I Do Adore Pretty Things (Part Two)

My mom and I talk every morning during my 20-minute commute to work – one of my favorite parts of the day. This morning, she reminded me of all of the lovely things I left out of yesterday’s “Pretty Things” post – to which I reminded her, this is a countdown – not an overload. Without further ado, here is part two of the pretty things that made our big day so special…

Floral Architecture: I knew Mary Weaver and I were going to be good friends during our first consultation. I told her we’d be living in Columbia, South Carolina to which she replied, “You’re not a bad drive from Senoia, Georgia where the Walking Dead is filmed…once you’re settled in, you should take TWD filming location tour.” Sold. This woman creates magical wedding bouquets and is well versed in the apocalypse. A morbid, floral artist after my own heart. I shared my vision of “Puffy, bright coral bouquets in a messy ball-shape.” And she got me – rusty floral prose and all. From the darling flower girl’s mini bouquet to the rustic centerpieces and flowers on the cake (even the sneaky styrofoam layer), Mary impressed – and didn’t break the bank. Tasteful Corner Cut #6: Ranunculus are soft and puffy just like peonies – but a quarter of the cost. We’ll take a ton of those – and some garden roses, gerbera daisies, green buttons and hydrangeas – in fifty shades of coral. All modestly priced.

Cheesecake: I have a serious sweet tooth – and by tooth I mean, teeth. All of them. Somehow, I managed to marry a man to thinks fruit is dessert – and prefers canned pears or slice of banana bread to a brownie or cookies. Mind blown. However, Tye will never pass up a piece of cheesecake. With that in mind, the groom’s cake was a no brainer. We needed groom’s cheesecakes – and no better place to go than Stella’s The Modern Pantry where our family friend, Thomas Pestow, who happens to be married to the owner of Peanut and Friends, Christina, is the General Manager. Remember the flower girl’s adorable tutu? The Pestows are a talented family and were well represented at the Miller/Buckley wedding. Between the cheesecake and the tutu alone – I was thankful again and again for choosing a venue in a familiar town – with good friends who happen to be rockin’ bakers and tutu designers. Mom and I sampled the cheesecake… we had never tried it before (lies).

A Thousand Years: I may regret it one day, like the awful Ashley Simpson wannabe haircut and color I had in 9th grade – but in the ‘Adrianne, Age 24 Chapter’ – it made perfect sense to me to walk down the aisle to Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years.” All the Edward/Bella fans will remember – this is the song that plays during the final scene of the Twilight Saga when Bella finally allows Edward to read her mind. Sorry, I read those books and watched the movies – and loved them. And, I have all four on my iPod for frequent listening (I’m in the “likes Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Twilight club” – insert cheesy, eye roll here). Judge all you want, but the PianoGuys piano/cello cover is gorgeous – and that’s exactly what we arranged. Our garden utopia was complete with a pianist and cellist to breathe life into this vampire fiction fan’s bridal procession vision.

The knot & my dad: You hear it over and over…”We’re tying the knot.” So we did just that, literally. During the “unity ritual” portion of the ceremony, we tied a fisherman’s knot. Exploring the various options of lighting candles, truce bells, pouring sand, feet washing, hand-fasting (wasn’t that a hard limit in 50 Shades?), cords of three strands, tree planting and other symbolic gestures resulted in shrugged shoulders and blank stares from my methodical man. We both agreed on “tying the knot,” which was special to Tye since he is a fisherman and is exceptionally talented at tying off boats (I learned how to tie sailing knots in 5th grade from Mr. Goffin – remember that life skill, ACA folks?). The fisherman’s knot is a true lovers knot, for it is the strongest there is; its bond will not break, becoming ever stronger under pressure. I love that. While Tye & I tied this knot (well, Tye tied it and I grappled awkwardly with the thing…nerves, damn them!), my brilliant, talented and sweet dad sang my favorite Jason Mraz song, “I Won’t Give Up.” A promise to each other – We’ll have our bad days (like when he puts the dirty laundry beside the basket instead of in it… or when I mash the toothpaste tube in the middle, inefficiently), but we’ll never give up on each other.

A Peachy Life Productions: I would imagine for a videographer, there is significant pressure to capture a complete stranger’s most anticipated and celebrated milestone – and turn it into a memorialized string of seamless, unforgettable moments. Darrin and his talented team made it look like a piece of cake – and were an absolute delight to work with. Side note: After researching the portfolios of videographers across the state (and creeping on a handful of Florida weddings), I stumbled across a Peachy Life Productions in Tampa, Florida. Their highlight reels stood out from the others – beautiful stories laced together with fine attention to the little details (the pretty things we all adore). I reached out to Darrin and we set up a meeting at a Starbucks somewhere between Ocala and Tampa. Blind date, you could call it. Having no idea what he (or she?) looked like, I wandered into Starbucks a little unsure and immediately locked eyes with a wide-smiled fella…in a turban. For a moment, my heart sunk. Not because I have anything against turban wear-ers at Starbucks, or think a man in a turban isn’t talented with a video camera (political correctness abounds) – but because…well (if I’m honest), I just didn’t think that would go over well. Almost immediately – I received an email from Darrin letting me know he was on his way. Potentially awkward crisis averted. Our beautiful highlight reel is below. Enjoy!