Thinking about planning a Southern wedding of your own?  For a sweetly authentic Southern affair like this one in Mobile, Alabama, follow Christi + Chris’ lead and grab yourself a croquet set.  Really, there are few things more Southern than a rousing game of backyard croquet on the sprawling lawn of a real-life plantation.  Add vintage Coca-Cola bottles (glass, of course), an outdoor chandelier and mason jars filled with blooming hydrangeas à la Beth Humphrey of Elizabeth Events and you are in business, my friend!  A three-layered pistachio-covered cake from Buttercream Dreams (complete with a birds nest cake topper!) is just icing on the metaphorical cake. Kudos to you, Studio A Photography, for capturing the very best of this deep-South wedding.

[publisher's note:  I don't usually interject here, but I just had to say how much I adore this wedding and every single detail!  Congrats y'all! - Lara]

Describe your wedding flowers: We used hydrangeas everywhere. They are so effortlessly sophisticated. My bouquet was really simple with mostly hydrangeas and a few other fillers. One of my favorite details was the little white bird we hid among the blooms. I also loved the creative wrap we did for the bouquet. It had burlap and navy satin ribbon and my “something borrowed” pinned in the middle - a little mother of pearl ‘E’ initial brooch that belonged to my great grandmother.  My bridesmaids’ bouquets were smaller versions of mine, and for the guys’ bouts we did green hypericum berries and twig bunches with a little feather, my mother’s idea and design.
Describe your wedding cake: DELICIOUS. As a testament, the guests literally ate every last bite; there wasn't even anything left to save for the anniversary cake. We were thrilled that it was such a huge hit. It was a traditional three-tier round, but we went a little untraditional and used pistachio filling between the layers and pistachios covering the outside of the cake. Instead of a grooms cake, we had red velvet cupcakes and German chocolate cupcakes. To tie in our tree theme, we sat the cake on a huge lacquered cypress stump instead of a traditional sterling-plated cake pedestal.
Were there any wedding traditions or new ideas you included in the wedding? Instead of hiring a string quartet or having the reception band play something, we decided it would be so much more meaningful to have our talented friends play the ceremony music. I walked down the aisle to Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring played on the electric guitar and we recessed to a 3-piece rendition of Here Comes the Sun.  We also were untraditional and decided to see each other before the wedding. Fearing that the day would get hotter, we decided to take advantage of the early morning light and milder temperatures and met in downtown Mobile at 7 a.m. for an intimate photo session together.  Afterward, we put our casual clothes back on and headed over to a friends’ house to have breakfast together with many of our out of town guests.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? It’s such a typical answer, but definitely walking down the aisle and reciting our vows. We really soaked in every minute of it.
What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?  Working, maybe going back to school (for both of us) and traveling the world as we enjoy life together. 

Congratulations, Christi + Chris!  Best of luck with work, school and your new life together!