The Flowers
Greg Foster in Spartanburg did our flowers, and he did a fabulous job! Greg is a true artist, so I often felt like my specific requests were lost in his view of the overall picture he wanted to create. But I had garden roses, or cabbage roses, in the bouquets, and hydrangeas, which was most important!
Bridesmaids' bouquets...didn't anticipate the dark pink roses, but they definitely added a pop of color!
My bouquet- exactly what I wanted. Note the pink cabbage roses...I saw these at a wedding show in Asheville and fell in love with them once I realized peonies would be out of season.
Though Greg was unsure about wreathes in the hot July sun, I love having something on the church doors to announce "There's a wedding here today!". I thought these were beautiful, though I wish they'd had a little more color.
When I walked in Event Rentals the Wednesday before the wedding to rent a last-minute cake stand, I noticed the trees below as I was walking out the door. Greg had mentioned using trees before, and I asked the Event Rentals folks if those were the ones he planned to use. Much to my dismay, I had learned that they had not yet been reserved! Greg has a great relationship with the rental company, and generally just kind of picks and chooses what he needs right before the event. I of course freaked out slightly, but we got the trees reserved, and they turned out to be gorgeous with all the greenery and lights!
church altar with the trees on left and right sides
Programs and Guest Book
Our dear friend Amanda was a lifesaver in laying out and designing our programs. I waited a bit late to start the programs, so she was wonderful to find a printer to do what we wanted in plenty of time to get them back and tie the ribbons! Ribbons that I had kind of forgot we needed...that sweet Amanda remembered and we had shipped overnight. Thank goodness for online ribbon sites! The ribbon was cheaper than the shipping!
We went with my monogram on the front (I know many people do their married monogram, but when the program is distributed, the couple is not married yet! An old, traditional rule I stuck to.), with half of the programs tied in pink ribbon and the other half tied in green.
I put the guest book together at Kodak Gallery , and I used the poem that Richard had written as his proposal as the text and guide for the pictures. It now sits on our coffee table, and I love that it has fun pictures from the time of our dating and engagement and well wishes from our wedding guests!
The Clothes
I originally had the idea of using pale pink bridesmaids dresses and lots of ivory flowers with gold accents, but my florist thought that for July, bright colors would make more of a statement. And green is a little easier to wear anyway! So we decided to go with green bridesmaids dresses and pink flowers...and thus begin a several month-long search for the perfect bridesmaid dress. Only to conclude- it doesn't exist! But I loved ours from Simple Silhouettes, ordered from the Bella Bridesmaid in Greenville.
They were a little pricey, but once Suzanne, my maid of honor, and I found them after trying on at least a 100, we were just happy to have one we could agree on!
They all had to be altered to get rid of excess fabric in the tummy...the one downfall to the dress!
The guys wardrobing presented a different challenge. We knew we wanted fun cummerbunds and bow ties that Richard could give as the groomsmen gift but didn't love the Vineyard Vine offerings. So we went with R. Hanauer, a company out of Rock Hill that does beautiful woven bow ties. We were initially told they had run out of the paisley fabric we picked, Chip at Smith and James in Greer thankfully convinced them to do a custom order!
Our adorable little flower girl dresses were found at the Gymboree outlet by my bridesmaid and good friend Jessica Coleman, who's daughter Ella was one of our flower girls. I ordered extra bridesmaid dress fabric and replaced the light green band on the bottom of the dress with a matching one, added a satin ribbon bow, and had the chest area monogrammed in pink. They turned out to be just perfect!
Darcy in her cute little dress
Amanda, who did our programs, and Darcy's mom, made the precious seersucker jon jon that ring bearer Jackson wore. It got shipped back and forth to Minnesota, where Jackson and mom Kim live, to ensure perfect fit. I had it monogrammed in bright blue, and Kim found all the sweet accessories to go along with it.
Kim getting Jackson ready
And last but not least...my dress! I found my dress after much searching at Poinsett Bride in Greenville, where the fabulous Paula and Vicki took great care of not only me, but my mom and Mrs. Webb as well! I would HIGHLY recommend them!
I went over Thanksgiving weekend with my mom and Meghanne, as Poinsett Bride was having a sample sale. Once I tried on the dress, I knew it was a definite contender...and then after trying on several others, I knew I had found the one! It was a Priscilla of Boston, and was included in the sale (praise the Lord...I wouldn't have been able to get it otherwise!). It combined so many elements I'd loved in other dresses- a small amount of beaded detail, banding through the mid-sections, silk satin fabric, a V-back, ball gown skirt and best of all....POCKETS! I loved it and sometimes wish I could just wear it around the house.
the back
And my accessories all had meaning one way or another- the shoes were bought during a snowy weekend in January with Kim when all wedding planning efforts were thwarted by the weather, the garter was my great-grandmother's (and I pinned my grandmother's KD pin to it...a huge Panhellenic violation considering I'm a Theta but hopefully we can let that slide), and the earrings were bought at Poinsett Bride the day of my portrait. And the bracelet I just found in my jewelry box, having previously worn it to a debutante ball that Jeff was escorting in. And it ended up being just what I needed!
shoes were Van Eli (one of Richard's mom's favorite lines!) and were super comfortable
Final thoughts on the ceremony, reception and honeymoon to come soon!
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