{Bride}  Meagan Nicole Winborn
{Groom} William Brett Adams
{Hometowns} Meridian, MS / Brandon, MS
{Wedding Site} The South Warehouse, Jackson, MS
{Reception Site} The South Warehouse, Jackson, MS

{How did the two of you meet?}
We met through a mutual friend, who is one of Brett’s best friends.  Our first actual meeting was at Chili’s… yes, Chili’s. I know, how do you top that?

{What is your proposal story?}
We were visiting a friend in Charlotte, North Carolina.  We decided to extend our vacation by a couple of days and traveled to Charleston, South Carolina. We spent the first night exploring downtown and decided to spend our last day of the trip on Folly Beach.  We ate dinner on Sullivan’s Island.  After dinner, we took a walk down the beach where Brett got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was really sweet and I was completely surprised. 

Seeing as how I diva'd out that morning & insisted we drive around 20 minutes to find a parking spot so that we could eat breakfast at a particular restaurant, where Brett then found a big black hair in his food… I’m just thankful he still asked me to marry him some odd hours later J

{What inspired your wedding and reception locations?}
Knowing that I could have the ceremony and reception in the same place was all it took for me. I also really love that The South is so transformable. Literally, every vision I had of my wedding day fit in perfectly with the venue.

{What inspired your color scheme/theme/flowers?} 
Well there were 2 things I knew for sure: I knew exactly how I wanted the ceremony to look & I knew I wanted my bridesmaids to all have different colored neutral dresses.  From that, everything else just came to life. That is also where I stop taking credit for anything.  I had an awesome wedding planner and an awesome florist; I gave them free reign to do their thing. After all, weddings are their jam. I showed them pictures of things I loved, but I ultimately left it in their hands. Best decision ever.

{How did you pick “the dress?”}
Well, I knew that I wanted a ball gown dress (because come on… when do you ever get to dress up like Cinderella again and get away with it?).  That was really all I knew though. I tried on at least 20 dresses; I know, I had to be the most frustrating bride to deal with. BUT when I walked out of the dressing room in “the dress” I just knew “Yes. This. This is it.”

{What’s your favorite unique accessory? Is there a story behind it?}
I wouldn’t necessarily say accessories are my thing (my credit card bill might disagree with that).  However, I did really love my wedding shoes.  They were bright blue Vince Camuto pumps.

{What was your favorite part of the wedding planning process?}
Honestly, realizing that it wasn’t about the planning was my favorite part of the whole process. At first, I really stressed myself out trying to figure out how I was going to make everything “perfect;” I had Vera Wang taste on a Target budget.

It was in my first wedding planning meeting that I realized I just couldn’t afford to have our wedding on a Saturday. With my head hung, I text Brett saying “I’m good with a Sunday wedding if you are.” He replied: “I’m good with Tuesday”. (I still have that message saved in my phone; it was The Office, Jim/Pam mental picture, for sure).

{Besides the actual wedding, what was your favorite moment of the wedding day?}
Our first look.  I don’t think I’ve ever had a bigger smile on my face.

{What was your favorite surprise detail/moment about your wedding day?}
Brett’s 90 year young grandmother danced down the aisle during the recessional to Little Bitty Pretty One by Thurston Harris.  That’s forever awesome.

Photographer: Followell Fotography, Robby Followell
Event Planner: Kendall Poole Event Planning
Dress: Imaginations Bridal
Bride’s Jewelry: Kenneth Jay Lane Petite Crystal Drops from BHLDN & a Kendra Scott bracelet
Hair & Make-up: Molly Gee Designs
Bridesmaid Dresses:  I let them choose their own dresses
Tuxes: Tuxedo Junction
Videographer: Revival House
Venue: The South Warehouse
Lighting/Florist/Catering: Fresh Cut Catering & Floral
Bar: World of Wines
Ceremony Musician: Anse Rigby
Band: Chris Gill & The Sole Shakers
Bride’s Cake: Cakes by Iris
Print Material: Emily Damiens
Car Service: Phoenix Limousine & Luxury Coach, LLC

The Town of Livingston is home to some of the most delectable dishes in Mississippi.  County Seat Restaurant has made a name for itself with a warm and inviting atmosphere, unparalleled service, and incredibly delicious food, made with ingredients fresh from local farms. 

Impressively, County Seat presents a new menu each season, and they recently unveiled their incredible Fall Menu.  Abby Enfinger, General Manager of County Seat, says, "We wanted the Fall Menu to be the 'fatten up for winter' menu.  We incorporated creams and savory sauces for these dishes."  Decadent choices include Lobster Pot Pie, Short Ribs and Dumplings, and Creamy Pumpkin Soup. 

Local farms around the Livingston area will be providing fresh pumpkins, squash, greens, beef and pork.  You will not be able to find these fresh fall flavors anywhere else! 

Abby says, "We want people of all walks of life to feel welcome here.  We are very competitively priced and give you much more for the value!  You are sure to leave fat and happy without breaking the bank!"

We insist you visit County Seat and savor these extraordinary dishes!  For more information on County Seat, please visit their website here! 

A very special thank you to Mary Moment Photography for capturing these fall plates so beautifully! Please visit the Mary Moment Photography website here!

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  Childhood cancer affects a staggering number of families each year.  Approximately 15,780 children will be diagnosed in 2015, and a quarter of those precious little ones will not survive this horrific and confusing disease. September aims to raise funds for research and ground-breaking treatments to better fight childhood cancer.

Many Mississippians know a family battling childhood cancer. Often, it is hard to know how to support, love and pray for these families.   Emily Ruff Witcher, founder of Ruff Draft Papers, has created a beautifully sweet prayer card, stating “For this child I have prayed.”  It is the perfect card to send to a friend or loved one with a sick child.

Emily started her business in 2010 and specializes in custom stationary and beautiful invitations.  She creates "Custom Papers for Pretty Occasions."  Emily says, “I love to take themes for parties and customize the invitation in a way that can’t be found at your every day retail store.  The invitation is the first glimpse people get into an event, so it should always set the stage and be fabulous and fun!”

Emily is a dear friend of a family whose child recently lost a long, brave fight with cancer.  During his treatment, his family inspired her to create the lovely prayer cards.  “I always love getting notes in the mail on pretty stationery and knew that a pretty prayer card would be a small way the family would feel loved by those whose lives they have touched by their faith and strength in the middle of this storm,” says Emily.

We have no doubt Emily's prayer cards will bring tears of joy and gratitude to anyone who receives them.  Thank you, Emily, for sharing your pretty papers! If you are interested in purchasing some of Emily’s sweet cards or custom invitations, please email her at [email protected]

You can also visit her website here!

"The Mississippi Delta is not always dark with rain.  Some autumn mornings, the sun rises over Moon Lake, or Eagle, or Choctaw, or Blue, or Roebuck, all the wide, deep waters of the state, and when it does, its dawn is as rosy with promise and hope as any other."  Lewis Nordan, Wolf Whistle

Mississippi is simply stunning in the fall, and we are excited to unveil our gorgeous autumn magazine cover today!  We truly hope you love it as much as we do. 

Also, we are thrilled to share our Modern Dress Inspiration photo shoot with you!  With beautiful beading, shiny silks, exquisite pleating and structured fabrics, these gowns all create a perfectly modern silhouette. 

Location at The South Warehouse
Photography by Adam + Alli Photography
Dresses by The Bridal Path
Hair & Makeup by Barnette's Salon
Rentals by Modern Revival Rentals
Dance Floor by Mississippi Tent
Lighting by Davaine Lighting

Music Garden is Mississippi’s ultimate booking agency for musical entertainment.  If you are in search of a great band for your wedding reception or event, Music Garden will guide you through the process.  They will help you choose the perfect entertainment for your event!  Founder Martin Brasfield says, “We have enjoyed perfecting methods of bringing brides and wedding planners the best entertainment for their receptions and providing as much support as we can throughout the process.”

What a fascinating and fun agency!  We are thrilled to tell you more about Music Garden through Martin’s eyes:

Tell us the history behind Music Garden.  When and why was the company started?
“I had a band management company back in the late 1980's.  In my role as manager, part of my job description was to make sure my artists worked every week.  I constantly had independent bands asking me to book them as well, so I started finding them work.  In 1992, I started the booking agency Music Garden - catering to college fraternities and sororities.  A lot of my party/dance bands became extremely popular with the students, so when they (the students) graduated and got ready to ‘tie the knot,’ they would call me for a reception band.  Through the years, Music Garden has grown into a wedding reception band agency with well over 60% of our business being wedding related."

How does Music Garden choose the exclusive bands on your roster? 
“Through the years, Music Garden's agents have learned what brides and planners want in a reception band.  We are very careful about which bands we bring to our exclusive roster.  Before accepting a band as exclusive, we see a show, meet with the band, consider their entertainment level and professionalism as well as their musical ability and appearance.  Again, we are very selective. So, unfortunately, we often have to turn down bands that want to be on our roster if they don't score high enough in any of those areas. When we do bring in a new band to the roster, we prepare the right marketing material that best represents the band including a professional video (which most people insist on these days while looking for an act for their event).”  

What advantages do clients have booking a band through Music Garden?
"At Music Garden, we can have up to fifty receptions taking place in a week, so we have a lot of experience. We offer the best selection of professional, fun, and talented wedding bands.  Our selection process (described above) narrows down the list, which saves our clients from having to go through that arduous task themselves. We then monitor each performance by sending wedding questionnaires to the customers, following each event, for feedback and any constructive criticism, which is discussed with the band so that each band is constantly improving in every area. This helps ensure that when you book a Music Garden band, you are getting a quality service.”

 Tell us the process for booking a band and working with a Music Garden Agent!
“You can email or call our office with your date, city and band choice, or we can offer some selections for your genre preference that we know are available for your date.  We then send a quote and video link (if you would like to see that) and references are always available upon request if you would like to hear from a previous customer about their experience.  Once you have made your choice, we finalized the booking with a deposit and a contract, locking in that band for your special day. Our agents can get the answers for any questions you may have about what it takes to prepare for a live band at your reception.  Music Garden will be here to remind you about some details the band will need to know as your date approaches and will help in any way to make your band a success.”

Why is a good band such a vital part of a wedding reception or event?
“I am constantly being told that the band was the most important part of the reception.  The reception is the time of celebration when friends and family of the bride and groom are supposed to be having a fun time.  A great band can make the reception a lasting positive memory for the bride, groom and all of the guests.”

We totally agree. “Through the years, Music Garden has been able to build our roster with some of the top bands in the southeast.  We have people from all over the country that reach out to us to book Music Garden bands like Az-IzZ, Musical Fantasy, Compozitionz, Big Night Dynamite, Park Band, Main Attraction, 2nd Coming, Accent, Fountain City Players, Norris Dates and Power Surge, Creativity, Tim Tyler, Fly By Radio, Lucky Town, Blackberry Breeze, Black Jacket, 4 Barrel Funk , and Powerhouse,” says Martin.  “We are so fortunate to have great bands like these.  It definitely makes our jobs easier. ”

Thank you, Martin, for sharing more about your fantastic agency.  For more information on Music Garden, please visit their website here!