Real Wedding: Virginia & Josh Alabama Wedding

I am so excited to share this wonderful wedding by Chelsea Patricia Photography on the blog today! Why am I excited? Probably because I featured this couple's engagement shoot and now get to feature their wedding! Also, the bride tells us about her wedding day after answering questions from her photographer and it is just so sweet. You'll see her with her grandmother who we learned from her engagement shoot that they couldn't get married in the same church that her grandmother got married in because it was too small. So they did the shoot there to honor the wedding tradition. Her grandmother gives her her wedding band that she hadn't taken off for 52 years just for the bride to wear on her wedding day! I also can't deny that I am a Chelsea Patricia fan as I have featured her work here before. :-) Enjoy the story and the photography!

What was your most memorable moment on your wedding day?

Asking me to pick just one moment almost seems like an impossible task, however when I really stop and think I would have to say that nothing could compare with the sharing of our vows. Everything about that moment was perfect. From the beautiful scenery with the sun just beginning to set on the horizon, to the smiles on our friends and families faces, to feeling my soon-to-officially-be my husband's hands holding mine and looking into each other's eyes while we pledged to stand by each other forever... I don't think I could have scripted it better myself. 

Tell me about finding your wedding dress:

I began the hunt pretty much the weekend after we got engaged. What I thought would be a fairly simple task turned into a month-long search in which I would always find one reason why a certain dress wasn't the "one". In fact, I even decided to "settle" and got measured for a different dress, but couldn't bring myself to order it. Finally, after quite a bit of prodding from my best friend I decided to look at David's Bridal. Literally the first one the consultant pulled was PERFECT. I finally even got tears from both my mom and grandmother at the same time. Turns out if you figure out what you don't want, it's even easier to recognize when you've found what you do. 

What theme/color scheme did you decide to go with and why?

We decided to go with purple and green with silver and ivory accents. Honestly, I am obsessed with the color purple, so there was no doubt in my mind that we had to incorporate it into the big day. I can thank Josh's LSU roots for him not only allowing it, but also being kind of into it too, which means it got to be a main player. Once we decided to go with such a bold main color, I knew I wanted the rest to be very simple, understated, and elegant. With the mindset that sometimes less can be more, finding a perfect location with natural beauty and elegance, and always trying to keep the intent for it to be a day focused on celebrating us finally becoming official with our friends and family, the event just sort of came together. I hope it was as inviting for our guests as we hoped!

What were your favorite details from your wedding day? Which details/decor echoed you and your now-hubby's personality the most?

I think the personal touches were the ones that meant the most to us. On that day, it was not about the layers of purple and gossamer and lace, but the hidden meaning behind many of the decorations. For example, our engagement photos (thanks Chelsea!) dotting the venues mantles that highlighted our personality as a couple, Josh getting his gigantic "This is the Groom's" cookie cake, some of my favorite books used as props, dancing to songs that had personal meaning for our father-daughter/mother-son dances, and receiving and wearing my grandmother's wedding band (which she had not taken off for 52 years!) just before my walk down the aisle. Those little details added up to big memories!

Check! You've married your best friend. What is next for y'all as a couple?

Other than world domination? For now, Josh, who works in finance as a Personal Banker for Wells Fargo, is having to bide his time for the beauty of dual income a little longer as I work on my Ph.D. in Counseling Education and Supervision at Auburn University. Although we are so excited about starting a family one day, right now we have very happily settled into the routine of work and school, tackling around-the-house projects for the home we bought this past summer, and having friends and family over to swim and play as much as possible. Considering we dated for six years before making it "official", we're just having a blast in this current phase of our life!

Describe your wedding cake:

I had two rules for my cake: elegant and delicious. Pam from Incredible Edibles completely got it and created a beautiful white three-layer cake with an "L" monogrammed on the top layer, cream ribbon hugging each layer, elegant pearls dotting the entire thing, and my flowers in shades of green and purple adorning the top. I don't think I could have imagined anything better! We went with chocolate for the bottom and red velvet for the middle. Supposedly the top is half and half and if it's even close to as good a year later it's going to be amazing!

Describe your wedding flowers:

Once again I envisioned simple and elegant. We ended up choosing a blend of calla lilies, hydrangeas, and orchids in varying shades of ivory, green, and purple. The bridesmaids, whose dresses were purple, had greener bouquets with hints of purple. Mine was mostly ivory. The men wore green callas with their gray tuxes. In my very biased opinion, everything turned out great and looked gorgeous! 

I know that you already filled out all of the information on another questionnaire, but sometimes things change at the last moment. Please write out your final vendor list here, including flowers, dresses, shoes, cakes, venue, planner, designer, DJ, etc.

The event was held at The Oaks Plantation in Montgomery, AL. Incredible Edibles handled all of the food, flowers, and rentals. All the dresses (mine, bridesmaids, flower girl) came fom David's Bridal. The boys were outfitted at Men's Warehouse. David's Bridal also printed our invitations. We were blessed to have family and friends help with many other aspects including makeup, coordination of the ceremony, decorating the site, DJing the reception, etc. 

Looking back at your own wedding, if you could give any piece of advice to a bride planning her wedding right now, what would it be?

Don't sweat it! Ultimately when you look back at this time, you don't want to remember having had a fight with your husband over whether to go with the white tablecloths versus the ivory. Of course you want your wedding to be the best ever, but it is only one day, and trust me, the people that come are coming to celebrate with you and aren't going to notice the difference. Be sure to have at least one or two people who know you well enough to not only keep you in check, but also to support you when you get stressed out and help you keep your "vision" amongst the details. Find great vendors too. I don't know what I would have done without being able to give Pam from Incredible Edibles my ideas then leave it up to her to get it done. Finally, take this time to really cherish your partner, your family, and your friends. This is YALL'S moment to commit to each other forever, so try to soak that all in and forget about the rest.

Photography: Chelsea Patricia Photography submitted via Two Bright Lights

Caterer: Incredible Edibles

Reception Venue: The Oaks Plantation

Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Men's Wearhouse

Bridesmaid Dresses: David's Bridal

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