Spirited Alabama Wedding with Holiday Ideas
Just in time for all of the merry festivities, W&E Photographie sent over Sarah and Trey’s holiday-inspired Alabama fête that’s giving us all of the Christmas feels. They wanted to incorporate their beloved holiday and did so in a most elegant way, with a moody red and green palette (as seen in the bridesmaids’ dresses and the beautiful floral arrangements by Staci Bledsoe) and a wreath backdrop worth replicating. Just like the dessert table at their reception, this wedding is the sweetest.
From the bride, Sarah: I wanted our wedding to feel romantic, effortlessly cool, relaxed but spirited, and very representative of us. We live for the Christmas season, so we wanted our wedding to have an extremely slight, festive undertone, without it being a Christmas wedding. The color scheme that I stayed true to was deep green, oxblood red, gold, and white. DIY projects: All of the wreaths on our wreath wall were handmade by myself, my husband, my dad, and a couple bridesmaids and groomsmen. Our officiant helped too! Every family gathering in my family always has a full dessert spread. Thanksgivings average 12-14 pies, for example. So it was very important to me that I hold on to that tradition and have a dessert table. My mom, stepmother, and various family members made the desserts that were on the dessert table.
My bouquet was one of my favorite things, and I think it had burgundy peonies, ranunculus, antique roses, eucalyptus, fern, and other seasonal greenery. The bridesmaid’s bouquet’s were smaller versions of mine. The groom’s boutonnière was a small antique rose. Instead of traditional vows, my husband and I wrote our own vows to each other, as well as a letter (we both love snail mail and used to mail each other letters regularly when we were dating). While we read our vows, we had a groomsman play “The Book of Love” by Peter Gabriel, and my brother and mother in law chose something that they would like to read. My brother read the poem “somewhere I have never traveled” by E.E. Cummings, and my mother in law read 1 John 3:1-11.
Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Keep pictures handy of what inspires you, so that everyone can be on the same page. Make lists, and write everything down. Things can slip through the cracks, so it’s good to keep lists handy! As hard as it is, do what you want, and don’t worry about what anyone says! The marriage is the most important part, and that’s all that really matters.
Wedding Music:
Processional (bridesmaids and family): “All My Days,” Alexi Murdoch
Professional (bride): “Mango Tree,” Angus and Julia Stone
Recessional: “The Idea of Growing Old,” The Features
First Dance: “You Make Me Feel So Young,” Frank Sinatra (We danced to this at our officiant’s wedding years ago, and so it was only fitting that it was our first dance.)