Touches of the South – Vintage Style

Over the years of throwing friends bridal showers, birthday parties, and most recently, baby showers, I have made party planning a hobby of mine – it’s truly become one of my favorite pastimes. Therefore, getting to plan a wedding that is all my own has been the ultimate project for me! One thing I have learned in my party planning days… every event must have a THEME. In my opinion, no party or event can even be organized without one, especially a wedding!

When considering our wedding theme, I took into consideration our personalities and background. Who were we? Where did we come from? With me being a true and proud Mississippi gal and Tres being born in Charleston, South Carolina and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, I think of us as sweet southerners. When I told Tres I wanted to have a “southern kind of wedding,” his response was not what I had hoped. “Southern? Like redneck, country music, and bare feet?” I laughed (we don’t even like country music) but was slightly bothered by what seemed to be his immediate view of the south. I explained to him that my view of the south is “Pretty, classy ladies in big hats (with big hair under them) sitting up perfectly straight in chairs under a magnolia tree sipping tea with their southern gentlemen inside the white plantation home, dressed professionally, bourbon in hand talking about their work day.” THAT is my view of “southern,” and I resent any northerners, westerners, or easterners who think otherwise! :)

Needless to say, Tres said I could theme our wedding however I wanted, and soon after, I found myself falling in love with a “vintage” look, deciding we should tie retro into our theme. The outcome: “a southern kind of vintage wedding.” Here are a few touches we will be adding to bring out this theme perfectly!

A Plantation Home – Our location really set the tone for a southern wedding. Southern Oaks is an absolutely beautiful plantation home in New Orleans. It call it “very Gone with the Wind,” having everything from big white columns and fanciful shutters to a faultless landscaped lawn and winding aisle.

Magnolias – I have never really been a flower person, so when I began thinking about bouquets, I was a little discouraged. I didn’t want my girls carrying the typical bundle of flowers – I wanted something unique. The magnolia is by far my favorite flower, having a bloom that looks like no other – large, fresh, perfect, and most importantly… southern! The flower is actually Mississippi and Louisiana’s state flower, and with me being a huge ambassador of my home state, MS, and us getting married in LA, I knew it was meant to be. The magnolia will actually be the “signature” image of our wedding. My girls will all carry a single magnolia bloom down the aisle, and it will also be found on our invitations/stationary and possibly our cake!

Cotton Blooms – Nothing says south like the “flower” that comes straight from a cotton field. When thinking about my bridesmaids carrying magnolias, I knew the large flower would be too large as a boutonniere, so I put my mind to work and got creative. I couldn’t think of another signature southern flower, but one day out of nowhere, a cotton blossom came to mind. I never realized how perfectly beautiful this bloom was, and I decided it had to be the groomsmen’s boutonnieres. I asked Tres his thoughts, and he gave me his approval!

Horse and Carriage – Oh so southern! My dad and I will be riding to the end of the aisle on a horse and carriage before I walk down the aisle. After the ceremony, Tres and I will ride away in it.

The Food – We will have everything from gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp creole, shrimp kabobs, seafood pastas, oysters and shrimp, lobster tails, crawfish apps, crab apps, muffalettas, beignets, and the list goes on – very New Orleans southern style food and over 70 different choices!

The vintage touches will be subtle but will also be found throughout the wedding! Everything from the Jackie – O bridesmaids dresses and pearl broached necklaces to my veil will be vintagy. More to come on that!