Inspiration Nation: A Modern Wedding Designed with Metallics + Greenery

An elegant affair with an industrial feel, this modern day wedding celebration is sure to inspire your upcoming affair. From the greenery-filled reception to the bride’s long sleeve lace gown, it’s the perfect blend of tradition (like those lovely Paper Daisies Stationery programs) paired with totally fresh details and we’ve got it all captured by Amy Arrington Photography in The Vault!

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Colors

Seasons

Fall

Settings

Church Eatery

Styles

Classic

From the Bride…Colton and I met our senior year of college on September 24th 2010, the night before our alma maters met on the football field. I went to the University of South Carolina and was in Auburn, Alabama visiting my best friend. Little did I know that a trip to visit her would lead me to find my husband. Colton and I had an instant connection and were inseparable the rest of the time I was there. On Game day, we got separated from our friends and ended up going into the game together, just the two of us. While in the stands, a girl came up to us and asked how long we had been dating because she said we were an adorable couple. Little did she know we had known each other less than 24 hours. Two weeks later Colton came to visit me in South Carolina and the next weekend I was back in Auburn visiting him. On day 21 we officially started dating and on day 36, Halloween, we said I love you for the first time. From that day on we travelled back and forth between Alabama and South Carolina every weekend until I graduated. In fact, the first 3 years of our relationship we were a long-distance couple. I went away to graduate school and while we didn’t see each other every weekend like we did that first year we came pretty close. After 3 years of long distance the time came for us to finally live in the same city. On October 18th 2014, 3 days after our 4-year anniversary, Colton proposed

Wedding planning started immediately. We knew that we wanted three things. A wedding planner, a neutral color palette, and to honor our strong family ties. We looked to our past to prepare for our future, and make our wedding special. My grandparents who passed away before Colton and I got engaged had a big influence on our day. The center diamond in my engagement ring was my Nana’s diamond, and my grandparents 61st anniversary was the day before our wedding day, which played into the day we chose. We also used the guest book they used at their wedding as our own. Another way that we incorporated family traditions was with the selection of my wedding gown. The women in my family have all worn long sleeve lace gowns and I wanted to carry on that tradition. Colton also carried on a family tradition, his best man was the son of his father’s best man. Both of us had been raised catholic, so it was also very important to both families to have a traditional Catholic wedding.

Colton and I had talked about wanting the venue to have an industrial feel or for it to be a distillery or brewery of some kind. We were so lucky that American Spirit Works, a Whiskey Distillery, and special events venue was opening it’s doors just in time for our special day. It provided the perfect industrial, rustic backdrop for our big day. When Colton and I booked the venue, we had nothing more than a rendering of what the space was going to look like to go off of, but we loved the vision so we booked the venue with complete trust in the events team there. Once we had the venue locked in, the real planning started and our wedding slowly but surely started to come together.

The venue led us to our theme–“industrial glam”. Since we wanted neutral colors we incorporated mixed metals including galvanized tin, silver and copper to make it feel more industrial. In addition to the mixed metals, Crush Event Rentals custom designed a lighting fixture with Edison bulbs to hang in the middle of our dance floor. We also knew that we wanted white flowers and a lot of greenery to add a soft contrast to the space and give it a glamorous/romantic feel. Our amazing florist was able to take our vision to the next level and make everything look breathtaking.

In addition to the custom lighting fixture, we wanted a few statement pieces to bring the design together and to pay homage to the city where we would start our lives together. The head table had long garland down the middle, copper mugs for everyone in the wedding party and a beige love seat for Colton and I to sit at together. Since I am from Atlanta, we incorporated custom made “Share a Coke” bottles, as the table assignments. We encouraged all of our guests to “Share a Coke with the Wilburn’s” as they found their seats. One thing about the venue that we really enjoyed was the main bar area which was a gorgeous wood statement piece with a very large chalkboard mounted on the wall behind it. We were able to create a custom drink menu with personal touches which added to the overall look and feel of the space. We worked with a local artist to design a beautiful pattern that we incorporated onto the chalk board that just set the bar area off.

Our top three favorite moments of the day were fairly easy for us to choose. Walking down the aisle with my dad, seeing Colton for the first time was unforgettable. It was a moment we had been working for and building toward for 5 years all culminating in one look. The next was seeing our venue for the very first time. As I said earlier, the venue itself was a work in progress when we booked it. So, when we finally got to see all of the decorations and little details we stressed over for months come together, was truly special. And finally, the dance floor! Not only our first dance which is, of course, an awesome memory; but dancing with all of our friends and family was outstanding. All of the stress and worry we had leading up to the wedding was forgotten as soon as the music started and everyone cut loose. It was the best night of our lives.

A piece of advice we would give to engaged couples would be to be true to yourself, and to always choose each other every day. Another huge piece of advice I would give, is to find and to hire a wedding planner that understands what you are looking for. We completely trusted Laura to execute our vision and keep our best interests in mind. She made the entire experience much more manageable and enjoyable for a bride who is not extremely organized.