Project Wedding Blog

The setting in this week’s Real Wedding of the Week is just incredible.  Without even seeing it in person, Vanessa and Scott chose The Inn at Palmetto Bluff to host their dream of a good old fashioned Southern wedding.  They couldn’t have chosen a more perfect locale.  The charming architecture and breathtaking landscape of Carolina Lowcountry provided an entirely unique backdrop for their day.  Enjoy the gorgeous photos by Michael Moss. To complement the setting, Vanessa and Scott opted for a neutral palette of pewter, beige, white and green.  The invitations were a custom design by etsy vendor {B.} Designs.  Vanessa layered strips of burlap on the paper goods, for a rustic effect. 

See the full feature in our Real Wedding Gallery, and read more of Vanessa and Scott’s story down below.

Photographs by Michael Moss

Venue: The Inn at Palmetto Bluff

Day-Of Coordination: Weddings with Leah

Flowers by Garden on the Square

Invitations by {B.} Designs

Cake Topper by YourTops

Cake by Signe’s Bakery

From the Bride: Scott and I met at a wedding!  A good friend of mine, who also happened to be a good friend of Scott’s sister, was getting married in October of 2008.   Both Scott and I ended up going stag and happened to find ourselves on the same corner of the dance floor when the band started to play one of the night’s inevitable slow songs, “At Last” by Etta James.  Instead of retreating to the bar with other singles in the crowd, and inspired by Scott’s parents’ endless energy on the floor, I asked Scott to dance.  A year later we were in Hawaii celebrating our one year anniversary.

Scott’s family has vacationed in Point Au Baril, Ontario, Canada for years. A vacation getaway passed down from generation to generation, several weeks out of every summer, the entire family makes it a point to get away from the rest of the world to relax and lavish in the natural, serene beauty of Point Au Baril to focus on the most important thing in this life: family. In the summer of 2010 I was invited along.  Mid week I was sitting down on the dock, book in hand, oversized straw hat shielding my face from the afternoon sun, when Scott came down from the house and asked me if I would like to go out and see the lighthouse. I jumped at the chance to go exploring and we hopped aboard a tiny wooden boat. In no time we were speeding across the inlet when I realized I had forgotten to grab shoes, Scott said it didn’t matter. His family had known the lighthouse keeper for years and he had called ahead. As we approached the lighthouse I was taken aback by how perfect it seemed perched where the water met the land, its red and white hues standing boldly against a backdrop of bright blue sky. We docked the boat and headed in. We were greeted at the front door with giant hugs from the tiny lighthouse keeper and her husband. We made our way to the back of the house where I was ushered up a tall ladder to the very top of the light house, out a small hatch, and back into the sun. We stood at the top of the deck, hand in hand beside the brilliant lamp which would guide boats back to Point Au Baril once the sun went down. It was so beautiful and such a perfect day!  Much to my surprise, Scott turned to me and said, “You know. I brought you out here for a reason…”, then he dropped to one knee, and pulled out a beautiful wooden ring box. I immediately burst into tears, I was completely shocked, and had absolutely no idea that he was going to propose. The next few minutes were a total blur. We kissed, I cried, and he slipped his great grandmother’s wedding ring onto my finger after I finally managed to get out a “YES, of course I will marry you!!!” When we went back downstairs, the lighthouse keeper presented us with a bottle of champagne and two antique glasses.  We found a place to sit on the rocks, drinking our champagne, and taking it all in while celebrating our future.

We wanted a good old fashioned Southern wedding… and we found the perfect place during a random google search.  The minute we saw the Chapel at the Inn at Palmetto Bluff we knew that was it!  We called and found that October 8, 2011 was booked… so we booked the very next weekend sight unseen and its a good thing we did!  It ended up pouring rain on October 8th in Bluffton, but on our big day, October 15th, the sun was out and a nice cool breeze lazed across the lawn.  It could not have been more perfect!  We actually planned our entire wedding from San Diego, before moving to Indiana.  Quite a challenge!  But we pulled it off and I have to say it was pretty incredible pulling onto the property, having never seen it, feeling like we were coming home, and having it not only meet but exceed all expectations!

We picked a natural palette of colors to complement the absolutely stunning grounds and scenery of our venue. Our invitations were custom made from a designer on Etsy that helped me to create one of my favorite elements for our wedding.  We used dark grey and ivory papers with burlap bands and unique touches that made it “us”.  The florals featured oversized white dahlias and draping greenery reminiscent of the huge Spanish Oaks covered in moss that originally caught our eye and drew us to the locale.  The guys wore lightweight tan suits with grey tennis shoes that matched the bridesmaid’s dresses.  The palette reminded us of the color of sand and the color of water on the May River at twilight. My dress and jewelry had a very vintage feel with a soft, understated Southern elegance.  I did a lot of the décor myself, using burlap and twine.  I even made my own clutch from burlap and a vintage bridal headband I found at an antique store!  We had a trolley transport the wedding party to add a little Southern thrill.  Scott’s two best friends played acoustic guitars and my little sister sang me down the aisle to “Make You Feel My Love.”  We had about 100 guests in the tiny chapel, filling it to the brim.  Fishbowl vases were filled with an assortment of flowers and hung on the end of each pew.  Our cake was another one of our custom touches! Scott’s dad makes custom vintage wedding cake toppers and he made an intricately detailed replica for us- including details like Scott’s beard and tennis shoes, along with the exact details of my dress.  Our friends and family came from all over to join us in Bluffton and I think it was an experience that none of us will forget!

Tags: beige, pewter, rustic, South Carolina, Southern, vintage.

Holiday weddings are just so romantic…. and so fun to share during this festive season!  Today we’ve got a classic wedding by one of our fave duos- Paper Antler (photographers and philanthropists extraordinaire). Kristen and Matt wed in Auburn, Alabama, where they met in college. The day was coordinated in navy, fuchsia, and black against a backdrop of wreaths and Christmas lights.

The church was a picturesque setting with poinsettias, Christmas trees, and garland adding to the already majestic altar.  According to their photographers, Kristen and Matt were laughing, having fun, and just purely enjoying each other’s company the entire day.  At the reception, there were classic fabrics and candelabras gussying up the space, but more than anything it was a celebration of love and fun.  Two of the highlights: an amazing macaroni and cheese bar and wild salsa dancing on the dance floor!

… And at the end, Kristen and Matt’s exit was accompanied by a gorgeous sparkler send-off!

Photographs by Paper Antler

Ceremony Site: Auburn First Baptist Church

Reception Music by A-Town A-List

Tags: Christmas, holiday, Navy, Southern, sparklers.

Mary Kate and John’s Austin wedding has that feeling of the classic South, yet the color palette and details were perfectly unique.  We were taken by the blues and greens, and of course the beautiful Barr Mansion setting.  Katherine O’Brien did an extraordinary job capturing the day in creative film and digital photos!  Each bridesmaid selected her own ivory dress, but they were coordinated with blue ribbon and the gorgeous hydrangea and succulent bouquets by  STEMS Floral Design.  Love those blue nails in the pic below!Mary Kate and John first bonded over a similar taste in music and they definitely had music on the mind as they planned their day.  During the ceremony, Barton Strings played Over the Rainbow for the processional and Here Comes the Sun for the recessional.   Along with their officiant, Sarah de la Fuente, the two designed a custom ceremony that spoke to them.  They said their vows on the scenic grounds of the Barr Mansion.  The reception, held in the Barr Mansion’s modern ballroom, featured a rainbow of rustic florals and lots of dancing to local Austin band, Soul Track Mind.  Their music was a hit with guests!Mary Kate and John married on what would have been her grandparents’ 61st wedding anniversary.  To honor them, she baked 700 peanut butter cookies (her grandmother’s recipe) to give to guests as favors!

Read more from the bride just below or {click here} to see the full feature…

Photos by Katherine O’Brien Photography

Venue, Event Coordination & Cake by Barr Mansion

Bride’s Hair & Makeup by Snodene Blakenely

Bridal Gown by Modern Trousseau from Unbridaled

Invitations & Programs by Bella Figura

Ceremony Musicians: Barton Strings

Officiant: Sarah de la Fuente

Florals by STEMS Floral Design

Reception Band: Soul Track Mind

From the Bride:

The weather was perfect considering the summer we had. The week of our wedding was the first break we had from 100+ degree temperatures all summer long.

One of my favorite moments of the day was seeing for the first time the bouquets that Abby Daigle of STEMS put together. When we met to discuss the flowers, I didn’t have a concrete idea of what I wanted. I told her the colors that I wanted in my bouquet and the bridesmaids’ bouquets and she was able to help me pick out some flowers that would include all those colors. Then she took it from there and put together the perfect bouquets. I could not have been happier with them!

We were very glad we chose to see each other before the ceremony. It calmed our nerves. And despite the fact that our wedding party was all watching with our photographers Katherine and Jeff taking pictures, it was still a very personal moment.

My father has a huge baseball card collection from his childhood that he has kept in great condition over the years. On the day of the wedding he gave John, John’s father, and his groomsmen each a baseball card from his collection. They were all cards of Red Sox players as John and his groomsmen all grew up in the Boston area and love the Red Sox.  John and the guys also toasted with John’s favorite whiskey before our first look photos.

I gave John Ghostbuster cufflinks the day of the wedding. It has been his favorite movie since he was a child. His grandmother has lots of stories of him pretending to be a Ghostbuster when he was younger.

The ballroom where our reception was held was newly built, finished just a few months before our wedding. Just before we got engaged in June of 2010, lightning struck the original Barr Mansion ballroom and burned it to the ground. It had been a beautiful structure and was a huge loss for Barr Mansion. Right away they set out to begin the rebuilding process. We were confident that they would rebuild it to be just as beautiful as the original. And they did!

Although we wanted a short ceremony, we wanted it to be meaningful to us. We chose Sarah de la Fuente to officiate our wedding because she was more than happy to help us write a ceremony that spoke to us. It was really special to know that we didn’t just write our own vows, but helped create the entire ceremony.

John and I bonded over similar tastes in music when we first met, so it was important to us to have a great band for our reception. In Austin we have a great local band called Soul Track Mind and we were thrilled that they agreed to play at our reception. Our guests could not stop complimenting them long after the wedding was over.

Our friends and family gave some great toasts during the reception. Most were planned but a few folks jumped up on stage without warning, including the father of one of my bridesmaids who told us to “live long and prosper.” John’s brother (and best man) also read a beautiful poem written by their grandfather for our wedding, as he was not able to make the trip from Massachusetts.

One of the funnier moments of the night was towards the end of the reception. My father and his friends have a history of dancing the Gator as they do in the movie Animal House during each other’s wedding receptions. They continued the tradition at our reception when our band played the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.” They were a huge hit.

As a result of the hot, dry weather we had all summer we were in a burn ban so we could not have a sparkler send off at the end of the night. In place of sparklers we bought a few hundred glow sticks. John and I have gone to quite a few concerts where we threw around glow sticks so it was very appropriate for us.

We did not want to take on a lot of little DIY projects for our wedding, mostly because the Barr Mansion grounds really don’t need much in the way of decorations. But I did know I wanted to honor my paternal grandparents as we were getting married on what would have been their 61st wedding anniversary. My grandmother was a great cook and our favorite treats growing up were her cookies, specifically molasses cookies and peanut butter cookies. So the week of the wedding, using her recipes, my sisters, bridesmaids, and I made over 700 cookies as favors for our guests. It ended up being quite a project but I am glad we did it!

Tags: Barr Mansion, blue, classic, green, Katherine O'Brien photography, rustic, Southern, succulents.

With Thanksgiving just a week away, we thought Audra and Cory’s fall, country-chic wedding at the Cedarwood Mansion would be just the thing for you… We’re sort of swirling in the all the Southern charm and romance, glued to the gorgeous imagery by David & Tammy, and hanging on Audra’s every word in the story she tells below!  But first, this photo of Audra on the swing…? Come on… a total dream…

Congratulations Audra & Cory!

♥

Photos by David & Tammy

Venue, Flowers, Cake, & Event Design by The Historic Cedarwood Mansion

Bride’s Makeup by Lisa Proctor

Bride’s Hair by Mary Malone

From the Bride: If someone were to ask, “Were you raised in a barn?” I’ve always been able to answer with a proud “Yes Sir!” My dad was a quarter horse trainer on a 200 acre East Texas Ranch. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better childhood.  My dad was also a romantic cowboy, who became an avid rose grower to express his ever-growing love for my mother, and eventually me, his only daughter. Thus, I define my heritage as “country elegance” and I knew I wanted my wedding to reflect that.

After moving to Nashville and falling in love with Cory…my charming South Carolina gentleman…we knew Music City would be the best place for the wedding, as families could meet halfway. When I discovered the Historic Cedarwood Mansion, I knew that it was the perfect place for our ceremony. It effortlessly embodied our crock-pot of Southern roots. A stately antebellum plantation house on the historic registry, Mason jar candles and vintage chandeliers dripping from oak trees, sprawling rose gardens, and a big red barn. I was home. What better place for Texas to marry South Carolina, with Tennessee as a witness?

Luckily, this dream venue, also happened to be an oasis of wedding planning. Cedarwood was all-inclusive and has recently become the belle of the Southern wedding ball and I found that their reviews were as spectacular as the property. Flowers, Cake, Catering, Ceremony Musicians, Reception, Invitations, Programs. It was all a one stop shop…and the ladies in charge served up timeless elegance laced with burlap. Cedarwood made my country chic imaginations come to life in just two short planning sessions.

When I arrived on the property the day of the wedding, I ran my fingers lightly across stunning vintage decorations and breathtaking floral arrangements while whispering “This is so beautiful.” I felt as if I were sneaking upon someone else’s wedding (thus the need to whisper).  It was as if they plucked a scene straight from one of my farm-raised dreams….and improved upon it.

My husband and I chose to see each other before the ceremony. I’d do it that way a million times over. I remember him standing at the end of a cobblestone walkway that lead from the side door that I snuck out of.  He had his back to me. He was framed on his right by a charming little swing,  that was all dressed in ribbons for our day–and on his left was a kiss from the perfect amount of sunshine. I was nervous as I approached him, as though I hadn’t sought out that face a million times in our two years of courting. When I finally arrived close enough to brush my hand around his right arm, he turned and tears welled up in his gentle blue eyes, just as quickly as his hands popped out from the pockets to embrace me. “You look amazing,” he managed to squeak out. After letting him soak me in like a vision that could disappear at any moment, I lifted up the dainty lace pattern that danced around the bottom edge of my dress, to reveal: cowboy boots. We both laughed at how oddly fitting they seemed to be, under such a feminine dress.

It wasn’t long before my dad was walking me down the aisle in those boots, with 22 bridal party members and countless trees smiling on me on as I walked towards the love of my life. We read our handwritten vows under a canopy of nature. It was the most fitting cathedral for us.

Tags: country-chic, david & tammy photography, fall, rustic, Southern, tennessee, the historic cedarwood mansion.

Andrew Thomas Clifton’s photos tell such a beautiful story…
A story of Toyin and Daniel’s exquisite Nigerian-American wedding in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Toyin looked ravishing in a Claire Pettibone gown… the Orange Blossom.
The ceremony took place in the back yard of a colonial style home built in the 1930’s, called Little Gardens.There was so much rich family heritage incorporated into the day… Both of their families are Nigerian, so it was filled with both Nigerian and American traditions. Blue is the bride’s favorite color, while brown is the groom’s favorite color.  They wove these two hues with splashes of orange for a- traditionally colorful- Nigerian wedding feel.One of our favorite photos of the day was Toyin giving her father a big smooch.  We love how Andrew captured such memorable close-ups. 

Like is customary in both Nigerian and American weddings… there was tons of dancing all evening long!

Happy wishes to Toyin + Daniel!

Photographs by Andrew Thomas Clifton

Bridal gown by Claire Pettibone

Bridesmaid’s Dresses by Bari Jay

Bride’s Hair by Shana Nunnelly of Honeecomb Natural Hair

Bride’s Makeup by Alicia

Venue: Little Gardens

Flowers and Cake by Magic Moments Inc.

Tags: blue, brown, Claire Pettibone, Nigerian wedding, orange, Southern, The Love Deluxe.

Kristin and John’s Austin wedding was chock-full of charm and inspiration…  We’re so delighted to share their day with you!  The noontime ceremony and brunch reception were photographed by our favorite Austin-based photography duo, The Nichols.  The couple wed at the Barr Mansion, an exquisite organic event venue on acres of lush green property.  Kristin looked fresh and stunning in a Paloma Blanca ballgown, while the bridesmaids wore violet dresses by J. Crew.  All carried beautiful pink peony bouquets…  We love the way their berry and violet-hued wedding emblem design tied together the color palette and gave that hint of Southern charm. 

A warm rainbow of ranunculus gave life to the reception tables inside the Artisan Ballroom, a rustic building with floor to ceiling windows.  Guests were treated to a classic cake, a strawberry torte, and mini herb garden favors.   A sweet congratulations to Kristin and John!  You can see more from their wedding in our gallery!

Photographs by The Nichols

Venue and Cakes: Barr Mansion

Bridal Gown by Paloma Blanca

Bridesmaid’s Dresses by J. Crew

Band: The Lost Pines

Tags: Barr Mansion, berry, pink, pink peonies, ranunculus, Southern, The Nichols, violet.

I can’t stop marveling at this nearly all-DIY wedding!  The bride, Megan, is an aspiring floral designer, so she created the bouquets and arrangements and hand made so many other sweet things like drink flags and bunting!  Joined by Adam, the handsome groom, the couple wed outdoors at the Rye Patch in Aiken, South Carolina.  The ceremony was followed by a charming picnic reception.  Delight in all the DIY goodness below!  A special thanks to A Fresh Take Photography for sending this our way ♥

Photos by A Fresh Take Photography

Catering by Douceur De France

Bridal Gown by Kittychen Couture

Tags: bunting, DIY, outdoor, picnic, Southern.

SMS Photography sent over this pretty Southern wedding earlier this week.  When I saw the sweet couple (Ben + Blair) and the unique artichoke and succulent florals, I had to share it!  Check out the lanterns in the  ceremony set-up and the brightly lit trees for some inspired lighting ideas, too…

Photography: SMS Photography

Venue: Green Pastures Restaurant

Event Planner: Clink

Florals: Private Foral

Tags: austin, black, green, Green Pastures, SMS Photography, Southern, succulents.