REAL TWIRL WEDDING || KATIE & DAVE

Friends, we are so excited to share this GORGEOUS wedding with you all today! Katie and Dave tied the knot in Savannah, Georgia and it was every bit of Southern perfection that you could have imagined. We're so grateful they allowed us to share their special day with y'all! Enjoy!!

Can you give us a glimpse into you & your hubs's love story?

Dave and I met in 2015 through mutual friends. Although we were not aware of each other before we met, our families go way back. Our grandparents were neighbors in the 1950’s. My grandparents moved to a new address, and 20 years later Dave’s parents moved in next door to them. That is the house that Dave was born in, and my grandma recounts funny stories of Dave being a toddler next door. We knew Dave’s cousins growing up, and in middle school I had Dave’s mom as a teacher! It’s definitely a small world, but as soon as we met we hit it off and have been inseparable ever since.

What was it about your dress that made you realize it was "the one?" Was it what you expected to love/wear? Favorite memory from dress shopping/Twirl?

I am very particular when it comes to what I wear, and I had a look in mind that I had not been able to find anywhere else. I knew I wanted a clean white silk dress with a bow on it, and was becoming discouraged that I wouldn’t find what I was looking for. We live 3 hours away from Twirl, but I’d heard good things and wanted to come check it out. I tried on just a few gowns, but as soon as I slipped on my dress I knew I’d come as close to what I’d imagined as I was going to find. My mom got so excited, because she knew it was the one too. When the dress came in in my size, that is when I really got excited because I could see it fitting like a glove from all angles. The day of the wedding, the dress exceeded my expectations and I felt so beautiful in it. Everyone who saw the dress said the same thing, “It’s so you”. I loved Twirl because of how intimate it was. Other salons I went to had a lot of other brides with large parties in attendance that would watch me try on dresses too and give their opinions. Twirl was just much more of a boutique vibe, and everyone was so friendly.

What is your favorite memory from your wedding day?

My favorite memory of our wedding day was simply seeing all of our family and friends in one place. I am not very emotional, but when I turned to walk down the aisle I burst out in tears - happy tears of course! It was just so wonderful having so many people who love us there to support us in our marriage.

What has been the best thing about marriage so far?

The best part of marriage so far has been simply knowing that we’re a team, and we’re going to experience life’s highs and lows together.

Any pieces of wisdom or advice you'd like to share with future brides, engaged gals, or newlyweds like yourself?

Here are a couple of things!

1. If at all possible, have an experienced wedding coordinator. This can truly take so much stress off your shoulders. We live 8 hours away from our venue, and had our coordinator the month of. I didn’t have to worry about anything vendor related leading up to the wedding, and the day of had 0 headaches. I simply got to enjoy the day.

2. If you’re planning any part of the wedding outside, have a back up plan. I am so thankful that we had thought of a back up plan when we booked our venue. Out of all the weekends in the year, a tropical storm (before hurricane season) was descending upon our venue, making my plan of an outdoor ceremony and part of the reception outdoors in jeopardy. We are so lucky that the weather cleared shortly before the ceremony and we were able to have that and the cocktail hour outside. Since the weather was so iffy, we elected to move the reception indoors and that turned out to be perfect. I don’t know what I would have done if we didn’t have the other options in place!

3. If you’re having a plated dinner and need to know who is having what dish, make sure to include in the response card (in addition to them checking chicken/fish/veg/etc) for each guest to initial beside the meal they are having. 4 people out of 180 guests initialed their meal, and the rest we had to contact or guess who wanted what!

4. For picture purposes during the ceremony, make sure you all know exactly where you’re standing at the alter. Myself, the officiant, and my husband are all a little off center. At the time we didn’t notice, but in the wedding pictures I definitely do!

Katie & Dave's Vendor Team:

Photographers: The Happy Bloom

Venue: Westin Savannah

Styling/Design: Design Studio South

Baker: Mollie Cakes

Florist: Kato Floral Designs

Rentals: Snyder Events

Lighting: JLK Events

Hair & Make Up: Emma Collins Beauty

Band: Irresistible Groove

Wedding Dress: "Raquel" by Anne Barge Blue Willow

Suits: The Black Tux

Linen Napkins: The Initialed Life

Invitations: Marisa Made

REAL TWIRL WEDDING || TAYLOR + PARKER

Friends, we are so excited to share this wedding with you all today! This the chill of winter coming up us we thought we'd reminsice on warmer days and share Taylor & Parker's gorgeous day out at Springhouse Gardens. Ashley Brown of Shining Light Photography captured them beautifully and we're so thrilled y'all are going to get a peek into this sweet day. Enjoy!

Can you give us a glimpse into you & your hubs's love story?

Parker and I met during our first semester at UK. I was a freshman and he was a sophomore who had just transferred from school in Alabama. We were introduced at one of the first UK Football tailgates and got to know each other over great conversation and cheap bourbon. His first impression of me was that I was a total southern belle, and I thought he was a cute frat boy who didn't know how to tie a tie. Our relationship started out slow, but I certainly fell for him fast. I vividly remember being so impressed with him because he was the only guy I had met who actually chose to pick up the phone and call me to talk rather than just shooting me a few texts - instant brownie points! We started dating that following spring and have been two peas in a pod ever since. We dated for nearly 5 years before he popped the question. We had certainly made it to the point where we knew we would get married one day, but I was in no real hurry - we've always been pretty realistic. So, because of my "no hurry" attitude, I definitely did not see the proposal coming when it did. After seeing the first wedding at The Barn at Springhouse Gardens I told Parker that I would love to get married there one day. Not knowing whether or not that was a real possibility, he planned the most perfect proposal sending me on a hunt for clues throughout the day, including a pit stop to the place where we first met right next to Commonwealth and ending it with a limo dropping me off at the Springhouse. For all my Bachelor fans, it truly felt like the finale episode where the girl gets out of the limo and has to walk what seems like a mile towards her suitor in hopes that she's getting the ring at the end - except I had a pretty good idea that I was going to ;) It was the BEST day and made it clear that the Springhouse was the only place that I wanted to marry him one day.

What was it about your dress that made you realize it was "the one?" Was it what you expected to love/wear? Favorite memory from dress shopping/Twirl?

When I came to Twirl I had somewhat of an idea of what I wanted. I knew I wanted some type of sleeves and something that was fitted...you know, hugs you in all the right places. Every dress that I tried on was beautiful, but what made me realize that my dress was "the one" was that I felt elegant, sexy and pretty all in 1 dress. If I could check all of those boxes I knew I'd be happy on my wedding day...and so would my groom! I had always pictured my dress having some type of "bling" or sparkle to it, but the Stella York and Sara Gabriel earrings were the perfect touches of sparkle that I needed. I'll never forget my experience that day at Twirl. Everyone was so welcoming and made me feel beautiful. That was probably my biggest fear - going in there and not feeling pretty in any of the dresses, or feeling self conscious. I'm a curvy gal, and sometimes it takes a little tug love to get a fitted gown over these hips, but the Twirl girls and I giggled and sipped champagne through it all and once I tried on "the one" we all knew it.

What is your favorite memory from your wedding day?

My favorite memory of my wedding day is so hard to choose! It's probably a two-way tie. Walking down the aisle and seeing Parker's face was so sweet. Even though we did a first look, the raw emotions we felt during that moment are ones that I will never forget. Doesn't every bride hope her husband is weeping while walking down the aisle? My other favorite memory would have to be the dance floor. That was one of mine and Parker's biggest hopes for the night, that everyone would have a blast and the dance floor would be packed. Well, our DJ made sure that happened and let me tell ya, the video footage from that dance floor is hilarious.

What has been the best thing about marriage so far?

I think this one is pretty easy...just having your best buddy for life. That feeling of security you get once you are married. I felt it when we got engaged too, but it became even stronger once we were married. I know a lot of people these days stand on the side of saying "you don't have to sign a piece of paper to be committed to one another..." which to that I say, true...BUT, there is something to be said about committing yourselves to one another in front of God, your family and your friends. I love Parker so much and knowing that I have him for the rest of my life makes the uncertainty of the future so much easier.

Any pieces of wisdom or advice you'd like to share with future brides, engaged gals, or newlyweds like yourself?

Some of the best advise I think I can give to any future bride is to remember that all of this "wedding stuff" is simply that...stuff. I always thought I'd be just south of a "bridezilla". I like to have control of situations and like to make sure it's done in a way that I think is best, but I was pleasantly surprised with myself once I started planning my wedding. Everything that I was ordering, putting together, and picturing was all just stuff. It didn't matter to me that much. Centerpiece frames weren't exactly the size I was hoping? Oh well, they still totally work. Seating chart isn't Pinterest worthy? Guess what, guests will read it, find their seat and never look at it again. Vendor only put 9 chairs at each table instead of 10? Ehh, all my guests are adults and they'll figure it out, I'm going to go hug my grandma. All the little wedding things take up majority of your head space while planning it, so it's easy to make the small stuff seem super important. But at the end of the day, your wedding day is a celebration for you and your future husband and all that other stuff is just fluff.

TAYLOR & PARKER'S DREAM TEAM OF VENDORS:

Photography - Ashley Brown, Shining Light Photography

Videography - White Owl Weddings

Venue - Springhouse Gardens

Hair - Kristin Korona

Makeup - Kristin Gray

Dress/Accessories - Twirl

Flowers - Natural Endeavors

Catering - Donna Potter, Catering by Donna

DJ - Larry Lee, Soundwave DJ

Rentals - Goff Tents & Rentals

Mens Suits - Jos A Bank