North Carolina Winter Wedding

By Magnolia Rouge

Is there anything more beautiful than a winter wedding? CONNECTION PHOTOGRAPHY sent this gorgeous North Carolina wedding (that took place in freezing temps!) which proves that no matter what Mother Nature throws at you, there is always a way around it! Due to a severe ice and snow storm on the weekend of their wedding they had to change venues at the last minute � like the day before last minute!! They had to spend the night before the wedding cleaning and decorating the local racquet club which hadn't been used for five years � so as you can imagine there was a fair bit of dust! Despite it not being the venue of their dreams, with both their families united in their efforts they made it all work.

Tell us about your proposal: It was on my 30th birthday in Asheville, North Carolina. We had rented a cabin in the mountains and we were looking up at the stars after a romantic dinner in the city when he asked me to share the rest of his life as his partner.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I knew what type of dress I wanted, I went to one boutique and the third dress I tried on was the winner. Fit like a glove and needed NO tailoring. I added lace sleeves (came sleeve-less) and only needed to bustle. I was worried with the short time frame that the lace wouldn't come in time, but I had two weeks to spare in the end

Any DIY/Budget elements? We decorated mason jars, my husband created an awesome cake stand from an old mirror and vintage picture frames with pictures of our beautiful engagement session. We weren't able to get to the hair dresser the morning of because of ice (we tried and slid back down the drive and decided it was not worth our lives so the hair and makeup were done by myself.

Describe your wedding flowers: A good friend and client Lingky Sugg designed the bouquets and flower arrangements. We put together the arrangements (hydrangeas). My huband made burlap roses to put in the arrangements as well. Mine and my sister's (maid of honor) bouquets contained white roses, hydrangias, baby's breath, calla lilly, ranunculus, silver dollar leaves and seeded eucalypthus.

Favourite detail of the day: Our vows written by each other. We both had tears in our eyes of joy. And the fact that our Pop (Matt's Grandfather, he called himself Pastor Pop now) officiated the ceremony.

What advise would you give out to a couple planning their wedding? Don't get married in the moutains of NC in February Just kidding, always remember what is really important and no matter was disaster (natural or otherwise), it will end up beautiful.

Most memorable moment? Our first dance where we had my brother Paul dubb over one of our favourite songs "January Wedding" by the Avett Brothers to say "February" instead.