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I’m not sure what it is about coffee shops, but I was recently reminded while on a coffee date with a friend (that lasted three hours!) that there are few better places to cozy up, relax, and enjoy some great conversation. Y’all may remember Melissa and Will from their wedding feature a few months ago, and now that they’re well into their first year of marriage, we were excited to catch up with them and learn about a few of their favorite date ideas. At the top of the list was a coffee date, and with a place as cute as Not Just Coffee to frequent, I can’t say I’m surprised!

Thank you so much to Allison Kuhn Photography for these beautiful photos!

The couple: Melissa and Will Mackvick
By day: I was recently laid off from my job (a true blessing in disguise from the sweet Lord), so I currently spend my time trying to figure out what my niche is career-wise. Will spends his days working as an associate at an investment bank here in Charlotte. He is a busy bee, but is doing a great job managing his work/life balance, which means so much.

Where they live: I was born and raised in Greensboro, and Will grew up in Raleigh–a place near and dear to our hearts, as that’s the city where we met during our junior year of college. For the last few years, we have been calling Charlotte our home and are absolutely smitten with the Queen City! We are Southerners through and through!

Their love story: Our love story is simple but sweet, and my all-time favorite. In January 2010, I was introduced to Will by some of our mutual friends. We spent some time getting to know each other that night, but ended up going our separate ways. A few days later, I couldn’t stop thinking about Will and reached out to him over Facebook. I invited him to a Valentine’s celebration that my friends were hosting, and the rest, as they say, is history! We were engaged in July 2014, and tied the knot in June 2015.

Melissa and Will’s five favorite date nights:

1. Coffee Talk: It’s almost impossible to begin our days without a cup (or two) of coffee, and we love starting off our weekends by heading to one of our favorite spots in Charlotte to “sit and sip,” and sometimes do our devotional. Not Just Coffee, The Mayobird, and Sunflour Bakery are some of the shops we frequent, depending on the mood we are in and the atmosphere we desire.
2. Game Night: Will and I are both competitive, so games let us get that side of ourselves out in the spotlight! You can often find us playing Scattegories or Checkers, or having friends over to play a few rounds of Balderdash or Wits and Wagers. We always lose track of time laughing and having fun…never acting our age!
3. Walk it Out: Our schedules always seem to fill up with never ending to dos, so we try to carve out time to spend together by doing something good for our health, like going for walks. We usually bring along our dog to give him some exercise, too, and love using this time to explore our neighborhood, find cute trails to walk, and just spend uninterrupted quality time together (my love language).
4. Root for our Home Team: Will is a huge sports fan and I love people watching, so it’s always a win-win for us when we go to sporting events. Going to baseball games to root for the Charlotte Knights is a summer favorite.
5. Movie Nights: Since Will often has to travel for work, there are nights (and even weekends) when we don’t want to leave the house…so we don’t! Instead, we pop some popcorn, make ice cream sundaes, pour a glass of wine, and watch movie after movie. We make a day of it! I’ll generally pick a movie to watch, then Will gets to pick one, so we both get to watch something we find entertaining. The number of movies and shows we have watched is A LOT!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
2 Comments
  1. avatar Melissa reply

    Thank you so much for featuring one of our favorite dates! We had SO much fun working with the talented Allison Kuhn and love anything that relates to Southern Weddings Magazine! XOXO!

  2. avatar Emily reply

    LOVE Not Just Coffee! So glad to see a couple introducing folks to one of the best coffee stops in Charlotte.

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Warning: I do not recommend clicking over to Emily’s blog, Today’s Letters, unless there’s nothing urgent on your to do list this morning. She started blogging daily letters in 2010, and ever since, she has written about both the big and small adventures she and her husband, Timothy, share. Recently, this includes the addition of their adorable daughter, Brave, into their family! Thanks to her signature letters and plenty of sweet, candid photos, to say Today’s Letters is addicting is an understatement. Knowing how intentional Emily and Timothy are about their life, their home, and their relationship, we were so thrilled when they agreed to share with us on Southern Newlywed!

Thank you so much to our Blue Ribbon Vendor Whitney Neal for these beautiful photos!

The couple: Emily (35) and Timothy (34) Loerke
Years married: 10
Children’s names and ages: Brave Loerke, 18 Months
Where you live: Louisville, KY
Tell us a little bit about yourselves. Before moving to Louisville, we lived in Dallas for twelve years and believed it would have been the perfect city if it were only in the mountains, right by the ocean with a downtown ballpark, had four real seasons, and had a trout stream as big as Cowboy Stadium. Two years ago, our love for the outdoors and search for a slower pace of life led us to the Bluegrass State. We love it here! Tim is Physician Assistant who teaches me fun medical things (most of which I do not pronounce correctly), and I get to be a stay-at-home mama who survives mostly on ice cream and rocket fuel (AKA coffee).

Do you rent or own? What are your hopes and plans for the future in this area? Tell us a little bit about where you live. We own a restored 1907 home in the Highlands, one of Louisville’s oldest and most artistic neighborhoods. Recently, Louisville was voted the #2 place to live in the US by Money Magazine. It’s easy for us to understand why after only having lived here for two years! Aside from having four real seasons, the downtown is vibrant and growing, the housing is affordable, local businesses are supported, the food and coffee scenes are insane, and the bourbon…don’t even get us started on the bourbon! Did we even mention the Derby?

Which items from your wedding registry do you use the most often? Our mini spatula, cast iron skillet, and ice cream scoop.
What different decisions, if any, would you make for your registry if you knew then what you knew now? Don’t register for a colored KitchenAid Mixer. Your taste will change over the years (as will your kitchens), and white is timeless. Also, when you’re broke newlyweds, luxury towels can make your tiny apartment bathroom feel like the Hilton.
What is your go-to weeknight meal? Weekend meal? Weeknight is smoked chicken, pan-fried bacon and brussels sprouts, roasted broccoli, and a side of ice cream. On the weekends, we try and allow ourselves to eat out.
What’s your favorite place to find recipes? One word: ReeDrummond. The Pioneer Woman knows her stuff!

Which room in your home is your favorite, and why? We recently added a wood burning stove to our living room. It has forced us to gather more as a family and S-L-O-W down. “The greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.” – Charles Hummel
What most makes your house feel like home? The creaky pine wood floors, hearing our rooster crow at 5 A.M., and the doorframe with Brave’s height marked on it with a Sharpie.

What is your favorite memory from your wedding? Riding away on a tandem bicycle. The chain fell off halfway down the street and we ended up pushing the bike back to our car.
What is your favorite part of being married? Growth! It has been said that “if you’re not growing, you’re dying.” Marriage has helped mature us more than any other relationship we’ve ever had!
Before getting married, I wish someone had told me… that I’ll always be the biggest problem in my marriage. When both people have this belief, you are able to attack problems together instead of attacking each other about your problems.

What is one small way you love or serve your spouse? I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve cleaned our bathroom. Tim has owned that since the beginning of our marriage and it has made me feel so loved! One small way I serve Tim is by turning down the bed for him when he comes home from working the night shift in the ER. He consistently says there’s just something about having a bedside light on and the sheets folded down that makes him feel welcomed home.
Where do you splurge and where do you save when decorating? What are some of your favorite sources for home things? We typically try and find everything at flea markets, on Craigslist, or at thrift stores. Splurging in our home looks more like high thread count sheets and locally roasted coffee.

What’s your best tip for balancing your relationship and other life priorities (work, personal time, extended family, etc.)? We are convinced there are two books every human should read (and re-read often): Charles Hummel’s, “The Tyranny of the Urgent” and Cloud & Townsend’s, “Boundaries.” Both will change your life when it comes to balancing your relationships and priorities.
Do you have a favorite date night idea to share? One of our favorite traditions is to write down the dates and places of our date nights with a Sharpie on the wall leading down to our basement steps. Every time we go downstairs to do laundry, it reminds us the importance of dating your spouse and the gift of intentionally pursuing one other. We look forward to the day when we get to explain the writing on the wall to our daughter!

Is there anything else about your home or family life that you think our readers would be interested in? We love to garden and had our first successful year growing our own pumpkins. We have four chickens, a rooster, and a beehive, and we filter our own honey every summer. We love to fly fish. We also we rent out the third floor of our home on Airbnb. It’s booked 25+ days a month and has allowed us to meet some of the most amazing people!

Thanks so much for sharing your hearts and home with us, Emily and Timothy! Follow along with them on Emily’s blog, Twitter, and Instagram.

lisa Written with love by Lisa
4 Comments
  1. avatar Kristina reply

    I’ve been reading Emily’s blog for almost five years now and have gained so much inspiration from the wisdom Em and Tim share on Today’s Letters! Thank you SW for sharing their home here, they really are the perfect couple to share marriage and life wisdom!

  2. avatar Laura reply

    This feature was so refreshing to read! I love that they aren’t afraid to truly “live” in their home (i.e. writing on the walls with sharpie) and don’t have it styled with expensive designer items. You can tell that their house feels relaxed, homey, and full of love. Very inspirational!

  3. avatar Raise Your Hand If You Had a Good Weekend – Erin Gail Says reply

    […] this sweet article about Today’s […]

  4. avatar Meredith reply

    I love that the focus is on the life they live in the four walls of their home, and not just the house itself. It’s the people inside that matter, and the love you invest into them.

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We had the privilege of meeting Alison almost a year ago when she and a group of the Proverbs 31 Ministries ladies came to visit the SW office. We were so impressed by how kind and intentional these ladies are, and truly cherished our time chatting about life and business with them! When we spotted a few photos of Alison and her husband’s house in Charlotte, we had no doubt that along with beautiful photos of the place they call home, we could count on Alison for an insightful, thoughtful interview here on Southern Newlywed. Sure enough, I loved getting a peek at Alison and Luke’s space, but even more so, I love what they shared about making their house a home, quality time together, and so much more. Enjoy!

Thanks so much to Maggie Colletta for these lovely photos!

The couple: Alison (27) and Luke (25) Fargason
Years married: Four
Where they live: Charlotte, North Carolina
Tell us a little bit about yourselves. Luke and I both from sweet home Alabama. I grew up playing with art supplies and Luke grew up playing sports and hunting and fishing with his dad. We both attended Auburn University (War Eagle!), which is where we met and fell in love. This was special to us because both of our parents met at Auburn as well! We now live in Charlotte, North Carolina and we absolutely love it! Luke is a financial aAdvisor with Thrivent Financial and I am the Design Director at Proverbs 31 Ministries.

Do you rent or own? What are your hopes and plans for the future in this area? Tell us a little bit about where you live. We bought our first house in May 2014 in Charlotte. It is located on a quiet street with lots of amenities close by. Some of our favorites things to do are evening neighborhood walks with our golden retriever, Ellie, and drinking coffee on our front porch in the mornings before work. Our house is a 1980’s red brick ranch that needed lots of TLC when we first moved in. Seeing our house transform from an outdated home into the perfect space for us has been so much fun. We still have a long list of updates we’d like to make, but for now, we are learning to enjoy the process of seeing it transform, little by little. We love hosting parties and having guests over. Our hope is that people always sense God’s peace and joy in our home.
Tell us about the process of moving in together. Do you have any tips for blending your two styles? I would say our moving in together process was relatively easy. Luke trusts me with designing our house and lets me run free with my ideas. His only two cents was that it “needs to comfortable–it can’t JUST look good.” And I agree! Charlotte has tons of amazing antique shops that we enjoy going to on the weekends. Luke grew up hunting with his dad, so you will find several deer heads and antlers throughout our house. When I recently hung the deer head in our den, Luke looked at me and said “On earth as it is in heaven.”

Which room in your home is your favorite, and why? I would have to say our main den. When we began renovating our home, this is where we put our attention first, and it’s where we spend most of our time together. Lots of our favorite furniture pieces are in there so that we are able to enjoy them the most!
Where do you splurge and where do you save when decorating? What are some of your favorite sources for home things? Thankfully, the majority of our furniture was given to us by our parents or grandparents, so we have not had to splurge on many things for our home. And honestly, we’ve found some things off the side of the road (so fun!). In some cases, I see something I like online or in a magazine, and if it is expensive, we will wait to buy it, and search Craig’s List for a pre-owned option. Favorite sources for home things? Goodness, where do I begin? First off, I love antique malls. Charlotte has a plethora of awesome, amazing places to visit (and with great prices too). The Depot and Gibson Mill and White Owl, both in Concord, North Carolina, are favorites. And who doesn’t love Home Goods?

Who cooks dinner? I do, but Luke has mastered the grill and makes a mean omelet!
What is your go-to weeknight meal? Weekend meal? Our weeknight go-to is BBQ Chicken Apple Pizza. It is a super easy and quick dinner! We usually eat out on the weekends, and our go-to is anything Mexican!
What different decisions, if any, would you make for your registry if you knew then what you knew now? I would have registered for more unique pieces that you can’t buy at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Target. Don’t get me wrong, I love those practical things, but it’s not really stuff that you can pass down to your children and grandchildren one day. I’d go for more heirloom pieces.

How does your family handle finances? Do you use a set budget? Considering Luke is a financial planner, we definitely set a budget. He is really great about leading us in this area and I am SO thankful. Although he has more of a knack for numbers, our goal is to always handle our finances jointly. We always want to be in agreement about decisions and plans for our future.
What’s your best tip for balancing your relationship and other life priorities (work, personal time, extended family, etc.)? Communication. Luke and I always try to over-communicate our plans and expectations. At the beginning of each week, we usually go through our work schedules and any plans we have. This allows us to know what is ahead for the week and helps us to adjust our needs and to dos accordingly.

What is your favorite part of being married? Always having the opportunity to be together. Quality time is the #1 love language for both of us, so obviously, we LOVE spending time together, even if it is just sitting in the same room or going to a coffee shop. I remember when we came home from our honeymoon, it was so much fun moving in together. It was like having a sleepover every night with our best friend!
What has been the most surprising thing about marriage? Honestly, I have been surprised by how selfish I can be. I did not realize this until my imperfections were bumping up so closely to someone else’s. Living with someone and being so vulnerable can reveal some of the selfish things we tend to hold on to. All and all, I am thankful for this. Daily, I hope to grow into a better, unselfish, and loving spouse.

Do you have a favorite date night idea to share? We love to go out to eat at our favorite local restaurants, but I think one of our most favorite things to do is go on family walks with our golden, Ellie. There are several restaurants and coffee shops within walking distance of our house, and we love treating ourselves to iced americanos after a long walk!
Do you have children? What are your hopes and plans for the future in this area? Not yet, but we are excited to have kids soon!
This year, our family is most excited about… taking a bucket list trip to Israel!

Thank you so much for sharing your hearts and home with us, Alison and Luke! Follow along with them on Alison’s website and Instagram and Luke’s Instagram.

P.S. Just as a reminder: we’d love to hear from you, too! If you’re interested, take a peek at our Southern Newlywed submission page and shoot us an email!

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

    Loved your article Lisa…..thank you for sharing a glimpse into the life of Luke & Alison and photos of their beautiful home built on the love❤️

  2. avatar Paula reply

    I love the decor!! So well done!! Beautiful!!

    http://www.livingpaula.com

  3. avatar tammy reply

    Loved this. So encouraging!! Thank you for sharing with us.

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!

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