Southern Weddings

Have you taken our 2012 survey yet? Thanks, y’all!

Quick update: There’s a bulletin board above my desk now!! Okay, back to regularly scheduled awesome wedding time. Darcy + John’s Florida nuptials were, like most of the wedding we fall for, full of family-crafted details. In fact, Darcy said that old family photos uncovered during their engagement provided the inspiration for many of the personal touches included in the wedding. I am in awe of the couple’s gorgeous vine and baby’s breath-covered chuppah — it was built by both D + J’s fathers using wood from Darcy’s family backyard! And y’all know good and well that I can’t let those sweet hankies and monogrammed ties pass without comment! Who else is pinning those today? I’ll leave you to take in these gorgeous photos from Divine Light Photography, but not without mentioning that Darcy + John’s shiny green getaway car is rad. Plus, how perfect for Fat Tuesday!

We don’t often see day-after shoots, so we love getting a glimpse into the first days of Darcy + John’s married life with help from Divine Light Photography. Isn’t it just lovely? I can’t help but fall for that last shot. I can just image the couple lounging in their wedding finery and reliving all those blissful moments from the day before.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. (From the groom) In September 2008, on one lovely fall weekend in New York City, a little reunion was planned for our group of friends who had all become close while attending college at Florida State. This was the first meeting between us, and it was quite bizarre to our group of mutual friends that we had never met one another in all our years at FSU. I decided to go for it and introduced myself to Darcy, only to find the night was ending soon and I’d have to wait until the next day at the FSU alumni bar to have another chance to get to know her. As we all watched and cheered on our Seminoles the next day, the group saw an instant and steady connection between me and Darcy. I returned to Dallas where I had just moved two months prior to start a new job. It was only about a week later that I found myself buying a flight back to New York to visit Darcy for an extended “first date weekend”. After many long months of back and forth and meeting in distant places from Santa Monica to Calgary, I decided to leave Texas behind and was headed for the big city. The rest, as they say, is history!
Describe the proposal. It was a regular Friday night the week before Christmas in New York City. John asked me to meet him in front of the Plaza Hotel an hour or so before the dinner reservations. Once we met at said fountain, he asked me what I wanted to do to “kill some time” until the 11pm seating at the restaurant. We headed to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and it was there that he proposed and I happily accepted! He had in his possession a family heirloom – the engagement ring that belonged to my late grandmother, Helen. He secretly collected the ring from my father in anticipation of popping the question. All seemed quite spontaneous; he got me good!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Personal, comfortable, and charming.
In what month did you get married? December
How many guests attended your wedding? 160 guests
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? We wanted to spread around the Southern hospitality we loved about our childhoods. That meant lining the ceremony aisle with grandma’s mason jars filled of baby’s breath; a dinner station devoted to fried pickles, corn pudding, and BBQ sliders; and a scotch n’ bourbon specialty bar built of family antiques. Then, there was the collection of “Della’s Doilies.” John’s late grandmother, Della, was a meticulous crafter of the most beautiful crochets one has ever seen. When I saw them, I knew it was perfect for our table décor, and was the way we’d pay tribute to John’s “GranDella.”
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: The weekend of our engagement party in Ft. Worth, the guys of the two families played golf and ate BBQ, while the ladies went dress shopping. I did some solo snooping in the salon and saw a dress I wanted to see off the hanger. Lo and behold, she was the one. Romona Keveza is known to create elegant, romantic, and glamorous dresses; I found one that had an old-timey Hollywood feel but was also modern and edgy at the same time. It was different than any dress I had seen before, which made it the right gown for me.
Describe your wedding flowers: I carried my favorites, white peonies. For the bridesmaids, we did fun, wild, red anemones. We kept it feminine for the mothers with a simple hand-tied bunch of baby’s breath all wrapped in white lace. My bouquet of peonies was the perfect place to tie a locket that belonged to my mother that I have held onto since she passed away. Inside the locket were two school portraits she’d cut out of me and my brother. It was really special to know she was right there with us. We hung a garland of baby’s breath around the frame of the chuppah and on the tables at the reception were bold bunches of all red gerberas with black centers, either tucked inside a birdcage or low arrangements placed on the tree stumps, which John’s uncle cut down for us on his Mississippi farm. Placed around each center arrangement were a trio of milk glass vases, each containing a single wild flower bunch – baby’s breath, Queen Anne’s lace, and hypericum berry.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert: Red velvet! Some tiers were yellow and chocolate marble. The s’mores bar was a big hit over at the wood-burning fire pit. Lastly, a cool Florida night makes for a great time to enjoy a Serendipity frozen hot chocolate.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Making sure we had a great time planning the event, but not getting overwhelmed with the process. It’s a great time in your life and is like no other in time you’ll spend together, so make sure you take a step back and realize what a special day it’s going to be for you and your soon-to-be spouse.
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Our band! Tom Sartori was a band we both enjoyed in college in Tallahassee at Bullwinkle’s Saloon. He doesn’t “do weddings” but we wrote to him with our special request and he delivered an exceptional show. We can’t thank him enough for making it a party we truly will always remember.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? John loves to play his guitar. He got up on stage to thank our friends and family for attending. Then, Tom handed him a guitar, and John soon started strumming John Mayer’s “Daughters.” This was the father-daughter dance. It was a really touching and sweet moment; I was just trying to take it all in and was feeling more blessed than ever.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? One of my favorite moments in the ceremony was when my dad handed me over to John, and said, “She’s all yours.” We all chuckled.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We love to travel and plan to expand on our list of places we’ve been together and the places we will live. The world is ours for the taking. Up next: we’re planning our extended honeymoon to somewhere exotic and relaxing.

Photographer: Divine Light Wedding Photography // Videographer: Bill Wagy Productions // Florist: Bee Ridge Florist // Wedding Cake Baker: Matt and Dom’s // Caterer: Fete Catering // Rentals: US Tent Rental // Linens: Tan linen toppers made by groom’s mother. // Paper Products: Askew Design // Bride’s Dress: Romona Keveza // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: Veil from Etsy // Bride’s Shoes: flats by Christian Louboutin, heels by Badgley Mischka // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: TART Infinity Dress

If you’re loving this wedding, check these out:
Our Green Wedding Details Pinterest board
Our Southern Ceremonies Pinterest board

Written with love by Nicole