Google+ orange bouquet Archives - Southern Weddings

Southern Weddings

Tag: orange bouquet

As a young girl, Sam never imagined her wedding, but she did spend hours on her grandparents’ peanut farm, daydreaming about moving to a big city and falling in love. When that dream came true, she and Jamie chose Hidden Valley Farms as their wedding venue–it combined their appreciation for the city that brought them together (Nashville) with Sam’s childhood dreams. Their venue was not the only meaningful detail–Sam and Jamie’s goal was a wedding celebration that represented “our heritage and our hearts.” Isn’t that the most precious way to combine two so very important aspects of life? There is so much more beauty than meets the eye in this lovely wedding, from decor collected from family, the most incredible something borrowed (don’t miss that story!), and florals inspired by Sam’s late grandmother.

Gracious alive, I’m glad Rachel Moore was there to bring it all to life for us through these photos!

Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! I wore my grandmother Bobbie’s pearl earrings and diamond tennis bracelet as my something old, and my dress and veil were new. My something blue was a keepsake box that belonged to my great-grandmother, and my new sister-in-law gave me a silver sixpence for my shoe. My something borrowed was such a surprise. On the morning of our wedding, my aunt and my grandmother came by to share a piece of family history with me, and they let me borrow several trinkets, including my great-great-grandparents’ copper wedding rings. My great-great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy in the mid-1890s, and they were madly in love, but had to come overseas at different times for financial reasons, so they were married by proxy. One of the rings says “Amore” which means love in Italian. I felt so honored to pin those rings to my bouquet along with the other family heirlooms.

Finding my wedding dress was such a special experience. I had just finished writing all of my final papers for graduate school when my mom and my two younger sisters traveled all the way to Nashville to go dress shopping with me. After several stores and several dresses, we went back to see the third dress I had tried on at the first store. I felt so effortlessly “me” as soon as I put it on, and knew it was what I was looking for. My dress was classic and comfortable, while also being unique and romantic, which is very much in line with my style.

Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? We decided to do a first look and we were glad that we did. We are both pretty private people and I don’t like to be the center of attention, so as the day progressed, I became a bit anxious. Right after we saw each other, it felt like everything else disappeared in an irreplaceable moment that just the two of us shared, and it is a memory we will cherish forever.

We decided to recite traditional vows. I was not expecting to be so emotional when my eyes locked with Jamie’s as we were joined as husband and wife, but I’ll never forget him wiping away my tears while I said my vows. We had so many guests comment on how sweet and reverent our wedding ceremony was, and that was our main objective.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? As a young girl, I never really imagined what my wedding day would be like; instead, I would spend hours on my grandparents’ peanut farm, looking up at the blue sky over hundreds of acres of land, while imagining what it would be like to one day move to a big city and fall in love. We had our wedding on a middle Tennessee farm to combine our appreciation for the city that brought us together with my childhood daydreams of falling in love on my grandparents’ south Alabama land.

Our flowers were picked to honor my late grandmother Bobbie, who was an Alabama Master Gardener and my hero. She could find beauty in any flower growing wild on the side of the road, and her perennials still blossom every spring, so I carried her small garden spade in my bouquet to have a piece of her with me. We worked with a farmer florist to pick the most elegant and natural flowers that were in season. All of our flowers were locally grown and free flowing, just like I wanted them.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our favorite detail might be the one hundred candles we had in the barn. The brass candlesticks were a last minute addition and they not only took our breath away, but also added such an intimate and cozy feeling to the rainy day.

We had a three-tiered wedding cake with red velvet, vanilla buttercream, and carrot cake layers to cover all of our favorite flavors. We placed two gold “love birds” as toppers on the cake because Jamie’s nickname in his family is J-Bird, and his nephews call him Uncle Bird. We also had an incredible pie table with pumpkin, coconut cream, key lime, and blueberry pies. At Thanksgiving, my great-aunt Betty always has a quaint pie table that my family gathers around after the meal to enjoy time together, and I loved having a subtle nod to this tradition.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We both joined Teach for America as corps members in 2011 and were placed in Nashville. We met the day we moved and spent that summer in the Mississippi Delta teaching summer school and becoming friends. We tried to stay just friends, but we couldn’t deny that there was something special between us for very long. On one fateful August afternoon, Jamie was going to the Nashville Public Library to do some work for school and asked me if I wanted to go, too. The two of us have been a happy pair and by each other’s sides ever since that first “date” at the library.
Tell us all about the proposal! After celebrating three years of dating, Jamie proposed on August 22, 2014. His birthday fell on a Tuesday, so I kept telling him to pick out a restaurant to go to for a nice Friday night dinner. Friday came and he hadn’t picked a place yet, but he called me that morning to say that we had reservations at one of our favorite little cafes in Sylvan Park. When I came home later that day to white rose petals on my front steps, I certainly suspected a proposal. I walked in and there he was, holding a colorful bouquet in the candlelight. He said the most beautiful words and got down on one knee in the kitchen. Before he could even finish the question, I exclaimed the happiest “Yes!” with the happiest tears. We decided that we wanted to wait to call our families until a little later in order to take in the moments of only us knowing. As we walked up to the restaurant, all of a sudden, I heard a group say “Congratulations!” I looked closer to see my sisters, Jamie’s brother and sister-in-law, and both sets of our parents, all of whom had never met each other before that night. It was the perfect private proposal on a regular Friday afternoon, and then the most charmed evening with our closest loved ones.
When did y’all get married? October 3, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 200
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? When a North Carolina groom marries an Alabama bride, it is bound to be inherently Southern. Aside from that, we wanted our wedding celebration to represent our heritage and our hearts. We collected old photographs to showcase our beautiful families. My grandfather Sammy worked tirelessly for months leading up to our wedding to cut down a dying oak tree on his farm to make the wood slabs for our reception centerpieces, and my uncle let us borrow bottles that he had collected for decades to sit atop the wood. We had a very Southern menu of barbeque, macaroni and cheese, shrimp and grits, veggies, and biscuits, served with local jams and honey. Sammy is an important person in my life, so it was an honor to have him say the most touching blessing before our reception meal. It felt just like home.
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? With all of the anticipation leading up to our wedding day, we knew that laying the foundation for a strong marriage was the most important part. We read books together, prayed together, and attended premarital counseling courses together. We genuinely enjoyed the season of engagement because we viewed it as a time to prepare for marriage.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Looking at each other during the ceremony and reciting our vows was the most memorable moment. We had the dreariest weather on our wedding day, but only joyful tears came down my cheeks during our intimate ceremony. Although our outdoor ceremony was quickly moved indoors, we could have been anywhere in the world, and all that mattered was that we were publicly committing our lives to one other in the presence of God and everyone we loved.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Breathe before and on the day of your wedding; be completely present and take in both the small and monumental moments. Understand that the best is yet to come, but do your best to savor the time that is fleeting.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? Right now, we are soaking in being newlyweds and we love it. It still blows us away that we get to spend the rest of our lives together. We love coming home and just being married, as simple as that sounds. We are currently saving up to buy our first home. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for us!

Photographer: Rachel Moore Photography | Planner: Modern Vintage Events | Venue: Green Door Gourmet at Hidden Valley Farms | Florist: Basil and Bergamot | Caterer and Cake: Whole Foods Catering | Rentals: Southern Events Party Rentals | Lighting: Bright Event Productions | Band: 24/7 | Paper Products: Marked | Bride’s Gown: Ti Adora Style 7451 by Alvina Valenta | Hair and Makeup: Katie Russo Beauty | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Donna Morgan | Menswear: Jos. A. Bank | Musicians: Mockingbird Musicians | Getaway Car: Matchless Transportation

marissa Written with love by Marissa
1 Comment
  1. avatar Nashville Wedding Planners: Sam + Jamie’s Tennessee Farm wedding | Modern Vintage Events reply

    […] heartfelt and beyond lovely. We were thrilled when their wedding was chosen to be featured by Southern Weddings Blog. Congratulations again, Sam and Jamie and here’s to many beautiful years […]

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

Reply to:
close

My heart fills right to the brim thinking about the Texas Sweethearts editorial in Southern Weddings V8. The story we dreamed up for this shoot–an undeniably charming Texan wedding uniting a pair of high school sweethearts who fell in love under Friday night lights–was one of our first ideas for V8, and we immediately knew it would hold a special place in our new issue. Everything came together so naturally, from the tremendously talented team who came onboard to help us bring our vision to life, to the too-perfect-for-words venue, Star Hill Ranch, to our incredible group of reader models (including a bride and groom who are real life Texan high school sweethearts–the journal in these shots is really hers!), to even the weather, which was as lovely of a Texan spring day as you can ask for. I’m the SW office’s resident Texan, so I had fun helping to bring the Lone Star State into this shoot in really unique ways–frito pies, a nod to homecoming mums, and the colors of the flowers (inspired by the magical Hill Country sunsets), to name a few. We hope y’all loved seeing the results of this meaningful editorial in V8–here are a few more of the beautiful photos by our Blue Ribbon Vendor Kristen Kilpatrick!

P.S. If there are any fellow Friday Night Lights fans out there (the SW gals are obsessed), see if you can spot a few nods to our favorite show! FNL played a big role in helping us hone in on this shoot’s feel and aesthetic :)

It was a only fitting for these high school sweethearts to include a few details from their dating days into their wedding–her journal and their class rings, to name a few. As a wedding gift, she gave him a dapper pocket watch engraved with his former jersey number!

We wanted our bride, groom, and bridal party to look stylish, but still right at home in the Texas landscape. A dapper blue suit and chambray for the gents, plus a gown and bridesmaid dresses with great texture were just right…paired with cowboy boots across the board, of course!

This was one of our favorite details from this shoot–as a nod to the oh so Texan tradition of homecoming mums, our groom gifted his bride with a single bloom to add to her bouquet. Homecoming mums originated as single chrysanthemums, so this sweet twist on the tradition (perfect for couples who are former homecoming dates!) was both appropriate and elegant.

The chapel at Star Hill Ranch is too adorable for words, and we jumped at the chance to stage an indoor ceremony for an editorial! Katy of Without Wax, Katy gussied up the space with candles, gorgeous greenery, and a few statement blooms.

Does it get much sweeter than this? We tried to rein ourselves in when it came to literal Friday Night Lights details, but this tugs-at-your-heartstrings catch phrase was too perfect to pass up–Southern Fried Paper did an amazing job creating the chambray signage for us!

Like many corners of the South, Texas claims a few culinary specialties, and we knew we had to include them as a tribute to our bride and groom’s Texas roots. Cornbread, pimento jalapeno Texas toast, and even an upscale take on frito pie were on hand, many thanks to Pink Avocado Catering.

We loved working with Without Wax, Katy on this editorial, and her styling eye really shined as we set the table! Exposed wood, chambray, pewter, blue glass, and navy velvet created a gorgeous, rich tablescape that fit in so well with the Hill Country landscape. The colors of the flowers were inspired by the vibrant sunsets in Texas–we were even treated to a sunset that matched the blooms perfectly as we wrapped up our shoot!

Y’all, don’t you want to dig right into that luscious chocolate cake? It was the perfect pairing with yet another Texan favorite: Blue Bell ice cream, made right down US 290 in Brenham, Texas.

This shot is one of our absolute favorites from the shoot, if not from the whole magazine–it’s definitely one for the SW history books!! It almost didn’t happen, since we couldn’t get a hold of the perfect truck ahead of time, but turns out, they had one that was just right on hand at Star Hill Ranch. It was meant to be!

Stay tuned to see the behind the scenes photos from this shoot day next! And be sure to pick up a copy of Southern Weddings V8 to see the gorgeous spread–it’s now on news stands across the Southeast, as well as online here.

Photographer: Kristen Kilpatrick Photography | Film Processing: PhotoVision | Designer, Stylist, Props, and Florals: Without Wax, Katy | Venue: Star Hill Ranch | Caterer: Pink Avocado | Cake: Polkadots Cupcake Factory | Paper Goods and Fabric Signage: Southern Fried Paper | Calligraphy: The Left Handed Calligrapher | Hair Stylist: Andrea Juarez | Makeup Artist: Makenzi Laine | Rentals: Loot Vintage Rentals | Pewter China: Match | Bride’s Gown: “Indigo” by Modern Trousseau | Veil: BHLDN | Bridesmaid Dresses: Eva Franco for Lover.ly | Ties: Noose Neckwear | Pocket Watch: RC Personalized Gifts

Kristen Kilpatrick and Southern Fried Paper are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
11 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  1. avatar Kelly reply

    Oh I just love Victoria! Seriously the sweetest and this editorial was hands down my fav! I’m also a FNL fan and loved the touches! Great editorial ladies! Y’all knocked this out of the park!! Xoxo

  2. avatar Kristina reply

    I love all things Friday Night Lights so this editorial is hands down my favorite! Y’all did an amazing job as always :)

  3. avatar Southern Weddings Magazine Feature – Texas Wedding Calligrapher reply

    […] is always a joy working on content to be featured in the Southern Weddings Magazine.  Those girls have a keen eye and know how to organize a thoughtful, inspirational event for […]

  4. avatar Maureen reply

    So cute and love seeing Victoria’s smiling face!

  5. avatar Abby Opersteny reply

    Completely swooning over all the FNL-inspired details! One of your darling reader models is a sorority sister of mine, and we have just raved over this shoot. Job well done!

  6. avatar Dana reply

    obsessed with all of this!

  7. avatar Tomasz reply

    amazing style!

  8. avatar Southern Weddings Magazine Feature – Texas Wedding Calligrapher | Left Handed Calligrapher reply

    […] is always a joy working on content to be featured in the Southern Weddings Magazine.  Those girls have a keen eye and know how to organize a thoughtful, inspirational event for […]

  9. avatar Darek Novak reply

    Great colours. love the analog feel.

  10. avatar Happy 10th Anniversary Southern Weddings! My 10 Favorite Editorials – Kyla Mary reply

    […] The blue, the florals, the small-town setting, and the inspiration are so dreamy! The SW gals pulled their inspiration from Friday Night Lights, and a sweet fellow blogger modeled with her husband. I guest posted for Victoria earlier this year and she and her husband Ben are the perfect Texas couple for this editorial! View the original post here. […]

  11. avatar Happy 10th Anniversary Southern Weddings! My 10 Favorite Editorials – Kyla Mary reply

    […] The blue, the florals, the small-town setting, and the inspiration are so dreamy! The SW gals pulled their inspiration from Friday Night Lights, and a sweet fellow blogger modeled with her husband. I guest posted for Victoria earlier this year and she and her husband Ben are the perfect Texas couple for this editorial! View the original post here. […]

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

Reply to:
close

I can’t think of a better way to unofficially kick off fall than with the gorgeous colors, cozy details, and of course, the sweet love story behind today’s wedding! After a group dinner serendipitously turned into an impromptu first date, Pamela and Greg grew inseparable. When it came time to start planning their wedding two years later, they were committed to planning first and foremost for their marriage–they attended premarital counseling, poured their hearts into writing their own vows (be sure to read about them below!), and made sure that each detail of their wedding truly reflected their relationship. I loved reading Pamela’s answers to our interview questions just as much as I enjoyed admiring their gorgeous Texas celebration!

Thank you so much to our Blue Ribbon Vendor Feather & Twine for sharing this gorgeous day with us!

The first day I went wedding dress shopping was actually super stressful. I brought six people with me, and as much as I loved having everyone there, shopping with that many people was overwhelming, to say the least. We went to three dress shops, and by the end of the day, I couldn’t even remember what I had tried on. Needless to say, I went home empty-handed and a little disappointed. I thank my lucky stars that my sister was in town for the whole weekend and wanted to go antique shopping the next day…but neither of us had realized that our favorite antique shops were closed on Sundays. All dolled up and in the mood to shop, we decided we would stop by a local bridal salon we had not been to yet, just the two of us. This pit stop led to the dress of my dreams!

Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? Knowing the pros and cons of both sides, Greg and I decided to go for it and do a first look so that we could get all of the pictures we were dreaming of! My biggest fear about not doing a first look was that we wouldn’t have time to get all of the photos that we had envisioned without keeping our guests waiting too long (every host and hostess knows to keep their sweet guests in mind). Looking back, I am so thankful that we chose to do our first look! It allowed us to get all of our cherished photos without having to rush, and both our first look and our ceremony were so sweet and romantic. Greg cried tears of joy during both, which made me so happy!

Writing our own vows was something that was so special to us. In a day when so many people get married without considering that it is for life, and not just with the mindset that if it doesn’t work, they can get divorced, we wanted the beginning of our marriage and the words that we said to each other on our wedding day to be truly genuine. My favorite line of Greg’s vows was when he vowed to “be the best man he could be” for me, because I love that we help to make each other better people than who we were before we met.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. We did a very simple, ivory, four-tiered cake with a pearl trim on each tier and an “M” on the center tier. The cake was surrounded by greenery on the base and bright blooms as the topper. As an additional dessert, we put mini pies at each place setting as the place cards, alternating peach pie for Greg since he is from Georgia and pecan pie for me since I am from Texas. These pies were one of our favorite details!

The moment we walked into the Milestone, we knew it was the perfect Southern venue for us! I have always dreamed of getting married at an old plantation, and the Milestone had all of the gorgeous details of a Southern plantation, combined with modern, new amenities. Before I even walked out of the building, I remember turning to Greg and saying, “This is the perfect place!”

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Be patient and plan your marriage together while planning your wedding. After the celebration and party is over, you are committed to each other forever, and that should be the most joyous part of your wedding! Make sure to talk about your goals and expectations before your wedding so that you can make sure your ideals line up.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. After being friends for almost a year, we had plans to go out to dinner with a group of mutual friends. At the last minute, everyone canceled except for Greg and I, so we had an impromptu first date. From then on, we were inseparable! We dated for two years before getting engaged, and we got married a year and a half later.
Tell us all about the proposal! After Greg took me back to the restaurant where we had our first date for a wonderful dinner, we took a stroll down the Woodlands Waterway. We were looking at the Christmas lights as they were going up and singing and dancing to the Waterway tunes. Greg twirled me, and when I turned around, he was down on one knee!
When did y’all get married? March 15, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 95
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. One of my movies of all time is P.S. I Love You–I love the story line and the way their love almost makes time stop. The music is something that has always made me swoon, and when I thought of music for our ceremony, we could not think of anything better than music from that soundtrack. As for our first dance, we choose Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” Even though it is a newer, trendy song, we actually changed the song we had already picked for it–we were so in love with the song and how perfectly it reflected how we felt, we had to use it!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our favorite detail of our wedding would have to be the garden games we set up on the back lawn. Custom corn hole boards, croquet, and bocce ball were the perfect addition to our big day. Greg and I are not particularly big dancers, so we wanted to have a fun activity set up that was more us.
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? It was very important to us to have a marriage more beautiful than our wedding. We went through marriage counseling with our officiant and talked about our current and future goals for ourselves, both personally and as a couple. Learning patience and compromise, as well as learning that God would need to be the focal point of our marriage, we strengthened our love for each other.
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? Since our ceremony and reception were in the same place, we decided to save money on our floral budget by using our bridesmaid bouquets as half of our reception centerpieces. As soon as the bridesmaids walked out of the ceremony, our wedding coordinator seamlessly slipped five of their bouquets into empty vases before our guests ever entered the reception. We used the the sixth bouquet as my toss bouquet. This easy repurposing saved us over $500.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? The next step in our marriage is to continue merging our lives and families together while focusing on our careers and keeping God at the center of our marriage. In a few years, we would like to start our family and buy our first house together.

Photographer and Videographer: Feather & Twine Photography / Venue and Caterer: The Milestone / Florals: The Southern Table / Wedding Cake: Candy Haven Cakes / Pie Baker: Mighty Sweet Mini Pies / Linens: House of Hough / DJ: Melodies & Memories / Paper Products: Love Vs. Design / Minted / Paper Source / Bridal Salon: Brickhouse Bridal / Jewelry: Sam Moon / Hair and Makeup: Natalia Issa / Bride’s Shoes: Anne Klein / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Blouson Dress” in Taupe Pink by Adrianna Papell / Menswear: “Black” by Vera Wang at Men’s Wearhouse / Officiant: David Williams

Feather & Twine is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

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

    I feel so incredibly blessed to of had the opportunity to be apart of the most amazing day in one of my very, very best friends lives! I can’t wait to be there to make many more memories with both her and Greg!

  2. avatar Maxine reply

    Thank you for featuring, SW! Great couple and a great day!

  3. avatar Dana reply

    love the floral centerpieces!

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

Reply to:
close
Top