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There are so many things to decide on when planning a wedding, and whether or not to do a first look can be a tough choice for many couples. For Rachel and Tyler, however, it was easy as pie! Rachel shared that they chose to do a first look because “we wanted nothing more than to be together that day.” While the decision of a first look may be different for many couples, I would venture to guess that spending as much time together on your wedding day is something everyone hopes for. One thing I always tell my engaged friends is to stay together at the reception–hold hands and don’t let go! It’s easy to get separated with hosting duties, but nearly seven years later, I still remember visiting with all our guests hand-in-hand with BDK. I am sure Rachel and Tyler can say the same!

P.S. How stunning are these florals by Magnolia Alley? Rachel’s bouquet might be one of my favorites ever!

I’m so glad that Love, Chloe Lane not only orchestrated Rachel and Tyler’s meeting, but was also on hand to capture their sweet day!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. My grandmother was sick from liver cancer, so she, my mom, and I went dress shopping together, just the three of us. I wasn’t expecting to find anything the first time looking, but then I fell in love with the first dress I tried on. It ended up being the only time my grandmother got to see my in my dress, and it was the sweetest moment.

My flowers were the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen! Our florist included my favorite flowers, peonies, along with some pops of burgundy to match the wedding colors.

Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? Yes, we did. We wanted nothing more than to be together that day, so seeing each other before the ceremony just made sense for us to make our day more special.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We did write our own vows. My favorite line Tyler read to me was, “As I look at you, words cannot describe how blessed I am to have such a beautiful bride looking back.” Tyler’s favorite line I read to him was, “I am so thankful that we were best friends before we were together–that made falling in love with you so easy.”

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? I’m a Southern belle, so every detail, in my opinion, had some Southern class to it, from the flowers, to the cakes, to the country music. All the people who attended were pretty Southern, too!

My dad and I did a crazy dance for our father-daughter dance. We took everyone by surprise because NO ONE knew about it! People are still telling me how great that dance was!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. My mother and I decided to please everyone and serve a variety of cakes. We had white, chocolate, strawberry, red velvet, and Italian cream. They were all delicious!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Four years ago, my best friend, Chloe (our wedding photographer!) tried to convince me to go to prom because her friend Tyler was dateless. Chloe worked her magic and convinced Tyler to ask me. Since then, we have been best friends!
Tell us all about the proposal! Tyler and I had just gotten back from a family vacation on a cruise. We had so much fun that we decided to book another one for the very next month. One night, we were walking around the back of the ship watching the sunset when Tyler knelt down, poured his heart out, and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes! It was so hard not having any communication with family or friends right away to tell them the big news, but it made those few days before we arrived home all the more sweet for just the two of us!
When did y’all get married? October 10, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? Around 250
Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! My sweet grandmother gave me the most beautiful handkerchief embroidered with lace before she passed, knowing I would need it on our special day. My mom also let me borrow the first ring my granddaddy gave to my grandmother to wear on my right hand.
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? During our engagement, Tyler and I started going to church together. It’s so important to keep Christ number one in your life and marriage, so we made sure to make that part of our relationship.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000-$25,000
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Enjoy every moment through this process. It’s so easy to be stressed out, but just take a step back and breathe. I wish so badly I could do it all over again, because the wedding seriously was the best day of my life!
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? Our honeymoon has been postponed until December because I’m currently in school, so we are looking forward to that…as well as having babies, of course!!

Photographer: Love, Chloe Lane / Videographer: Equilateral Productions / Venue: A Barn Affair at Turkey Trot Farms / Florist: Magnolia Alley / Cake Baker: Barbra Overstreet / Caterer: Bobby Marcum / Rentals: M & H Rentals / DJ and Lighting: Shawn Boon / Paper Products: How Lovely Paper / Bride’s Gown: “Londyn” by Hayley Paige / Bridal Salon: Twirl Boutique / Bride’s Veil: Sara Gabriel / Hair Stylist: Donna Wolford at Visions Salon / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Tricks of the Trade” Maxi Dress by LuLu’s / Menswear: Mitchell’s Menswear

marissa Written with love by Marissa
14 Comments
  1. avatar mark mcf reply

    it was a beautiful wedding. we had a great time

  2. avatar Amber Hart reply

    Loving everything about this wedding but specifically the dress. Where is the lace overlay top from?

  3. avatar Krista reply

    I would also love to hear where you got the lace top from. I am looking for the same style for my dress!

  4. avatar Jasmine reply

    Love thdress!! Where is the lace overlay top?

    • avatar Marissa reply

      Hi Jasmine! That lace bolero designed by LaSposa. Current Twirl Boutique designer, Justin Alexander, has one that is nearly identical. The style number is A085. xo!

  5. avatar Ashley reply

    Beautiful wedding! Do you know where the bride purchased her earrings? I am looking for something similar!

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  13. avatar Gosia reply

    The bride is stunning! And this dress…

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As much as I love all things classic and traditional, it’s always fun to see a wedding that’s different from anything I’ve ever seen. Monique and Tim’s celebration certainly falls into that category, from the paper crane details (read their proposal story to learn about the significance!), to the hanging chalkboard escort cards boards, to the impressive black, white, and gold dessert display. What I love most about the details they selected for their wedding, though, is that they were super intentional about what they wanted to put time and money toward. While I’m sure interior designer Monique had no shortage of ideas for the wedding’s design, they stuck with the things that were most important to them, and let the rest go–meaning lots more time for weekly date nights and sweet time preparing for marriage during their engagement!

Thank you so much to Alex Michele for sharing Monique and Tim’s fun day with us!

After two negative experiences at big bridal salons, we decided to stop in at a smaller boutique I had heard of as a last try that day. We arrived an hour before the store closed and were welcomed with smiles. I pulled 5-6 dresses into the dressing room and tried them on as the owner of the store helped me. She then brought another dress into the room and encouraged me to give it a shot, even though it was over my budget. I honestly was wary, as I have watched shows where the girls fall in love with dresses they can’t afford, so I was trying dresses on from least expensive to most expensive. Once I got through the first six dresses, I put the last dress on that the owner of the store had brought to me and walked out of the dressing room. Immediately, my mom burst into tears, and both she and Tim’s mom were speechless. The display model fit me perfectly, and had little details that made it unlike any dress I had seen before. We ended up getting a great deal on the dress and it was so perfect!

Tell us all about the proposal! On our third dating anniversary, we went to our favorite restaurant in Gainesville, Manuel’s Vintage Room, a small Italian place downtown. After enjoying a delicious meal, Tim led me to the car and told me he had a surprise for me. He parked in a nearby garage and grabbed the basket of small origami cranes he had made for me throughout our relationship–probably around 100-150 cranes total. After a short walk, we approached Gainesville’s Double Helix bridge, a beautiful new landmark in town we had talked about wanting to visit many times. Tim stopped at the bridge, handed me the basket of cranes, and told me to find the first crane he had ever given me (which he gave me about a month into us dating). I searched through the basket of cranes looking for the one labeled “#1.” I got a little anxious because I wasn’t sure it would be in the basket he had taken from my room–I had them hanging from my apartment ceiling over my bed and had moved twice, so there was no guarantee. After a little searching, I managed to find it, and Tim handed me a new crane and took the basket. Holding the first crane he had given me and the new one he had just placed in my hands, he asked me to unfold both of them. Once the flattened paper squares were unfolded and placed together, the seams of the paper spelled out the letters “MM” (what would be my new married initials) and a drawing of an engagement ring. I looked up to find Tim on his knee, where he proceeded to ask me to marry him. After a few moments, the fireworks show from UF’s homecoming weekend began in the distance and we watched it from the bridge. It was a perfect ending to the night.

I am an interior designer, so the venue was one of the most important things to me, after photography. I was looking for a simple and elegant space that had good architectural lines. I also wanted the color scheme of the venue to be neutral so my wedding colors would really pop! The Ribault Club had just that, and fell perfectly within our budget. The beautiful French doors let in so much light and the space was so bright and airy! It was the perfect backdrop for our wedding colors and details, and allowed us to have our entire wedding in one location, which was very important to us.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? We really wanted our wedding to feel like a big family celebration. Having it all in one large, historic, Southern plantation house was a great choice for us. We were able to take advantage of the outdoor area and beautiful trees for our ceremony and cocktail hour. We placed corn hole boards in the lawn for our guests during the cocktail hour and offered a popsicle cart as part of our hors d’oeuvres. Having the large venue for our guests to roam around made it feel like a family get-together.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our favorite detail of the wedding was definitely the food! We were able to express both of our love for food and fun flavors through our food truck dinner, the popsicle cart during cocktail hour, and the large dessert display. We really felt like we hit the jackpot with our food truck. The food was absolutely amazing and reflected our personalities so much better than a typical wedding meal. It was Tim’s idea, and at first, I thought he was crazy, but I finally came around when we met the owners of Funkadelic Food Truck in Jacksonville, Florida. We served a menu with four entrée options (a brisket burger, pork belly sandwich, gourmet pesto grilled cheese, or fish tacos) along with the choice of salad or french fries on the side. Our guests loved the food and are still talking about it to this day!

The dessert table was the star of the show at our wedding! I chose a simple, two-tiered, round, red velvet cake with cream cheese icing for Tim and I to cut. Surrounding that, we filled the dessert display with blueberry and cranberry orange scones, vanilla and peanut butter cookie cake pops, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, triple chocolate cookies, chocolate-covered strawberries, Hershey’s almond kisses, and butter mints. Everything was delicious and perfectly matched the color scheme of our wedding. The cake pops were dipped in white chocolate, placed on black and white paper straws, and sprinkled with gold edible rocks. There wasn’t a single dessert left on the table at the end of the night!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met during our first semester at the University of Florida, on September 27, 2011, to be exact. I was working in my design studio with the other students in my college when Tim stopped by to meet our mutual friend for football tickets. Initially, he planned to simply get the tickets and leave, but he got distracted and sat down by me. He stayed the entire night talking and “studying” while I worked on my project. In the early morning, he walked me to the bus stop and headed home. In the weeks that followed, there were several additional all-nighters and late night conversations in the studio before he asked me for my number. The rest seems like history. We were both immediately interested in each other and that seemed to be understood without a word being spoken. We’ve been together ever since.
When did y’all get married? July 24, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 125
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We chose to use the vows from our pastor, as they were very detailed and special to us.
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? Tim and I did five months of premarital counseling with our pastor prior to the wedding. We really felt this helped us prepare for marriage and understand each other a lot better. It became a stress-free time during the week when we could lay aside all planning and focus on ourselves and why we were getting married in the first place. Our relationship and love for each other is so much more important than the details of one day.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000-$25,000
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? The first way we saved money was choosing to host our wedding on a Friday instead of Saturday. This simple compromise cut our venue rental cost almost in half and saved us money on several other vendors. We also chose a venue that was not all-inclusive, allowing us to choose all of our vendors. This was the most beneficial when it came to food. We were able to hire a food truck to serve our food, which cut the catering cost per head in half and provided us a delicious alternative to typical wedding food. Some other small ways we saved money were purchasing our own alcohol, using a regular bakery instead of a wedding-only baker, and having girls nights to create the small details instead of purchasing them, because small costs added up quickly.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Walking down the aisle to the love of my life and seeing his eyes well up with tears was definitely the most memorable moment of the day. It reminded me of the purpose of the moment, and the reason behind all the planning for the nine months prior. It was all worth it in that split second.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Take it slow and remember to enjoy each moment. Be flexible to small changes and remember, no one besides you knows what things are “supposed” to look like, so if you forget a detail, no one will know! It’s so important to balance planning your wedding with growing your relationship in preparation for marriage. Take time away each week for a date night with no wedding talk, and remember to invest in each other.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? We are enjoying newlywed life. In the near future, we are looking forward to decorating our new home and traveling to Europe. Traveling is definitely something we are both passionate about and we are looking forward to many trips together.

Photographer: Alex Michele Photography / Planner: Micheline Sullivan / Venue: The Ribault Club / Florist: A Happily Ever After Floral / Cake Baker: Publix Bakery / Caterer: Funkadelic Food Truck / Rentals: Luxe Party Rentals / Lighting and DJ: Generation Y Entertainment / Cake Topper: Cake Topper Bliss / Bride’s Gown: Mori Lee by Madeline Gardner / Bride’s Veil: Blanca Veils / Bride’s Earrings: “Bella Paisley Drop Earrings” in Gold by ILY / Hair and Makeup: Studio Bride / Bride’s Shoes: “Fay 1” by Lulu’s / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Style 1124 in Champagne by Bill Levkoff / Menswear: “Black by Vera Wang / Popsicles: Guanabana Artisan Ice Pops

lisa Written with love by Lisa
3 Comments
  1. avatar Emily reply

    I have a question – when you have a food truck at your wedding, do the guests have to stand in line to get their food? Or is is served to them? I’m thinking about a food truck for my wedding but I’m curious about logistics.

    • avatar Monique reply

      Hi Emily!

    • avatar Monique reply

      Hi Emily!
      My other comment didn’t go through but to answer your question: our DJ hosted a game to dismiss the guests by table and they were served in groups. It did take a little bit for the guests to all eat but once they had food in their mouth they totally forgot how long it took to get it. For 140 guests it was around an hour since the food was made to order. Typically a buffet line would take somewhat near the same amount of time. If you have any other questions feel free to email me. I would be happy to help! ([email protected])

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