Real Wedding: McKay + Joey’s Sweet Southern Wedding

Happy Monday everyone. I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I have such a lovely southern wedding to share with you all today. Photographed by Matt of Our Labor of Love, it really is just so sweet. McKay also shared some details into the day with me. Thanks McKay!

We wanted our wedding to be a once-in-a-lifetime party. A big, loud, raucous, fun celebration where family and friends from all different points in our lives could come together and witness our marriage. That led to the search for the perfect venue which really set the tone for the day. Once I found Goodwood I knew it was the place. Ceremony and reception in one spot? Check. We can get married outside under the live oaks? Yes ma’am! The carriage house will hold all of our guests for the reception? Sweet! Bring in whatever caterer you like? Yippee. Provide your own alcohol? Don’t mind if I do! From there, the rest just kind of fell into place. We stayed with a natural palette- greens, creams and tan so as not to compete with the beautiful backdrop of the plantation. I love the textures of burlap, twine and wood and tried to incorporate those elements into the décor in ways that would complement the rustic feel of the venue. You could say I found my inner Martha during wedding planning and had fun DIY’ing whatever I could.

wedding sign

anthropologie bridesmaids dresses

wedding gold shoes and bouquets

grooms

southern wedding ceremony

wedding throws and bouquet

southern mansion wedding

southern outdoor wedding ceremony

bridal party

wedding place cards and table numbers

wedding cake and decor

wedding photography our labor of love

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

This one is hard. I can honestly say that the whole day was better than anything I could’ve EVER imagined. I was completely overwhelmed by the joy I felt all around us. Everyone was smiling and having a great time, just genuinely happy to be there and happy to celebrate the day. It was amazing. I’m a self diagnosed people pleaser and usually spend parties we have making sure no one needs anything and if they’re doing ok. So I wasted a lot of time leading up to the wedding worrying how I could ensure all the guests would have a good time. Once dinner ended, and I’d gotten my fill of fried chicken and mashed potatoes, I hardly left the dance floor and spent the entire night with my husband. I just realized that that is my favorite moment: Spending the entire night with Joey. And you know what? Everyone had fun without me checking on them. We still have friends and family telling us what an awesome time they had.

Check out this fun video of their Smilebooth – yep, I’d say lots of fun was had!

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Make it yours. If you enjoy DIY, do it- if you loathe the idea of crafting for hours on end, don’t feel like you are a failure of a bride. There are some amazing people out there that can make your vision come alive. Etsy is a godsend. Take in the day- really look around and feel the love surrounding you. It’s an unbelievable sensation. Above all else, stay true to what is important to you and your fiancé. Some people may not agree with or understand your ideas at first, but wait until they see the day unfold.

Getting there can be stressful and uncertain, exciting and wonderful and sometimes just plain hard. But don’t most things worth creating take work? Creating our new family was incredible.

Thanks so much McKay! And congrats to you and Joey! Your day looked like so much fun – best wishes to you both :)

Vendors:
Location: Goodwood Museum & Gardens
Floral Design: Jessie Winchester
Photographer: Our Labor of Love
Decor: I mainly made or bought all of the other decor, and my dad did all of the woodwork :)
Invitation Suite: emilyley paper
Caterer: Food Glorious Food
Wedding Cake: Publix
DJ: Bob of loganmania
Calligraphy: Jane Farr
Ring Bearer bowl: Paloma’s Nest
Wedding Dress: Demetrios
Flowers on Dress & Hairpiece: B poetic
Bridesmaid Dresses: Anthropologie
Groomsmen Attire: Jos.A.Banks
Caketopper: lynns little creations

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