Happy Weekend, LBBers! I hope you’re fully enjoying your weekend – but I need your attention for a few minutes. We have a seriously cute couple to share with you today. And a seriously grand wedding. Gorgeous, classic, and chic – just like the blushing bride. A cinematic trailer from the oh so talented team at Three Ring Media to start your day off right – but before we get there, Altmix Photography is on a mission to prove to you just how cute this couple is. Click here for more!
Seriously. A button. As in, cute as. Now get ready to fall in love just a little more with these two, thanks to this beautiful cinematic trailer from Three Ring Media – which gives us a peak into their fabulous day.
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Nick and I, unbeknownst to each other, both made similar career changes at the same time. I decided to pursue a Master’s degree and stop teaching high school, while Nick decided to go back to school for electrical engineering after working as a mechanical engineer. In the meantime (which turned out to be a recession), we both found jobs as bartenders.
I hired Nick as a bartender in the fine dining restaurant I managed in 2007. We immediately began working together nightly in a small space, only to find we didn’t get along too well at first. Nick was used to being the bar manager himself and taking orders from no one. My cute teasing and boisterous personality made him a bit uncomfortable. He couldn’t tell if I liked him or not. I was not quite sure what to make of Nick, either. His southern accent and snotty personality made me think he was conceited. I couldn’t tell if he liked me or not. It was very much like the meeting of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice.
Finally, one night after going out for a drink after work, I mentioned my interest in astronomy. Nick was currently reading a book titled The Elegant Universe and mentioned the subject of the book: M Theory. I had been looking for someone to talk with about M Theory for years and couldn’t help from engaging in a twenty-minute conversation as we sat in my car outside the restaurant’s parking lot. After that, we figured things out; we had both been uncomfortable not knowing what the other thought about us because each of us desperately wanted the other person to like them. I hired Nick as my boyfriend not long after. Even though the restaurant went out of business, we know how lucky we have been to be an unemployed literature teacher and an unemployed engineer who met at a restaurant that no longer exists. And the story is still a bit like Pride and Prejudice although now we have come to the marriage!
Our main goal for our wedding was always to create a family-centered, vintage-inspired, and eclectic wedding, which would still be filled with tradition and southern charm. We drew inspiration from ourselves as a couple. We bond over literature and philosophy, shared our first kiss in a gazebo—where Nick proposed to me two years later—and we value our family. As only children, we shared the importance of having friends and family travel to our wedding only to feel important and peaceful. So, we decided to incorporate a writing theme where books took the place of table numbers, a vintage typewriter stood in for the guestbook, and the beautiful Wimbish House in midtown Atlanta became our own Victorian garden party location. Of course the bridal table was titled Pride and Prejudice.
My mother & I made the Wimbish House feel like our home, which is one of the charming appeals, to me, of having your wedding in a historic home. We selected pictures, not just of Nick & I, but also of our family and our parents, grandparents, & great-grandparents on their wedding days to remind us of the heritage and tradition to which we belong. I also carried Nick’s grandmother’s rosary with my bouquet; however, the most personal touch was the groom’s cake. Nick’s grandfather, Papa Dude, passed away the winter before our wedding, and I wanted to find a surprising way to include his memory. Our baker, Sweet Sensations, made a groom’s cake featuring Papa Dude’s boat and we placed traditional cake toppers (from Etsy) in the boat instead of on the bride’s cake. Our fabulous planner, Nicole Fantz, in addition to placing all our handmade objects and pictures, made sure Nick & his father had private time to view the cake before the ceremony.
I always knew I wanted banquet tables at my reception and our food to be served family style. After going to many wedding with rounds, I felt, and still feel, that banquet table allow more conversation and remove any hard feeling which may surface regarding table seating. Also, family style service promotes conversation, adds a rustic (perhaps southern) touch, and saves money! Our caterer, Endive, was only too happy to accommodate this preference, which allowed us to serve two proteins instead of one! Our love of wine, my love of sparkling water, and my, now maiden, name (Mason) prompted us to create deconstructed arrangements scattered around the tables housed in wine bottles, San Pellegrino and Perrier bottles, and mason jars. We collected all the glasses and bottles ourselves and our florist, Melanie Pink, filled them with beautiful, delicate, and rustic florals to add to our theme. The florals helped frame the vignettes of our tables, pictures, and this lovely home.
The most popular place at our wedding was the patio, where we placed a cigar bar and piped out Sinatra tunes. Even during August heat, the guests crowded the patio and we saw the mingling of our two families. Our elderly male guests can’t stop talking about all the girls smoking cigars! Nick’s father supplied some very nice cigars for the occasion, and after-dinner drinks, like sherry and liqeuers, accompanied the cigar bar. As bartenders, we felt we needed to invest in a full bar, and since the Wimbish House let’s you bring in your own liquors, we saved hundreds!
My favorite parts of our wedding were the hand-binding during our ceremony, a private stroll for pictures with our photographers Matt & Kate Altmix, a private delivery of appetizers from our planner, laughing with my husband, listening to my father’s speech, dancing with my mother, and leaving our reception in a horse-drawn carriage, which became a special private trip for us to rejoice in our day together amongst the streets of our city, which always seem more quiet and beautiful out of a car, even with congratulatory shouts!
Our day went by so fast and our memories were quite scattered, so we were so pleased to receive our wedding video from our videographers, Three Ring Media. Now, we will never forget our memories and how much we would have enjoyed being guests at out own wedding!
Photography: Altmix Photography / Cinematography: Three Ring Media / Floral Designer: Le Bonne Fleur / Planning & Event Design: Nicole Fantz of Peachtree Weddings & Events / Invitations & Favors: Delphine Press / Cake: Sweet Sensations / Caterer: Endive / Wedding Gown Designer: Rivini / Bridesmaids Dresses: J.Crew / Venue: The Wimbish House
