A Wedding to Remember
Today marks Jacobs and my two year wedding anniversary. What a happy two years it has been! It's always so fun to look back through our wedding photos. I thought I would post some of my favorites here on the blog today and share some of the details with you. Happy Anniversary, Love—what an incredible event to kick off our marriage together! Friends and extremely talented photographers, Mary and Adam Rosenbaum of Mary Rosenbaum Photographs documented the day—I can't say enough great things about not only their work but the people they are. Amazing.
One of my very favorite things from the wedding was our invitation. Being a graphic designer, the design of the invitation was one of the most important aspects in the planning process and would set the tone for everything to come. I came up with this idea of having them printed on wood and Cards of Wood helped make that a reality, printing them on sheets of cherry.
My girlfriend, Abigail McGinnis of Abigail T. Calligraphy did all the beautiful calligraphy work that you'll see throughout the event. From the wooden invitations to the magnolia leaf place cards, I put her through the ringer! Her work is inspiring.
I adored my bouquet of “Patience” David Austin garden roses with Dusty Miller “Silver Mist” foliage and brunia berries by Steve at Garden Delights Fine Florist. Jacobs gets me an arrangement of the same flowers every year for our anniversary.
We did a portrait session a couple days before the wedding out at my parents farm. It really took the pressure off getting the "perfect photo" the day of the wedding, we had a BLAST and I love the photos we got.
My dress was an Amsale gown from The White Room in Birmingham, Ala. I wore my mother’s antique earrings and a 1920s locket Jacobs had given me years ago—I wear it practically everyday.
I loved Jacobs dapper Billy Reid coat and tie.
A rusted bucket full of snow and a designer gown ... I mean ...
Our ceremony and reception were both at Houston Station. I loved that guests didn't have to put their coat on, get back out in the winter weather and drive to the reception. Who knew it would end up being a 72 degree day in February?
I loved having the bride’s room at Houston Station filled with old wedding photos from the couple’s families and we all had so much fun getting ready together.
My bridesmaids wore neutral dresses, each different, of their own choosing (I wanted them all to look like themselves, each with their own personal style), while the groomsmen wore their own gray suits and ties by Billy Reid.
Since Jacobs and I had seen each other for photos days before the wedding, there was not much "surprise" when I walked down the isle. I did surprise him though with a bagpiper (that we hid from him through the halls at Houston Station) to play as my dad and I walked in.
We brought in over 100 trees (birch, maple, oak, magnolia and white pine) from McMinnville, Tenn. to transform the space into an alpine winter retreat. The large room at Houston Station was used as the ceremony space and then flipped during the cocktail hour for a seated dinner and dancing. The alter table was was filled with vases of more than 200 white french tulips, flowering white cherry branches and candle lite snow.
We rented wooden farm tables from Southern EventsParty Rental Company that were set end-to-end for a family-style Southern dinner. Guests found their seats with glass water bottle table numbers and hand-made magnolia leaf place cards. Die-cut dinner menus fit perfectly under clear chargers for a dinner in the woods. The tables were adorned with caged flowering tulips bulbs in wintery whites with lily grass in clear cylinders that showed their bulbs (LOVED). These sat on top of cedar rounds that we had cut at the family farm. Low and clustered arrangements of winter kale, tulips, white garden roses, peonies, star of Bethlehem, ranunculus, seeded eucalyptus and brunia berries where placed in the center of the tables. Snow, giant pine cones and mercury glass votives covered the linen table runners.
In lieu of a traditional wedding cake, we chose 14 different old fashioned nine-inch round cakes in various flavors . Each cake was in honor of a member of our immediate family. They were displayed on tree stumps (cut by Jacobs) and antique cake stands (from my mom's collection) and set on a farm table in front of a custom hand-painted mural by local artist, Beth Affolter, of our dogs. The cakes were wrapped in calligraphed bark and the bride and groom’s cake displayed my grandparents’ antique cake topper—who celebrated 67 years of marriage.
Immediately following the ceremony, guests were invited to a candle lit cocktail hour in the venue’s coffee house: Notable Blends. Guests were served a signature hot cocktail of apple cider with spiced rum and cinnamon sticks called “The 100 Acre Wood.” Everyone noshed on Southern hors d’oeuvres served on wooden slab trays, sweet potato biscuits with country ham and peach jam along with duck confit on corn cakes by Franklin's Red Pony Restaurant. Guests mingled to a fiddler and ordered custom hot drinks from an old-fashioned barista.
Our first dance was written and performed by my youngest sister, Abby. Everyone danced to a seven-piece horn band and enjoyed local libations (including Yazoo beer and Arrington Vineyards wine) served by bartenders in suspenders and cream-colored bow ties.
The moose head (whom we affectionately call "Maximoose") hung from a firewood rack with hand-calligraphed escort cards. My brother built the 10 foot by 8 foot rack that held three truck loads of firewood. Maximoose now hangs in our dining room :)
