Photography by Adam + Alli Photography
Dresses by Imaginations Bridal
Hair, Makeup & Adornment by Molly Gee Designs
Car by Way Back in Time

A Winter wedding can be simply magical!  Today, we are thrilled to share our Classic Dress Inspiration photo shoot from Inspiration Mississippi Magazine.  These feminine dresses adorned with lace, pearls and crystals will have you craving a wintry affair.

{Blog by Mitchell Walters}

MEET MY MISSISSIPPI (By Patricia Neely-Dorsey)
William Faulkner’s Sanctuary
Eudora Welty’s home state
Elvis Presley’s birthplace 
The bulk of the Natchez Trace;
Choctaw Nation native land 
Rolling hills of the Chickasaw band 
Sprawling beaches along the Gulf Coast shore
One blues man’s Crossroads and inspiration for more;
Like Albert, B.B., Bukka, Howlin’ Wolf ,
Little Milton and Muddy Waters who came to the fore 
There’s farm-raised catfish , Delta tamales, seafood galore 
And warm front porch welcomes with a wide open door 
Creative muse for Barq’s, Stetson, Peavey, Viking 
And Henson’s famous green frog
And “Where The Southern Crosses The Yellow Dog ”
An abundance of history, tradition and folklore
With Ruins of Windsor, Vicksburg Battlefield 
Emerald Mound and Pharr Mounds to explore 
You’ll find an authentic Dentzel carousel merry go round 
Where Jimmie Rodgers fathered a unique country sound
She’s a ride down the Mighty River on the American Queen
And some of the most beautiful countryside that you’ve ever seen
She’s music and melodies and the mockingbird’s songs,
By valor and arms and faith ever strong;
She’s magnolias blooming around Jackson’s capitol dome
With the buzz of the honeybee 
And sweet scent of the honeysuckle
That forever say “home”
Since December 10, 1817 
Our 20th state
“Go Mississippi” 
The Hospitality State
Roll On Mississippi
You’re a true State of Grace.

This evening, two baseball teams will set aside their fierce rivalry and play a game in memory of a remarkable teenager.  At 6:00pm, the Prep Patriots and Jackson Academy Raiders will meet on the Patriot Field at Jackson Prep for the Walker Wilbanks Legacy Game, celebrating the late Prep student.  All proceeds will benefit the Walker Wilbanks Scholarship Fund.  We encourage everyone in the Jackson area to attend this game and honor the life of an incredible young man. 

Inspiration Mississippi Magazine chose Walker Wilbanks as our Most Inspirational Mississippian.  He has inspired us, and we know his life will inspire you.  Today, we share with you the article from Inspiration Mississippi.  A special thanks to his family, coaches and friends for sharing their laughter, tears and precious memories of Walker Wilbanks with us.

Walker Wilbanks stood out.  He had a fetching head full of thick red hair, honest blue eyes and a face filled with endearing freckles.  Much like Saul in 1 Samuel, verse 9, he was “A handsome young man.  There was none finer – he literally stood head and shoulders above the crowd.” Walker was a teenage boy with an extraordinary heart.    

An easygoing, sweet guy, Walker enjoyed camping, deep-sea fishing, and cooking up fiercely competitive Ping-Pong matches against his little brother, Landon.  Only two years his senior, Walker and Landon were extremely close and Landon looked to his big brother for laughs and advice.  Walker was an active member in the youth group at First Baptist Church, and enjoyed fellowship with friends at a weekly Bible study.

He was also a loving and devoted son to his parents, Sheila and David.  Sheila reflects, “Walker was not perfect, but he always tried to do the right thing.  He loved playing sports, he loved hanging out with his friends, he loved to laugh and he loved his family.  He had a ‘driven’ spirit when it came to sports, but a ‘gentle’ spirit in everyday life.”

Walker was a remarkably talented baseball and football player and was fired up about the first game of Jackson Prep’s 2014 football season.  Prep’s head football coach, Ricky Black says, “Walker’s attitude was so contagious that adults and other students enjoyed his presence and his friendship.  Walker's athletic attitude was motivated by trust.... you could trust him to do his job and he had trust in others to do their job. It was my great pleasure to coach Walker Wilbanks, #65.”  On August 22nd, after playing aggressively during the first half, Walker suddenly fell ill.  From the stands, his close friend Ashley O’Mara noticed he had been helped to the bench.  “The sideline doctors were surrounding him.  If it had been any other football player I may have not been as astonished, but number 65 belonged to my beloved friend, Walker Wilbanks, a fighter.” 

Walker fought for three days until he slipped peacefully into eternity.  News of his passing shook the city of Jackson, and hundreds of students overwhelmed his family with prayers and support.  Area schools held prayer vigils and Prep’s rival, Jackson Academy, emblazoned their football helmets with the number 65.  Sheila says, “In the hospital I was in complete and total shock.  I remember being thankful and amazed when I saw all of the kids in the waiting room.  They loved my son and that made me feel so good.” 

Sheila adds, “Walker was so compassionate.  He was sweet and loving and would do anything for a friend.”  Or even a stranger.  When Walker obtained his driver’s license, he was determined to be an organ donor. “He was really giving.  Why would he not donate his organs if they were perfectly good?” says Sheila.  Walker gave the ultimate gift to many people.  

“When I received the letter telling me where his organs went, I cried and cried.  Happy and sad tears mixed together,” says Sheila.  He saved five lives with his heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys and lungs.  Walker’s tender heart is miraculously beating strongly in another’s teen’s body.  Upon hearing the news, Landon tweeted, “Walker’s heart is going to save a 14-year-old boy.  Dang, that’s awesome.”

Ashley says sweetly,  “I now have my own personal guardian angel.  Walker taught me to never take anything for granted and to appreciate the days that I have on earth with my loved ones…Walker Wilbanks, the red-headed boy who will never be forgotten, made me a better person.” 

Before his funeral, Walker’s treasured friends and pallbearers were asked to describe him in one word.  Compliments poured out: funny, happy, laid back, loyal, strong, and a great friend. There truly was none finer; Walker stood head and shoulders above the crowd.  Thank you, Walker, for reminding us to play hard, have faith, and love one another. 

Hollywood's brightest stars will gather together this Sunday for the 87th annual Academy Awards.

While the splendor of the evening is enticing, when you strip away the designer gowns, layers of diamonds, makeup and glitz of the Oscars, you simply have brilliant films that deserve to be celebrated. 

With the Oscars tonight, our thoughts have naturally turned to the many amazing pictures filmed right here in Mississippi.   Thanks to the Mississippi Film Office, major motion pictures, documentaries and reality shows are constantly being filmed around the state.  The Mississippi Film Office assists with everything from the initial contact to the wrapping of a movie or program.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Ward Emling from the Mississippi Film Office.  Check out our interview below, featuring the birth of the Film Office, notable movies filmed in our state, and the history between Mississippi and the Oscars:

How did the Mississippi Film Office get started?   How long have you been in business?
The film office was created on January 17, 1973.  It was one of the first three film commissions in the world. (Colorado, Mississippi, Georgia)   It was created by Charles Allen, then head of the Mississippi A & I Board, our economic development agency.  The first two films it brought in were Thieves Like Us and The Musical Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Tell me some of the films you have worked with over the last couple of years, and how you have helped them?
We support all films that come to Mississippi in one way or another: scouting locations, finding cast and crew, coordinating with local municipalities, etc.  We also administer the application process for the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program.  (A 25% - 35% cash rebate for in state spend and resident and non-resident payroll.) 
Big films over the last several years include:  O Brother, Where Art Thou?,  The Help, Get On Up, The Hollars.  Last year was our biggest year ever:
 
   Films:  Get On Up, Midnight Special (partial), Mississippi Grind (partial), Big Bad, The Gift (short), A Gift Horse, The Hollars, Impact Earth, The Livingston Gardener, By Way Of Helena, Worry Dolls, Dixieland, Olivia Martha Ilse (short), Battlecreek, Life At These Speeds, Same Kind Of Different As Me, Texas Heart, The Race of a Lifetime
   
    Reality programming:  Swamp Hunters, Bring It!, The Primary Election, Local News, Party Down South, Mississippi Snake Grabbers
   
    Documentary programming:  Five V Men Live, Gulf South Outdoors, Honey Brake Experience, Ducks Unlimited Television, St. Joe High:  Giant Killers, Y’all vs. Us

Why do you think it is important for films to be shot in Mississippi?
Film production provides broad based economic impact:  from salaries for cast, extras and crew; to production specific support; from car rentals and groceries to dry cleaners and building materials to hotels and restaurants to office equipment and utilities… They also offer opportunity to individuals to be a part of the film industry for a day or for a lifetime. 

Let's talk Oscars.  Are there any Mississippi connections with the Oscars this year?                                              
One, rather obscure connection:  Danielle Brisbois, who is nominated for Best Song from Begin Again, made her film debut in a film made here in 1975 called The Premonition.  Also, Begin Again was produced by Jacksonian Tom Rice.

Any past winners connected with Mississippi we should recall?
Morgan Freeman, Octavia Spencer (The Help)

I think Mississippi Burning, The Insider, Walk The Line, and The Help have received the most nominations of films made (in whole or in part) in Mississippi.  Also, The Reivers and Ghosts of Mississippi received nominations.

Thank you, Ward, for bringing such incredible films to our state!  For more information on the Mississippi Film Office, please visit their website here. 

“The Oxford Film Festival represents the best of independent filmmaking: camaraderie, support, and enthusiasm for independent cinema.  The directors go out of their way to make filmmakers feel appreciated.  I love what OFF has done for Oxford, and I'm honored to be a part of it.”

Filmmaker and Oxford Resident, Meaghin Burke

Oxford, Mississippi is a town that completely embraces, cultivates and celebrates the arts.  The small, charming city has been home to the Oxford Film Festival for over twelve years, screening innovative films from Mississippi and beyond. “Because Oxford is an arts town, film is a natural addition and avenue to story telling,” says Melanie Addington, Development Director of the Film Festival.

This year, films will be screened from February 26 through March 1.  The event is ticketed and open to the public!  Melanie says, “We have an array of experimental, animation, music videos, narrative and documentary.  There are films from Mississippi and from here in Oxford and they have a special award category.  We also have some spotlight films including The Last Time You Had Fun starring Mary Elizabeth Ellis and the Sound and the Fury with James Franco.”

Meaghin Burke is one of the Oxford residents generating buzz with her new film, Garage Sale.  “It is a quiet little film about what it means to be a family and how sometimes the only way through our grief is forward,” says Meaghin. 

Meaghin has participated in the Oxford Film Festival for the past six years.  “For two years I volunteered.  I sold t-shirts and coordinated volunteers.  Then I auditioned and got a part in the 2012 community film, The Show Must Go On, directed by Matthew Graves.  That experience got me hooked on filmmaking,” admits Meaghin.  “By the next year I had directed a short 90-second film (Palindrome) that was included in the festival.” 

In 2014, Meaghin was asked to direct a community film entitled Killer Kudzu.  “Directing that film was so much fun!  We got to involve a ton of folks from the community, and I was really proud of the result.”  Meaghin also had a short documentary in last year’s festival, and her husband had a film in the festival as well! 

The Oxford Film Festival is an extraordinary gift to the community, local writers, producers, actors and filmmakers.  To view a full schedule of Oxford Film Festival events, please click here!