{Groom} Charles Griffin Smith (goes by Griffin)
{Wedding Site} (Galloway United Methodist Church, Jackson, MS)
{Reception Site} (Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS)
{Bride’s Bouquet} White Hydrangea, Juliet Garden Roses, Patience Garden Roses and Ranunculus
{Bridesmaid Bouquets} Chablis Roses, Lisianthus, Silver Brunia, Ranunculus, Dusty Miller, White Majolica Spray Roses and Seeded Eucalyptus
Griffin and I met in Oxford our freshman year in the spring of 2007. It was around the time the KA’s, Griffin’s fraternity, went to New Orleans for their Spring Formal. My friend, Tory McGuire, set us up on a blind date and we immediately hit it off in the bayou. We made our relationship official in the fall of 2008, our junior year, before we headed down to Baton Rouge to watch Ole Miss beat LSU. We are so blessed to have met while in school at Ole Miss and share so many mutual friends and memories together. We now live in Atlanta together, after living in Jackson, WY and Charleston, SC.
{What is your proposal story?}
Griffin proposed to me in the summer of 2013 on a beach trip with his immediate family including his mom, dad, older sister, brother in law, little sister and 6-month-old nephew in Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina. Griffin took me on a beautiful sunset stroll down the beach, got down on one knee and popped the question. We then saw his mom and adorable two sisters hiding in the sea grass who captured it all on camera. When we returned to the house and the rest of the boys were waiting on the porch that overlooked the bay with champagne to celebrate. My sweet soon to be father in law handed me a beautiful red rose and told me how he couldn’t wait for me to be his only ever daughter in law. It was the most wonderful surprise and it meant so much for us to be able to celebrate with family.
We wanted to celebrate our wedding by making it personable while entwining the traditional south, with a few modern, elegant aspects and overall fun! Therefore we knew it, our wedding was definitely “mint to be” in Mississippi! We both felt strongly about marring in the Church. We chose my home Church, Galloway United Methodist Church. My Galloway family really holds a special place in my heart and the church itself is gorgeous. It is a historical church in downtown Jackson across the street from the old capital. It has a beautiful garden, enormous antebellum columns and stain glass windows. I had my heart set on the Mississippi Museum of Art because I loved the modern artsy feel. I wanted out of town guests to get a great first impression of Mississippi. The MS Museum of Art would show off MS’s creative side. There was actually an Oxford festival was being held the day we visited, which sold Griffin! We fell in love with the beautiful backdrop mural of green and snow topped mountains with wildlife in the middle of our dance floor that reminded of us Jackson, Wyoming. We also saw a lot of potential in the enormous, relaxing patio. So there you had it! The MS Museum of Art was “mint to be” our reception!
{What inspired your color scheme/theme/flowers?}
I wanted a breath of fresh air from winter and bring spring colors early for our late February wedding. Finding the bridesmaids dresses was first on my list. Griffin’s favorite color is green and I love pastel looking colors. My mom and sisters shopped at Bella Bridesmaids in ATL and found the perfect color dress. It was a mint green; hence where the play on words came from for our “mint to be” wedding and our planning started getting real creative and fun! We had “mint to be” mints to pass out to guests, “mint to be” sparkle sneakers for under my wedding dress, “mint to be” earrings handmade for the bridesmaids, “mint to be” love birds on the wedding cake, and our lighting for the reception was even “mint to be”. For flowers we used colors of whites, greys, a little greenery, pale pinks, and a pop of bright peach, which complimented the bridesmaids mint dresses beautifully. The groomsmen wore dark grey tuxes.
{How did you pick “the dress”?}
I did not step one foot into a bridal shop. My mom found her wedding dress from up in the attic and it was not in the best condition. It was from 1978. The dress was beautifully laced with long sleeves and high neck and had a silky flow at the bottom. My mom helped me zip it up and it really just fit perfect. I knew this was “the dress”. It needed to be restored and I wanted to change it up a little to have a hint of my personality in it. We found Sandra Ashford who had restored my mothers’ veil for my sister’s wedding and she made it look brand new again. We took the high neck off and made it scallop off the shoulders. It was stunning. It was so special to me to be ale to wear my mothers’ dress, being as she is a huge role model to me and has been happily married to my dad for 36 years.
Mississippi artist who hand makes stunning hairpieces and others. I have known Molly Gee around Jackson. My mom and Istopped by her tent at Mistletoe and it was “mint to be”. I fell in love with this hairpiece. Its beautiful combinations of silver rhinestones with shades or pink and white pearls. It’s sunning!
Helping design the Grooms Cake because it was a surprise. I loved watching Griffin’s face light up when he saw all his tickets he had collected throughout his life transform on his pistachio flavored cake. He collected tickets of all kinds such as Oxford concerts at The Lyric and Proud Larry’s, Ole Miss and Braves sporting events, traveling in Europe, his favorite band Widespread Panic and many more. It represented his love for music, sports, travel and our love story. It was so colorful and propped on top of an antique suitcase with an edible record that sat on top with our wedding song “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
Both of our family’s gathered in the small Chapel while guests were filling the sanctuary. We all held hands while our preacher, Reverend Joey Shelton, led us in prayer. It was amazing and comforting feeling God’s presence. It was well needed to take a pause and pray together after lots of prepping for the wedding and before walking down the aisle.
My Dad walking me down the aisle was a pretty awesome feeling. When I was a little girl I loved watching “Father of the Bride” with my Dad. I knew it would be a cherished moment when it was my turn to walk down the aisle with him. I felt very blessed and love him so very much.
My sister singing our prayer song while playing the guitar was so special. We knelt down on our prayer quilt that included our new initials and scripture readings. We made a pillow of the quilt after the wedding and it is now on our bed. It is such a great reminder of our special day.
I got a little choked up saying my vows, but as soon as I looked into Griffin’s big brown eyes my nerves seemed to disappear. I knew at that moment that we were becoming one before God surrounded by all of our family and friends, which meant the world to me. It was the most wonderful moment that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.
Walking into our reception was breath taking. All of our planning came to reality all thanks to our wonderful wedding planner Kendall Poole Event Planning, family, friends and my mom!
{What was your favorite photo from the day?}
Event Planner: Kendall Poole Event Planning (KPEP) {http://kendallpooleeventplanning.com/}
She is awesome!! I was so relaxed and could really enjoy my big day because of her!! She blew my socks off!! She is so talented!
Dress: Sandra Ashford Designer: The Ashford Collection
Bride’s Jewelry: Molly Gee Designs {http://www.mollygeedesigns.com}
Bride and Bridesmaids Earrings: BroqueRevival: Alexandra Long {https://www.etsy.com/shop/BroqueRevival}
Hair and Make-Up: Kristina Myers {https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kristina-Myers/299528236853226}
Bridesmaid Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids of Atlanta {http://www.bellabridesmaids.com/locations/atlanta/}
Joanna August, Chiffon, Dani-long, Color-I Want Candy {http://www.joannaaugust.com/dresses/chiffon/dani-long}
Tuxes: Tuxes Too {http://www.tuxestoo.com}
Venue: MS Museum of Art {http://msmuseumart.org/}
Lighting: Davaine Lighting {http://www.davainelighting.com/}
Rentals: Great Southern Events {http://www.greatsouthernevents.com/}
Florist: Au Courant Floral {http://www.aucourantfloral.com/}
Catering: MS Museum of Art {http://msmuseumart.org/}
Bar: MS Museum of Art
Band: The Compozitionz / Jackson, MS {http://www.musicgardenbands.com/find-a-band/general/compozitionz/view-details.html}