Southern Weddings

I just love when we get weddings with a surprising pop of color! Maggie + Alec’s wedding decor incorporated a lot of vintage charm, but I am just head over heels with their blue accents. It’s at once electric and romantic! If their color scheme has you pumped to see the rest of this wedding, too, I’ll go ahead and let you know that M + A don’t disappoint. With tradition in their hearts, but a love for the rolling Texas hills, the newlyweds decided to bring their ceremony outside. Maggie loved the stained glass windows at the altar and we have to agree. “The old, gothic church doors and stained glass church windows gave us the perfect combination of God’s presence in our vows and the beautiful creation,” said Maggie. Among the other heartfelt additions were the bouquet pin, gold ring and handkerchief that Maggie carried down the aisle — all belonged to her great grandmother and namesake.

Big thanks to The Nichols to sharing this lovely day with us!

Vividian Design Studio of Kerrville, Texas created much of the floral décor. The color palette was soft ivory and white with rich shades of blue and vintage silver. My bouquet was a romantic mix of white peonies, vendela roses, white majolica spray roses, white hydrangea and white ranunculus. The stems were wrapped in antique French blue ribbon that my mom had collected and a silver name pin that belonged to my great-grandmother and namesake, Maggie was added to the ribbon. My bridesmaid’s carried bouquets of blue delphinium, muscari, cornflower, dusty miller and blue anemone. Our beautiful flower girls had headbands of fresh flowers and the men worn boutonnières of white anemone. The head tables at the reception were decorated with random pieces of antique silver serving as both candleholders for the beeswax candles and unique vases for ivory roses and hydrangea. The guest tables were decorated with antique and vintage crochet, silver, cut glass, books, clocks and wedding cake toppers. These were accented with ivory hydrangea, roses, dusty miller, spray roses ranunculus and a touch of blue delphinium.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? We did not do a “first look” because we were pretty traditional in our approach to our wedding. We wanted Alec’s first look to be as I walked down the aisle with my dad. This was difficult to accomplish at an outdoor wedding on a hilltop. The church doors that we used for the ceremony were the perfect solution to the “moment” that was very important to us both. We wanted my dress to be a complete surprise so Alec never even saw the dress before the doors opened at the ceremony. His reaction was perfect!

Our wedding was filled with so many wonderful details. My personal favorite was the unique stained glass windows that stood behind us during the ceremony. The three antique stained glass church windows were narrow and ten feet tall and were simple and elegant against the background of the gorgeous Texas Hill Country vista. The windows were the only “decorations” that we had for the ceremony. On the day of our wedding, it was predicted to rain heavily and the morning was overcast and drizzling. The rain stopped just an hour or so before the ceremony and the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the stained glass just as we began our vows.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? 
We did not have any particular readings at the ceremony, but the pastor spoke at length from several scriptures. We did have one of Alec’s groomsmen sing “Ten Thousand Reasons” by Matt Redman. We love the lyrics that speak to praising the Lord for all of His blessings to us and His overwhelming love for us when we don’t deserve it.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. 
We used only one song as the parents, grandparents, and my bridesmaids walked down the aisle, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by Bethany Dillon. I walked down the aisle to an instrumental of “Before the Throne of God Above” by the King’s Chamber Orchestra. Adam Naylor, one of Alec’s groomsmen, sang “Ten Thousand Reasons” by Matt Redman during the ceremony. The recessional song was a mash-up of “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and “God Bless Texas” by Little Texas in recognition of our heritages from the proud states of Alabama and Texas. We walked into the reception to “Crazy Little Thing called Love” by Michael Buble. Alec and I danced to “When You Say You Love Me” by Josh Groban. I picked the song I wanted for my first dance when I was in middle school. After all the years of practice dancing in the living room with my family, it was a surreal moment in my wedding to actually dance to the song with my husband. My father and I danced to “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw and Alec and his mom danced to “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. 
My dress was actually the first one I tried on! It was in a small bridal shop in my hometown of Boerne, Texas. I really liked it, but I didn’t want to buy the first dress I saw! After spending another day or two trying on dresses with my sister and my mom all over San Antonio, I realized that I kept choosing the exact same style of dress that I had first tried on at Beatitude. We returned home to Boerne and I purchased both the dress and the veil from my hometown store!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? 
Our wedding was all about the Southern details. I guess you could describe it as classic Southern elegance with charming vintage accents. The décor for the reception and the cocktail hour was tarnished antique silver, accents of old white paint pieces and the comfort of tea-stained crochet. The guests picked up an antique skeleton key tied to a tag with a clock face stamped to a specific time. The tables were decorated with ivory silk tablecloths topped with antique crocheted table accents with a combination of two centerpieces. Half of the tables were antique silver champagne buckets filled with ivory and white hydrangeas, roses, ranunculus and dusty miller surrounded by antique cut glass sherbet glasses of varying old patterns filled with floating candles. The other half of the tables were decorated with heavy antique silver trays topped with vintage wedding cake toppers from the 1940s and 1950s collected by my mom. The cake toppers were under a glass cloche and were surrounded by a ring of ivory spray roses. Each table was accented by old books of varying shades of our accent color of French blue and each table had an antique, silver Big Ben Westclox clock. The clock for each table was set to a specific time and this corresponded to the clock face stamp on the escort cards. Another Southern tradition with a twist was the ceremony. We wanted the ceremony to be in a church, but we also wanted to be outside in order to take advantage of the venue’s views of the Texas Hill Country. The old, gothic church doors and stained glass church windows gave us the perfect combination of God’s presence in our vows and the beautiful creation. It was a church without walls. I also continued the bridal traditions from my family by carrying a gold ring of my namesake and great-grandmother, Maggie Webster and a ring of my grandmother’s, Pat Webster. I also carried a tatted handkerchief made by Maggie that all my cousins have also carried on their wedding day. The greatest Southern tradition that was present at our wedding was the tremendous of amount of help we had from family and friends for setup and for cleanup. There were at least thirty people that spent hours helping to make our day perfect! We literally could not have accomplished either the setup or the clean up without their kindness and show of Southern hospitality and love.

I’m most happy we splurged on the vintage pieces from Revive Vintage Rentals, the doors and windows for the ceremony, the unique tables for the cakes, the wooden head tables, upholstered couches and chairs for seating and various accent pieces gave our wedding a warm, personalized feel as if our family had brought the furniture from our home. All of the details of this wedding were taken care of beautifully by Revive Vintage Rentals. They worked diligently to make every detail unique and so special.

It took me awhile to decide if I wanted to do just cake or cake and cupcakes. I love red velvet cupcakes, but in the end I decided just to go with a traditional cake. The bride’s cake was a simple three-layer, round, white cake with buttercream icing and a simple pattern of random linear etchings. It was topped with ivory roses and hydrangeas. The groom’s cake was a layered, square chocolate cake with chocolate icing. It was covered in crumbled Oreos and chocolate covered strawberries. We added a punch bowl of strawberries and chocolate sauce nearby for those that might want a little more or just the fruit. Both of the cakes were made by a small place in my hometown called Bumdoodler’s. It is hard to find better tasting icing or cake anywhere. My sister’s diet is gluten free and so we had a whole three-layered cake made completely from Rice Krispies, which was a huge hit with everyone.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. 
Alec and I met working as counselors at Pine Cove Christian Summer Camps in Tyler, Texas. Alec went to the University of Alabama for undergrad and I went to the University of Texas at Austin. We were both counselors during the summer, but we didn’t go on our first date until the NCAA football National Championship between Alabama and Texas at the Rose Bowl in January. He asked me to go to dinner with him the night before the game and so we went on our first date in California! We officially started dating in February after he asked my father’s permission.
Describe the proposal. 
The proposal was perfect! We were on vacation in Hawaii with my family and we spent the day just relaxing on the beach. In the afternoon, the girls were treated to a massage at a nice resort and I thought Alec was snorkeling with my brother. After our massages, we drove to a new beach to pick up my brother and Alec. My dad and I walked down the beach to find their snorkeling spot and, to my great surprise, Alec was standing by a blanket on the sand all dressed up. My dad hugged me, and then Alec very humbly and sweetly asked me to marry him as the sun was setting on the Pacific. We were on the beach made famous by South Pacific on the North Shore of Kauai. We brought home a small jar of sand from the spot on the beach where I said, “Yes!”
In what month did you get married? 
March
How many guests attended your wedding? 
250
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? 
I am actually currently in my first year of medical school in San Antonio, so it was difficult to balance planning the wedding and the details with studying for school. Thankfully, my mother and bridesmaids were incredibly helpful with all the details that needed to be completed. Also, Alec was living in Alabama for the first half of our engagement, so it was difficult to coordinate some events that involved his input.
What range did your wedding budget fall into? 
$50,000-$75,000
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? 
I have so many moments from that day that I will never forget, but I have one that stands out. Our wedding ceremony was at the top of a hill on the open hillside. We had these old wooden church doors set up at the end of the aisle that were closed when I was driven up to the site. I was so nervous as I got out of the car and got ready to walk down the aisle. My dad took my arm and the ushers opened the door. All I could see was Alec’s face. He was in tears and I never lost eye contact with him as I walked toward him. All my anxiety was completely gone as soon as I saw his face.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Ask those around you for help. There is no way you can plan a wedding by yourself and stay sane. Use the knowledge base that is already around you. Also, figure out the details that you absolutely want and then try to be flexible on some aspects. It will make it less stressful for everyone.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? 
I will be in medical school for several more years and Alec found a job in the oil and gas field, which was an absolute blessing from God. We pray that as a couple we serve and bless those around us and continue to run the race that God has set out in our future.

Written with love by Nicole