Whimsical Georgia Wedding

Giddy doesn’t even begin to describe my excitement to share this wedding at one of my favorite Georgia venues, The Inn at Serenbe. Add a dream team of wedding vendors starring Gloriosa, Ashley Baber Weddings and W Scott Chester with a camera on hand and what you get is pure bliss. Aside from being incredibly stylish, Kristen and Josh also made sure that all flowers were donated to a local charity. Definitely worth stealing the idea.

We wanted to create our own little world – otherworldly, ethereal, and whimsical all the while maintaining a stylistic sophistication and vintage aesthetic. We were very fortunate to be able to collaborate with a group of people that are exquisitely talented in their trade. I gave them at least a hundred images that inspired me, and I even wrote a short story about my vision. It started, “what if Ian Schrager, Frida Kahlo, Grace Coddington, and Alexander McQueen created an enchanted forest of the likes that Bob Dylan would want to live there?”

From the bride, Kristen: We were very fortunate to have Ashley Baber of Ashley Baber Weddings help us from day one. I told her that I wanted an outdoor wedding with a rustic feel, but I also wanted each detail to be top notch. She immediately suggested The Inn at Serenbe located in Palmetto, GA, about 45 min. south west of Atlanta. Josh & I checked it out, fell in love, and booked our wedding date then and there. Serenbe is stunning, and has fabulous accommodations. Our entire wedding party and most of our out of town guests stayed onsite and we had the whole place to ourselves. This worked perfectly with our hope to whisk ourselves and guests away to another world. Both the ceremony and reception sites were just a short walk from our rooms. We had the ceremony in the Open Air Theater, and the event designers, Gloriosa, created the space to evoke the feeling of a ruin of a church in the woods. They created stained glass windows with reclaimed lumber to line the out side “walls.” An antique console in the rural vernacular acted as our alter and was adorned with greens, bark, and flowers. The reception was held in a pavilion down the hill and was designed to look like a magnificent forest had overgrown the ruin (dining room) within and was countered with dramatic crystal chandeliers. Another thing that was important to us was to have all of the meat served be cruelty-free, Gloriosa researched made that happen for us.

I didn’t have a color scheme, I did want to incorporate a lot of moss, lichens, and wood. I chose a primarily neutral palette and just let the designers work their magic. As for DIY, I did a few things. Both of my parents have passed away but I wanted them to have their own seats at the ceremony, so I went to the Atlanta Iron Works and purchased two big iron chairs and adorned them with moss and we placed the chairs in the spot where my parents would have sat. For guest place cards, I ordered coffee & vanilla dyed hang tags from etsy, and paired them with old skeleton keys I scored from ebay. I also made the personalized signs and the tissue paper flower poms myself.

Try not to let the stress of planning get in the way of enjoying the fun and excitement of the process. Listen to your future husband’s input, there’s a reason you’re marrying him, and he has some great ideas. Occasionally those dearest to you may hurt your feelings, it’s tough, but don’t take it personally, it has nothing to do with you. Enjoy every single second in your wedding dress, I wish I could wear mine again and again, but I suppose that would be creepy. Have a plan for preserving your flowers before you go on your honeymoon. Go on a honeymoon. Make sure your dress is bustled up tight before your first dance. Be careful of asking for too many opinions.

See Also

Elegant Fall Wedding in Atlanta With a Soothing Color Palette

Wedding Songs:

The Buddy O’Reilly Band learned the songs we chose for the ceremony. Josh and his groomsmen walked in to “I’m a man you don’t meet everyday,” by the Pogues. The bridesmaids, followed by the officiator and the flower girl and ring bearer walked in to “Littlest Birds,” by The Be Good Tanyas. I walked in to “Me and Jane Doe,” by Charlotte Gainsbourg. Josh & I exited to “The Sunny Side of the Street,” by the Pogues. We had to bring in the DJs for our first dance which was to “Digital Love,” by Daft Punk. It was a fast song so we had about 6 dancing lessons with the very talented, Mr. Twinkletoes.

View all photos from this wedding in the gallery!

Wedding Vendors (Atlanta, GA):

Ceremony and reception locations: The Inn at Serenbe / Photographer: W Scott Chester / Event Planner: Ashley Baber Weddings / Event Designer: Gloriosa Design / Florist: Gloriosa handled all the florals, except for the Hawaiian leis for the bride, her sister, the grom, and the bridesmaids- gorgeous Tuberouse, Plumeria, and Pikake overnighted from Hawaii from Hawaiian Lei Company. At the end of the night, the bride and groom wanted all of the floral arrangements to be donated, and Keller at Gloriosa helped arrange the donation./ Wedding Dress: Modern Trousseau‘s “Carla,” from their Fall 2010 collection purchased at Kelly’s Closet / Wedding veil: “Allure” by Cheryl King Couture / Wedding Shoes: “Cruz” Pump by Bridal by Butter / Jewelry: earrings were Judith Ripka’s “Oasis” white Sapphire and crystal from Bergdorf Goodman. The bride’s “something borrowed” was a white gold & diamond Cartier LOVE bracelet / Hair: Toni Ruff at Zonolite Hair Studio did the bride’s hair, her sister’s, officiant’s (Best friend), and her beautiful flower girl’s hair / Makeup: Jordan Eliza at Marie Marie Salon / Bridesmaid Dresses: I chose a color palette of soft golds and pinks, and let my bridesmaids pick out their own dresses. It worked out beautifully. I wanted their shoes to match, so I picked out a pair of black satin wedges. As one of their gifts, I found them each unique, black vintage handbags from various etsy shops. / Groom’s suit: The groomsmen wore the navy blue, Ludlow suit from J. Crew. For gifts, we gave them Sterling tie pins, white cotton hankerchiefs, and Banana Republic ties. / Band: The Buddy O’Reilly Band / Dj: good friend, Tyler Walton / Caterer: Gloriosa did it all! / Wedding Cake: Carrot cake for bride and groom, and carrot cake cupcakes & fruit tarts with white chocolate pastry cream for the guests / Wedding invitations: Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. / Videographer: FUGO Studios will make their video like a movie trailer! / Transportation: a golf cart that we used for the weekend at the venue, and just jumped on that and headed to our room.