomsmen Fashion: J.Crew // Rentals: Classic Party Rentals and Central Virginia Rental // Linens: Griffith Bag Company // Cameos: Poppy Loves Paris // Fabric: A Garden of Roses and Lonestar Quilting // Favors: groom // Officiant: Troy Pearson // Band: Shenandoah Travelers

We think you might love these weddings, too!
Alli + Chad’s at-home wedding here and here.
Meghan + Chris’s colorful farm wedding here and here.
Audrey + Jordan’s sweet outdoor wedding here.

Written with love by Nicole