Southern Weddings

Allison and Mark’s wedding day exudes so much brightness and joy–of course, fun seersucker details and their cheery color palette, accented by Lilly Pulitzer, didn’t hurt! This adorable couple wanted to create a wedding with old-fashioned tradition, but still incorporate a bit of uniqueness in their day. I love how they chose to stick with a traditional location–they actually celebrated their reception at the same beautiful, historic home where her parents had their wedding over 25 years prior!–but they added their own flair with fun decor. As a fellow Lilly girl, I’m pretty much smitten! Not to mention, the photo of Allison and Mark sharing a prayer with their families made me burst into tears–it’s everything I love about weddings wrapped into one meaningful moment.

Gracious, I’m so glad our friend and Blue Ribbon Vendor Faith Teasley was able to capture all these sweet details and exuberant joy!

Everything about our wedding, from the decorations to the food served to the ceremony details, reflected a simply Southern wedding. We chose to have our wedding in the spring so that Mark could incorporate his beloved seersucker, and I could incorporate Lilly Pulitzer. I rode to the ceremony and Mark and I left in a vintage car from the 50’s that was the perfect color. We served foods that we felt represented us and North Carolina, like carved pork, country-style vegetables, unique salads, and Carolina shrimp and grits. Of course, monograms were on everything and we included bow ties too!

Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? Mark and I really wanted our wedding to be very old-fashioned and traditional, but also incorporate some unique things. We wanted to see each other for the first time on our wedding day when I walked down the aisle, but we also decided to do a modified “first look” to share a few moments together before the wedding. We met at the corner of the home where our reception was held and held hands around the corner for a few minutes while exchanging small gifts and sharing a prayer with our wedding party and parents. It was a very special moment I will always remember, and we are glad we decided to do it.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We chose to state traditional vows, and we also did a responsive reading that gave our friends and families a chance to speak for us as a couple. Most of our family was in the wedding party, and they had been practicing the long line that they were supposed to recite during the ceremony. They somehow forgot when to start their line during the actual ceremony, and I’m sure the crowd still wonders why we all smiled and began to chuckle.
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 1 Corinthians 13. Of course, these are common verses for weddings, but they have always meant so much to both of us and we wanted to incorporate them into our ceremony.

All of our vendors were excellent to work with and complemented each other and our vision very well. When we started the wedding planning process, we knew that one of the first things we needed to find was a photographer. I came across Faith’s photography and fell in love with her work immediately. She did the best job representing our wedding day and our style, while capturing all of the details that made our celebration so special.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? Our ceremony was held at my home church, Westfield Baptist Church, in Dunn, North Carolina. It was a very special place for both of us, considering Mark had actually been dedicated in the church before his family moved. The reception was held at The Howard House in Dunn. It is a beautiful, historic home in the downtown Dunn area, and where my parents had their wedding reception over 25 years ago!

Describe your wedding flowers. We wanted to use flowers that were the perfect accents to the ceremony and reception, without distracting from either of the spaces. Mark’s grandmother grew flowers and sold them at the NC Farmer’s Market for the longest time, and flowers have always been a big part of our relationship and our lives. We pink and white peonies, hydrangeas, tulips, and ranunculus in our bouquets and boutonnieres. At the reception, we used arranged our flowers in vintage blue mason jars.

We are such cake snobs! We were dreading the whole cake experience, because we wanted it to be gorgeous, but we also wanted it to taste good. We couldn’t decide on a flavor, so we went with two. One layer was a traditional almond wedding cake with buttercream, and the other layer was a vanilla cake with strawberry cream between the layers and a decorative buttercream frosting. It was beautiful, delicious, and perfect for our wedding.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We have known each other all of our lives, but because of our age difference, we were never in school at the same time and our paths rarely crossed. I was still in college, but would go work in my hometown during the summer and on holiday breaks. Mark’s first job out of college landed him in our hometown as well. I had my eye on him for awhile, and with a little help from my cousin, who was Mark’s co-worker, I went for it! I finally worked up the guts (very unlike me) to send him a Facebook message (mature, I know). I told him that I thought he knew I had my eye on him, and if he wanted to grab dinner and get to know each other better, to let me know. We went on our first date on Friday the 13th (yikes!) over three years ago and continue to fall more in love every day!
Tell us all about the proposal! We lived a decent bit apart from each other while we were dating because of where our jobs were at the time, but we would make a point to work out or grab dinner together at least once or twice a week. Mark had just gotten back from a week-long business conference and told me that if I wanted to see him mid-week, I would have to make the trek to his house for a run and dinner afterwards. I pulled up to his driveway, expecting him to be waiting for me in running clothes. He was still dressed up and rocking on his front porch, waiting for me. I ran up, asking why he wasn’t ready for our workout, and he just replied that he was relaxing and wanted me to sit with him. I sat with him for a little while, and then he pulled out a shirt box that was wrapped up. We never kept up with monthly dating anniversaries, but he noted that we had been dating exactly two and a half years on that day and that he wanted to get me something. When I opened the box, it was a new monogrammed beach cover-up with my now-new monogram. I had wanted this cover-up for awhile, but didn’t want to buy it and then only wear it for a little while before my monogram changed! I loved it, but I just kept saying, “Mark, this is so wrong.” I was slightly irritated because we were not married and it didn’t seem fair to have something newly monogrammed with the wrong initials! He then got down on one knee and told me that he was ready for my name to change. Some sweet words followed–he has no idea what he said, and of course, neither do I. I was in complete shock, but it was the perfect proposal for us because I never saw it coming. I may or may not have thrown the shirt box over my face and screamed, “Now?! Right now?!” I was so in such shock, I couldn’t even eat dinner afterwards!
When did y’all get married? April 18, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 200
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? I have a design background, so I designed all of the wedding stationery and used a local printer, which saved a lot of money. We made all of the signs and hanging decorations ourselves the day before and morning of the wedding.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? I think one of the neatest moments of our wedding was when we excused the crowd ourselves after the ceremony. Mark and I left the ceremony, followed by our attendants and family, and were able to spend a few moments alone while we waited for the processional. We then entered from the front of the church and excused our guests row by row. We loved getting to exchange hugs and sweet memories with each of our guests.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Take it all in, relax, and remember that it is just a day. If something doesn’t go perfectly, it will be okay. You have the rest of your lives to laugh about it!
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? We are heading to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket for a delayed honeymoon. After we return, we look forward to getting our home, yard, and life back in order and sharing it together for many more years to come. We also have to finish all of our furniture renovations so we can park in our garage again!

Photographer: Faith Teasley Photography / Planner: Vicky Cooney / Ceremony Venue: Westfield Baptist Church / Reception Venue: The Howard House / Florist: Four Seasons Florist / Cake Baker: Ashley Cakes / Caterer: Elegant Party & Catering / Rentals and Lighting: Tabletoppers / DJ: Butch Halpin of Carolina Sounds / Vintage Car: The Little River Cruisers / Paper Products Printing: Twyford Printing / Bride’s Gown: “1561” by Kenneth Winston / Bride’s Veil: Bridal Mart / Hair and Makeup: Natalee Ezzell / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Lilly Pulitzer / Menswear: Jos. A. Bank / Groom’s Bowtie: CCA Designs / Groomsmen’s Ties: Charles Tyrwhitt

Faith Teasley and Ashley Cakes are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Written with love by Marissa