Y’ALL! No other month of the year is more devoted to LOVE than February. Not only does its 28 days encompass Valentine’s Day, but it also marks National Weddings Month. In the months leading up to your blessed union, pulling all the pieces of the puzzle together for your big day can be a tad overwhelming (bless your heart!) While you focus on finding the dress of your dreams, adding your favorite folks to your guest list and registering for everything from appliances to flatware, we’ll concentrate on helping you craft the perfect Southern wedding. Here are five tips to get you started on that long, lovely march down the wedding aisle…
- Send Invitations with a Southern Accent – Your save-the-date, shower invitations and wedding invitations can all go a long way toward setting the tone for your big day. From fonts and graphics to the messages they deliver, this is a wonderful avenue for letting your future wedding guests know they’re in for something really special. You can even take it one or two steps further by building a wedding website to take your guests with you along on this journey – sharing your love story, engagement photos and fun, little updates about how the planning is going AND how your excitement is growing. If yours is a destination wedding, you may also want to send an e-blast or two in the months leading up to the big day to share fun things to do around town, the event schedule and more.
- Choose a Venue Brimming with Southern Charm – From a sprawling Southern garden or graceful antebellum home to an open barn strung with lights or a ceremony on the sand, the venue you choose will be the backdrop to memories of your big day for both the happy couple and your guests. It’s important to find a venue that not only fits your budget and accommodates your desired date, but also fits your vision for a classic Southern wedding that is nothing shy of unforgettable. Once you’ve landed on the ideal spot, look to their network of vendors – like florists, musicians and photographers – to help you make the rest of the pieces fall into place. If your budget is tight and you opt for your parent’s backyard as your venue, you can still create a Southern sensibility with your décor, music, menu and more.
- Infuse Loads of Southern Hospitality – Saturdays are the most popular day to host a wedding, and October has eclipsed June in recent years as the most popular month. Because this is the South, it can be dicey to plan a wedding on a Saturday in October without competing against college football. If you know you’re reception will take place during a fan-favorite football game, plan accordingly. Create cozy seating areas with a big screen showing the game in one corner so everyone can have a good time without watching the clock and trying to come up with a believable excuse to leave your event and watch the game elsewhere. Other ways to infuse a sense of Southern Hospitality at your wedding are swag bags for your guests, fun ice breaker games at each table that make it easy for your guests to know one another, wine and/or bourbon tasting table, a bounce castle for your pint-sized party guests, a photo booth and anything interactive that creates a memory point in your guests’ minds – helping your wedding stand out among the best.
- Create Tablescapes and Décor that Lean Into their “Southerness” – It’s easy to set a mood through your décor. Spend part of your time scouring wedding websites and Pinterest pages and save the images that speak to you. If you opt for a barn wedding, wooden pallets, hay bales and water troughs filled with beer and wine bottles on ice can be set about. A garden wedding may call for mason jars filled with flameless candles hung from trees and/or filled with flowers on each table at the reception. Your tablescapes may include flowers and greenery that are synonymous with the South, such as magnolias, hydrangeas, sunflowers, eucalyptus, pussy willows and dogwood branches. Gauzy drapes that work with your color story can dress up any space while adding an air of romance, and strings of lights will go a long way in adding a sense of whimsy and magic to your big day. Shine the spotlight where it’s due by placing the bride and groom’s table at the point of one corner of your dance floor – which should be set at center stage.
- Lay Out a Classic Southern Spread – Great food is an essential component to any wedding, but it can also be used to enhance the theme. At Woody’s Bar-B-Q, we boast more than 40 years of experience catering events of all sizes – from corporate affairs to large weddings. What says “Southern” better than slow-smoked classic Southern BBQ? We can keep it casual and fun with a “help yourself” buffet that features a variety of meats, comfort food sides and desserts. If your wedding falls on a college football Saturday, we can create a tailgate party feel with hot dogs, hamburgers, wings and more. We can also elevate the experience with dishes like our grilled prime rib, mashed potatoes, cobb salad and more. Visit our Catering Page to learn more, then contact the Woody’s Bar-B-Q near you for a quote and to have your wedding day placed on our event calendar.
From all of us at Woody’s Bar-B-Q, we wish you the wedding day of your dreams and a lifetime of happiness to follow!
KB 2/8/23
