1. Real Weddings

An Elegant Southern Cobblestone Hall Wedding in Raleigh, NC

Hope Hering , 22, works in medical development fundraising and wed her high school sweetheart Will Woodhouse, 22, a medical student, in a traditional

Hope Hering , 22, works in medical development fundraising and wed her high school sweetheart Will Woodhouse, 22, a medical student, in a traditional ceremony at Jones Chapel at Meredith College, Raleigh, NC. Their Southern celebration continued at Cobblestone Hall with a classic navy and ivory color palette along with cheery pops of pink and lush peonies.

Hope and William's traditional stationary suite was a collaborative family effort. Relatives printed the formal invitations while the bride made the matching programs and menu cards and her sister was responsible for the stunning calligraphy.
"One of the best elements of my gown was the lace sleeves, which formed a keyhole back when attached but could also be removed for a sweetheart strapless dress,"says Hope.
Untraditional Wedding Shoes
The bride wore sparkly J. Renee heels as a fun accent to her traditional look. "Since my shoes wouldn't show under my gown, I decided to stray from the classic look and chose a fun pair of silver glittery peep-toe shoes with a cute glittered bow atop the toe," says Hope.
Hope complemented her pear earrings with her mother's single-strand pearl necklace as her something borrowed.
A navy and white gingham bow tie set a preppy tone.
Hope selected cluster of colorful flowers to pop against the navy bridesmaid dresses.
Hope's grandmother handmade each of the elegant navy wrap dresses with cap sleeves. "My grandmother made my mother's wedding dress and has always been an expert seamstress,"says Hope.
"I wanted lots of pinks, corals, and yellows in the bouquets to add some color and a fun element against the darker wedding party attire," says Hope. The bouquets were made of Godetia, Matsumotos, safflower, nigella, asclepia, Queen Anne's Lace, charm peonies, spray roses, jasmine and hypericum berries.
"Rather than have the traditional white bridal bouquet, I wanted to carry colorful flowers as well," says Hope. "But I did add a few touches of white in my bouquet to differentiate it from the bridesmaids' arrangements."
Hope's lace cap sleeves detached to reveal a simple sweetheart neckline.
"For a personal addition, I had the extra navy fabric from my bridesmaid dresses monogrammed in ivory and my grandmother sewed them into sashes for the flower girls to add an extra Southern touch," says Hope.
The flower girls wore sleeveless ivory dresses with full tulle skirts and silk ivory ballet flats. Extra navy material from the bridesmaids' dresses were sewn into sashes and monogrammed for a personal touch.
The couple incorporated an ampersand motif throughout their cream printed materials.
The ring bearer wore khaki shorts and a white long-sleeved oxford shirt with suede shoes, navy suspenders and a navy gingham bow tie.
Will and his groomsmen wore two-button black tuxedos with shawl collars, navy cummerbunds and bowties, white pocket squares, and their own choice of colorful suspenders.
Each of William's groomsmen selected playful suspenders to add a personal touch to their sleek tuxedos.
"We picked chapel because it had meaning to us for our ceremony," says Hope. "Growing up, I took violin lessons at Meredith College and had many concerts and recitals in Jones Chapel!"
Hope's father surprised the couple with a line of of vintage Triumph cars outside of the reception venue.
Hope's sister hand-calligraphied the welcome sign that hung above the reception's entrance.
Hope's sister hand-calligraphied all of the signs throughout the day including the "Love Triumphs Over All" sign that was displayed outside of the reception.
The pastel arrangements were made up of hydrangeas, roses, Queen Anne's lace, cosmos, snapdragons, freesia, ferns and rosemary. "We got most of our flowers from a farmer's market and family came into town early to help put together the centerpieces --it was definitely a family effort!" says Hope.
The three-tiered wedding cake was covered in a smooth white buttercream with Swiss dots at the base of each tier. "In order to have enough cake to serve all of our guests, and to give the cake some fun dimensions, we made the bottom tier twice as tall as the other two," says Hope. "And for some color, our florist used fresh peonies, roses and godetia that matched the flowers in the bouquets."
"We picked Cobblestone Hall because I had seen pictures of other receptions there and thought the cobblestone streets and brick walls were just beautiful!" says Hope.
At the end of the night, guests lined up in two lines with long sparklers for the send off. We walked across the cobblestones, through the twinkling lights, to our car that was covered with bows and a Just Married, says Hope. We drove back through the lines of sparklers and made our exit toward married life.
Hope's dad surprised the couple with a line of vintage Triumph cars outside of the reception. "At the end of the night, all of our guests created two lines with sparklers to send us off," says Hope. "We walked through the twinkling lights to our car that was covered with bows and a sign calligraphied by my sister."