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I think “meant to be” is a good way to describe Kelly and Dan’s story–these two lawyers met in the most unassuming way (at a bar!), and after their lakeside engagement, they set out to plan their Georgia wedding in a way that was true to them as a couple. From knowing Foxhall Resort was their venue as soon as they drove onto the property, to Kelly finding her dream, out-of-budget gown off the rack at a great price, their wedding fell into place beautifully, allowing them to focus on their relationship and the fun ways they could introduce guests to their personalities. My favorite details are the ones that are a little unconventional, but oh so them, like the signature cocktails served from copper mugs and the brownies and ice cream they dished out in lieu of cake!

Thanks so much to Sowing Clover Photography for sharing this fun day with us!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I had had my eye on Monique Lhuillier’s Scarlet dress for some time. I knew I wanted a romantic sheath with straps, and nothing else had caught my eye. I tried on the dress at the Monique Lhuillier boutique in Manhattan (where I was living at the time for my job) and fell in love with it. The $6,000 price tag was a bit too steep for me, but I ended up finding it off the rack somewhere else. It was meant to be!

I wanted the flower arrangements to be whimsical, low-key, and natural, so I chose to go with a lot of greenery accented by some white flowers. My favorite part was the garlands of greenery that draped some of the wooden farm tables.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Yes, we wrote our own vows. My favorite line from mine was about Dan being my hero and the best man I know. My favorite from his was when he said I added so much value to his life, more than he thought was possible.
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? My 13-year-old little sister and Dan’s 10-year-old niece did the readings at our ceremony. My sister read a sweet excerpt from Winnie the Pooh and his niece read the “What is Real?” excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit. They were absolutely wonderful! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place after the Velveteen Rabbit reading.

We tried to make our wedding reflect us as much as possible, so we thought outside of tradition in a lot of instances. Those are the details that made the day truly special. To name a few, our officiant was my long-time best friend, our dog was the ring bearer, every table was named after something that meant something special to us and the people sitting there, I sang a song with the band (“A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri) for my new husband, and most of the food served at the wedding had some significance to us or a family member.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? We wanted to get married somewhere with a lot of land, where our dog could attend, and where our closest friends and family could stay the weekend. The Foxhall checked all of the boxes. When we first drove onto the Foxhall property, our jaws dropped at how beautiful it was. We both knew this was the place.

Neither Dan nor I really like cake, so we opted to forgo the tradition and do something that was a little more “us” (which we did with a lot of things in our wedding). Instead of cake, we had an ice cream cart catered by a local, small-batch ice cream store, Queen of Cream. Our flavors were so yummy and perfect for our fall wedding: Bourbon Butter Whiskey Pecan and Salted Caramel. Since Dan’s favorite dessert is ice cream and brownies, Queen of Cream was nice enough to serve their delicious ice cream with warm brownies! The fun part was smashing the ice cream into each other’s faces toward the end of the night.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met the good old-fashioned way: at a bar, during my first year of law school in Atlanta. Dan broke the ice by talking about “Pierson v. Post,” an old Supreme Court case about hunting. Needless to say, that was enough to make me swoon!
Tell us all about the proposal! After a few years of dating (and exactly three years after we said “I love you” for the first time), we were spending a quiet morning at the lake on our boat, throwing the ball to our beloved yellow lab, Sam. Dan asked me to start video taping Sam fetching the ball, which I thought was no big deal at the time. It turns out that Dan hid the ring inside one of the tennis balls! When Sam retrieved the ball from the lake, Dan took it out and got down on one knee. After freaking out a little bit about how he thew the ring into the lake, I, of course, said yes. He said he really wanted to incorporate Sam into the proposal because he trusted Sam as much as he trusted our relationship. I’ve got to hand it to him for tricking me into videotaping my own engagement!
When did y’all get married? October 24, 2015
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 106
Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? Dan surprised me by having a very strong opinion on the matter–he wanted to see me for the first time as I was walking down the aisle. It was so romantic, that, of course, we opted to not do a first look. It made the pictures during cocktail hour a bit more rushed than they may have been otherwise, but seeing the look on his face when I walked down the aisle made it all worth it!
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. I chose to walk down the aisle to “What a Wonderful World” played by the acoustic country band, Capo3. It’s one of my all time favorites. After we were married, Dan and I walked/danced up the aisle to “Marry You” by Bruno Mars to signify that the party was about to get started! Our first dance was to “I Don’t Dance” by Lee Brice. The lyrics to that song almost perfectly reflect our relationship, and it was fun to do some twirls during the lyric “spinning you round and round in circles.”
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? Our officiant asked us to write love letters to one another, which she stored away in a box with a nice bottle of wine. She said it was for us to open whenever things got tough in our marriage. It was such a wonderful exercise to really think about why we love each other, why we were choosing to get married, and to remember that not all days will be the “happiest days of our life,” but rather, we will have to work through some bumps in the future.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000-$50,000
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? We had a budget of about $30,000, but I didn’t want to sacrifice much. I DIYed what I could (invitations, paper goods, escort card display, boutonnieres), found deals on extras like our photo booth, and was lucky enough to find some newly established (but super talented) vendors with reasonable prices. One of the biggest places we saved was by providing our own alcohol for the reception. Also, I absolutely loved wedding planning, so I saved by not hiring a full-service wedding planner–we just had someone help coordinate the day-of.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? Dan and I are now expecting our first child, so we are both very excited about building a family!

Photographer: Sowing Clover Photography | Videographer: Anchor Heart Films | Planner and Florist: Something Tulle | Venue: Foxhall Resort and Sporting Club | Dessert Baker: Queen of Cream Ice Cream | Caterer: Simply Catering | Rentals: Unlimited Party & Event Rentals | Band: Capo3 Band | DJ: Sloan Lee DJ | Paper Products: Letterpress by Czar Press | Bride’s Gown: “Scarlet” by Monique Lhuillier | Bride’s Jewelry: Rent the Runway | Hair and Makeup: Vigilante Cosmetics | Bride’s Shoes: Stuart Weitzman | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew | Menswear: Tom James Custom | Photo Booth: Robot Booth

lisa Written with love by Lisa
1 Comment
  1. avatar Dana reply

    love the flowers in their hair and an ice cream bar sounds so fun!

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If porch-front ceremonies are becoming a “trend” in Southern weddings, then sign us up! (We’ve featured two fairly recently — check out Andrea + Tres’ here!) Lane wore a gorgeous Pronovias gown for her marriage to Dan, while her bridesmaids donned J. Crew dresses. Speaking of bridesmaids, I loved what Lane had to say about what was Southern about her wedding: read on to hear all about her incredible group of family + friends, and how they pulled off such a beautiful wedding! We’ll be back soon with more succulent goodness from Maile Lani!

How did you meet? Tell us your story. We met while both working as interns for the Santa Monica office of Gensler, a global architecture and design firm. Our summer desks were next to one another, and we quickly sparked up a friendship. Dan and I would go to a beach called El Matador every weekend that summer; it was unpopulated by anyone but locals — a romantic place by any measure!
Describe the proposal. After a long distance courtship, with Dan leaving to finish school in London, England and me returning to Baton Rouge for my final year of design school in Louisiana, we finally ended up back in Los Angeles where we would eventually start our lives together. Dan proposed at our beloved beach, El Matador, a year and half later.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Creating all of the details ourselves and bringing our families together in one place for the first time.
What was Southern about your wedding? Our guests stayed in New Orleans’ historic Hotel Monteleone, greeted with hospitality packages consisting of local goodies such as Tony’s Cajun seasoning, pecan pralines, Zapp’s potato chips and Louisiana hot sauce. As soon as I arrived back in Baton Rouge from Los Angeles, I had an amazing group of friends and family rally around me to help with the execution of all the flowers and décor for the wedding. The sense of community that existed in these days leading up to the wedding may not be strictly Southern, but that sensibility is still especially strong in the South and it was very present at this time. It reminded me of what things must have been like before people just paid to have it all done. We were married on the front lawn and porch of a plantation on the bank of the Mississippi River under oak trees draped in Spanish moss. The food offering ranged from regional staples such as fried catfish and crawfish étouffée to truly delectable Cajun treats like curried pumpkin, crawfish & corn bisque, duck with praline sauce and candies yams. The evening’s entertainment was provided by a seven-piece brass band from New Orleans. Needless to say, this led to more than one soulful second line.

Photographer: Maile Lani Photography // Venue: Houmas House Plantation // Florist: bride and friends // Wedding Cake Baker: Ambrosia // Paper Products: bride // Bride’s Dress: Pronovias // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: Family heirlooms // Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew

emily Written with love by Emily
3 Comments
  1. avatar Marissa reply

    I’m a huge fan of porch-front ceremonies and this one is gorgeous! Love it, Emily!

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This weekend’s Daylight Savings change sure did a number on me, but the extra hour of sunshine (yippee!) was more than worth it. What better way to ring in the longer days of spring than with a behind-the-scenes peek at Kristin + Kincaid’s Texas wedding, courtesy of Anne Marie Photography. K + K celebrated their May nuptials with a veritable ranch-sized celebration (275 guests, y’all!) at the famous Gage Hotel that was tailor-made for this photographer bride and her ranch manager sweetheart. The Western-themed bash was offset by a bright color palette of yellows (the bridesmaids’ ruffled Bella Bridesmaid frocks were a V3 fan favorite) and green (the florals from Statue of Destin had a Wild West flair). The bride’s favorite detail? “I could not live without my dress,” Kristin gushed of her flowered Amsale gown.

Written with love by Katharine
7 Comments
  1. avatar Lori reply

    Beautiful! I love the bride and bridesmaids dresses.

  2. avatar kelly reply

    i am beyond obsessed with her wedding dress + the bridesmaids’ dresses!!!!! ahhhhh!!! and those cowboy boots. ohmygoodness!

  3. avatar Lauren H. reply

    Love the bridesmaids’ dress. So bright and fun!

  4. avatar Weekly Round-Up « Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] view Kristin + Kincaid’s sunny Texas wedding here and here. I am in love with the bride’s Amsale dress and […]

  5. avatar Anne Markey- Charlotte Wedding Planner reply

    Sooooo sweet. Lovin’ the cowboy boots!

  6. avatar Southern Bride of the Month :: Madelynne « Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] bridesmaid dresses that partially inspired M + C’s (photo by Anne Marie Photography via Southern Weddings) What do you wish you would have known at the beginning of your engagement? How stressful guest […]

  7. avatar Kim reply

    I love your flower girl dress! Do you mind telling me where your purchased it?

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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