It’s time for STG to take a trip down south, to Atlanta, Georgia, where Sarah and Steven held their wonderful Jewish wedding in their own neighbourhood.
Sarah, a high school educator, and Steven, a healthcare billing manager, were high school sweethearts. Their parents are best friends, making the joining of the two families a long time coming, and especially joyous.
The aesthetic of the day was chic, simple and beautiful – hunter green accents, with beautiful foliage adorning the chairs and, of course, the stunning chuppah.
The emotional day centered around family, with Sarah and Steven honoring lost loved ones by saving them a seat at the ceremony, beautiful bride Sarah wearing her mother’s veil, a grandfather-granddaughter dance, and each parent whispering a piece of advice in their children’s ears after the signing of the ketubah. We won’t ruin their moving words for you, all we’ll say is do read on!
Speaking of the Ketubah, it featured a fabulous Atlanta skyline, paying tribute to the couple’s home town, and expertly crafted by our wonderful and much-loved Recommended Vendor, Ink With Intent.
We love bride Sarah’s sensational writeup, illustrated by gorgeous photography by Maggie and Rachel Photography and the adorable video by Wes Brawner. Over to Sarah!
How we met
Sarah, the bride: Steven and I met at a Jewish high school, so this day was a long time coming…
A venue close to home
We got married at The Trolley Barn in Atlanta, Georgia. The Trolley Barn is less than a mile from our house in downtown Atlanta, so it was so fun to bring everyone right into our lives and neighborhood.
It was also so fun to frequently be able to drive by the venue and daydream about our big day leading up to it!
A simplistic, elegant theme
Steven and I are both simplistic and natural when it comes to design, and we wanted to show simplistic elegance in our wedding. We used a planner, Kristine Cooke of Simply Charming Socials to help us carry this out.
It was important to be to keep colors that were natural to the venue, but also try new things that I had never seen done before. That’s how I chose the hunter green bridesmaid dresses. They fit perfectly, and it was unlike what I’d seen in the blogs I looked at!
An invitation designed by the bride’s bestie
In the best deal ever, my best friend, Laura Amador of Enchanted Designs, designed invitations. I knew I wanted simple elegance. She helped me every step of the way and helped me create an invitation suite that was better than my vision!
A down ‘do with natural makeup
I worked at the front desk of a hair salon one summer, and this team became more than my co-workers, they became my friends- so I knew Salon De La Vie had to be the ones for my hair and makeup.
I chose my hair and makeup after hearing Kate Middleton talk about her wedding. She once said that she didn’t want to look unrecognizable, just beautiful. I mostly wear my hair down with natural makeup, so that’s what I tried to go with on my wedding day.
Finding ‘the one’
My dress is from Wedding Angels Bridal Boutique. It is Hayley Paige‘s “Apollo.” When I came into the store it was the first one I pulled off the rack.
When I put it on, I immediately knew it was the one because I looked in the mirror and truly thought to myself “this is the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.” I loved that it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen anyone else wear, and the material was perfect for a garden wedding.
Mom’s veil
My veil was my mother, Jennifer Wilder’s, that she wore when she married my dad in 1980. When Steven and I got engaged, my mom showed showed me that she had kept it, in case I wanted to wear it. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it as a part of my bridal look. It was styled a little more in the 1980s bridal style, so we had it modernized, and she gifted it to me at my bridal shower.
The only piece of jewelry I wore was another piece from my mom. It’s a very special bracelet that I wear every day. My mother gave it to me went I left for college to remind me that she backed every choice I made 100%.
Flat shoes for dancing
I wore a gold pair of Tory Burch flats. Simple and elegant – my style! They had to be comfortable to dance the night away!
The handsome groom
Didn’t he look AMAZING!!?? I loved the idea of a grey tux. Formal and elegant, but different. And his stylish self picked his adorable striped bow tie. The tux was by Michael Kors. I was blown away when I saw Steven. He blushed every time, but I told him over and over he truly looked like a model!
Bridesmaids in hunter green
I had six bridesmaids, who were made up of my best friends, three of whom I’ve known for 25+ years. I originally thought I wanted champagne-colored dresses to go with a more natural theme. However, when we went to try on dresses, the store had a hunter green sample.
My girls had very different body types, and everyone who tried on this hunter green dress looked phenomenal! I was really nervous using such a dark color, but it was something I had never seen before. I took a chance, and it worked out so well. They all got to pick their necklines, so not only were they comfortable, but they were absolutely gorgeous!
Remembering lost loved ones
It was very special to have both set of parents under the chuppah with us. Our parents are best friends, so our wedding truly felt like two families coming together.
Steven’s grandfather, Marvin, was his favorite person. He passed a few years ago, but we knew he had to be a part of our wedding. We had a chair set aside for him where we hung his tallit. It was beautiful.
Moving personal vows
One thing that was very important to me was that Steven and I say our own personal vows along with our Hebrew vows.
My favorite thing that my shy husband said was “this big wedding was never my dream, but you are, and I would do this over and over again for you.” He says his favorite part of my personal vows were when I said “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
An Ink with Intent Atlanta skyline ketubah
Our ketubah was SO important to us. We’ve been to a lot of Jewish weddings, and continued to see the same style ketubah over and over. Atlanta is where we met in high school, where we fell in love, got engaged and made our first home together. It’s very special to us, so we wanted to incorporate it in our whole wedding, including our ketubah! We found Ink With Intent, an artist that would turn the Atlanta skyline into our ketubah and we were sold at first sight! People raved about it all night!
Our bridal party, and anyone who was already at the venue, was invited to see our ketubah signing, which was so special. After we signed, the Rabbi asked our parents to whisper a piece of advice in our ears. I can’t speak to what Steven’s parents said but my dad said “if you love him half as much as I love your mom – you’ll be happy forever.” It made me cry.
A grandfather-granddaughter dance
Steven, and our bridal party, walked down to an instrumental version of I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.
Something special was that when Steven’s groomsmen walked down the aisle. They shook his hand under the chuppah, and when my bridesmaids walked down they hugged him.
After that, the doors to the Trolley Barn closed. When they opened to me and my dad, the band sang the lyrical version of the song, and they continued to sing as I did my seven circles.
We walked back down to the band singing You Are The Best Thing. We also used that as our cake topper. I just love that song! Steven really is the best thing!
We let our parents pick their songs. My dad chose The Way You Look Tonight and Steven’s mom chose Forever Young.
I surprised my grandfather who has been a huge part of my life with a grandfather – granddaughter dance, we danced to Isn’t She Lovely. I’m his first grandchild, and it just meant everything to have him there!
Pretty peonies
One of my first choices in my wedding was I HAD to have peonies! They were everywhere!
I also wanted to keep the beautiful deep greens flowing through the wedding so the garden theme really showed.
Robin Smith of Rhapsody In Blooms was the absolute mastermind behind our chuppah and flowers!
Our fabulous photographer
Maggie Trice was recommended to us, and we clicked immediately. I’m a city girl, but I knew I wanted soft and romantic images to come from my wedding, and I saw those pictures in Maggie’s work.
…and videographer
We also used a videographer, Wes Brawner. He brought a whole new life to our party and was so fun to have around!
A naked lemon cake
One of my closest friends had a wedding about two years before ours. Her wedding was beautiful, but her cake stood out to me! It was delicious, different, and beautiful! I asked my friend who her baker was, and she said her mom! When we got engaged, I asked her mom if she would make ours, and, delightfully, she agreed. It was a naked lemon cake with raspberry frosting with flowers all over it.
Our catering was done by Sun In My Belly who became SO much more than caterers. Because they are also a restaurant in our neighborhood, they gave us so many tips to use our venue and were spectacular on our wedding day. I got really nervous right before walking down the aisle, and all the servers came and told me jokes!
An energetic live band
We had the best band ever! The Atlanta Wedding Band played our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. People raved about them all night. They learned every song, including the hora! They sang the hora live!
The party quite literally started the second they started playing and went all night!
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
Enjoy it! Have that extra glass of wine! I LOVED my wedding, because in the end, I just let myself celebrate and not worry about a thing other than being with my husband and my best friends and family!
Sarah & Steven’s little white book
Photography – Maggie and Rachel Photography
Videography – Wes Brawner
Wedding planner – Simply Charming Socials
Venue – The Trolley Barn
Bride’s dress – Hayley Paige purchased at Wedding Angels Bridal Boutique
Bride’s shoes – Tory Burch
Groom’s attire – Michael Kors purchased at Wedding Angels Bridal Boutique
Hair + Makeup – Salon De La Vie
Band – Atlanta Wedding Band
Ketubah – Ink With Intent
Invitation – Enchanted Designs
Catering – Sun In My Belly
Desserts – King of Pops
