A Romantic and Whimsical Spring Garden Wedding in Jekyll Island Georgia.

A Romantic and Whimsical Spring Garden Wedding took place in Jekyll Island Georgia where Megan and Jacob said I do. For starters, these two are just smitten about each other…it was inevitable the very first time I met them and even more so on their wedding day, especially with all of the ever changing elements (you’ll find out what I mean below.) Their wedding day was a great test of “life as a married couple.”

A Picturesque Overview of their Day:

Megan wanted a romantic, yet whimsical wedding with a “Valentine’s Day” nod, but she didn’t want it to scream Valentines Day. Orginally, Megan considered getting married in February because she loves the meaning of this month, but ended up picking the month of April due to various reasons. Like most of my clients, Megan had only purchased her gorgeous wedding dress, but had not decided on any other design ideas, (ie colors, flowers, bridesmaids dresses, invitations and etc.) Which honestly is what I love, because as a designer I get to start completely from scratch and was able to be inspired by Megan as a person and her beautiful wedding gown. Megan’s, Eve of Milady Wedding dress inspired me as to what direction to take the entire wedding day design concept. She communicated over and over again, I trust you! – This statement always makes my creative heart burst, when I’m not confined to designing in a box, they truly make for the most memorable days for the client’s for sure!

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Design + Details of the Wedding Day:

First and foremost, Megan’s wedding dress was to die for….and she looked like a living barbie doll on her wedding day. And trust me, when I saw her heart was a pretty as she was…it’s true! Megan’s wedding dress had combinations of traditional elements, like lace mixed with modern elements like cross hatching in the front bust area that we incorporated in the design concept. One of the places we incorporated this special cross-hatching dress element was on her wedding day signage as a border.

Instagram Reality vs. What actually happened on her wedding day:

Instagram verses reality versus whatThe day started off semi- cool for April and the sun just a shining! My team and I had been monitoring the weather like we typically had all week, and earlier that week it looked pretty rough (85% rain) but ended up changing drastically calling for no rain on Megan and Jacob’s wedding day, which of course we were all SUPER PUMPED about! So we set up as orginally planned, Ceremony Outside in the garden, Cocktail Hour by the Reflecting Pool, and the Reception would be held underneath a decked out and well designed tent.

Rain Back up Plans + A Professional Planning Team:

A rain back up plan is ALWAYS crucial and so is a professional planning team (not your sister, or your cousin, volunteering), but a team who can and will handle the pressures of the day, the demanding guests, the 10+ vendor teams (which equals about (30 people) not including your total guest count. Working quickly and effectively in a safe and timely manner is so paramount. Brides or whomever is planning an event, I have heard NIGHTMARE STORIES numerous times from vendor friends and client’s whom have said if they could have changed one thing, it was to have gone ahead and hired a professional team (more on this in another blog series and on the differences of a coordinator, vs a planning, vs. an event designer.) I say all of this to say…guys if you are planning an outdoor wedding or any event for that matter, no matter the month or the season, a good back up plan is a MUST. The weather changed LITERALLY as my team and the photography team were watching it on the radar…in fact we had just discussed how incredibly thankful we were that the weather had cleared up, and within a split second of us needing to seat people (to be exact 10 minutes) a lightening storm and rain band showed up out of no where.) Yep, the Bottom fell out. Honestly in my 9-1/2 years of planning and designing events, this by far was the worst weather I had ever seen. BUT, like I remind my clients, and Megan was the Absolute Perfect example, focus on “the why and the whom” you are marrying, not “the what will or if something goes different than planned.” If you focus and get fixated on what may not go as planned you are only setting yourself up for failure. And the best saying that I have on replay is, “THE ONLY THING YOU CAN CONTROL IS YOUR REACTION TO ANY GIVEN SITUATION.”

Now, let’s get back to the party, shall we? Yes, the wedding and the party went on without a hitch or at least (not that any guests or bride saw). Again, that’s the point of having a great team! But we had water stacking up in the tent, and honestly at one point (I can’t even make this up) I looked over and there was the scene in Titanic where the tables are more than ankle deep and almost floating) True Story but the team rocked it out, we got walls dropped in the tent, moved tables, got a bucket and started bailing the tent out if you will. But thank you Jesus, the ground was so dry that it also soaked up the water. Megan and Jacob were focused on “the why” plus LOOK BELOW, it’s my job as well as my team to make sure that “IF” you have a rain back up it’s just as beautiful! The hanging flowers, the draping, the crystal chandeliers. Trust me, people weren’t complaining that we opened the bar an hour early either.

More about the Design Elements:

Since Megan’s beautiful wedding gown had both modern + traditional elements, this was the feel that I also wanted the reception to have, except with a bit of whimsy.

I wanted to pull in two different flower centerpieces, one traditional, and one more modern and whimsical, yet using the same color tones. The modern centerpiece collection was used creating a technique that I like to refer to it as, flower and color blocking. Flower and color blocking is simply where you take large bunches of flowers in one kind or color and use it by itself to give more impact and to create a more modern and whimsical look…I’ve always liked this approach to flowers. The other centerpiece was just a traditional mix of flowers in a garden, gold compote.

I also wanted to combine textures such as clear and mirrored glass for the modern vibe, gold for that more traditional spin, and some textured glass and fun decorative accents for that little whimsical vibe for Megan and Jacob’s Spring Wedding. Did you like the combination of textures and elements in Megan and Jacob’s wedding?

I hope you enjoyed a preview of Megan and Jacob’s gorgeous Jekyll Island Wedding full of romance, traditional and modern elements mixed and a bit of whimsy. Remember, brides stay focused on the why you are having the day and whom you are in love with and hire a good team so no matter what the weather may do or the circumstance that happens, it’s taken care of so you can relax on this very special day in your life.

Photography by: Brooke Roberts Photography