Catherine + Ben's wedding completely took our breath away. There are so many amazing details and this couple is so gracious, warm-hearted, loving--just pure southern grace and elegance. We get so excited every time {A Bryan Photo} posts a new wedding on their {BLOG}. Their work is incredibly captivating, not to mention the fact that they are just the nicest group of southern gentlemen! We have many more details to come from this GORGEOUS wedding. Thank you to the men of {A Bryan Photo} for sending Catherine + Ben to us. Catherine, it has been such a pleasure getting to know you and I can't wait for us to be neighbors one day soon! Enjoy~ Lara
Ceremony & Reception Location: The Hall Residence (home of the bride’s parents), Meridian, MS; Floral and Event Design: {The Avid Companies}; Wedding Planner & Coordinator: Sara Emma Hall, SEH Designs; Lighting Company: Will Bridge of Willow Bridge, Inc., Mobile, AL; Lighting Designer: Patrick Leahy of {Intelligent Lighting Creations}; Photographer & Videographer: {A Bryan Photo}; Caterer: {Pretty Presentations Catering}; Cake: Barb’s Cakes, Alabaster, AL; Calligrapher: {Brenda Griffin}; Printed Materials: {Dement Printing}; Landscaping: Meridian Landscape; Ceremony, Cocktail and Dinner Music: Barry Germany and assorted musicians, Meridian, MS; Reception Music: {The SoulSations}; Bridal Designer: {Rivini}; Bridal Salon: {Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier}, New York, NY; Bridesmaids: {Melissa Sweet}; Honeymoon: {The Four Seasons Nevis} and {St. Kitts Marriott Resort}
From the beautiful Catherine...
The weather was: Gorgeous!! It rained the night before, but we awoke Saturday to the ideal Mississippi Spring day! The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, and the full moon during our reception added an extra layer of enchantment to a glorious evening.
What was your wedding design inspiration? Nature and Spring. We were inspired by the desire to exchange our vows in the midst of God’s naturally beautiful landscape. For our outdoor ceremony in my parents’ back yard, we wanted to maintain a very soft, organic palette to compliment the beautiful setting -- ivory, white, and green with touches of blush pink, pale peach and butter yellow. Our tented dinner reception was an explosion of lush spring colors in rich tones of corals, pinks, yellows and greens.
The flowers: They were show stopping! Our guests are still talking about them! As described by Jon Davis at The Avid Companies: “For the wedding ceremony, luxurious English-style flowers were arranged en masse in stone urns that sat at the beginning of the aisle and at the ceremony site. The decor for the reception took on a decidedly more modern feel with simple glass vases containing one type of flower in each.”
The cake: A simple 5-tier almond and french vanilla cake with white butter cream icing. Bands of fondant with tiny seed pearls surrounded each layer. Jon Davis and his team also worked their magic on our cake by adorning it with pale pink and white ranunculus, ‘white majolika’ and ‘ilsa’ spray roses, and ‘roma’ astrantia. It was beautiful and delicious!
The engagement: Ben proposed to me on beautiful tree-lined Perry Street in our favorite NYC neighborhood, the West Village, just a few blocks away from where we now reside together. I was completely and utterly surprised! My family was in NYC visiting, so we were able to celebrate with them that evening.
What attracted you to your husband? Beyond his obvious great looks, I was immediately drawn to Ben when we bonded over our love of travel and great food. It didn’t take long for me to see that he is extremely driven, loyal and honest. Ben is the perfect combination of practicality and spontaneity. He keeps me grounded and takes care of me, but at the same time he always encourages me to try new and exciting things. He believes in me, and I trust in him. He never ceases to surprise and amaze me!
What attracted me to my wife was: “Catherine is strikingly beautiful, but when we met it was also immediately apparent to me that Catherine was a bright and independent woman. She is a kind person with a warm heart, and she is naturally gracious. She is organized and detailed in her approach to work and life, but she can be adventurous and spontaneous. And the ability to set off on an adventure is immensely important to me, whether it means setting off on a trip to South America, or trekking across Manhattan to an exciting new restaurant.”
A date we went on that we'll always remember: Living in NYC provides us with the opportunity to constantly try out new restaurants, one of our favorite things to do. It is also the perfect launch pad for our love of travel and adventure -- our first big trip together was a long weekend in Paris. What could be a better date than that?!
More details to come in Part II...