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We’re officially less than a week away from our big V5 launch!

When Emily and I first saw Lauren + Jeremy’s wedding, we instantly fell in love with their cheery ceremony design — happy waving flags lining the bride’s path to the succulent-decorated altar. We’re now finding there’s much more to love, including the officiant’s surprise performance of “Come Fly With Me” as the bridal party recessed and the handsome pup donning a bow tie. Don’t forget to scroll on down to read about Jeremy’s hilarious proposal! Big thanks to Theo Milo for sharing with us!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I plan events for a living, so most of the wedding planning felt like a second job to me, but shopping for a dress was a blast….except the sticker shock! I started my search at the most expensive boutique in town, only because it was the closest to my mother’s house. I fell in love with many dresses there but one stood out. It was pink and I’ve always been about pushing boundaries so I loved the idea of wearing something different. Plus, I could wear the sample right off the rack which meant I’d get a good deal and that appealed to my bargain shopper sensibilities. The bridal clerk had to check on the pricing for the sample and when she called me, it was still higher than I felt comfortable spending…so I continued the search. I went home and I started scouring the internet. Lo and behold, my dress was made by Priscilla of Boston who was going out of business and they were offering significant discounts for their sample dresses. I called the closest store which was in Raleigh,NC and they had the dress! My mother and I drove the next weekend to the store and I got my dress 60% off retail. I had to do some major alterations, but with the savings, that was no issue. The moral of the story is don’t say “yes” to the dress until you let your fingers do some walking on the internet. A great deal may be awaiting you. My only regret is that I wish I had also purchased a reception dress. I love to dance and I spent a lot of time managing my dress on the dance floor.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Yes, we did a first look because we wanted to have the time to get good photos together but we didn’t want to miss our reception to do so. Additionally, we stayed the wedding weekend at a historic house right on the ocean that was so pretty and we wanted to use the location for our photos.
Did you write your own vows? No, we did not write our own vows but we chose the vows from some traditional ones. We got married outdoors and our ceremony was officiated by a dear friend of ours. Because of this, we had to create our whole ceremony on our own. It was a lot of work but it made our ceremony more personal.

The ceremony set-up was our favorite detail of the wedding. Our venue was often used for weddings but we were told we were the first to use the area that we did for a ceremony. The ceremony took place slightly off to the side of the reception venue in a sparse grassy area with a view of the island’s famed lighthouse behind it. It wasn’t very impressive, but we had vision for it. With the help of soft blue flags defining an aisle and a beautiful wooden table decorated with lanterns and succulents to create an altar, our vision was fulfilled. (Credit goes to Kim Fisher Designs for the décor.) Jeremy would say the cigar bar was his favorite!

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We had two readings in our ceremony. I chose a reading from Les Miserables (the novel), which also happens to be my favorite Broadway musical. Jeremy chose a more traditional reading from the Book of Genesis (the popular, stylized version of 2:18).
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. Since we wrote our own ceremony we were able to also choose whichever music we wanted. We hired a pianist and a violinist for the ceremony. We used traditional wedding music like Ariosa by Bach and Alla Hornpipe by Handle for the pre-ceremony and wedding party. I walked down the aisle to Ave Maria. Our favorite part, though, was that we walked out to Sinatra’s “Come Fly with Me,” which to all guests’ surprise was sung by our officiant, who is an actor and singer and has performed often in a one man Sinatra show. Our first dance song was a combo. We chose “Some Kind of Wonderful,” but got the band to start by playing the slow, soulful Drifters tune for two verses and then transition into the upbeat Grand Funk Railroad version (which is not a cover or remake, but a completely different song) to allow our guests to get in on the act!

Because we had many friends in from all around the country, including a large number of New Yorkers, we wanted to expose them to some of our favorite Southern treats and the beautiful coastline. Our mothers prepared 40 batches of my mom’s homemade pimento cheese that we had delivered to all the guests’ accommodations. We also had a low country shrimp boil for our rehearsal dinner. Additionally, we chose a Southern location that is exceptionally beautiful and shows off part of what being a Carolinian is all about – amazing beaches, great weather and a laid-back lifestyle.

What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? We planned most the wedding ourselves with a bit of help from our mothers. I am an event planner by trade so I did most of the work as a way to save on the budget and ensure things were done to our liking. We both work long hours and I started a new job two days after our engagement. Our free time was limited and we had to stay the course to get it all done. It’s important to do a little each day and when help is offered, take it. Learn to delegate. Friends and family are usually happy to help. Identify your friends and family’s strengths and use their help when offered in a way that each can best assist.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? The whole wedding weekend was memorable. That’s what’s so special about having a destination wedding – you get more than just a few hours to spend with some of the most important people in your life and it’s the only time they all gather together. However, I think one of the most memorable moments of our wedding day was when we finally sat for dinner. We had just finished our first dances, which we’d chosen to keep upbeat and fun. We danced so hard and had been at so many parties all week that when I finally sat down, I was exhausted. I turned to Jeremy and said, “I don’t know how I am going to make it to the end.” He agreed. Somehow, we not only made it to the end, but closed down the after party! Thank God for second winds and adrenaline!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met playing kickball. Jeremy was subbing on a flag football team whose strengths were better displayed at the bar after the games than on the field. Come the end of the season, the grizzled vets were ready to run it back, but Jeremy had the foresight to head them off and channel their talents into a sport into adult kickball. I was recently returned from New York City to my hometown of Charlotte, NC. I was young, single, my own boss and I was looking for a way to meet new people in a city where most my friends were already married with children. One of my friends happened to be trying something new…kickball. I would have NEVER played kickball in NYC but I felt it was only just that I try something new, too, and this was a way of socializing in Charlotte. You can guess where this is going, right? So Jeremy ran short a player now and again on the kickball team and once or twice, I subbed in. It wasn’t much, but it was an entree. And those who know Jeremy well know all he needs is a chip and a chair. He made getting to know me better his goal and waited for his moment. I didn’t even realize Jeremy was pursuing me in the beginning but eventually it became clear. By the end of October, he’d found his moment and we arranged a meet up at a Halloween party. And the rest, as they say, is history. We hit it off and have been like peas and carrots ever since.
Describe the proposal. After college, I spent the better part of a decade living in New York City and, along the way, found good friends and made good memories. I really loved it, which made the task of selecting that special ‘pop-the-question’ spot (marginally) easier for Jeremy. Jeremy chose the City as a nod to my past, but wanted to find some place in the city that would speak to our personality as a couple and our future together. He hit on the idea when, on a trip to the City to keep me company while I worked an event, he and a friend went to a beer festival on the newly-opened-to-the-public Governor’s Island in New York Harbor. The place itself is neat. An ex-military base that has found new life as a city park, it’s very similar to Central Park in that it’s the last thing you’d expect to find sitting smack in the middle of New York Harbor. It enjoys the views afforded its more well-known neighbors of Liberty Island and Ellis Island, but it doesn’t have the tourist problem. Unfortunately, getting me to the chosen spot was not casual. I like to think I am a smart cookie and Jeremy is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy, so for him to stick to his guns about going to a place so seemingly random as Governor’s Island was, for me, a new and different experience. So, I knew something was up. I figured this was going to be “it” but I didn’t know that Jeremy had also hired a photographer to follow us around and get that magic moment on kodachrome! Unfortunately, the person Jeremy chose was (1) not as covert as he might have been and (2) not as good at keeping up with the happy couple as he should have been. Within minutes of disembarking from the ferry, I got the inkling that the foreign-looking, bald-headed dude in the green shorts and pink shirt (yes, he was really dressed that loudly) was “following” us. This feeling (and the evidence supporting it) only got stronger as the we made our way around the southern tip of the island and the clandestine photog took a more “in your face” approach to capturing the moments leading up to THE moment, culminating in a very “Austin Powers”-like dive behind a tree when I caught him getting snap-happy while we sat in some adirondack chairs. For the rest of our lap around the island, he was at a much safer distance. Sadly, the distance proved too safe because, before we’d made it back around the island to “the” spot, we encountered a large crowd on their way to a concert. Apparently, the photographer couldn’t mark us through the crowd and we emerged on the other side sans picture-taker. Jeremy stalled and plodded for a few minutes trying to give the photographer time to catch back up to the couple, but I was hot and tired and needed a drink, so what ensued was something akin to a sitcom proposal. As it is, Jeremy forgot to kneel as he blurted out “babyiloveyoumarryme?” I thought to myself, “that cannot be my moment!” so I pulled the situation back together and made Jeremy kneel and produce a proper proposal (which I then, promptly accepted). The photographer, of course, didn’t find us in time and missed capturing any of this on film.
In what month did you get married? May 12, 2012
How many guests attended your wedding? 130
Describe your wedding flowers: I didn’t want the whole décor to be about flowers so we used a lot of lanterns, candles, cloches and succulents in addition to flowers. I got married on Mother’s Day weekend so using non-floral elements also provided some cost benefits. The flowers we did use were cool tones to complement the natural setting around us. I wanted the whole space to feel light and airy like you could just float away. My florist sourced the most beautiful greenery and finest lush flowers to go in my bouquet and the centerpieces. My bridesmaid’s bouquets were simple white hydrangeas which popped well against their coral dresses. Their bouquets were placed in vases wrapped with rope on our cocktail and café tables on the terraced lawn, which provided amazing views of the marsh behind.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert: Jeremy has the sweet tooth so we opted for his favorite southern treat – key lime pie. We had a local baker make individual tartlets so they’d be easy to eat and serve.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The biggest challenge we had was with my hair and make-up. Because the wedding was on an island only accessible by ferry, we had limited choices of professional salons. We decided to use the on-island spa, which was very nice and accommodating. They do multiple weddings on any given weekend so we expected nothing but a positive experience. The island was a four hour drive and a ferry ride from our home in Charlotte, NC, so we knew there’d be limited opportunities for tests. We started five months in advance during one of two trips prior to the wedding. The first test resulted in great makeup, but I was not pleased with my hair. The salon graciously offered me another complimentary hair test later that day but the day was windy and the ferry schedule changed which resulted in the salon closing early. The additional test was not possible, so we settled on returning in March to try again. That test went better, but then we got a call two weeks prior to the wedding informing us that the makeup artist and hair stylist had left the company so we’d have to start over. I stayed calm and agreed to the new hair test during the wedding week. The hair went over OK, but the makeup was a disaster leaving me looking orange and with no choice but to do my own makeup. Lesson learned. If possible, hire an independent contractor (who can’t leave) and schedule a long appointment to ensure you get everything right the first time. You don’t get to repeat your wedding day.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000-$50,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? I was happy that we splurged on our flowers and décor. I have an art degree, so the design elements were very important to me. We also were really happy that we splurged on special accommodations for our weekend. We stayed in a small historic two-bedroom house on Bald Head Island that was formerly one of the lighthouse keeper’s accommodations. Jeremy gave me a painting of the house along with a personal note in an old antique bottle as my wedding day gift.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We’ve started looking for a larger house to hold all of our registry gifts. In the meantime, we’ve been enjoying some well-deserved quality time together at a few of our friends’ destination weddings.

Theo Milo is a fabulous member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

nicoleyang Written with love by Nicole
4 Comments
  1. avatar Clair F. reply

    Such a beautiful wedding! love Lauren’s honesty throughout the post! She gives great advice. I’m getting married in March & this post has given me a few good ideas. Thanks for sharing this.

  2. avatar Leigh Pearce Weddings reply

    LOVE this! Kim is so talented. Those are some beautiful blooms!

  3. avatar Miles reply

    I loved the soft color theme of the wedding. The photographer did a nice job of complementing the soft colors with soft focus areas in the photography (used shallow depth of field to good effect).

  4. avatar Mindy reply

    LOVE the headband! Where is that from?

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Yippee!! Just a few more weeks until V5 arrives!

Erin + Brian might have shared their first kiss on a fifth grade class field trip to the planetarium, but they had no idea they would reconnect years later. Brian even brought Erin back to the same planetarium to get down on one knee and ask her to marry him. (Aww!) Though the two were so ready to get married that they considered tying the knot at city hall, they stuck it out and used their seven-month engagement to create a barn-side wedding full of DIY details and family heirlooms. We love the combination of soft cotton and succulent plants throughout their big day and the fun projection they played against their tent at the reception. Big thanks to Morgan Trinker for sharing this one with us!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. My mom and I planned an entire weekend in Birmingham to find my dress and had dress fittings scheduled at 3 different stores. I knew what type of dress I was looking for, so that helped as we walked into our first appointment at The White Room. We were both shocked when I picked the second dress I tried on. I put on a third dress, but I was dying to put the second one back on. That was the easiest part of planning our wedding!
Did you decide to do a “first look”? We did not do a first look. It was very important to Brian that we see each other for the first time as I was walking down the aisle. The expression on his face as I was walking toward him was so worth the wait.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We had two groomsmen and two bridesmaids read a passage from “This Momentary Marriage” by John Piper as Brian and I “planted” a tree. They read pages 55-57. It was long, but filled with great words every new couple should hear!
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. We had string instruments and a pianist playing for the ceremony. It was beautiful! I walked down the aisle to “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri and walked back up the aisle to “Love Story” by Taylor Swift. Our first dance was to”You and I” by Michael Buble

One of my favorite Southern details from the wedding was the actual venue! Hampstead Farms was the perfect location to celebrate our marriage. I loved how naturally beautiful the growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers looked around our tent, and the gorgeous red barn was the perfect background to every photo. I am also obsessed with crafting and creating, so I love that many Southern weddings now include DIY aspects, which helped me add personal details to our big day. I handmade our save-the-dates, invitations and RSVP cards using paper from Paper Source and custom made stamps from Antiquaria. I also put together the aisle markers using burlap bows and twig wreaths, made the ring bearer pillow, and put together the wedding favors with the help of incredible friends and family. My sweet groom and his brother also made the tree candle holders which were used on the reception tables. Throughout our engagement, I was collecting lanterns and cake plates. I also had many sentimental items used that day, like my baby bonnet which was wrapped around my bouquet, and my grandmother’s doilies, which were used on several different tables.

I am terrible when it comes to flower names, but that’s where pinterest and my incredible florist came in handy. I showed them several pictures of succulents, garden roses, and ranunculus, and asked them to make wild bouquets with similar flowers and add lots of greenery. I was blown away! We had a great mix of succulents, lambs ear (my favorite), branches, and several other flowers. They also built our centerpiece flower boxes for the reception, and they turned out even better than I imagined!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert: We actually had five cakes and some Greek desserts. Peggy McKinney made our two-tiered white wedding cake with buttercream frosting, and our one-tiered cakes in peanut butter fudge, strawberry, and key lime. My Aunt Jeana made her homemade pineapple upside down cake (Brian’s favorite). Brian’s mother (who is Greek) and some of the Greek women from church made some other desserts like traditional wedding cookies and baklava.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. In the fifth grade, my family decided to send me to Forest Avenue Academic Magnet School. I was assigned to Mrs. Rodopoulos’ class which just so happens to be the same class Brian was in that year. I didn’t notice Brian right away — It wasn’t until a little friend of mine leaned over in math class one day and asked if I liked Brian as a boyfriend. I said no at first, but once I found out that Brian liked me, I quickly changed my mind! We became boyfriend/girlfriend that day and permanent four-square buddies. Later on that year, our class took a fieldtrip right down the street to the Gayle Planetarium. I was so excited to sit next to Brian and watch the show. Finally, right before the show was over, Brian planted a big kiss on my left temple, and HARD! It almost knocked me out of my seat! We walked around Oak Park after the show with the rest of the class, and I could not stop smiling. My first kiss! :) We lost touch after middle school, but we would run into each other occasionally throughout high school and college. In December of 2010, Brian texted me saying, “I had a dream that we went on a date last night.” I had no idea who it was because I didn’t have Brian’s number in my phone anymore. We talked back and forth for a while until I finally said yes to a date. A few nights later, Brian pulled up to my house having no idea what to expect of the night. I was shocked at how handsome Brian had become, and even more shocked at how perfectly that night went. We laughed a lot, talked about the past, and couldn’t believe that after all this time, we were hanging out again. We have been inseparable ever since then.
Describe the proposal. (From the groom) As Erin was getting ready for a “family photo shoot” with her grandmother, a vintage Studebaker pulled up at the front of the house. A chauffeur knocked on the door and whisked Erin away to the Gayle Planetarium, where I first kissed her 14 years ago. I heard the car door shut and my heart stopped. What were my lines? Where is the ring? She found her way to me and my heart began beating hard. “It’s for her, it’s always been for her,” I thought, “Every beat, every breath. I need this in my life forever.” I dropped to one knee and said, “Under these stars is where I first kissed you, and under these stars is where I want to start the rest of our lives.” It was as easy as that. We took our old seats and just stared at the stars reminiscing on things past and things to come.
In what month did you get married? September
How many guests attended your wedding? About 125
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Patience! Brian and I were so ready to be married that our 7 month engagement felt more like 2 years. We mentioned city hall several times during our engagement, but we stuck it out and it was so worth the wait. Having our wonderful family and friends there to celebrate the beginning of our lives together was the best part of our wedding day.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? $10,000-$25,000
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? Our photographer! Our wedding pictures are the only thing we get to physically keep from that day, and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to capture those sweet moments. Morgan Trinker is creative, talented, and just a genuinely happy person to be around. I highly recommend her to any bride!
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Walking down the aisle. The look on Brian’s face was more than words could ever describe. The love he feels for me and shows me every single day was displayed in front of all of our family and friends in that moment. It felt like we were the only two people there, and I couldn’t stop looking at him. All of time, money, planning and crafting. that went into the wedding doesn’t even compare to that one moment that we will remember for the rest of our lives.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Enjoy it. The planning process can be so tedious at times, but some of the sweetest moments come during your engagement. The bridal showers, engagement parties, and gifts from family and friends are such a fun part of planning a wedding. Live in the moment and celebrate this exciting time with the people who mean the most to you.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Buying a house! We are currently looking for our first home together, which is both exciting and exhausting at the same time. We are eager to find a place of our own and start our own little family down the road.

nicoleyang Written with love by Nicole
14 Comments
  1. avatar Ashleigh reply

    I love love love everything about your wedding, Erin! Just charming!

  2. avatar Kelly C. reply

    I love the details! Beautiful work as always, Morgan!

  3. avatar Lerissa reply

    Wow! This is such a beautiful wedding! & that proposal story was beautiful!

    Every other week my fiance and I talk seriously about pushing up our date. Why wait a year? We’ve been strong so far to keep with our October 2013 date!

  4. avatar kelly @ honor courage commitment reply

    Who are the bridesmaids dresses and bride’s dress by? Love them!

    -kelly

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Kristin + JJ had just two and half months to plan their wedding, but for a couple who has spent most of their relationship long distance, it was the perfect amount of time to pull together the details and say “I do.” The newlyweds filled their outdoor ceremony and reception at the Whitford Plantation with old Southern hymns and sentimental bluegrass. It was the Avett Brothers’ music, after all, who helped Kristin + JJ fall in love. We’re sending out big hugs to Scott Piner who shared this wedding with us!

Since we had only 2.5 months to plan the wedding, I knew I would not have much time to find a dress and that I would have to buy my dress right off the rack and cross my fingers for a very quick seamstress to do any needed alterations. No pressure. While calling many bridal salons in the Raleigh area, my girlfriend and I encountered many shops that would not even consider having me look at their dresses because of my time constraint. Almost defeated, we called one of our thought-to-be long shots and to our surprise, the shop manager answered and graciously welcomed us to come and see their sample dresses that day. The first dress I tried on was an ivory Chantilly lace gown by Vera Wang. I tried on several dresses after, but none compared with the first gown’s blend of the vintage ivory lace with contemporary lines. So I purchased that flawless sample dress for less than half of the marketed price because it was from a previous year’s collection.

How cool are those feather bouts? They were made in memory of Kristin’ grandfather and in celebration JJ, the family’s newest hunter.

Did you write your own vows? No way!! We both felt the same way when we asked each other about the possibility of writing our own vows. We both know how we feel about one another and there was no way either of us could verbalize those thoughts when we were so emotionally charged.

Describe the proposal. We had just finished lunch when I was making brownies for JJ to bring to work. I overheard JJ playing the guitar in the office. I put my brownies into the oven walked with my coffee in hand to sit by JJ and listen to him serenade me. He began to play and sing my beloved ballad by the Avett Brothers; and by this time I had begun to harmonize with his handsome voice. After we finished the song, he crawled over to me and we embraced. The moment was perfect, except that I felt his heart pounding very hard in his chest. As I withdrew to ask him if he was okay, I saw him holding a box out to me and then he asked me. I said yes and we embraced again. I love that our story was low key and involved all my favorite things: baking, coffee, music and my love.

I’m crazy for the antique vases and blue bell jars filled with delicate flowers that K chose as centerpieces.

My most favorite flower is the hydrangea. I have admired them since childhood, when I used to watch my grandmother water and tend to her huge hydrangea bushes in New Jersey. Instead of ornate arrangements we wanted an understated, fresh look. We chose to use a mixture of hydrangeas in blues, greens and whites along with drosophila for added texture and bells of Ireland for height all arranged in the colored canning glass jars JJ and I collected over the two months leading up to the big day.

Describe your wedding cake: Originally, I found myself drawn to the texture and structural designs of a fondant cake, but we were unwilling to sacrifice flavor for design. Our baker, Ali, helped us attain both with a very simple design of a smooth European buttercream frosting while getting the desired texture with simple dots of all sizes and rows of beading.

A sparkly dress and loose hair definitely spell “magical getaway” style to me!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Our relationship was a subject of much prayer, faithfulness of true friends and grace of the Lord. Two and a half years ago, we met through our married friends Lindsay and Bryan. And what do any two married people do when they have two single friends? Try to get them together. Unfortunately at the time, JJ lived in Lake Tahoe and only came home to visit periodically. We met at a couple of times at laid back dinner gatherings with bunches of friends, not getting much time to speak one on one. In fact, one of the first times I really spoke to him was when I was drilling a hole in his nail that he crushed in the garage door the morning prior. Shortly after this, JJ left for a voluntary deployment overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan with the Coast Guard. He emailed me once in the first part of his deployment to fill me on his well-healing nail bed and then returned home during his mid deployment break. During his break, I saw him a couple times at Bryan and Lindsay’s, and we actually were able get to know each other a little better. He returned for the rest of his deployment for the next five months and we exchanged emails getting to know each other. We became and remained friends alone, though. I did not see him until four months after he returned from his deployment, but even through life’s twists and turns, we still ended up at a very familiar place — in Lindsay and Bryan’s backyard laughing and talking by the fire. One night, the boys were playing some familiar songs on the banjo and guitar when JJ started to sing and play my favorite love ballad by the Avett Brothers. Listening to him play and having learned his heart, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him by my side.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Fresh, serene and intimate.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: I couldn’t really name just one detail of the wedding that I could call my favorite. Rather, all the crafts that we incorporated into the ceremony and reception truly made our celebration personal. Some of those crafts included the colored glassware we collected, the fan programs, the votive favors made with sea glass from beaches in Hawaii and sand from Atlantic beach, the Chinese lanterns that JJ and our crew hung the day of the wedding, boutonnières I made from duck feathers that JJ and Bryan had captured together, the veil that I bedazzled by gluing 300 Swarovski crystals onto, the flower girl basket I made and decorated, the wreath that hung on the front door to the plantation, and finally, the family pictures of both our parents and grandparents that we displayed at the entrance.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Both JJ and I tend to migrate to a style that seems to be a marriage of contemporary lines with a vintage feel. It was only natural for that to be tone of the wedding. With my affinity for my mom’s antique aqua canning jars, I chose to use a mixture of them for the centerpieces with simple hydrangeas, wild flowers and candles for the centerpieces. In memory of my beloved grandfather and in celebration of the new addition of a hunter to my family, we used of duck feathers for all the gentlemen’s boutonnieres. Even the music reached into the Southern pocket. The ceremony music was a collection of old Southern hymns played on an acoustic guitar, while the first song JJ and I danced to as a married couple was a folk bluegrass favorite by the Avett Brothers. Another Southern touch was the fans we made and gave to guests to cool themselves with during the course of the outside service. One of the largest Southern elements was the backdrop for our wedding ceremony and reception, the beautiful Whitford Plantation. The plantation is a beautifully grand and historic structure with spacious grounds that were owned by a Confederate colonel John Nathaniel Whitford.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Our biggest challenge for sure was planning the wedding in 2.5 months. This was mainly due to finding an available venue. Our families are of utmost importance to us and we wanted to make sure that all our families were going to be able to come and be a part of our celebration. Looking back, we both would not want to do it any differently. I believe we would literally pull our hair out if we had to spread planning a wedding over any kind of extended period of time.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? I think the most memorable moments of the wedding day were all the little times of respite between JJ and I, when we had a second to take in the fact that the day was actually here. 

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We are looking forward to being in the same town. Our relationship, including the first two and half months of marriage, has been long distance. We have been commuting three hours to see one another, so it will be awesome just to be able come home to one another.

nicoleyang Written with love by Nicole
10 Comments
  1. avatar Lisa reply

    Everything is so lovely and elegant–the cake is my favorite! Major kudos to the bride and groom for planning such a beautiful wedding in such a short amount of time!

  2. avatar Melissa Vause reply

    BEAUTIFUL wedding for just having two months to plan it!!

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  5. avatar Jenny (Captured Photography by Jenny) reply

    Kristen! You looked amazing! And your wedding was adorable :) Congrats my dear!

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  7. avatar Allen J. reply

    I am surprised that any place would discourage you from looking at what they have. Yes, 2.5 months is not a lot of time but surly it is plenty. Your wedding turned out beautiful. I am happy things went well even with that setback.

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