Southern Weddings

As y’all know, I always read the story of each couple before beginning my intros, and it’s absolutely one of my favorite things about writing Real Wedding posts. Well, Kristin + Travis’ story had me smiling from ear to ear before I was even half way through! This adorable duo truly fell in love at first sight, and I can’t help but get a little giddy when I read about the power of love. Especially when Kristin describes herself as “one smitten kitten!”. I die over the cuteness!

Moving onto the gorgeous details that Rodeo & Co. captured, I still can’t help but smile: the love that these two have for each other is palpable. The interesting part is that this lovely day didn’t take place in the South (I know!). We so often get requests from you darling readers on how to translate Southern style above the Mason Dixon for the weddings of Southerners who find themselves up North, so we’re delighted to share Kristin + Travis’ sweet day as a fabulous example. With Travis from Texas and Kristin from Vermont, the two were looking for a way to combine both familys’ traditions into a true celebration of love. We’ll let y’all be the judge, but I’d vote that they hit the nail on the head.

Cowboy boots + monograms? Yep, that’ll add some Southern flair to any wedding!

Did you decide to do a “first look”?  Nope. I wasn’t opposed to a “first look” because I liked the idea of knocking out some photos (hence leaving more time for us to enjoy cocktail hour!), but Travis didn’t want to see me until I the moment I stepped onto the aisle, which I thought was really cute and romantic.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: Soooo yeah, it was the very first dress I tried on! I always thought those girls were crazy because who wouldn’t want to drag out the dress hunting process?! I wasn’t even sure of the exact style, but I knew I wanted the dress to be simple, whimsical and have a little something that made it unique. And I did not want any bling. I saw it within 30 seconds of walking into the boutique – a ball gown (but not overly poofy), sweetheart neck, zero bling, and this gorgeous flower that made the dress both whimsical and unique (in my opinion)! Of course, I wasn’t certain it was “the dress” until I stepped into the waiting room and tears started to flow.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? The church we were married in was built in the 1800s and did not have air conditioning. It was unseasonably hot that day, so everyone was pretty toasty, especially poor Travis in his three-piece suite!  About half way into the ceremony, Travis is literally dripping sweat. It then occurred to me that my “something old” was a white handkerchief from my great grandmother, which happened to be in the pocket of my dress (did I mention the dress had pockets?! Amazing). Travis was grateful when I whipped out the hanky, and I have a feeling my great grandmother was looking down on us and smiling.

Describe your wedding flowers: I was obsessed with all of them. I love contrasting textures/shapes, so chose billy balls for my pop of color and had them hand-painted orange. I incorporated gorgeous white peonies into my bouquet as well as scabiosa pods to add the contrast. I kept the bridesmaids’ bouquets simple with just billy balls and dusty miller and LOVED how they came out — so simple, but still very quirky and unique. For the church flowers, I scattered antique teal jars throughout with one or two peonies. They were understated and beautiful, which added to the overall rustic feel of the ceremony.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration?  What was Southern about your wedding? There was quite a bit! In West Dover, Vermont, we have “The Moover,” which is a free bus that drives around town and is painted like a cow. You can’t get much more Vermont than that! I charted a Moover for the day of the wedding to transport the wedding party and drive guests back to their hotel after the reception. For our signature cocktails, we served a “Vermont Country Lemonade” for as “her choice,” and a “Texas Martini” for “his choice.” Also, all the groomsmen, including Travis, wore cowboy boots. I even busted mine out halfway through the reception!

OK, these little ones are so stinkin’ adorable! I mean the flower girl is having a full-on dance party!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert: We had carrot cake for the bottom layer and vanilla with strawberry crème for the top two layers. All of it was coated in a delicious cream cheese frosting. Everything is better with a cream cheese frosting, in my opinion! I incorporated peonies and billy balls in a cascade and added an adorable rustic topper from Etsy. The overall look was whimsical, playful and rustic.

How did the two of you meet?  Tell us your story. “We met at work” simply does not do our introduction justice. Not to mention, it’s very difficult to define our actual introduction…so bear with me! Travis and graduated from different colleges in 2007 and got jobs working for the same PR firm, Lois Paul & Partners. On my first day of work, I decided to hop on the company directory to look up some employee profiles and acclimate myself with the “who’s who” of the company. Well, during this quest I stumbled upon a profile (and picture) of one, Travis Williams. I stopped dead. “Helleeeww, Travis!” I said in my head (literally). It was only moments later that the HR head popped into my cube to take me on tour of the office and do introductions. Clearly, the first thing that popped into my head was, “I wonder where Travis sits!?”  After about 30 introductions and no Travis to be found, we had come full circle back to my desk. Disappointed, I hopped back on his profile and noticed a very important detail I had overlooked: “Travis Williams, location: Austin, TX.” I was in the Boston office, and he was in the Austin office. Fast forward seven months. LP&P was pitching a new video conferencing technology and Travis and I were both chosen for the pitch. As soon as I saw the roster, feelings from my first day at work came flooding back. Luckily, because the business we were pitching was a video conferencing technology, we actually worked on the pitch via web cam. Seeing Travis “in person” officially sealed the deal for me. I was one smitten kitten! But seriously, what could be in the cards for two people living 2,000 miles apart? Fast forward two months. We lost the pitch. Not going to lie, I was more disappointed that I wouldn’t be working with Travis than actually loosing the business. However, what a perfect opportunity to email Travis and say how great it was working with him! So, I made the first move (Travis may tell you different) and sent Travis a message via Facebook. After several casual (yet slightly flirty) Facebook emails, I was busy at work one day when our internal IM system popped up on my screen with a message from Travis. “Hi”, he said. I broke into a sweat. Grinning like a 12-year-old, I replied, “Hi.” Little did I know that this simple exchange was the start to something amazing. Fast forward (another) two months. Our IM-ing had eventually developed into a daily occurrence. He learned that I grew up in a small town in Vermont, and I learned that he was born outside Los Angeles and grew up near Dallas. We had a connection unlike anything I had experienced.  By this point it was around June 2008. One day we were chatting and Travis said, “What are you doing for July 4th? I’ve never been to Boston.” And so, Travis booked a flight to Boston (his first time ever to the East Coast) for the fourth of July. The first time I actually “met” Travis face-to-face was when I picked him up from Logan airport. I could go on for much longer than I already have about our official introduction at the airport (I may or may not have been so nervous that I lost my car in the parking lot and backed into a BMW). To sum it up, it was quite literally love at first sight. Travis officially asked me to be his girlfriend that first week on July 7th, 2008 (I don’t need to tell you what my answer was). To most, the idea of starting a relationship long-distance was crazy – and if the situation were reverse, I would have agreed – but we both knew that what we had only came once in a lifetime.
Describe the proposal. Travis and I were in Vermont over Christmas. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much snow on the ground, and Travis insisted on reminding me of this every hour. Travis: “When is it going to snow?!?!” Kristen: “Seriously, Travis? We’re not here just to snowboard, we’re here to be with family!” Little did I know, Travis had other reasons for wanting the snow. Finally, on the night of December 26, we got the snow storm that Travis had been waiting for. Once it started coming down pretty hard, Travis suggested we go outside to play. We got all bundled up, and trudged down to my frozen pond. After a few minutes and several snow angels, Travis got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. After I stopped crying and screaming “Are you serious?!?” my response was, “OF COURSE!” My second response was, “Can I see my ring now?!” (Unfortunately, it’s VERY dark in my back yard at night. Fortunately, we had a flashlight!) When we got back to the house, my parents were waiting with big hugs and a toast. It was perfect.
In what month did you get married? June
Did you decide to do a “first look”?  Nope. I wasn’t opposed to a “first look” because I liked the idea of knocking out some photos (hence leaving more time for us to enjoy cocktail hour!), but Travis didn’t want to see me until I the moment I stepped onto the aisle, which I thought was really cute and romantic.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. We had an acoustic guitar player for our processional/recessional music, which gave a super intimate and rustic feel to the ceremony. I wanted to keep the ceremony music traditional. There is something about “Here Comes the Bride” that just pulls at my heart strings. For our first dance song, we wanted something personal (obviously), so we picked “16 Maybe Less” by Iron and Wine (an Austin-native band, which is where we live).
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I planned the entire wedding from Texas! In the 18 months I was engaged, I only made it up to Vermont three separate times. My sister lives in Boston, and my parents are only in Vermont for the winter, so it was definitely a challenge.
What range did your wedding budget fall into?  $25,000-$50,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? That’s easy – the photographer! The day of the wedding is such a blur already. I seriously wish that I could have been in 50 different places at the same time for every second of that day. I’m SO happy that I had an amazing photographer to capture all the details and hard work that went into the wedding itself, and also the many moments among family/friends that I couldn’t be a part of.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? My advice is two-fold. The first is to stay as organized as possible. I started the process with a strict list of what to do and deadlines to get them done by (theknot.com has a great list to reference). Part 2 is far more important. The day of your wedding, LET GO OF THE PLANNING AND HAVE FUN! No one will know if there was supposed to be a tiki torch lit at 8:30pm, or if the ring bearer was supposed to have a different color bow tie on. Everyone is there to celebrate your marriage, not your event planning skills.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future? 2012 was a busy year for us. We got married, but we also bought a house and got a dog! For now, we are just looking forward to enjoying our lives together, traveling, and being in love. Babies are definitely in the future, and we are looking forward to that next adventure, but not for a couple more years.

Ceremony Venue: West Dover Congregational Church | Reception Venue: The Hills of West Dover, VT | Florist: Heather’s Flower Shop | Caterer: Tony Tribuno | Wedding Cake: Sticky Fingers Bakery | Wedding Gown: Watters | Bride’s Shoes: Nina | Tent: Celebration Rentals | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Alfred Sung by Dessy Group | Men’s Attire: Perry Ellis | Musician and DJ: Aaron Denny | Birdcage Veil: Terihuang Etsy Shop | Gold Cross Earrings: Gift from Mother of the Groom | Chalkboard Signs: Sweettomyheart Etsy Shop | Bridesmaids’ Custom Robes: Shopmemento Etsy Shop | “Happily Ever After” Cake Topper: Better Off Wed Etsy Shop | Favors: Vermont Maple Syrup

Written with love by Marissa