Maggie + Mike {Burke Manor Inn Wedding}

Beautiful bride Maggie tied the knot to her handsome husband, Mike, this past summer in an intimate ceremony on the grounds of North Carolina's Burke Manor Inn where Faces in Focus Photography was on hand to capture the entire day.  Maggie was kind enough to fill us in on all the details of her darling Southern Wedding!

Tell us a little bit about how you met your husband...
My husband and I met on Match.Com…. Yup it really does work. I feel in love with a picture where the sun was in his eyes. That bald head of his was really the magic ticket. Honestly it does help that he is a sexy man, but his words in the profile he wrote went straight to my heart.

How did he propose? How long were you engaged for?

Mike proposed to me at Winter Green Ski Resort this past January. Martin Luther’s King’s birthday. A year prior he took me there as my first time ever to ski. I broke my ring finger. This January as we started to get all of our gear on he told me to wait a minute.. He walked into the bedroom came around the corner bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him. And I quote this is his proposal “even know that you are a pain in my ass, I love you more than life itself and cannot imagine my life without by my side” Will you marry me? AS I stand there in my ski wear with face and head gear on and he could not see my face. Only my eyes I was floored. Yeah we spoke of rings etc…. but never did I expect that. We were engaged for 7 months before we said our dos. And keep in mind that on our wedding day of August 27^th we had a hurricane, Days prior a heart quake and one week to the day my father had a heart attack where he got two stints but in, but was still there to give me away and we had our very first dance EVER.

Your wedding was filled with gorgeous details. Did any have special meaning? What was your favorite?
The flowers had special meaning. The girl who did them lived outside the box as I asked her to do. I gave her a clear canvas to show her talents but at the same time my touch. The flowers were done in Japanese lettering to match my shoulder tattoo. It means double happiness and love. And those are what we stood on when we said our own vows to each other. We did a sand ceremony as well that I wrote myself and the class that we poured our sand in matched the flowers and my tattoo.

How did you choose your venue?
We choose the B&B to be sure that all of our family was together and not spread apart. As they come from far and in between we wanted our family close and to share memories and to make new ones.

Tell us a little bit about your menu...
Well I am a very picky eater. And our family and friends all love meat and potatoes. So we had prime rib, salad, mixed garden veggies and a potato bar with all the fixings. It was delicious. There are still people talking about the food and it as over three months ago. We had wine imported in from our engagement night that we later found out that is not easy to find. We had NY wine sent to us as well. Each had a meaning and those were shared with everybody.

What’s your favorite picture from your wedding?
My favorite pic is where my father and I are dancing. As I said that was the very first time I ever danced with him and considering he had a heart attack one week prior to that. Well I just about didn’t get that chance of a life time. My father raised me from 15 years old until the time I was 17 by himself. Until I gave him a shot of courage to ask someone out who now is my step mother. Yes, I hooked my dad up…

Out of the entire day, what was the most memorable moment?
Out of the entire day... sitting here with tears in my eyes as I type this is that I shared special, priceless moments with my father. We danced to Britney Spears all the way to Pit Pull. His hands in the air and feet off the ground he never skipped a beat and told me that it was the best day of his life. My dreams weren’t just answered or my blessings didn’t stop when god gave me a guardian angel with Mike…. They continued when he spared my dad’s life to give me memories that only very few of us ever get a chance to have with their fathers. If you knew more about me you would clearly understand why my dad is my world. And the best memorable moment with Mike was when cake went down the front of my halter wedding dress between my cleavage and he went right in after it in front of god and everybody. That was a memory that I don’t just have it is also on DVD…..

Looking back on your engagement and wedding, is there any advice you would give to brides in the planning process?

Take one day at a time. Don’t let anybody talk you into something that you or your soon to be husband doesn’t want. And enjoy it. It goes by way to fast. Remember it is about both of you and nobody else. So do what makes you happy and what is meaningful to the both of you. After all this is the first party as husband and wife that you are giving so make a hell of day.

Vendor

Photographer:  Faces in Focus Photography  /  Ceremony and Reception Venue: Burke Manor Inn  /  Designer/Planner: The bride!  /  Invitations: Juliepatolies  /  Cake: Carolina Cake  /  Flowers: Eleventh Hour  /  Bridal Gown: David's Bridal  /  Hair & Makeup: Hair done by Jillian Cannon and Make up by Stacy Sharerrill  /  Entertainment: Island Sound  /  Transportation: My brand new 2011 JK. (Jeep) I bought it just so my gown wouldn’t get dirty….. Honest!!

　

　

Diana + Stephen {Grande Dunes Wedding}

Gillian Reinhardt of Carolina Studios has a way with the camera.  She always does an amazing job of capturing the emotions that come with a wedding.  I'm not sure if it's luck or what, but she tends to work with the most adorable couples...and Diana + Stephen are no different!  This fun loving couple let their personalities shine through in their vibrant summer wedding.  With a lively red and blue color palette, they said 'I do' this past July at the fabulous Grande Dunes Member Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  

Bride Diana was kind enough to give us a little more detail on her perfect wedding day...

Tell us a little bit about how you met your husband.  How long have you known each other? Where did you meet?

Stephen and I met in back in 2008 when I moved here and started singing in the worship band at Carolina Forest Community Church. Stephen has an amazing talent on the drums, and we grew to be really close as we grew in our faith and friendship over the next 2 years or so leading up to the beginning of our relationship. 

 

Why did you choose to have A Lowcountry Wedding?

I love it here, and all my friends and my church family are here. Stephen is one of the few proud natives of Myrtle Beach, with much of his family living nearby, so it seemed like a no-brainer for us!

How did he propose?  How long were you engaged for? 

Poor Stephen’s plans to propose were foiled several times! He was supposed to come up to visit me on my Christmas visit to my parents’ house in New York. Of course, the day he was supposed to fly up, a huge snow storm hit, and he got stuck in Myrtle Beach. After a couple of days in airports and frantically looking for alternate flights, he finally made it – but only for a 24 hour visit! A whirlwind of meeting family members and a long night of waiting for his lost baggage later, we were on our way back to Myrtle Beach – the ring still in his pocket! He decided to propose at the start of the New Year, but he did not want to do it in a way that I would expect. So, after the New Year’s Eve party, when we had arrived back at home all spiffed up, he caught me off guard putting things away in my room. He put his arms around me, told me how much he treasured me, and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! We were engaged for 7 months.

Out of the entire day, what was the most memorable moment?

There are so many! But I’d have to say the highlight was when I turned down the aisle to the lyrics, “You make beautiful things out of the dust, you make beautiful things out of us,” by Michael Gungor Band. Stephen’s eyes immediately started welling up with tears, and I just savored every step down that aisle. Our whole ceremony was really personal. We didn’t share it with anyone but our pastor until the day of. 

What’s your favorite picture from your wedding? (Please attach to this email.)

We have so many favorites, thanks to our amazing photographer and DJ who made the night incredible! But one of our favorites is of us holding a picture frame around our cake with the picture perfect cake topper. Our baker made a delicious and beautiful cake worthy of framing, and our photographer put a beautiful color effect on the picture that actually makes it look like we’re holding a piece of art! Another favorite was a picture of us kissing with our entire bridal party sprinting past us toward the camera. It came out amazing, and captures the hilarious nature of our wedding party!

How did you choose your venue? What elements drew you to venue?

We were drawn to The Members Club at the Grande Dunes for so many reasons! Stephen loves the ornate chandeliers and formal feel, and I adored the covered veranda, the rich golden colors, and the natural light provided by so many windows. We also love all patterns and things Italian, so the fact that it’s in a neighborhood called Tuscany was a huge plus!

Your wedding was filled with gorgeous details.  Did any have special meaning? What was your favorite?

Red and blue are both of our favorite colors, and we both like to be a little unconventional, so the bold color combo suited us well. It also lent to the beautiful crystal ladybug I had on the stem of my bouquet, which was a little touch my mom added. She always called me ladybug growing up. Our theme of “picture perfect” was fitting, because I am always taking too many pictures for his liking. Two of our favorite details were the funny snapshots of us holding the table numbers, and the large picture frame that mirrored our cake topper. The cake topper was the whole inspiration for the theme. It was all very traditional with a little quirky edge!

Tell us a little bit about your menu.  Did you add any Lowcountry elements?

We loved our menu! We had lots of different elements, including prime rib, broccoli alfredo, and chicken marsala. It was all delicious, and since we served our meal family style, everyone got to try a bit of everything!

Favorite # 2...

Looking back on your engagement and wedding, is there any advice you would give to brides in the planning process?

Be organized from the beginning so you don’t get stressed out! There are so many beautiful choices for venues, fashion, and vendors here. Just be true to your and your husband’s heart of hearts, and remember to be excited for not just the wedding but the rest of the life that comes afterward!

Vendors

photographer: carolina studios by gillian reinhardt  /  floral designer:  flowers in the forest  /   reception venue: grande dunes members club  /  dress store:  david's bridal  /  
cake designer: cake my day  /  dj: myrtle beach djs  /  transportation: carolina limos

Kaci + Nigel {Marina Inn at Grande Dunes Wedding}

Yesterday we featured darling bride-to-be Kaci as she prepared for her big day.  We shared her beautiful bridal session followed by the couple's sweet beachside engagement session.  Now, we've got the final piece of the puzzle...Kaci + Nigel's Lowcountry Wedding!  Shot by the amazing Gillian Reinhardt of Carolina Studios, the couple wed at the breathtaking Marina Inn at Grande Dunes.  You're going to love this stunning couple, picture-perfect scenery and all the lovely details...

   

Vendors

photographer: carolina studios by gillian reinhardt  /  venue: marina inn at grande dunes  / 

event planner: memorable moments event planning  /  caterer: grande dunes resort and pine lakes country club  /  floral designer: m. gladden designs  /  cinema and video:  hart to heart media  /   hair stylist:  myrtle beach hair styles  /  dress store: maddison row, the little white dress  /  cake designer:  priceless desserts  /  band:  soul function band  /  jewelry: symbols by chillico

  

Peach + Blue Inspiration Board

I'm starting to get really sad that summer is over :(  But I do have to admit I am LOVING

this weather. I was in Atlanta last weekend for the UGA game and it was a steamy 95 degrees on Saturday.  Twenty-four hours later and it's a refreshing 75.  So, I can't really complain about that.

Thanks to my good friend Pinterest, I'm able to hang on to all these gorgeous images until I find

the perfect time to use them.  I've really been diggin' the color peach over the past few months and recently I've taken a liking to pairing it with a beautiful coastal blue.  It's a very classic, relaxing...and almost even a neutral palette.  It is a perfect combo for A Lowcountry Wedding...

Images via: (1) Her Muse, (2) Oh Lovely Day, (3) DIY Weddings, (4) Break Down in the Beauty ,

(5) Style Me Pretty, (6) Style Me Pretty, (7) The Knotty Bride, (8) Creature Comforts

Sarah + Patric: The Swamp

Story time!  I grew up outside of Atlanta and after graduation attended the University of Georgia.  One summer during college I moved to Charleston and met a studly Citadel cadet who hailed from the Sunshine State.  As our relationship blossomed, it quickly became very apparent we had a serious issue on our hands...he was a huge University of Florida fan (insert Gator Chomp here).  Uh-oh.

A few years ago, bets were made on the Georgia/Florida game (which, if you've never been it's a fantastic time) and I lost.  As punishment, I was suppose to sport orange and blue at the following year's game.  Well, being the poor sport (and Georgia grad) that I am...I pouted and didn't do it :)  Since I politely declined, my now-husband has decided I need to make up for it by attending a game at "The Swamp" and at this point we just haven't made it down.  So, I figured, until we're able to plan a fall weekend to Gainesville, I'll just live vicariously through  Sarah + Patric as the spend an afternoon trouncing around the UF stadium with the lovely ladies of Stay Forever Photography for a killer Engagement Session.

Does this not make you excited for football season or what?

Does this not make you excited for football season or what?

Anna + Patrick

Whenever I talk to someone who is recently engaged and in the planning stage, (whether I know them or not), my first question is always "Have you picked out your colors?!" 

I love to see the color palette brides choose because it always says so much about their personality.  Today's Florida bride, Anna, picked a perfectly beach-y combo of orange and blue for her October nuptials which matches her and hubby Patrick's vivacious, laid back and classic style.  Anna is just radiant in her white Maggie Sottero gown which she paired with a few blue accessories (lovin' that necklace) that fit the mood of the day just right...don't you think?

The ladies of Stay Forever Photography, Jessica and Melissa, were on hand to capture all the loveliness (and boy did they do their job!).  With a beautiful backdrop of palm trees and a touch of the Florida sun, Anna + Patrick were wed at Fort Pierce Yacht Club.  They continued the evening with some serious dancing, delicious food and gorg flowers by Giordano's.

If I don't respond back to emails or phone calls today it's because this wedding makes me want to take off straight to the beach :)  Sullivans here I come!

To catch more of this beauty, check out Stay Forever's posts (Part I and Part II).

Thanks so much for sharing, ladies!

vendor recap

photographer: stay forever photography  / dress designer: maggie sottero / 
planner: jade smith of island party rentals   /  florist: giordano's floral creations  /  
shoes: paris hilton /   reception venue: fort pierce yacht club  /