Southern Weddings

Good morning friends! Have any of you watched the TV show, Hart of Dixie? I just caught an episode last night and fell in love with the melodic accents. Plus, I love Rachel Bilson — she’s so fab.

For those of you out there who aren’t morning people, this wedding will do the trick. It’s like a happy jolt of wedding coffee! We could not stop talking about Katie + Max’s wedding when it landed in our inbox and appeared on our computer screens during last year’s Real Wedding call for V4. The bright colors and huge amounts of handmade details (and this time I mean details — no corner of this wedding was ignored!) were the sweetest bits of eye candy. Katie + John are both artists working in the film industry and brought an energetic burst of life to the events. I don’t know where to begin with these images from Jodi Miller Photography, so I’ll let you soak in the joy at your own pace.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. I had just gotten my dream job. I walked in on the first day, and Max, who was an intern at the time, saw me as I first walked in to the front desk. Being new and needing training on the studio tools, I was put into a class with interns. Max was also in that class. After we started dating, Max was hired full time. We’re lucky to work at a place that accepts employee couples. We’re actually even in the same department.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Bright, casual, intimate
How many guests attended your wedding? We had 42 family members, family friends, and close friends.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Why was this design special to you as a couple? We wanted a modern, colorful, fun, and casual design. I was so happy about marrying Max, but to be honest, I was also nervous about being a bride and receiving attention. I tried to counteract that feeling by really focusing on making the wedding casual and fun. Because we are both artists, we really had fun getting into the nitty gritty details. I probably spent way too much time deliberating over things that people would never notice, but it was so much fun to do anyway! I was quite happy with how everything turned out because I felt that it was a good melding of our styles. We made a lot of the details ourselves, but in doing so, decided to keep shapes, designs, and ideas simple. In deciding to make so much of it, what really helped more than anything else was a digital cutting tool. It could cut vector designs out of so many materials: cardstock, adhesive cardstock vinyl, and fabric ironed on to interfacing to name a few. I got it for Christmas, and I’m sure it has now paid for itself many times over!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I am pretty obsessed with my wedding dress, and if you had told me that I would be saying that even two months before the wedding, I wouldn’t have believed it. The hunt was extremely challenging and without hope for a long time. I knew what I wanted, but I just couldn’t find it. I wanted something romantic, but casual. I was about to lose hope until a friend at work encouraged me to keep up my search. I had a back-up dress that would work just in case, but I went to go look again. I ended up finding the dress on Etsy. It was what I had wanted all along. The girl who designed and made it even let me tweak a few of the details! It arrived less than a month before the wedding, which is terrifying, but what a relief!
Briefly describe your wedding flowers: The dining table arrangements were clusters of pink and orange ranunculus, yellow mums, and billy buttons in bud vases. The cocktail table arrangements were ranunculus and chamomile. My bouquet was made of white, light pink, dark pink, yellow, red, and orange ranunculus, delphinium, scabiosa, billy buttons, and chamomile.
Tell me a bit about the wedding ceremony. The sun came out for the first time in days right before the ceremony began. An unbelievably fun bluegrass band, Northridge, was playing as we all walked down the aisle. We had a lot of fun picking out the songs, and we decided on Teardrop Waltz and Lover’s Waltz for the processional. It really helped keep the feeling casual. We had a very sweet and brief service. We had a reading of Robert Fulghum’s Union. At the end of the ceremony, we walked back down the aisle to Big Rock Candy Mountain, which is a very whimsical, fun, and upbeat song.
Did you try anything new or untraditional? Is mistakenly allowing your partner to put the ring on the wrong finger considered new or nontraditional?

Photographer: Jodi Miller Photography // Planner: Merriment Events // Designer: Merriment Events, the bride and groom // Venue: Kilmarnock, Virginia // Florist: Merriment Events // Wedding Cake Baker: The Buttercream Bee // Mini Pies: Sweetest Thing Bakery // Caterer: Mosaic Unique Events // Bride’s Dress: Ouma // Hair Stylist: Avenue 42 Designs // Makeup Artist: Avenue 42 Designs // Bride’s Shoes: Delman Shoes // Bride’s Jewelry: Tiffany & Co. // Groom’s Fashion: Al’s Attire // Paper Goods: designed by the bride and groom, invitations and save the dates printed by Thousand Pound Press // Rentals: Classic Party Rentals, Skyline Tent Company, Festive Fare // Linens: BBJ Linen and Classic Party Rentals // Ceremony Décor: Honeycomb Balls from Devra Party Corp., glassine bags from Garnish // Reception Décor: Table number frames from Ikea, napkins printed by For Your Party, straws from Garnish, cornhole set from Cornhole Worldwide, painted by Merriment Events, munny from Kidrobot // Lighting: Skyline Tent Company // Band: Northridge booked via Sam Hill Entertainment

Jodi Miller Photography and Merriment Events are a part of our fabulous Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Are you crazy for this wedding? You might like these:
Kate + Jojo’s colorful and springy outdoor wedding here and here
Towne + Andy’s rainbow ribbon-decked wedding here and here

Written with love by Nicole