Southern Weddings

Emily and I both think that today’s groom look a bit like Ryan Gosling — what do y’all think? We just adore his smart cardigan and necktie combo, but what’s really making us smile is the bride herself. How infectious is her big grin? Though Ana + Kent planned a beautiful wedding full of details we love, like a Funfetti cake and those lovely leafy arrangements, their favorite part of their big day wasn’t caught on camera. A + K’s most memorable moment of the day came before the “I Do’s,” when they snuck away from the pre-wedding hubbub to get breakfast together at Waffle House. “Best decision we made,” said Ana.

We’re doling out big hugs to Landon Jacob for sharing Ana + Kent’s day with us!

I found my dress in the second store I went to, Evelyn’s Bridal. When I first grabbed my dress off of the rack, I loved the fabric but not the neckline — the dress was originally a halter style. I loved everything else about it, so I had a tailor convert the dress into a strapless gown.

I LOVE flowers. I wanted to have a lot of different flower details in the wedding. We ordered a lot of greenery and filled the tables with beautiful white flowers. I wanted the bouquets to look wild and whimsical and Jordan did a phenomenal job making that happen.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? We did! We decided that we wanted a few minutes before the wedding that were just our own. I loved the time that we got to spend together.

Did you write your own vows? We modified our vows from ones that the pastors in our church use often in weddings. My favorite phrase said, “In every way I fail, I will pray for Jesus to sustain us by his grace.”
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We actually didn’t have any. We had our friends sing “Nothing but the Blood,” arranged by All Sons & Daughters, while we took communion, which communicated exactly what we would have wanted read.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. We thought a lot about what music we wanted to play during the ceremony. We both love music, and Kent is a musician, so we carefully chose songs with lyrics that we love. My bridesmaids’ processional was “Beautiful” by Phil Wickham and I walked in to “Divine Romance” by Phil Wickham. We left to “Something in the Water” by Brooke Fraser, one of our favorites. Our first dance was to “Maybe I’m Just Tired” by As Tall as Lions. It’s our song.

Describe the proposal. We had our first date at an awesome little restaurant in downtown Columbia called Cafe Strudel. We went there quite a few times while we were dating, and there was one booth in the back that quickly became “our spot,” as cheesy as it is. Cafe Strudel had plans to move locations, and we wanted to be able to make it back there one last time before they did. One Thursday night in early August, we went to dinner at Five Guys, and then Kent suggested we go get a cup of coffee at Cafe Strudel. I knew that we’d get engaged soon, but I was more than sure that it wasn’t going to be that night! We walked in to Strudel and I was the one who led the way up the stairs to our booth. There were a few picture frames on the wall and on the table, as well as tea lights and flowers. I still didn’t suspect a thing! Kent led me to the first frame, which held a small note about our first date. The next frame had a note about our first kiss, and the last frame had a note about the last time he came to visit me in NC — and how he had asked my parents for their permission to marry me. At this point, I was still embarrassingly oblivious and remember , “How in the world is he going to top this to propose?!” He then grinned like a fool, got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife. We celebrated for a bit, and then went down to the back patio where he had our close friends and families waiting to celebrate with us! After, we went back to his house, drank some wine, and prayed for a while about our lives. It was a perfect night.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The time frame! We got engaged and decided to get married 3 months later, almost to the day. I had to prioritize which projects were most important to me and see what I could get done before the wedding. There were some details that I wasn’t able to incorporate, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

A good friend of ours made all of the dessert for the wedding, including our two-tiered cake. We both wanted Funfetti for our wedding cake (the obvious choice) and had a few other options (red velvet, chocolate) as well. She also made Kent’s groom’s cake. Kent is a graphic designer, and uses Adobe’s Creative Suite often. Alice made two cakes that represented Adobe’s icons as a surprise for him.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Kent and I met at Midtown Fellowship in Columbia, SC, during my senior year of college while he was interning there. We had mutual friends whom we hung out with on several occasions (I found out later that he’d planned some of those hang outs so that we could spend some time together). I had planned on moving back to NC after graduation so, despite thinking he was all kinds of cute, I didn’t think anything would happen. I did move up to NC that fall, but after getting to see each other during a few week-long visits to my best friend in Columbia in the fall, he asked me out to breakfast in December of 2011, to which I responded “ABSOLUTELY!” Later, I called to turn him down because I’d made commitments and didn’t have time that week. Luckily, he didn’t give up and we made plans to go on our first date the next time I was in Columbia in January. We started dating, made many trips back and forth to and from NC and SC during the spring, and I moved back to Columbia in June of 2012. We got engaged after 6 months, and three months later, we were married.
In what month did you get married? November
How many guests attended your wedding? 230
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The “stage.” We loved the tree stumps.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? One of my favorite parts of the wedding was actually the day before. My aunt and cousin threw me a bridal luncheon for all of my bridesmaids and the women in our families. I so enjoyed getting to share that time with them.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? Less than $10,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Flowers! I live for the outdoors and wanted to have a bunch of flowers.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Honestly? My husband and I went to Waffle House for breakfast that morning, just the two of us, to hang out before all of the festivities started. Best decision we made.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Don’t stress. Decide what’s most important to you and focus on that. Make the goal of your wedding day to get married, and if that happens, congratulations! You did it. Everything else is secondary.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Right now we’re just settling into marriage, enjoying being roommates. We’ll be in Columbia for a good long while–Kent works for Midtown Fellowship Church and I’m working at Cline’s Salon in the Vista. We eventually want to church plant somewhere in the southeast.

Landon Jacob is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Written with love by Nicole