Emerald Green & Gold, Rustic Glam Wedding: Jordan & Matthew

I was never the girl that had a scrapbook or Pinterest of what I wanted my wedding to be like; I never imagined it. However, I have found myself over the years listening to my mom speak about her wedding and her mom’s wedding, and these emerald green dresses, and I was for sure going to have that at my wedding as well. I paired the emerald with gold, which provided us with a much more glamorous look than I initially believed we would have, but truthfully I am obsessed with the way it turned out. I did imagine the love, too. I’ve never known a love like this and I have to associate it with the fact that Matthew tries so hard in his pursuit of loving the Lord, so in return, he loves me as I should be. Matthew and I knew when planning our wedding that the most important part of the entire day was us coming together as one in holy matrimony with God.

Emerald Green & Gold, Rustic Glam Wedding: Jordan & Matthew

Emerald & Gold

It actually snowed on my April wedding day, despite the weather apps claiming the sky to be clear, so what was going to be an outside ceremony was moved inside and honestly, I am not too shocked at how much I loved the space, given that I chose Hackney primarily for its beautiful brick and I still got that on the inside, but by then adding the elements of gold candle holders holding the emerald candles, it was so stunning. As for the decor itself, in an attempt to make my vision come to life, my incredible mom and dad have spent the last several months going from antique store to antique store searching for green vases, which they shockingly had a great deal of them. Speaking of my mom, she also purchased so many floral pieces from Hobby Lobby for those green vases. Yet when it came to actually putting it all together, Corie Pierce is incredible. I told Corie from the jump that I trusted her, that we were bringing items and she should put them together however it looked best, and she delivered! I went an untraditional route when it came to the seating chart and place cards, and I worked long and hard on those! I found the frame with the chicken wire at an antique store, and I stained the frame and spray-painted the chicken wire to match the vibe I wanted. It initially had burlap on it which I stripped off and used adhesive to add a pretty gold paper that I found at Hobby Lobby and then added the “Find Your Seat” lettering which was honestly just stickers. After guests found their table number on the seating chart, they then found a sweet take-home gift at their seat, which was just a gold rock with their name written in gold ink as their place card.

Wooden Florals

Mine and the bridesmaids’ bouquets, the corsages, and the boutonnieres were all wooden flowers! I thought I was going to keep all of the bouquets but I think my bridesmaids may have just fought me for them they were so nice. I found Pine and Petal on Etsy, and they were so incredible to work with. I had my flowers a pretty good amount of time in advance which took off some days of stress, for sure. However, the flowers on the arbour were created by my Granny Faye and her long-time friend and colleague, Shirley, who I used to visit in their flower shop as a young girl. This was just another portion of my day that was so special due to who made it and put in the effort to make my day amazing.

The Proposal

Matthew and I met in college while playing intramural volleyball. Matthew was always an athlete and we were both also leaders, which led us to some serious volleyball arguments sometimes as we decided to captain a team together; however, ultimately, through captaining a volleyball team together, we found that we are able to hold one another accountable in many different ways and we work very well together as a team. It took a lot of convincing on my behalf, but Matthew finally came to the same conclusion that we were meant to be together. Or, maybe I just moved my stuff into his apartment during quarantine and he could never really get rid of me, who knows. But over the course of quarantine, we were forced to find new activities, and I took him on a hike to Riley Moore Falls in SC, where ultimately he would bring me back in a little over a year to propose. Our relationship has seemingly moved quickly, but Matthew stands firm when he informs others, “When you know, you know.” Truth be told, when it comes to the actual proposal itself and everything that he said when he was down on one knee, I don’t fully remember, yet what I do remember is what I felt at that moment and the way he looked at me, and that’s a memory worth cherishing forever.

Special Moments

Seeing your person after being separated for hours on end is truly a relief. I remember thinking how I just wanted to check in with Matthew to see how he was and if he was nervous or whatever. We wrote our own vows, which for us was super important as we are both big words of affirmation people, so I know we were both excited to hear one another’s promises for our marriage. Another special aspect of our wedding day was truly just our guests. I remember at one point standing at my sweetheart table just watching everyone dance and having a good time thinking about how blessed Matthew and I are. Every person in our bridal party as well as on our guest list was selected so carefully with the intent of knowing that these people have supported us through some of life’s hardest struggles. Losing Matthew’s dad just a little over a year before we got married was extremely difficult and to know that the friends and family invited and in attendance have lifted us up through that and will lift us up and support us through our marriage is so noteworthy. Ultimately, it was very refreshing to be around these friends and family, and spend our special day with them, even the ones we’ve not seen in so long! I would be so upset with myself if I did not mention the speeches given at the wedding. Matthew and I selected Christine (MOH) and Kenaniah (groomsmen) to give toasts at our wedding, and while there were many people to choose from who would have given great toasts, these two people were selected because we knew they would speak on behalf of mine and Matthew’s relationship as a whole, not just us as individuals, as both Christine and Kenaniah were there the day our relationship began! I’m not talking about the day he asked me to be his girlfriend, I’m talking about the day that Matthew’s view of me shifted from a great friend to a person he could do life with. I believe I have Kenaniah to thank for this, as he told Matthew that he could see the sparks. My dad also gave a roast, I mean a toast. Whatever his intention of it was, it was hilarious, and honestly one of my favourite parts of the day. I have seen my parents grow to love Matthew as their own, and my dad’s speech encapsulated the loving, playful relationship we hold as a family, and that was so sentimental.

Personalisation

Our day was personalised in many ways, some of which may not have been obvious to all. Upon entry into our ceremony, there was our guest book Bible accompanied by a wooden cup that my dad handcrafted with his lathe. My dad also made a stem handle for the toss bouquet with his lather, which added another sweet layer to our wedding day. My brother’s fiancé caught the bouquet, so it is special knowing that that is something she will cherish, knowing that my dad handmade it. We had a ladder shelf with photos of our loved ones who could not be in attendance at the wedding due to death; at the top was Matthew’s dad, Rodney, with a blue vintage toy camper that was gifted to me from Rodney as an inside joke. I know Rodney did not know at the time the importance that this little toy camper would play in his future daughter-in-law’s life, but for me only having a year with him before he passed, it would have felt wrong to not have this item we shared one of our biggest laughs over at the wedding. Our bridal party was also personalized in a sense as Matthew made the decision to not have a best man, as that is where he felt his dad should be. So instead, when Donna (Matthew’s mom) was escorted in, she carried with her a lantern, lit symbolizing the memory of Matthew’s dad, who we know was with us in spirit. We also used the champagne toasting glasses that Matthew’s parents, Rodney and Donna, used at their wedding. As our unity ceremony, we decided to forgo the candles, sand, and three stands being tied together, and instead chose to go an untraditional route of pouring glass crystals. There are no healing powers in these crystals, but in some sense of the sand ceremony, each colour glass was representative of two lives coming together and being beautifully blended together, yet it doesn’t end there. After the wedding, we sent the glass crystals to a glass blower and will be receiving them back as a glass-blown sculpture to forever represent our lives coming together into something beautiful. I did add one fun, personalized touch in regards to entertainment, too. I was quite embarrassed by the entire idea of the garter toss, and truly did not want to do it; however, as I never was that girl that imagined my wedding day as a child, I think Matthew was and he believed that this was his moment to shine. I made the decision to ice him, essentially meaning that I hid Smirnoff Ice under my dress (not possible without the assistance of DJ Dutty Laundry distracting Matthew and the rest of the men) right before the garter toss, so that when Matthew came across it, he had to chug it. So Matthew did his sexy strut to “What a Man Gotta Do” by the Jonas Brothers, scored the garter, and chugged the drink. What a man, is all I have to say.

Bridal Fashion

My dress is a Justin Alexander from Poffie Girls in Gastonia, NC. The day I went wedding dress shopping, this was the final store, but it was the first dress I tried on there and tears hit the floor – from me, my mom, my mother-in-law, and I even think my MOH shed a tear or two. I felt like a bride! “Go get that headpiece we saw when we first walked in!” I said to my MOH. It was a done deal at this point. We pinned my hair up, put the headpiece on, attached the veil, and added the earrings, we pretty much had the full look in that one single moment. All that was to add was a pearl bracelet given to me by my mother-in-law, and the beautiful emerald shoes that I bought a custom-made from Turkey (Sultan Shoes on Etsy).

Planning & Marriage Advice

My wedding planning advice to all the couples out there is that it is YOUR day. It’s not your guests’ day, or literally for anyone but the two of you. I think too often couples get caught up in people-pleasing, but I’m literally telling you that no one matters on that day as much as you and your partner. It’s literally the one day that not only are you allowed to be selfish, but I’d be a little shocked if you didn’t! It’s your day! But with that being said, focus on what you can control, and let go of the things you cannot control. You’ll save yourself many headaches. My marriage/relationship is the same to everyone all the time: fight the issue as a team, not against one another. Taking into account someone else’s feelings and perspective is not always easy, nor something you may always want to do, however, in a marriage, you commit to that, and you must stand true to that. And until the day you may bring children into your relationship, no one outside of your marriage matters within your marriage. I believe that’s common sense but sometimes it slips our minds and we begin to worry about what others think. The last thing, no one shall separate what God has joined together!