Southern Weddings

We’re a little bit gaga over Whitney + Jeff’s modern yet romantic Florida wedding. If their poolside ceremony didn’t rock your socks off, their sleek reception will. The frosty grey color scheme and sparkling crystals were a welcome change to the palm tree-lined venue at The National Hotel. Lush white flowers sat atop silk runners and were draped across the backs of the newlyweds’ chairs. I fell head over heels in love with their simple cake with the single peony perched on the side — even better, it’s made of sugar! I die.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Our wedding wasn’t overtly Southern, but being a girl who was born in Alabama and raised in the South, there were little touches of tradition. My great-great-grandmother’s vintage aquamarine necklace was my something blue – I had it attached to my bouquet. Even though our wedding was small (we had 60 guests), we had a large bridal party of six bridesmaids and six groomsmen.
Describe your wedding flowers: Peonies are my absolute favorite flower, so I chose those for my bouquet and for my bridesmaids. Mine was all white, with lisianthus and stephanotis with crystal centers mixed in. I wanted the texture to mirror that of my dress – very full and soft. Jeff had a boutonniere of stephanotis with crystal centers. For the groomsmen, I wanted something unexpected, so I used pale green succulents. For the reception flowers, I did a mix of styles. For the royal table, I had a charcoal gray silk dupioni runner that had large, lush white arrangements sitting atop sleek mirrored vases. We used peonies, hydrangeas, lisianthus and other full white flowers for these. On the round tables, we had a low, square mirrored vase with the same lush white arrangement, anchoring manzanita branches that were draped with crystals, orchids and hanging candles.
Describe your wedding cake: Originally, we thought we wanted red velvet, but the yellow cake was so delicious we couldn’t resist! It was filled with cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries and was to die for. The cake was iced in white buttercream, with silver fondant bands at the bottom of each layer. A single pink peony made of sugar was perched on the side.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? We planned the wedding in just over six months, all from DC! Knowing which vendors in Miami to use, and trying to coordinate all of the logistics long-distance was definitely stressful! In the end, I was thrilled with the way everything turned out, and the vendors I chose were so easy to work with!
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000-$50,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? My dress! I love fashion, and your wedding dress is one of the only chances you have to splurge at that level.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? When Jeff turned around for our first look. It was the only time of the day when I couldn’t hold back tears. The look on his face was just complete elation, and I was hit with the emotion of the day. Also, when Lil Wayne crashed our wedding photos!
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We opted to write our own vows, so that we could make them personal. Our favorite lines were, from me to Jeff, “I love that we can act like kids together and always share a good laugh, no matter what is happening around us.” And from Jeff to me, “The only thing I need in this world is your smile.”
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Eventually, we will have a family, but right now we are focused on our careers! We are looking forward to continuing to share beautiful memories together, and to keep laughing, no matter what life brings us.

Photographer: 13:13 Photography // Day-Of Coordinator: Karla Blanco // Venue: The National Hotel // Florist: Petunia Florist // Wedding Cake Baker: We Take the Cake // Caterer: The National Hotel // Paper Products: Blush Paperie // Bride’s Dress: Vera Wang // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: Bella Bleu Bridal // Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Amsale

Written with love by Nicole