Two years ago today, we launched the very first issue of Southern Weddings aka V1. Y’all know we are a small office. We dream up, design, create, pack and ship this baby all by ourselves. We had been through the ringer with V1, so finally getting it out on stands was so exciting! It sold out very quickly and I only have a tiny box left for posterity.
Photo above by Millie Holloman. On the rack from top to bottom: our test issue, V1 and V2. So much has changed in our design (thanks to me learning how to not use so many 1980’s drop shadows and Em’s great eye!). With Emily and Katharine on board, we’ve grown into a brand that is solid and defined. Our goal is to give you, dear readers, the best realistic, authentic, approachable southern wedding inspiration. Thank you all for two blessed years on newsstands! V4 will definitely be our biggest issue yet! A few of my favorite spreads from V1… Chelsea and Tec photographed by Jose Villa.
A deliciously sweet spread from Amy Atlas…
Loads of bling from so many great photographers…
Film fabulousness from the best in weddings…
And some of my very favorite real weddings of all time…
GIVEAWAY: In honor of our Two Year Print-aversary, I’m giving away one of my personal copies of V1! Just leave a comment here telling me your favorite thing about weddings in the South. We’ll choose a random winner next Friday.
P.S. In case you missed the big news on Friday, we’re growing and we’re hiring!
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I love that Southern Weddings, while aware of trends in weddings, doesn’t shy away from what is classic and elegant. I also love that vintage touches and tradition are celebrated in your pages. I don’t always get that feeling from the inch thick, generic magazines that are stacked next to SW on the shelves.
Thanks for the awesome encouragement, Jeannine!
The beautiful thing about a southern wedding is that they are always about more than just the dress or the venue or the cake. Whether it’s a sprawling tent filled to the brim with twinkle lights and candles or a barn with mason jars full of sweet tea and precious paper flowers, at the end of the night, it’s about more than all of that. It’s about the people. The groom dancing with his grandmother and the maid of honor making her toast. It’s all about the families and the bridesmaids and the groomsmen. Every person in the south is defined by love and it’s really just about a day becoming a dream for two people.
the fact that i get to have a biscuits and grits bar at my wedding :)
My favourite moment in a wedding is seeing the look on the grooms face as his bride walks down the aisle towards him. It’s just pure love. I can’t wait for the day I’m walking down the aisle, and I see my soon-to-be husband looking at me with such love.
My favourite thing about a southern wedding is how everyone is part of it. Your family and friends aren’t just guests, they are what makes the day so special. Everyone sharing in love.
I’m becoming such an SW junkie – If I weren’t so busy, I’d totally apply to work with y’all! But as it stands….
Weddings in the South: My favorite thing is the “anything goes” that seems to always work out into something refined and drop-dead gorgeous. And seriously, can you beat Southern locations for charm?
Happy Print-aversary! I hadn’t previously read your post about the challenges you had getting started…WOW. Way to Rock on!!!
My favorite thing about weddings in the South…I’d have to say it’s the style they always have and the way they incorporate traditions. Southern brides are not afraid to be themselves! Little touches like mason jar drinks and weddings underneath Spanish moss-laden trees…SWOON.
Congrats girls! My favorite thing about wedding in the south would be family and friends. We southern folks do it up right with all of our many many loved ones at hand, even if it means more mouths to feed!
Laura: Thanks, Laura! So grateful for your support!
So I am still fairly new to the site and the magazine … but ever since I read V3 cover to cover, I check the blog all the time and its has become a go to for chats with my newly engaged bff. That being said, I’d love a copy of the first issue, and see what Ive been missing out on. But for what makes Southern Weddings soo unique, I think its the ability we have to combine the old with the new. There’s a sense of simple times and things gone by, but never is there anything simple or mundane about a southern wedding. Rather an heir and flair of sass.
Thanks for joining in the Southern goodness here, Jenna!
Hmmm, one of my favorite parts about a Southern wedding might be the flowers! No one does floral arrangements like the South!
This is such a hard question because I love all things weddings and especially ones in the South! I would have to say though, my favorite thing about Southern weddings is the size! In the South, it’s totally acceptable and actually encouraged to have a big wedding. I loved planning my recent October wedding and the 500 of my closest friends that were there :)
Congrats on your wedding, Morgan! How exciting!
I have to choose just one? I would have to say the emotion of Southern weddings. Everything from the flowers to the dresses to the groomsmen all have a significance in Southern weddings and each tie to a memory, tradition, or simply something sweet having to do with the couple. Charming, Elegant & Detailed!
I love the southern charm, and casual feel of southern weddings…you could never get away with it in the north.
I love the charm and family focus of weddings in the south! Also, nothing beats good ol’ southern home cooking :)
The House Party! Maybe this is a Texas thing and not all of the South, but here in Texas most brides choose a House Party, which is the group of girls who are friends with the bride and not bridesmaids. It’s so much fun! You get all the perks of being a ‘maid without having to buy a pricey gown. And as a bride, you get more of your close friends who get to share in your special day.
But my true favorite thing about a southern wedding is the look in the southern gentleman’s eyes when he sees his belle of a bride walking down the aisle. Nothing can compare to those southern boys who are so in love.
My favorite thing about weddings in the South is the authenticity of it all. No matter what the couple’s style and theme happen to be, you always get a feeling of warmth and familiarity of the celebration. It’s real, it’s welcoming, it’s a Southern wedding.
This is a hard one…maybe because I am talking with caterers right now, I’m going to say the food! Cause where else in the world does it seem perfectly fitting to serve fried green tomatos and sweet tea out of mason jars when your dressed in your best?!
This is a hard one…maybe because I am talking with caterers right now, I’m going to say the food! Cause where else in the world does it seem perfectly fitting to serve fried green tomatoes and sweet tea out of mason jars when your dressed in your best?!
My favorite part about a wedding in the South is tradition. Tradition is a beautiful way to honor history and loved ones. Traditions are often unique and beautiful, and make each wedding so perfect!
Southern weddings have so many unique characteristics, and often seemed to be defined by the very region …the region of the people, the region of the wedding, or even the region of the inspiration. As a Charleston girl, I love the elegance of Southern weddings. As a South Carolina girl, nothing beats seersucker suits and boiled peanuts. But, the most unifying (and unique) feature of Southern weddings comes from the hearts of the people. The family and friends of the bride and groom seem to define what makes Southern weddings so ….southern. Yes, its the first dance and the “I do’s” but its more than that. It comes from the sense of family, of togetherness, of belonging, of true hospitatily,and genuine love that define Southern weddings. It’s about Southern families expanding and growing, yes, in the very Southern style and charm that’s expected, but also with love and grace.
My favorite thing about a Southern wedding? Not only is the sweet tea and Southern drawls but it is the community that pulls together when planning a wedding. While planning my own Southern wedding, I have felt so much love, support, ideas and refreshing creativity from my good ole’ Southern family and friends.
I stil scour ebay from time to time searching for V1 of this great publishment. I would love having a complete collections – some day! :)
My favorite thing about weddings in the south… they exude a feeling of community ties with great roots.
I have loved you country gals from the beginning! I love the honesty I feel from you all and I love that you actually answer readers emails when they have a concern. You guys are the best! Just had to say that!
But anywooooo! I love southern weddings because of the atmosphere, they NEVER feel stuffy or like a wedding, most of the time it feels like a HUGE family reunion with great food and drinks. I have been and always will be a southern girl! Thanks ya’ll!
I love that in southern weddings, food is one of the highest priorities!
My favorite part about a southern wedding is that a girl and her mama having been planning the day since she was a little girl. A southern wedding is not just a day full of memories but a lifetime of hopes and dreams coming true.
Arnold Palmers during cocktail hour!
……..oh and hunting dogs in bowties!
The best thing about weddings int he South are the Mamas. MIne just bought me the wedding dress of my dreams yesterday and will be a steel magnolia for me all the way unitl I say I do.
Weddings down South are warm and welcoming. They are deeply rooted in family and allow couples to express the traditions each partner wants to carry on from their background. With every marriage in the South, a hint of new tradition is born.
My favorite thing about weddings in the south is that touch of southern grace, elegence, and flair that only a southern wedding can fully embody.
My favorite thing about weddings in the South: FOOD! Need I say more?! ;)
P.S. Happy two year print-aversary!! I really, really, have my fingers crossed and praying to win! I didn’t know about Southern Weddings until V2 came around, so I have the last two issues & I am missing V1! Every time I look at my shelf and see that I am missing the very first issue, it breaks my heart a little more!
All my love!!
Mariana
My favorite thing about southern weddings are the family traditions that can be so gracefully entwined in a ceremony.
I love how uniquely planned they are! Most weddings I’ve been to are strictly traditional. My eyes have been opened to a whole new world of spectacular decorations, invites and plenty of DIY things for a homemade junkie like me :)
I was glued to this long before I was engaged.
Being a Tennessee Belle, growing up was all about wedding season. And being a southern girl, I am very indecisive and have too many favorites to name. I love the drama seeing estranged families coming together for the big occasion. It’s like a mini soap opera! Also, I think southern brides are some of the most beautiful women in the world. We were raised by mothers that taught us grace and sophistication can charm the pants off an entire room of boys. So when a southern bride walks down the aisle, she demands (in a sweet way) the attention of everyone around her and she gets it! Your magazine/blog is so me! My mom put your latest edition in my stocking for Christmas and I couldn’t get enough. It’s made me consider changing from being a dentist to becoming a wedding planner. :)
[…] fellow weekend-lovers! The past two weeks have been big for us. We celebrated thetwo year anniversary of our very first issue and published our big news! All the excitement might have crashed our […]
As the first of 5 sisters to get to the altar, I am the classic pioneer woman to say the least. My mother planned her own wedding in 3 months without the help of her mother; so unfortunately, I do not have the much needed maternal guidance as well. However, I must say that she is trying her best to be a helpful MOB.
What I love the most about SWMag is the consistent, thoughtful, creative, and helpful advice you are sharing with so many brides! From the abundance of gorgeous pictures to the Etiquette lessons with Emily, there are so many ways you are teaching us the in’s and out’s of producing a beautiful and classic southern wedding. I would not know where to begin had I not stumbled upon you site 8 months ago. Since then I am constantly spreading the news about your awesome blog and magazine. Several of my newly engaged friends are addicted to your site now as well! Thanks SWMag for all that you do for us brides!
Al Green put it perfectly when he said “all I can say is there’s a sweetness here…a Southern sweetness.” Southern weddings have the ability to combine the sweet, slow-talking nature of southerners with the romance and love that a wedding brings. Every southern bride exudes the happiest air about them and you can’t help but smile when you see the father give the bride away. You can’t stop yourself from imagining the bride and groom growing old together, sippin sweet tea in a rocking chair on their wrap around porch watching their children grow into little debs and gentlemen. There is something so perfect in the air at a southern wedding, the mason jars with flickering lights, the magnolia’s filling the room….a feeling that can’t be matched.
I am new to checking out blogs for inspiration for my upcoming May southern wedding. My photographer (Ashley Thompson, Muskogee, OK) (YES, Muskogee, like the song “Okie from Muskogee” by Merle Haggard, if you have never heard it check it out! It makes us “Okies” feel famous!) recommended you when I told her I was in a planning rut! I CANT thank her enough! I could get lost in wedding blogs for hours! Especially yours! When I saw this post I had to share this quote with you that has always made me feel special and definitely reflects the South!
“A couple days in Oklahoma will open your eyes to how much better it would be if the rest of the country was filled with a few more people from Oklahoma”-Adam Duritz -Counting Crows
-Even though this just talks about Oklahoma, I think it pertains to all of the Southern States. I’ve been to other Northern states and whats up with people not waving at each other? Even if you dont know them? I just don’t get it! haha! We are about tradition, comfort, family, and combining old & new elements to make people feel like they are at “home”. From the sweet tea at the reception to the BBQ at the rehearsals, Southern girls know how to do it. No matter how many weddings I check out on here or friends weddings that I have attended, these elements shine through. Its kinda like “You can take the girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of the girl!” – I mean every bride deserves a gorgeous dress and while a Southern Bride gets the pretty dress, she also pairs it with a set of Cowboy boots!! Just thought I would share these things I love about the South! I don’t know what V1 is, but if its anything like the stuff I get lost in on your site, I am sure it is amazing!!
[…] for Erin C.! Enjoy your gift certificate! Last but certainly not least, we recently celebrated our two year print-aversary and we wanted to include you in the celebration! It has been a tremendous adventure these past two […]