Jenna and Michael’s South Carolina wedding was inspired by the elegance of Jenna’s wedding gown, and it was so incredibly stunning! Overflowing with gorgeous, lush florals in shades of pink and white, the couple’s celebration incorporated their love for music and medieval times in the most beautiful of ways. Taking place at the gorgeous Sage Valley Golf Club and captured by Joshua Aaron Photography, we can’t wait for you to see all of the beauty!
What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?
Michael Wayne Carraway II is the most intelligent, handsome, compassionate, and loving man I have ever met. Even before we began dating, he showed me that he truly cared about me and my happiness. I couldn’t have asked God for a better life partner. He helped keep me focused throughout our wedding planning process and offered his insight when needed. I’m blessed to have such a thoughtful husband. My mother, sister, and mother-in-law assisted me with many details. Anytime I needed advice or guidance, they were there to offer me encouragement, insight, and support. I couldn’t have planned our wedding without them.
We had the most perfect florist and designer, Karin Jeffcoat, of Cote Designs. Karin and her staff were amazingly creative and congenial! Not only is Karin talented, she offered her personal perspective and wealth of experience to make our wedding unique and personalized. The flowers, the colors, and the arrangements were beyond imagination and made our day one of a kind! No one could have made our day more beautiful and special than she!
Kristie Caldwell at Sage Valley offered her guidance, and advice throughout our planning process. Not only did she direct our ceremony, she also made sure everything ran smoothly on our wedding day. Her insight, advice, and organization skills helped me tremendously!
What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?
The most significant factor when deciding who we wanted to work with for planning our wedding was doing research! It was vital to view previous weddings, customer feedback, and photographs from all of the wedding vendors we considered. By researching these vendors, we found unique, creative people with experience and outstanding service within our budget. An example of our efforts was selecting the perfect photographer with outdoor wedding experience who could use the time of day of our wedding and the beautiful surroundings of Sage Valley to make our photos works of art. In order to ensure our wedding day was captured in the perfect light, Michael and I interviewed over a dozen photographers. Luckily, we found the perfect couple, Joshua and Aaron of Joshua Aaron Photography, and they were a blast to work with! They are professionals with a unique, in the moment, and captivating style of shooting. We are so blessed to have found them and to have them be a part of our big day. Similarly, we researched videographers and found Cole and Julia Nickell, of Cinema Weddings to film the best day of our lives. Cole, alongside his coworker, Ryan Borders, created a masterpiece film of our wedding day that I have watched at least once every single day since they uploaded our video.
What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?
I personally believe that the bride’s dress lays the foundation for the entire wedding day. With that in mind, the inspiration behind our wedding day decor was derived from my dress. Initially, I envisioned our wedding being simple, classic, with a touch of country flare; the flare from the wedding dress I found completely changed that theme. Designed by Allure Couture, my dress was a defined, strapless, sweetheart neckline gown with a fit and flare silhouette. Its chapel length scalloped edge train, with customized pearl covered buttons on the bodice, were just two details of its beauty. The entire gown was adorned with delicate embroidery and encrusted with Swarovski crystals and pearls. To compliment the dress, I wore a hand-made veil and headpiece. Like my dress, the veil was a chapel length, made of ivory tulle and edged with matching beads and pearls. The headpiece was a delicate wire piece with handmade beaded flowers that were identical to the gown’s beaded lace motif. The veil and headpiece designer was Mayra Joqui, exclusively sold at House of the Bride. Clearly, mason jars and sunflowers were out of the question! A pair of fresh water pearl earrings with diamonds perfectly complimented my gown and headpiece. And then, as if this weren’t utter perfection, the icing on the cake was when, before the ceremony, my dad pulled me aside, told me he loved me, and gave me a pearl bracelet that finished the ensemble perfectly.
What was your favorite thing about your wedding?
Besides Michael, music has been one of the most important parts of my life. It has kept me going and, without music, I wouldn’t have some of my closest and lifelong friends, many who served as my bridesmaids. So one of the favorite parts of our wedding involved my desire to include something that signified the bond between my bridesmaids and me. Each of my bridesmaids is passionate about music, too; therefore, I decided to ask them to find an album of their choice and bring it with them on our wedding day so we could capture this symbolism in a photo. Not only was our love for music included in a wedding day photo, but also Michael and I had our friend, April Henry, paint messages on two record albums included in our “save the date” announcements and for our thank you cards, as well. Also, Michael is a bit of a history buff, and our favorite historical time comes from the Medieval Era. I am pleased with the way we were able to include bits and pieces of medieval-style into our wedding day. For example, the wrought-iron gates at the entrance of our ceremony, and a bit of Medieval-style dancing into our first dance allowed for this bit of history to add some unique touches on our big day.
What is your best piece of advice for other brides?
The two pieces of advice I would give any bride-to-be is to give yourself plenty of planning time and try your best to limit the amount of opinions you will receive. We planned our wedding in one year, and I asked only my closest friends and family for their opinions throughout the planning process. Not having a planner was a great choice for me, because I wanted to be in charge of the entire process and attend to every little detail. I took advice only from friends and family who have been through weddings of their own. The most important piece of advice I received was to write a list of the details that meant the most to us and to allocate resources according to that list. For example, our catering meant the world to us (and the food was a hit); subsequently, we decided to limit the wedding favors our guests received, spending more on the mouth-watering cuisine our guests could enjoy!
Vendors who made it all happen…
Photographer: Joshua Aaron Photography // Floral Designer: Cote Designs // Event Venue: Sage Valley // Cinematography: Cinema Weddings // DJ: Partytime DJs // Cake: Cake Occasions // Rentals: Goodwin Events // Linens: Nuage Designs// Bridal Gown & Bridesmaid Dresses: The House of the Bride // Hair: Salon Duo // Jewelry: Martinez Gold // Groomsmen Attire: Men’s Wearhouse // Groom’s Attire: Tom James // Ceremony Music: Fred Williams // Invitations: Exclusively Weddings
Lauren
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