Southern Weddings

Oh heavens, y’all! There are so many details in Lindsay + Jonathon’s Texas wedding that I am so completly smitten with. First, let’s start with the monogram appearances; from Lindsay’s “getting ready” shirt (we love these from our friends at Memento), to her fabulous cowboy boots, and then on to their married monogram runner mixed into the reception. Complete Southern heaven for this monogram-loving gal! And as a fellow non-cake-eater, I love how L + J had bowls of Jonathan’s favorite sweet, Sour Patch Kids, for guests to nibble on in lieu of a groom’s cake! I cannot guarantee a few of those little suckers wouldn’t have ended up in my purse!

Special thanks to Kelly Hornberger for capturing the sweetest moments (and the monogram details)!

Check out Jonathan’s Texas cufflinks! Love the ode to their home state!

My mom and I had a blast finding my dress. We only went to a few places, tried a lot on but definitely knew that the lace dress I picked was the one. My mom was so amazing in helping me. I definitely could not have done it without her! I did make a few alterations – made the neckline a sweetheart and took the back down a bit, into a deeper V shape.

Walking over to the ceremony site with my dad and then turning the corner and seeing Jonathan at the end of the aisle was truly magical.

This may be one of my favorite ceremony images of all time. Such an incredible moment of love and family!

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? Deuteronomy 6:5-9
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

There were so many Southern touches, including my new monogram on custom made cowboy boots, the burlap table runners, the wooden stumps for décor used as our cake stand and under our placement of flowers and candles, our signature drink served out of mason jars, Jonathan’s Texas cufflinks, the wooden benches and tables, and of course our food! Our guest book was a “cookbook” I made from all of our favorite family recipes. I included lots of pictures that involved friends, family and cooking and also left a lot of white space for people to sign. We also had “late night snacks” towards the end of the reception that included fried chicken and waffles and a French fry bar, complete with toppings to choose from!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert: Our wedding cake was five-tiered with a big flower on top and it was on a wooden stump as the cake stand.
For the “groom cake’s,” Jonathan actually doesn’t like sweets except for Sour Patch Kids, so we had little bowls throughout the bar and reception of Sour Patch Kids for people to snack on, complete with heart-shaped spoons, too!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Initially, Jonathan and I met through mutual friends at a party, but we didn’t start dating until about a year and half later, when the timing was right.
Describe the proposal. The proposal was absolutely amazing! Our photographer actually captured that, too (here). Jonathan has played classical piano since he was four, loves to sing and has been playing the guitar since for about 10 years as well. He is so talented! Our first date was at the Hobby Center in Houston where we saw the Phantom of the Opera. On our two year anniversary, Jonathan told me that we were going to see a play at the Hobby Center but that we were getting to meet the cast and see a rehearsal beforehand. When we walked in the theater, I was shocked that besides the people working in the sound booth, we were the ONLY people in the theater. I asked Jonathan where everyone else was and he told me it was a private viewing just for us (massive points!). As we take our seats, the lights start to dim and they call “all cast to stage,” the show is about to start. Jonathan turns to me and says that “they forgot the champagne” and that he will go get it. I think, “champagne, too!?!” As I’m sitting there alone, waiting for Jonathan to come back and the show to start, I hear the first notes of a familiar song on a piano being played. The curtain goes up and there is Jonathan on stage, singing and playing our favorite song! I start tearing up and then basically sobbing and am in absolute shock. Close to the end of the song, a woman comes and gets me and tells me to follow her. She then takes me on stage to join Jonathan. He finishes the song, he stands and takes both of my hands and says the sweetest words, and then he reaches back into the piano and pulls out a small box, gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him! It was SO AMAZING! And that was just the beginning of the night.
In what month did you get married? April
How many guests attended your wedding? 150
Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? We did not do a first look. Jonathan really wanted to keep the tradition of seeing me for the first time, walking down the aisle. I was perfectly OK with that!
Did you write your own vows? We did! We said the traditional vows but also wrote our own. My favorite line of Jonathan’s vows to me was, “I vow to love you forever with my whole heart and with everything that I have. This will be the easiest of my promises because there is absolutely no other way I could love you.” Jonathan’s favorite line of my vow’s to him was, “The man I thought I would marry absolutely pales in comparison to the man God has given me in you.”
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. Walking down the aisle, walking back up the aisle, first dance? One of our good friend’s, Thad Lang, played all of our ceremony music on his acoustic guitar. He played “I Have Always Loved You” by Third Day while guests arrived, and also some music he wrote himself. “Air in G String” played while the wedding party walked down the aisle and “Cannon in D” when I walked down the aisle. He played Dave Matthews, “Everyday” when we walked back as man and wife – that was so fun. Our first dance was the same song Jonathan played and sang to me on our proposal, Sister Hazel’s “This Kind of Love.”
Describe your wedding flowers: Absolutely gorgeous! Romantic, lots of whites, ivories, garden roses, pops of deep pink and lambs ear for green. We also had all white petals as our aisle.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: There are way too many! My favorite detail about the ceremony was our prayer circle – it was so unique and amazing to feel the love and power of being surrounded by our friends in prayer. For the reception, I have to say our monogrammed, burlap-inspired table runners that my sister-in-law made. Absolutely amazing!
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Food was a big part of our wedding because it is a passion of ours. Other details included the truffle popcorn we served out of paper cones and our signature drink served before the ceremony, Mint Rosemary Lemonade. My brother also designed a logo for us to use on all of our signage. We had koozies with our logo, Styrofoam cups, napkins, rally towels for the end of the night and dancing, framed pictures of the two of us scattered throughout the reception, and my dad made hand painted directional signs, too!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? We are so blessed in that we didn’t have too many! Honestly, I think the biggest scare or challenge was whenever my dress came in and it was too short. They had to do massive alterations and that was pretty dramatic — but it all worked out!
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000 – $50,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Jonathan would say the lighting and I would have to say, of all things, the transportation. We provided buses for everyone and I am so glad we did! I think it really contributed to people staying the entire time and “partying” a little more since they didn’t have to drive. Plus, I heard our friends had a very entertaining bus ride home – singing songs and rapping over the microphone.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? The feeling and emotions of it all! I was so calm and so ready – walking over to the ceremony site with my dad and then turning the corner and seeing Jonathan at the end of the aisle was truly magical.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Jonathan put a “moratorium” on any wedding planning/talking for one week when we first got engaged. His intention was for us to enjoy being engaged and to focus on our love and each other and we carried this throughout the planning period. Don’t get caught up in the details of one day and one party. Focus on your love and your marriage to come. Plus, you are only engaged once! Have fun being fiancés while you can!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? To enjoy our first year of marriage to the fullest! We want to do a lot of traveling and “firsts” as a married couple. We certainly are looking forward to building our home together and a family!

Written with love by Marissa