With a love for the beach, and a desire to keep it close to their Kentucky home for the convenience of family and friends, James and Jennifer chose Rosemary Beach Town Hall and Pure 7 Studios as the locale and documentors of their dream wedding day. With It's a Shore Thing at the helm, their crisp, clean, casual-chic design came together seamlessly.
James and Jennifer, both from small towns in Kentucky, met at Western Kentucky University in 2005 - he was a freshman, and she a sophomore. Although they'd seen each other on Facebook, they finally met at a Halloween party, and Jennifer tells us it was love at first sight: "It was odd; almost like we had known each other all along. Something clicked."
The two love the beach, and knew that's where they wanted to wed. They also prioritized having their closest friends and family present; the Florida panhandle, within driving distance of Kentucky, became their prime target. After scouring magazines looking for "the one" venue, Jennifer thought she had found it, and recruited two of her best friends to make the 10 hour journey to check it out. While the original choice turned out to be a dud, they found Rosemary Beach and fell in love. Says Jennifer, "My best friends in the entire world literally forced me to put down a deposit that day. And, I cried. It was very emotional!"
They decided to keep it traditional, and not see each other before the wedding, and Jennifer treasured the time with her girlfriends, getting ready, and finally heading to the beach on her father's arm: "When we arrived to Western Beach, it was like arriving to the ball. No guests could see me yet – but, other visitors were smiling, little girls were waving... it was surreal. My Dad was holding me steady."
“One of my favorite moments was walking up Main Street in Rosemary post-ceremony. I could hear the sound of our guitarist, friends and family laughing... enjoying themselves. Seeing the first twinkle of the café lights that were strung outside the reception hall and knowing that everything had fallen into place.”
The reception took place on the grassy lawn outside of the Rosemary Beach Town Hall. String lights hung overhead, and white wood farm tables were decorated with driftwood, mercury glass and white hydrangea. Lounge areas welcomed guests with cozy throw pillows and a touch of glam from mirrored tables. The passed appetizers from Townsend Catering included watermelon cups with gorgonzola, candied pecans and fresh mint and mini grilled gruyere cheeses (yum).
They opted for cupcakes and had just a small cake for cutting, and a caricature artist drew depictions of the guests as a take home memento.
Jennifer summed it all up: "Our wedding day was absolute perfection." Congratulations, you two!
