We at Inspiration Mississippi wish you a happy, healthy and relaxing Labor Day!  Today honors you, your hard work and dedication, which have greatly strengthened the beautiful country we call home!  

Labor Day opens the door to one of our favorite seasons.  Fall is truly a magical time in Mississippi, and an especially wonderful time to visit Vicksburg!  Imagine walking around the charming city on a crisp fall day, soaking in all of the history that makes Vicksburg such a unique town.

Vicksburg is also attracting impressive musical acts!  On Saturday, September 12, country favorite Sammy Kershaw will take the stage at Lady Luck Casino.  Kershaw has recorded 10 studio albums, and his latest album, “I Won’t Back Down” is the country crooner’s first release in over four years.  Some of our favorite Kershaw tunes include Vidalia and Queen of My Double Wide Trailer.  This is a concert you will not want to miss!

On Friday, September 18, Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band will be playing at Ameristar Casino!  The Chicago Tribune once wrote, “Though he enjoys the creativity of the recording process, Shepherd says the whole reason to make records is to do what he really loves, which is to play live shows.”  The Louisiana born musician has sold millions of albums, dazzling fans as a rock blues guitarist.  We cannot wait to see this guitar legend's incredible show! 

“We are so fortunate to be able to bring great musicians to perform in Vicksburg,” says Laura Beth Strickland, Communications Manager of Vicksburg CVB.  “During the day, our visitors visit our national park, museums, art galleries, shops and tour homes. We are able to provide great nighttime entertainment to keep our visitors staying longer in our city and boosting our local economy.” 

We can’t think of anything better than listening to live music in one of our favorite cities.  Happy Labor Day!  We hope to see you in Vicksburg!

It is officially college football season!  We know many of you will be tailgating this weekend:  laughing with friends and family, catching up over delicious fare, sipping toddies, and cheering for your beloved team. 

Today, we are thrilled to share some of our dear friends' favorite tailgating traditions with you!

"Having bayou food on the LSU game day."  Wendy Putt of Fresh Cut Catering & Floral

"I love how friends from all over are in basically the same spot each and every year.  You can find them this way just to say hi and catch up!  We always laughed that there was a Jackson section of the Grove and a coastal section, and how the Grove is almost divided up like the state or states.  This makes it such a fun family friendly atmosphere where you can see friends old and new, and watch children grow as the years go by."  Jennifer Walker

"Trying everyone's cooking!!!"  Shelley Brown Floyd of Brown Bottling Group

"We paint and carve Ole Miss pumpkins for the first home game in October every year.  I love bringing the holiday to the Grove!"  Bethany Daws Cooley

"Seeing good friends and knowing that you'll always have the fall to catch up with buddies that you don't get to see the rest of the year."  Luke Chamblee

"I love the smell of the grills and just people around visiting while watching other games on TV.  Waking up early in the morning and setting up and gearing up for the game."  Jeff Chao of Chao Photography

"I love watching the Eagle Walk right before the game!  When the team and players walk through campus and the band is playing!  It's so much fun!  Definitely gets everyone in the spirit for the game!"  Whitney Giordano Foster

"To me, the tradition of setting everything up the morning before, seeing all of your friends and family start showing up with food, drinks, decorations.  For me at least that means its time to get the day going, so you know you can go visit with people at your tent and then make a loop around visiting all your other buddies at their tents, and seeing people you haven't seen in a while."  Lee Hutchinson

"My favorite thing is that we have been tailgating with family since I was a little girl in an Ole Miss cheerleader uniform...It's so fun to have your parents, brothers, aunt, uncles and cousins (many, many cousins!) and now tons of babies all together for Ole Miss football.  Our sweet mommas still cook all of the food...Favorites include hot ham sandwiches, Monroe pizzas, tootsie dip and iced brownies!  Nothing like having all your family together every Saturday!  When it's time to go to the game we all walk to the stadium together...so fun!"  Neely Nasif Moffett

"Connecting with my sorority sisters before homecoming game.  We usually meet at one of the fraternity tents (Kappa Alpha Psi) to eat & partake in 'spirits!'  Then we go back afterwards for the finish line party!"  Lori Jackson

Cheers to college football season! 

All of the precious clothing for our shoot was provided by our favorite children's store, Sweet Dreams Children's Boutique in Madison!  They have an incredible assortment of clothing and accessories, perfect for your sweet sports fans!  Click here to visit the Sweet Dreams Facebook Page! 

Thank you to Christina Foto for capturing these little football fans so beautifully!  Click here to view her gorgeous website. 

{Bride}  Shelby Waters
{Groom} Bradley Sartain
{Hometowns}  Shelby – Jackson, MS 
Bradley – Madison, MS
{Wedding Site} (name and location) Christ United Methodist Church, Jackson, MS
{Reception Site} (name and location) Jackson Yacht Club
{Bride’s Bouquet}  The bride carried a hand-wrapped bouquet of white peonies, wrapped with an ivory ribbon and adorned with her grandmother’s (Lucy Waters) heirloom brooch.

{How did the two of you meet?}  We met in Starkville, MS, while in school at MSU, through a mutual friend.

{What is your proposal story?} Bradley proposed at my favorite place, the Neshoba County Fair, in front of all of my family.

{What inspired your wedding and reception locations?} I grew up going to Christ United Methodist Church. I was Christened, Baptized, and now married there. I had always dreamed of getting married in that church since I was a little girl. As for the Yacht Club, Bradley is very into fishing and also he is currently getting his doctorate in Aquatic Weed Science at LSU, so being around a body of water just seemed fitting for us. We left our reception in a boat. It was perfect.

{What inspired your color scheme/theme/flowers?} Lavender had never really been a color choice of mine until I got engaged. After picking that color, I found out that my mother and now mother-in-law both had lavender bridesmaid’s dresses as well, so it just seemed too perfect. Wendy Putt of Fresh Cut Catering & Floral did a wonderful job with the bridesmaids’ flowers that really made their dresses stand out.

{How did you pick “the dress?”} I found my dress on the second visit to a bridal store. I knew I wanted a vintage-inspired back. After putting in on, there was no question; I knew it was the one.

{What’s your favorite unique accessory? Is there a story behind it?} I had two unique accessories that I used on my wedding day. The first was my great grandmother’s engagement ring from 1915 that my grandmother, Lucy Waters, had made into a necklace for me. The second was an heirloom brooch I had on my bouquet that my grandfather, Bucky Waters, gave to my grandmother, Lucy Waters.

{What was your favorite part of the wedding planning process?} Bradley and I used the bride and groom from his grandparents’ wedding 64 years ago. That was something very special to us that we wanted to incorporate into our wedding. To make things even more special, my uncle, Wyatt Waters, painted the bride and groom for our Save the Dates and we also used the actual painting on the bride’s cake table next to the bride and groom. It was very fun to be able to use things in our wedding that are extremely special to us.

{Besides the actual wedding, what was your favorite moment of the wedding day?} I had the pleasure of having my uncle, Wyatt Waters, paint our first dance. It was a very special gift to us and something that we will cherish forever.

Photographer: Leah Alford Hendrix

Event Planner/Wedding Coordinator: Crisler Boone

Dress: Lace

Hair: Noggin’s Salon

Make-up: Lindsay Aldrich

Bridesmaid Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids

Tuxes/Suits: Kinkade’s Fine Clothing

Videographer: Shorter Productions

Venue: Jackson Yacht Club

Lighting: Davaine Lighting

Rentals: Fresh Cut Catering & Floral

Florist: Fresh Cut Catering & Floral

Catering: Jackson Yacht Club

Bar: Jackson Yacht Club

Band: Class Reunion

Bride’s Cake: Cakes by Iris

Groom’s Cake: Cakes by Iris

Print Material: Acme Printing

Car Service: Kelly Kyle