This blue and burgundy wedding is what winter wedding dreams are made of! Featuring bridesmaids in sky blue dresses and one of the largest bouquets we’ve ever seen with burgundy, pink, and white florals. Josie Derrick Photography captured this burgundy wedding in the beautiful countryside of Aiken, South Carolina. Southern details were woven throughout the wedding including homemade favors featuring the couples monogram and the groom’s feather bow tie from Southern designers Brackish Bow Tie.
Photography: Josie Derrick Photography | Florals: Dyson Designs | Cake: Kendra’s Cakes | Bridal Boutique: Evelyn’s Bridal | Bridesmaid Dresses: (similar) | Bridesmaid Robes: etsy | Groom and Groomsmen: Lionel Smith Limited | Catering: Dianne Reynolds | Rentals: Allstar Rental | Stationery: Howell’s Printing Co | Band: Palmetto Groove Band *This post contains affiliate links.
Our last gift guide of the season is all about the groom and groomsmen! I always think guys are the hardest to shop for as they tend to always have what they want! But today’s holiday gift guide definitely has some items your guys are missing. How cute is this 
How did you meet? Chris and I grew up 3 miles from each other in Mount Pleasant. We even grew up going to the same schools, but with him being a couple years younger our paths did not frequently pass. We both knew of each other and that is about it. Memorial Day Weekend 2016 was very rainy and both of us ended up meeting up with friends . Because of mutual friends that day Chris and I started talking and the rest is history.
What is your proposal story? Our engagement was very private and special, exactly how I have always imagined. Early Saturday morning on June 3rd we took the boat out for what I thought was a casual fishing trip. We went into a small creek back behind Goat Island. My responsibility was the throw the anchor, which would explain the reason why it took 5 different tosses before getting it right. When I finished tying the anchor to the boat I turned around to find Chris on one knee! I never saw it coming. Afterward we spent the next hour and a half soaking it all in before we started calling family and friends. We drove the boat back to breach inlet where we keep it at my parent’s office. When we got closer to the dock Chris had planned a surprise gathering with our closest family and friends. That day could not have been more perfect!
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding: I wanted a classic and elegant wedding. I used a variety of colors to achieve that. I used blush pink and ivory table cloths and I used gold candelabras and a lot of greenery for decoration. My vision was to have all of our family and friends in one large room to help celebrate, which is one of the reasons I chose the Cedar Room.
How did you meet? We met in flight school in Pensacola, Florida. We were both students there.
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding: We wanted to bring together the bright colors of Florida and a tribute to our Navy lifestyle. We met while stationed in Florida and have been all over the world since, but Florida is always home for us. We are both Naval Flight Officers and proud of our gold wings, so gold accents with our bright Florida colors was a must. We also wanted it to just be a big party, so an open bar was another important aspect! We picked Boca Grande because we have always loved that area since Daniel’s family moved there several years ago.
What were your favorite parts of the day? Favorite pars of the day had to be the great views. The island is so beautiful and our photographer made sure to take us to spots she had found before for pictures. Everyone loved getting to visit such a beautiful island and it just made for such an amazing backdrop for the day.
Do you have any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Forget the traditions of a wedding. Do whatever you’d want for a big party with family and friends. We got so wrapped up in “this is what is supposed to be done at a wedding” and it got out of hand sometimes. Do what you want!
What is your proposal story? Fran proposed at our home, which at the time was an apartment in Connecticut. It was around my birthday so I didn’t think much of it when he presented me with a gift….even though it was a small box and obviously ring-sized in retrospect. I did think it was a little weird that he asked me to stand up to open my gift. I was totally clueless and didn’t catch on until I opened the box and looked at Fran, realizing he was down on one knee. It was the easiest decision I’ve ever made, to agree to share the rest of my life with my favorite person.
Tell us a little a bit about your wedding: Fran and I love the outdoors so we wanted to bring that fresh, garden-party vibe to our day. A spring wedding was a must for us. We wanted to incorporate a lot of vibrant greens and cooler gray/blue tones which was the inspiration for the bridesmaid dress color. I was blown away with how well Julie from Bushel & Peck was able to interpret our vision and bring it to life with the most amazing ceremony backdrop and the bouquet of my dreams.
What were your favorite parts of the day? I am so glad that our photographer, AJ gave us the option of doing a first look. I was excited to see Fran and when the moment finally came, I was so overwhelmed with relief, love, and happiness that we were finally getting married after 10 years together that I cried big time. I’m talking fiancé-wiping-snot-off-my-nose big (that’s true love, right?). Tears quickly turned into huge grins but it was special to have that moment together and have time to regain composure before we were in front of all of our family and friends. Most of your big day you spend surrounded by people and to have this moment with just the two of us was something I’ll never forget.
