Feb 11, 20215 min read

Grace and Hurst

Grace and Hurst had known each other since preschool but ended up apart until after college when they both moved back to their hometown where fate would have them joining the same kick ball team and not long afterwards they celebrated their love in a magical waterfall wedding captured by Cariad Photography in the picturesque estate at Chota Falls. We caught up with couple to hear all about their big day, below.

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day? The inspiration behind my vision for our wedding was to magnify the beauty of the North Georgia Mountains. I wanted tons of twinkle lights and candles as well as very natural décor. Although we do not have much snow in Georgia I wanted the feel of a woodland winter wonderland. Upon looking back at my wedding, the word that comes to mind is “magical.” Hurst and I decided to have a traditional ceremony with our wonderful minister, David Smith. David worked with us for several months to get to know us and mold the ceremony around our personalities. The theme that wove throughout the message and our vows was simple, Love! We truly wanted to convey not only how much we loved each other, but how much we love our friends and family for supporting us.

Let's talk wedding décor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the décor DIY? I must be honest, not much of the wedding décor was DIY. I did have the most wonderful designer, Henry Luther, who truly brought my vision to life. The ceremony decoration was the easy part. We were lucky with the weather and had a crisp, sunny November afternoon in front of a beautiful waterfall surrounded by the changing leaves of fall! The reception space was where Henry Luther worked his magic. Henry’s attention to detail was insane! He was able to capture the beauty of nature by bringing the outdoors inside. The tables were complete with tree limbs covered in twinkle lights and faux fur center pieces. Pheasant feathers garnished the dinner napkins, old silver, moss and candles just added to the table décor. There were candles and twinkle lights everywhere making the space look like the magical woodland wedding I had dreamed of!

What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding? Flowers were not high on my priority list when decorating for the wedding. I kept this aspect simple with full lavender bouquets for the bridesmaids, and a lavender and pheasant feather boutonniere for the groomsmen. My personal bouquet was a work of art complete with succulents and eye-popping purple flowers. Henry used a lot of moss and succulents for center pieces which continued the theme of a woodland wedding.

Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding? Besides the whole getting married to my favorite person part, my other favorite part of the wedding would have to be the band!! I LOVE to dance and the band was so much fun! Band X played a great variety of music, and even learned Hurst and I’s first dance song (Ain’t no Mountain High Enough) so that we could dance to the live version. Their high energy and fun personalities brought the party to life.

Let's talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail. One of my super artistic bridesmaids sent me a link to a wedding dress designer named Hayley Paige and said it looked like me. I loved her dresses online, found a boutique near me that carried her line, tried on about 10 dresses, and immediately knew the one I wanted. This was lucky for me because I am not the typical girl that likes to shop. The gown was exactly what I wanted, sparkles and a poofy bottom! My mom said that the bottom of the dress reminded her of the waterfall, and after seeing all the pictures she was right! One truly special part of my wedding look was my fur wrap. My childhood neighbor actually found it at an antique fur store and just bought it for me! Ill never forget that moment because my grandfather passed away a couple months before the wedding and sweet Susie brought that to me during that tough time! For my bridesmaids, I had seen a couple of weddings in which all the bridesmaids had different dresses in the same color scheme and I loved that look. I chose the BHLDN bridal line and told my girls the color scheme, offered some suggestions, and let them pick their own! Everyone ended up picking a different dress, and as a gift to my bridesmaids I gave them all a matching faux fur wrap (and thank goodness because it was the coldest day of the month). Hurst picked out a beautiful suit for him and all of his groomsmen. It was a dark blue and slightly shinny suit with a beautiful patterned tie! I think the most coveted piece of fashion for the entire weekend would have to be Hurst’s shoes. They were navy blue suede with black studs and he rocked them!

How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal. Hurst and I have actually known each other since preschool, but ended up going to different schools. After college we both moved back to our hometown and ended up on the same kick ball team. Hurst found out I loved Game of Thrones and watched it every Sunday night. He watched all the seasons to catch up so that he could ask me to watch it with him. We have been inseparable ever since! The proposal was beautiful. We were on a vacation in December (my favorite time of year) in New York City with Hurst’s family. We all went on a carriage ride through Central Park, and the driver’s made several stops along the way. Hurst was actually supposed to propose at the first stop in front of a fountain, but he said it didn't feel right. After about the 3rd stop the drivers thought he had chickened out completely, but they made one final stop in front of the Pinebank Arch and that is where Hurst got down on one knee. It was the perfect location because the Pinebank Arch is also where the well known snowball fight from one of our favorite movies, Elf, was occurred. We spent the rest of the trip in a daze celebrating and enjoying the Christmas spirit of New York City!

What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day? Quite honestly I do not think there is just one moment to pick! It was the most amazing weekend, and I couldn’t imagine choosing just one thing. If I had to pick I guess I would say having all of our friends and family in one place at one time gathered around us. The love and energy throughout the entire event was phenomenal.

Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day? I know everyone says this, but it is true… Stop and savor moments all throughout the wedding day because it goes by so fast. Our wedding weekend was such a special time and it was a whirlwind of emotions! Take your time and just have fun!