Hi! I'm Taryn, a writer, designer and soon-to-be-bride from Atlanta, Georgia. Sit a spell with me and catch up as I plan the wedding of my beer-loving, confetti-throwing dreams to the wonderful Mr. Williford.The Tears Between the Smiles
The past few weeks have tested the ends of my emotion. I’ve been happy and sad, frequently at the same damn time.
As you know, my lovely and laid-back fiancé, J.R., and I were engaged last may and have been holding steady trying to plan an fall wedding at a brewery in Atlanta (our adopted hometown) for what feels like pennies compared to some weddings we’ve known. It’s been fun, but also really difficult, and it has definitely pushed at the edges of our relationship in new ways we couldn’t possibly imagine.
Until a few weeks ago. When my lovely and laid back fiancé, J.R., lost his father to long-standing health issues on Wednesday, December 11. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was still totally unexpected (a paradox I realize means nothing to most people but perfectly describes it for us).
We knew for the last three months that J.R.’s father spent every morning and night (save for the 12 wonderful days when he was allowed to return home) connected to wires and monitors in a hospital bed in Ann Arbor. Every Magic 8-Ball told us the outlook was not so good. But until you actually get that phone call (the one that comes at 9:30 in the morning when you’ve just sat down to your desk), trying to understand that the man who was supposed to be your father-in-law will never be your father-in-law is impossible.
When I saw my phone light up on my desk that Wednesday morning, I knew instantly. I looked down to see my future husband’s smiling face on my screen—from that one picture I took on a Vegas vacation and saved as his contact photo because of the way his dimples lit up—and I knew it would be a long time before I saw that smile again.
Planning a wedding for pennies was, at the time, one of the toughest things J.R. and I had been through. But I can say with certainty that the stress and confusion and how-the-hell-are-we-going-to-pay-for-flowers seem like cracks on the sidewalk compared to the earthquake that has been the last three and a half weeks. Our December has had lots of ups and downs. It’s been happy and sad. Sour and sweet.
But slowly, we’re starting to steal back the smiles and habits and home-cooked meals that make up our normal. Which includes me getting back to blogging about our wedding, which we are are obviously still so excited about although we’ll surely miss having J.R.’s pops there to celebrate it all.
E-Session Preview
J.R. and I shot engagement photos over the weekend with our wonderful photographer, Paige. It was nice to take an afternoon to just walk around and share some smiles with J.R. during a tough time, and she made it such a fun day for us. I spotted this behind-the-camera preview on her Facebook page from our e-session at Westside Provisions District. I can’t wait to see the rest of the photos!
The Hunt for a Food Truck
Mr. Rooster and I are not sit-down-and-eat-asparagus people, so we didn’t want to have a sit-down-and-eat-asparagus wedding. On a night out, we’re more likely to be found noshing on appetizers at the local pub than sitting down for a four-course meal, and we wanted the food at our wedding to reflect that.
Now, it’s not that we don’t like food. We love food. Choosing what friends and family would eat at our reception was way up there on the list of things we care about. We just have an idea of what we would like to see on our wedding menu and it’s more “fried chicken” than “filet mignon.”
Mini Chicken and Waffle Appetizers, Apples & Onions
Fried chicken with waffles to be exact.
I casually mentioned that when we were finding our wedding style, Roo and I threw out the idea of having a food truck cater our reception. It always seemed like a food truck fit the sort of laid-back, cool vibe we wanted for the wedding. Plus, going with a mobile kitchen on wheels solved a small problem we didn’t know we had: There’s no kitchen at the brewery. Instead, we’ll have the truck pull right up to the party on the patio.
The Good Food Truck at Monday Night Brewing, shot by Jayne B Photography
We knew we wanted a food truck, but we didn’t know which food truck. So I did what any bride would do: Google. Google. Google. I scoured Yelp and Urban Spoon for ratings, and found a great website for finding and booking food trucks: Roaming Hunger. It was a list on Roaming Hunger that pointed me to the Southern-Latin fusion truck, Ibiza Bites.
Atlanta Magazine
It seemed perfect. Their menu is full of creative dishes that will make you re-think what street food should be, hopefully impressing our guests. And Ibiza Bites’ flavors are an appropriate homage to both my Latin-influenced upbringing in Miami, and our recent Southern roots. Think guava-glazed baby back ribs and coconut-crusted fried chicken.
T.J. Blackburn
Only one thing was left to do: Taste! We found the Ibiza Bites truck at a local street food night and sampled a few of their dishes. And it was all delicious. Just like our venue, I didn’t need to look anywhere else. We booked with Ibiza Bites right away. I don’t know if I’m easy to please, or if I just know what I want when it comes to this wedding stuff. All I know is I’m going to enjoy pecan-crusted chicken and waffles with grilled Georgia peaches at our wedding, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Something Borrowed, Something Brewed
I wish I could tell you that I spent a long time researching wedding venues before I found the perfect one. But in the version of this story that’s closer to reality, our venue search was short and simple.
Mr. Rooster and I were each born and raised across the country from each other, and far from where we met in Atlanta. So by the time we were engaged four years later, it was pretty clear we’d have the wedding in Georgia. That left me plenty of time to daydream about what type of venue I wanted.
One of my fantasy picks for an Atlanta venue was Sweetwater Brewery, a local craft brewery whose beers we loved to drink. It didn’t hurt that they had a great tasting room and patio to party on.
Sweetwater Brewery
But something happened in the years between when I was day-dreaming a wedding and actually engaged and planning one. Another local brew stole our hearts.
Monday Night Brewing via Scoutmob
I can’t remember where we first heard about or tasted Monday Night Brewing. It was probably at a beer festival or something. But I do remember we both loved their branding and marketing. They touted “beers for the weeknights,” and took on the persona of the 9-5 yuppie who heads for happy hour and lives all week long, refusing to be just a weekend warrior. Their beers are amazing, too. And they officially opened up a brewery and tasting room in our neighborhood in January 2013, a few months before Roo and I were engaged. It was serendipity.
Monday Night Brewing
I did some Google searching to find other venues, but nothing compared to MNB. I never even visited another space. Armed with our “Casual. Modern. Southern.” style cues and “just do you” mantra, we booked it and never looked back.
I feel kind of silly about making such a big decision so hastily, but it felt right. I can’t be the only who has ever made a big decision without a lot of thought, right?
Planning Update
After being engaged, we quickly nailed down some early wedding must-haves, figured out our wedding style, and ranked our priorities. But I’m here blogging about the wedding more than six months after our engagement.
So where are we now?
The Basics
We’re getting married in Atlanta. We live here, we love it here, and it’s equally as far from Michigan as Miami. So it’s a pain in the ass for both of our families to get to. Those families, by the way, along with our dearest friends makes for about 100 guests to witness our holy matrimony.
To decide on a date, we looked a few key elements. Ok, we looked at one: Nice weather. And that includes being dry. I always imagined us getting married in an indoor/outdoor venue (because my idea of “outdoorsy” is a bar with a patio), and for us to really take advantage it would need to be not raining. It just so happens that October is the dryest month and it’s the perfect temperature. I’ve never been the girl who waits all year for Pumpkin Spice season, so I never thought I’d have a fall wedding. But here we are. A fall wedding in Atlanta with about 100 guests.
What We’ve Done
The first thing we did was find a venue. Having a cool space ranked up there in both my and the mister’s priorities for our day. We thought that Monday Night Brewing, a craft brewery in our neighborhood, fit the bill perfectly. It’s where we spend most of our weekends anyway so why change it up?
We hired a photographer. As soon as we had a date and a place, I started looking for photographers. I stumbled upon Paige Jones thanks to Southern Weddings’ Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory and fell in love with her photos. She’s also one of the kindest and coolest people I’ve ever met and I’m stoked to have her hanging out with us on our wedding day.
Catering came next. Not traditional catering, but a food truck. Without a kitchen at the venue and wanting a more casual vibe, a food truck seemed like the perfect fit. We love Ibiza Bites‘ menu of Southern-meets-Latin cuisine, and I think our guests will too (especially the Cuban side of my Miami family!).
As we started to get the big pieces into place, it was clear we’d need a wedding coordinator to help the day run smoothly. A lot of venues include a coordinator to help run the event and tell vendors where to set up. But with an unconventional venue like a brewery, our options were to either clone me or hire somebody. I was immediately impressed with Kristine of Simply Charming Socials. She’s totally on top of things and has an awesome eye for creative elements (just check out her Charlotte Lane paper and home line).
Last but certainly not least, we chose Ed Wilson of Get Wed by Ed as our officiant. It was important to us to find somebody to, you know, actually marry us so we can make this whole bash legal. He was open to some of our silly ideas and made us feel confident that we could put together the perfect ceremony with his help.
What We Need to Do
Our wedding weekend falls on the same weekend as Atlanta Gay Pride, so we want to lock in some room blocks for our guests in close and affordable hotels.
We’ve got to find a DJ. We don’t need music to be the focus of the reception (I’m serious about leaving out some lawn games). But I’m known to bust a move, so we need to find someone to run the dance party.
I don’t have a clear vision for the wedding, so I need to get a design plan solidified. I really don’t know what to tell anyone when they ask me what our colors are. “Black? Maybe some grey. And there will probably be gold involved.” I. Don’t. Know. Any help out there?
