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Posts tagged ‘southern wedding’

What’s Inspiring Me Now: {Preppy Wedding} {Vintage Meets Southern Wedding} {French Country Wedding}

I like the thought of having semi-regular columns on the blog. I know I have done a few inspiration posts in the past, but they have now gained their own title of “What’s Inspiring Me Now”. With the start of the wedding season (that’s what peeps in the biz call the frenzy of wedding bookings after the holidays), I’m scouring the internet for all kinds of inspiring photos for the upcoming season. Not that any of my clients have asked for these designs. I just think that it is a good thing to stay inspired. Instead of one particular design that has hit this wedding planner’s fancy, I’ve started several boards that I’m in love with. Maybe it’s the thought of spring being here soon, maybe it’s my love of warm weather, maybe I just can’t live in the season that we are in, but the following designs seem to scream spring/summer wedding to me. They are also screaming photo shoot to me…..

1. The Preppy Wedding. There are a lot of things to like about the preppy wedding. My favorite? It’s kind of like less-is-more goes bold. I know that sounds strange, but think about it. It’s clean lines. Not overdone. Just great color contrasts. There are plenty of colors that go along with a preppy design, but my choice would be navy and white. Almost nautical. To be honest, navy has been one of my favorite colors my whole life. And there are an amazing amount of colors that go with navy – think how great pops of bright pink and kelly green would look with this. But, today is all about putting navy and white together. I found this photo on Pinterest that kicked off this design thought: white anemones. While the center of these flowers are technically black, they have a blue tint to them that make me think preppy.

2. The Vintage Wedding Meets Southern Wedding. I have posted several times about the interestingly controversial (among the industry) vintage wedding. Is it in or out, trend or classic, stylish or campy…? Apparently no one can decide. So, I decided to start pinning things for my idea for a vintage wedding. Then, I looked at the board as a whole and I realized that it was taking on a distinctly southern feel. Vintage, yes. But, definitely southern. And I have decided to put the controversy to rest on the whole vintage wedding design: southern does vintage right. Actually, southern does a lot of stuff right. But, particularly vintage. To be sure, this wedding would be quite a home in Alabama or Georgia – my stomping grounds. The photo below was the one that kicked off this board. So effortless and beautiful.

3. French Country Wedding. This is my nod to girly. Or, indulging my need to travel vicariously through photos. I think it would be awesome to bring a little bit of the French countryside to Alabama. I love the movie Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst and the scene with them having a summer soiree under a tent is perfect. A beautiful garden, a relaxed feel, a simple wedding. I feel like Martha Stewart would be all over this wedding (I like to imagine that Martha and I are close). The photo that kicked this board off would be a bunch of lavender. It smells amazing and is gorgeous in bunches and is so French Provincial. Merci!

I’d love to hear your thoughts and what might be inspiring you these days! Until next time… XOXO, Julie

Katherine and Chris’ Wedding: Fantastic Southern Weddings 101

I am so excited to start sharing Katherine and Chris’ wedding photos with you! I say start, because I don’t have photos of all the parts of their wedding quite yet. But, I do have some of the really fabulous parts of the reception that I can show you. Pictures from the ceremony will have to wait just a little. Today, I will start with a little background and a few shout outs.

First and foremost, I have to say that I wish I could be adopted by the Taylor family (Katherine’s family). I loved working with them all (yes, I got to know them all – her mom, dad, sister and two brothers)! I actually never felt like I was at work when I was with them. That’s how welcoming and great they are. And, it’s that quality of hospitality and graciousness that made this wedding so great. Yes, they have really great taste and everything in the wedding was gorgeous. Anyone can have a gorgeous wedding. But, not everyone has a gracious wedding. And, that’s what the pictures can’t show. So, I had to just tell you about it and let you take my word for it :) .

OK – now onto the things I can show pictures of. Katherine wanted to have her wedding reception at the Taylor home in Andalusia, AL. With about 5 acres, including a tennis court, the actual house was not needed or used for any wedding activities. They did have cocktail hour around their pool area. But, after that, the reception was kept on the tennis court which had been tented. With a large guest list, there were overflow tables and seating areas outside the tent throughout the yard.

The design of the wedding came from Beth (Katherine’s mom). She envisioned a timeless and classic wedding. Almost something you would see in the 1950′s. Formal, but not stuffy. Roses. White lights. Candles. What a treat for me to work on that!

Like I said, I don’t have all the wedding photos just yet. These are some that I asked Duane and Ashley Loux of Digital Motion Films (wedding videographer) to take while they were on-site. The official photographs from Vaughn Bowers of Garden Gates Photography aren’t quite ready yet. But, I couldn’t stand it to not share something! Other shout outs have to go to rentals guru and friend Nancy Erickson with Classic Party Rentals. Nancy, Arturo (tent manager) and the rest of the Classic staff went far above and beyond to make sure that this event went off perfectly. Love working with them! Also, Amber Searcy of Naman’s Catering in Mobile, Ala. deserves a major thanks for her hard work and professionalism. The whole Naman’s staff was fantastic. Can’t wait to work with them again. I also had the great pleasure of being introduced to Andalusia-native florist Alan Cotton. Alan is one of the most wonderful florists and all around good person I’ve ever had the great fortune to work with. I can guarantee that there are major hidden gems of vendors in these small towns. I’m considering kidnapping him to be my personal florist in Auburn. :) There are other vendors involved with this wedding, but none that are in these photos. I’ll shout out to them when their photos get here. Just wait until you see photos of their amazing invitations…

So, please enjoy! I will have many more to come!!!

A look into the tent before things got started. The tent was placed over their tennis court. The court was at the bottom of their 5-acre sloping property. Using a clear top tent let guests watch the action going on inside the tent from nearly anywhere on the property.

A look into the tent before things got started. The tent was placed over their tennis court. The court was at the bottom of their 5-acre sloping property. Using a clear top tent let guests watch the action going on inside the tent from nearly anywhere on the property.

Alan Cotton hung 3 enormous arrangements inside the tent to bring the whole look together.

Alan Cotton hung 3 enormous arrangements inside the tent to bring the whole look together.

How a clear top tent transitions from day to night. Fabulous!

How a clear top tent transitions from day to night. Fabulous!

Alan's use of simplicity in the table designs. Came off perfectly.

Alan's use of simplicity in the table designs. Came off perfectly.

More fantastic simplicity on the guest tables.

More fantastic simplicity on the guest tables.

The shrimp and grits bar set up.

The shrimp and grits bar set up.

Jones--45

Jones--63

Katherine - a self proclaimed candy addict - ordered all her favorites for her candy bar.

Katherine - a self proclaimed candy addict - ordered all her favorites for her candy bar.

Grooms cake. Olexa's Catering in Birmingham, Ala. did a fantastic job on the cakes. I can personnally attest to their extreme tastiness. :)

Grooms cake featuring the University of Alabama script "A" logo for Chris' alma mater.

Katherine's cake served as the centerpiece of the cocktail hour. The pleated look of the cake mimicked the pleats on Katherine's dress. The cake topper is a family heirloom that has adorned many cakes in the Taylor family.

Katherine's cake served as the centerpiece of the cocktail hour. The pleated look of the cake mimicked the pleats on Katherine's dress. The cake topper is a family heirloom from Katherine's grandparents.

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