You would never guess that this bride wasn’t the girl spinning around in her mother’s veil at eight years old dreaming about her one day wedding. Because just as she picked a super charming husband, she planned a super beautiful wedding. A Southern Soiree was on hand to help bring her newly discovered dream to life, and Robin Lin Photography graciously captured every sweet detail. We’ve filled a gallery with them all, so click here for more!
Hart to Heart Media captured these two in an entirely different, but totally beautiful way…
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I was never the type of girl that dreamed about her wedding and I had no idea where to even begin after we got engaged. I met my now to be husband while he was living in Hermosa Beach, CA and I was living in NYC. I was out there with a bunch of my college girlfriends when we meet Memorial Day 2009. We began a long distance relationship 3,000 miles apart and after 8 months of bi-coastal flights he ended up getting a job in NYC. Time flew by and after two and a half years dating, he proposed in Hermosa Beach, the same place we met.
Once we settled back into NYC, I was initially overwhelmed thinking about where to even begin but slowly my vision for the day began to come together. We both wanted the day to feel extra special with personal details but didn’t want as much of a traditional setting. We got married in my childhood church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina followed by a shabby chic reception in the old Lucky Strike tobacco mill at American Tobacco in Durham, NC. We didn’t know about the venue until we started looking through a few local North Carolina wedding magazines. We fell in love with the venue as it had the casual feel we were going for and the large space was filled with exposed brick, beams and beautiful hardwood floors. We just knew this was the perfect space to celebrate with our family and friends.
Since it was an empty space, we were responsible for bringing in everything we needed for the big day- rentals, flowers, food, lighting and the list goes on. Since we were living in NYC and working with all different vendors I created a Pinterest page to help my vendors understand my vision for the day. We wanted garden flower boxes and mason jars filled with white hydrangeas. Market lights and lanterns to fill the large ceilings with a romantic glow. We both wanted this to be a party so we used red wine bottles as table numbers and set up the seating family style. Each wine bottle contained quotes about celebrations, family & friends. Our wedding invitations were market light themed and that carried through to every detail- wedding programs, menus, and place cards that were held up by wine corks. We used an old barn window as our seating chart and created signs for our gift table that were the top 20 reasons why we loved one another. Since we were steering away from some traditional elements, we had a mini wedding cake surrounded by smaller cakes and cupcakes. Other details included mason jars that held our signature cocktail, moss initials for the entrance doors, a vintage car to carry us after the ceremony to the reception and a photo booth for our guests. I also wore my sister-in-laws veil and garter and my great grandmothers brooch was attached to my bouquet.
The day went off without a hitch and I couldn’t have done it without all of my vendors, especially, A Southern Soiree, Robin Lin Photography, Hart to Heart Media, Get Lit Lighting and Durham Catering.
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Photographer: Robin Lin Photography | Wedding Coordinator: Kailey Branham, A Southern Soiree | Ceremony: St. Thomas Moore, Chapel Hill NC | Reception Venue: Bay 7 | Caterer: Durham Catering Company | Makeup: Colleen Kelly, Greensboro NC | Hair: Posh, Kris and Shannon | Band: Groovetown | Rentals: Classic Party Rentals | Cinematography: Hart to Heart Media | Florist: Tre Bella | Lighting: Get Lit | Cakes: Miel Bon Bons | Photobooth: Behind the Curtain Photo booth | Vintage Car: Loni’s Antique Cars