Mud & Magnolias February 2021

Mud&Magnolias October. November February 2021 2013

Bridal Edition

REHEARSAL DINNER FASHION

WEDDING PROFESSIONAL Q&A’S

LOCAL WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENTS

CONTENTS

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RECIPES

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DRAMATIC ELEGANCE

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COLUMN: FINDING LOVE

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PAINTING LOVE

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Whether you’re hosting a bridal shower, a bachelorette weekend or anything in between, these hors d’oeuvres are the perfect addition to the table.

Bobby Pepper and Nancy Hardy share their love story – a story of recovery, crossed paths and missed meetings that led to finding love in each other.

COVID WEDDINGS

With 2020 being a strange year for anything wedding, we chatted with three couples who said, “I do,” and whose weddings didn’t look quite how they had imagined.

ALSO:

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Rich jewel tones paired with varying fabrics and textures make for an alluring wedding dripping with drama and elegance.

February 2021

Live-painting has taken off recently, and though Felicia Pollard has been in the wedding industry for years, each wedding she paints takes her breath away.

ON THE COVER

A bridal portrait from Jordan and Corey Kilgore’s 2020 wedding. Photo by Madison Wright Photography.

HONEYMOON LUXURY

Many honeymoons look different right now with COVID, so for those first few days together, style the hotel or Airbnb to feel like a luxurious getaway.

Make a charcuterie board with us. Visit mudandmag.com.

Q&A WITH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Q&A WITH A WEDDING PLANNER

REHEARSAL FASHION

DIY: BALLOON MOSAIC LETTER

WEDDING & ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

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very year our Bridal edition is one of our most anticipated publications. This year was a little different.

Wedding planning can be stressful enough without throwing a pandemic into the mix. We watched as couple after couple rightfully postponed or rescheduled their long-awaited weddings — deciding to put a pause on a milestone they’d planned for some time.

We are bringing you the stories of couples who pushed through in trying times. Couples who stepped out of the norm and adapted. We hope sharing their example sparks an idea of how to make your dream come true.

Planning a wedding mid-pandemic is difficult, but not impossible. There are so many vendors throughout North Mississippi, that are featured this month, that can bring your vision to life. You deserve a day as special as the person you’ve chosen to spend your life with –– and, no matter what that day looks like, I know that’s exactly what you will get.

1242 S Green St. Tupelo, MS 38804 662.842.2611

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sarah Brooke Bishop

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Lindsay Pace Kristina Domitrovich Adam Armour

FEATURED SALES CONSULTANTS Leigh Knox June Phillips Nick Boone Teresa McDonald Darla Webb Angie Quarles Glenda Adams Paul Fullerton

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bobby Pepper Nancy Hardy

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Madison Wright Photogrpahy Lyn Laswell Photography Taylor Square Photography Lauren Wood Photography, LLC Every Good Thing Photography Faith Riley Photography Blake McCollum Photography Sara Gatlin Photo

subscriptions@mudandmag.com advertising@mudandmag.com info@mudandmag.com mudandmag.com This magazine is a monthly publication of Journal, Inc.

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RECIPES

SHOWER

Snacks

At get-togethers like bridal showers, hors d’oeuvres are a crowd favorite. But making bite-sized portions for so many guests can be tedious without knowing some hacks, like buying pre-made pastry dough and phyllo cups from the freezer section in your local grocery store.

Creamy Artichoke & JalapeĂąo Shells recipe on pg. 28

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RECIPES

Veggie Cups recipe on pg. 28

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RECIPES

Crawfish Brie Bakes with Chowder Bacon Jam recipe recipeononpg.pg.2228

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RECIPES

French Onion Cups recipe on pg. 29

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RECIPES

Blood Orangeade Punch recipe on pg. 29

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RECIPES Crawfish Bread Dips Chowder recipe on pg. 29

recipe on pg. 22

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RECIPES

Lox Bites

recipe on pg. 29

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RECIPES CREAMY ARTICHOKE & JALAPEÑO SHELLS Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 shallot, finely diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 pinch kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and diced 1 4-ounce can diced pickled jalapeños + 1 tablespoon juice 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded 3 15-pack phyllo shells Directions: Preheat the oven according to packaging. In a medium pan over medium heat, add olive oil, followed by garlic and shallots. Sauté until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.

Add salt, red chili flakes and pepper. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Add in the dairy products, artichokes and jalapeños, and mix until well combined. In a mini muffin tin, cook the empty shells according to packaging to ensure they will be crunchy. Once done, add about a teaspoon and a half of the artichoke mixture in each cup, then return to the oven for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until the filling is melted and the cups are starting to golden. Repeat with remaining ingredients, and serve immediately.

VEGGIE CUPS Ingredients: 3 red bell peppers 6 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped into 4 pieces 1 7-ounce can diced pimentos, drained 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes 1/2 cup milk or plant-based alternative 3 15-pack phyllo shells Sour cream for serving Directions: Preheat the oven to 475, and line a baking sheet with silicone or parchment.

Cut peppers in half, and remove the stems and seeds; place them cut-side down on the baking sheet, and bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until charred. In the meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, followed by the carrots, salt, 1/2 teaspoon onion

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powder, garlic powder and paprika. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until fork tender. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan, followed by the minced garlic, chili flakes and pimentos. When the peppers are charred, remove the skins, and add to the pan. Preheat the oven according to phyllo shells’ packaging. Sauté for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, and purée; slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup milk until completely smooth. In a mini muffin tin, cook the empty shells according to packaging to ensure they will be crunchy. Once done, pipe or spoon about a teaspoon and a half of the veggie purée into each cup, then return to the oven for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until the cups are starting to golden. Repeat with remaining ingredients, drizzle with sour cream and serve immediately.

BRIE BAKES WITH BACON JAM Ingredients: 2 2-sheet box of frozen puff pastry dough 1 pound bacon 1 tablespoon butter 1 large yellow onion, diced 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons vinegar 8 ounces brie Directions: Begin thawing puff pastry according to packaging. Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces, then add to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very crispy; pour bacon into a colander with a bowl beneath to catch the bacon grease. Return the pan to heat, and let the bacon drain. Add 1 tablespoon of the bacon renderings and the butter to the pan, followed by the onion. Season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 7-10 minutes. Return the bacon to the pan and add the spices, sugar and water.

Cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until the liquid has thickened slightly. Transfer to a food processor, add the vinegar and purée for about 30 seconds, or until smooth (note: puréeing is optional, but creates a finer, smoother, jamlike consistency); set aside. Preheat the oven according to packaging. On a lightly floured surface, roll one sheet of puff pastry out at a time, until about 1/8-inch thick. Use a 3-inch cookie or biscuit cutter to stamp out puff pastry rounds. On a flat surface, poke each round a few times with a fork to prevent inconsistent rising. Repeat with the remaining sheet of

RECIPES puff pastry (refrigerate the poked rounds until ready to assemble and bake). Chop the brie into 1/4-inch slices. Place the rounds in a mini muffin tin, and fill each with 4-5 cubes of brie, then top with 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of bacon jam.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until brie is melted and the puff pastry is lightly golden. Repeat with remaining filling and puff pastry. Serve warm.

FRENCH ONION CUPS Ingredients: 3 red onions 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons dry red wine 1 garlic clove, minced 4-ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded 1 2-sheet box of frozen puff pastry sheets Directions: Begin thawing puff pastry according to packaging. Preheat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the onions in half from root to tip, and lay the flat half on the cutting board; cut off the root and tip, and begin thinly julienning the onions. To the pan, add the olive oil, followed by onions, and mix to evenly coat. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced and softened. Add the butter, and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until starting to brown, then add the salt and garlic. Cook for another minute, stirring.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until the wine has cooked off; remove from heat. Preheat the oven according to packaging. On a lightly floured surface, roll one sheet of puff pastry out at a time, until about 1/8-inch thick. Use a 3-inch cookie or biscuit cutter to stamp out puff pastry rounds. On a flat surface, poke each round a few times with a fork, to prevent inconsistent rising. Repeat with the remaining sheet of puff pastry (refrigerate the poked rounds until ready to assemble and bake).

Place the rounds in a mini muffin tin, and fill each with a teaspoon of onions, then top with shredded gruyere. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until gruyere is melted and the puff pastry is lightly golden. Repeat with remaining filling and puff pastry. Serve warm.

BLOOD ORANGEADE PUNCH Ingredients: 4 cups blood orange juice, about 6 pounds of oranges Zest of one blood orange, strips 2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled 2 bottles champagne or prosecco 1/2 cup vodka (optional) 3 cups large ice cubes Directions: In a pot over medium heat, bring the water and sugar to a simmer, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add ginger and zest, and let sit for 20 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large pitcher. Into the pitcher, strain the orange juice to remove any pulp; whisk to combine. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. In a large punch bowl, add the ice, followed by juice, champagne and vodka, and stir until just combined. Ladle into glasses.

LOX BITES Ingredients: 12 ounces smoked salmon 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh chives 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped 1 1/2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning 2 tablespoons capers, drained 2 bags of plain bagel chips Directions: In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, herbs, onions and seasoning until well combined. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture onto a bagel chip, and top with a small slice of salmon.

Repeat with remaining ingredients, then sprinkle with capers.

BREAD DIPS Ingredients: 1 loaf of Italian bread 1/2 cup olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt 1 1/2 teaspoons lightly dried basil Directions: Directions: Preheat oven to 350, and line a baking sheet with parchment. In a bowl, combine the olive oil with the seasonings and herbs; mix. Cut the loaf in half lengthwise, then cut each half into roughly 1-inch strips.

Place on the baking sheet crust-side down, and spoon or baste the olive oil mixture on top. Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until as warm and toasted as desired. M

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finding LOVE in each other

by BOBBY PEPPER AND NANCY HARDY story photos by LINDSAY PACE

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he first time we met face to face was Feb. 10, 2019, but we believe God had been working long before then to bring us together. Our paths, which had crossed so many times for years, finally merged that Sunday afternoon at a church in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

Leading up to our relationship, we both had gone through times of brokenness and pain. A lot of those struggles followed us through childhood and into adulthood. We eventually found healing through a Christ-centered program called Celebrate Recovery.

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a chat with Bobby & Nancy

NANCY: In August 2016, I moved from Arkansas to Southaven,

Mississippi. God placed me in a church where I joined a small life group. The people in this group became precious to me. We volunteered to serve Christmas dinner for our church’s Celebrate Recovery. That was my first experience with CR, and I instantly knew God wanted me to be a part of it.

BOBBY: I was invited to speak at a Christmas program hosted by the CR group at Colonial Hills Church in Southaven. I learned some time later that one of the women serving the meals at the program was Nancy, and she said she remembers me being in line .

BOBBY + NANCY: Celebrate Recovery, which was founded

at Saddleback Church in California, hosts a national gathering every year called Summit. There’s an Eastern U.S. Summit in July near Nashville and a Western U.S. Summit in August at Saddleback.

We attended the 2017 and 2018 gatherings in Tennessee. Nancy attended with her CR group while Bobby was there as a CR state representative from Mississippi and as one of the official photographers. Neither of us realized until later that Bobby had taken three photos of Nancy in 2017 and two photos of her in 2018.

It was also during this time that we separately began talking to Stephanie May of CrossPointe Church in Olive Branch. Nancy co-led Stephanie through a CR step study, while Bobby was advising Stephanie on how to start a CR group at the church. CR launched at CrossPointe in September 2018, but it also opened the door for us to meet.

NANCY: In 2018, CrossPointe’s Pastor Doug Bell led a seminar for singles. This event was so well attended and successful that he decided to create a singles’ church ministry called DeSoto Pursue, which launched in January 2019. God used Pastor Doug to prepare me for the great blessing He would soon send my way. DeSoto Pursue met one Sunday afternoon each month for five months.

That was plenty of time for God to put Bobby and me together.

BOBBY: I shared my testimony at CrossPointe’s CR in November 2018 and became friends with Stephanie and others who attended the church, plus I ‘liked’ the church on Facebook. When CrossPointe announced it was hosting a monthly church service for singles, it caught my attention. Even though I lived about a hundred miles away, I felt led to attend.

BOBBY + NANCY: Bobby felt so strongly about attending

DeSoto Pursue, he drove almost 450 miles –– from a Celebrate Recovery training conference in Lexington, Kentucky, to Olive Branch –– for the February meeting, and that was the day we met.

We started talking and texting on a regular basis.

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NANCY: On April 14, 2019, we had our first date at a Chinese restaurant in Holly Springs. We knew on that day there was something special between us, and we began seeing each other more; we quickly fell in love.

Bobby proposed to me on the anniversary of our first date, and I said ‘Yes!’” Since we’ve been together, we have learned how much we have in common: Exploring places off the beaten path, enjoying the same kind of music and movies, spending time together and enjoying each other’s company. Dating, even at our age, has brought out a youthful passion and joy we have for each other.

BOBBY: Our relationship is a deeply spiritual one.

We enjoy serving in Celebrate Recovery together, and, most of all, sharing our faith with others. We know our great love for each other is made possible only by God’s love for us. We believe the Lord put us together to be each other’s partner, helpmate, supporter, best friend and sounding board.

BOBBY + NANCY: On March 20, 2021, in the church where we met, we will be united in holy matrimony. This will not be the first time for either of us to hear the wedding march, but we’re grateful for another chance to experience love.

We want this day to be a uniting of families. Our precious mothers will be there. Nancy’s son will give away the bride; her sister will be matron of honor. Bobby’s son will be a groomsman. Our 6-year-old granddaughter will be the flower girl, and our 11-month-old grandson will be the ring bearer.

COVID-19 has caused us to rethink some aspects about our wedding. We both contracted the virus late last year, and have had other family members affected by it. It has made us more aware of how easily it is spread. As the day draws closer, we’ll know if we have to make adjustments to our plans to help keep everyone as safe as possible.

Following a few months of transition, we plan to make our home in Southaven –– less than a mile from a city that has been a major part of our lives. We’ve both spent time in Memphis doing unhealthy things that eventually led us to recovery. We’ve often wondered if our paths crossed in Memphis during those times when we were seeking something that was missing in our lives.

However, we’re reminded by the words of that great Memphis rocker, the late Jimi Jamison, when he sang “The Search is Over” for the band Survivor –– “Now at last, I hold you / Now all is said and done / The search has come full circle / Our destinies are one.”

Our destinies crossed paths for a reason on Feb. 10, 2019, and they will be forever merged on the first day of spring 2021. The search is over.

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ask a pro

by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH cover photo by TAYLOR SQUARE PHOTOGRAPHY

ANN-MARIE WYATT started her photography journey in high school. In college, she studied journalism with a focus on the magazine industry; but when she graduated, it was “the invention of the iPad and print was dead,” so she worked for a law firm for a few years. In 2012, she opened Taylor Square Photography in Oxford, and about three years ago started doing that full time. Her business has a handful of employees and second shooters, and they shoot about 30-35 weddings a year.

LYN LASWELL started her photography journey in high school, but never really did anything too serious with it until she graduated college in the Philippines. She got her start in eCommerce photography, until her husband, who was in the Air Force, was stationed in California. There, she began doing family and couples’ photography. Her first wedding was a friend’s elopement, and she fell in love with wedding photography. When she and her family moved to Pontotoc in 2020, she decided to focus on weddings, and shot 15 from August to December.

We chatted with Wyatt and Laswell to ask about all-things wedding: When to start booking photographers? What’s included in their packages? How much communication can clients expect?

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1. THE FIRST STEP, AND HOW TO FIND PHOTOGRAPHERS Step 1 is always going to be picking your date. After that, you can curate a short list of photographers you’re interested in, and start checking to see who is available for that date. For Wyatt, throughout her time in the industry, she’s seen trends for when to book photographers vary anywhere from a year and a half out, to just six months out. Now, she’s seeing weddings being booked further in advance again.

“I would do at least a year ahead of time,” she said. “We’re receiving leads right now for May of 2022.”

2. WHERE TO LOOK Laswell recommends wedding resources like The Knot, WeddingWire and bridal magazines that may have featured photographers. Both Laswell and Wyatt agree that Instagram is a wonderful resource.

“If I were looking for somebody really good right now, I would get on Instagram,” Wyatt said. “I would search hashtags, #Mississippiphotographer, #Memphisphotographer, or anything like that to try to find somebody locally that’s really good.”

Look through their Instagram profile, and see if their work is any good. Laswell says to make sure their style, whether “moody, like dark and gloomy, or bright and airy” matches what you’re looking for. You can always find a photographer to match the type of photos you’re wanting, but you can’t ask a photographer to change their style to match yours.

3. HOW TO TELL IF THEY’RE LEGITIMATE Wyatt says there are plenty of photographers who say they’re professional, but that doesn’t always hold true. She suggests asking any prospective photographers to see a complete gallery.

“Always request a full gallery of an entire wedding day, so you can see start to finish,” she said. “Because what you see on someone’s website and their Instagram are very curated and handchosen images.”

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7. DECISIONS TO MAKE FOR YOUR WEDDING PHOTOS

4. REACHING OUT Once you’ve narrowed down your prospects, go ahead and reach out. Each photographer will have their own practice: At Taylor Square Photography, it starts with a 24-page wedding menu, detailing their services and followed by a phone call, but for Laswell, it starts with a phone call.

When you first meet a photographer in person for a consultation, that part is kind of like the photographer’s job interview, where you’re both seeing if it’s a good match. Personalities matter, especially for your wedding photographer.

“Personalities do matter, and you’re spending the whole day with this person and they’re in a very emotional state,” Wyatt said. “(The photographer) needs to be somebody that’s very calming and that you can get along with that doesn’t stress you out, because it’s already stressful.”

There’s the age-old debate of whether to do a first look, or not.

Some brides are dead set against it, and that’s totally fine; but Wyatt said she always feels like they’re walking away empty-handed.

“I always feel like sometimes our brides and grooms are slighted when we don’t do the first look because on a wedding-day timeline, if we did the first look, that would be the first pictures,” Wyatt said. “If we didn’t do it first, they’re the last pictures.”

Oftentimes, this means the photographer, the bride and the groom alike are rushing through the couple’s portraits and family photos, trying to get to the reception.

“We’re rushing,” Wyatt said. “We only have 15 minutes to do their portraits, and by that point in the day, they’ve had so many pictures that they’re tired of taking pictures.”

5. GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK Wyatt suggests asking about backup plans for what-ifs: “If you don’t show up, if you get in a car accident or get hit by a bus,” then what?

“If it’s pouring down rain and we have nowhere to shoot but inside a church with a little red carpet and ugly window, what do you do with things like that?”

It may be a dark question, but a photographer should be able to send a backup in case of emergency if they absolutely can’t make it to the big day; and they should know how to shoot in imperfect lighting situations, like a gloomy church.

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6. NOW WHAT? Once you’ve determined that a photographer is a good fit and the contracts have been signed, there may be a relaxation period. A lot of times, a photographer won’t have to touch base until three to six months before the wedding date; they should answer any questions you have in the meantime, but they’re likely set until the date comes nearer. During this downtime, it’s the perfect opportunity to do engagement sessions. These are a great way for the bride and groom to get to know their photographer before the big day, plus, it’ll warm them up to the camera.

“Engagement sessions are really nice,” Wyatt said. “It’s a good opportunity to get to know the bride and groom before the wedding day. It’s especially good for our grooms, because most men aren’t comfortable with the camera, no matter what (type of photos) it is.”

Laswell says this is also a good time for the couple to know her as a photographer, “my style and how I prompt them.”

Do you want to do first looks with your dad and/or the bridesmaids?

What visions do you have for your photos?

“It’s really important to discuss with your photographer where you want to do pictures, the look of the pictures you’re going for,” Wyatt said. “If you’re at a church downtown and there’s no green space and it’s concrete all the way around it, are you okay with having all of your pictures in front of the church, on the steps and on the inside at the altar? If you’ve looked at all these galleries and you’ve seen beautiful green outdoor photos and you think in your mind that’s what you want, okay; but you also have to think, ‘Where am I going to get those types of pictures?’”

Photographers will happily drive all over with the bride and groom to get the photos they want, but they have to know what you’re looking for ahead of time, so they can factor in those different locations and the extra time it will take.

Opening page: Pepper Taylor and Wesley Self were married on Sept. 12, 2020, in Natchez at St. Mary’s Basilica. A reception followed at a private residence. Photo by Taylor Square Photography. Previous page: Savannah Shirley and Tanner Blackledge were married on Nov. 14, 2020, in Oxford at The Jefferson. Photo by Taylor Square Photography; This spread, clockwise: Emily and Bruce Harris married in Memphis last year. Photo by Lyn Laswell; Details from a wedding photographed by Taylor Square Photography.

8. THE DETAILS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER SHOULD KNOW Ahead of the wedding, the photographer will reach out and start determining the timeline of your wedding day. They will take care of this for you, but they need to know a lot of information up front to craft an accurate document; remember, the photographer is going to be the first person a wedding planner or hair/makeup stylists checks in with, because they will work around the photographer’s timeline.

Knowing any niche information ahead of time will help the photographer a lot: Are your parents still together, or are they separated? How many people are in the wedding party?

As a part of the timeline, a photographer will likely have a shot list, too: a list of photographs they need to get.

“During the consultation and during the questionnaire,” Laswell said, “we talk about the things I have to photograph, so that I don’t miss anything, and I take care of that.”

Giving the photographer any added details will only help your wedding day go more smoothly, and it will help reduce any worries you may have.

9. WHAT TO EXPECT FOR THE BIG DAY Relax and enjoy yourself! Your photographer may ask you to cock your head a few degrees past what you think would look good, or they may not pose you much at all and may rely more on candid interactions. Trust the process, and trust your photographer; after all, it’s what they do. Some photographers will probably give you a peek of what they’re seeing, and show you a few photos as reassurance.

“My biggest goal is to make them realize that what I am taking looks good, and they don’t look stupid,” Wyatt said. “Once I convince them of that, then they’re totally on board and they’re having fun, and they’ve forgotten that we’re actually doing something that they’re uncomfortable with.”

This page: Bride Savannah Shirley gets ready for her wedding at The Jefferson in Oxford. Taylor Square Photography photographed this in November.

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10. WHAT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS WISH YOU KNEW Whether your photographer bases their packages by the hour or not, wedding days are long, exhausting days for them, too. There’s a lot of directing and positioning people, and every wedding party is different from the last.

“A wedding day is like a marathon for photographers,” Laswell said.

For Wyatt, it’s not uncommon to walk away from a wedding with 5,000-6,000 photos she then has to parse through and narrow down before even beginning to edit, which she does in-house. By the time your photographer returns your photos to you, they’ve put countless hours into that work, and “sometimes it hurts our heart” to never hear from the couple again.

“There are some weddings that we do and we deliver them, and we never hear from them ever again,” she said. “As artists, we’re always constantly looking for validation for what we’re doing. … We have a really hard time getting our brides to get their wedding albums ordered. Once the wedding’s over with, they’re done with it.

I have brides from two years ago, I’m still waiting on wedding album information.”

11. HOW TO JUGGLE A WEDDING AND COVID COVID or not, both Laswell and Wyatt agreed: Love is still happening, and so are weddings. They both said, “It’s business as usual.”

For Laswell, she’s only known wedding photography during the pandemic, but Wyatt has a different perspective.

“It’s definitely changed some of the weddings that we’ve done, but gosh, they turn out so beautiful,” Wyatt said.

“I haven’t had one single bride that has regretted the way that they’ve shaped out. Most of my brides have honestly said at the end of the day, they were so glad that it worked out the way that it did. They were so happy with the way it turned out, because some of these intimate sit-down dinners where you can stand up and look at every single person at the table and have a close relationship with, there’s something to be said for that.” M

Weddings

COVID

by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH

This past year, weddings looked incredibly different. There were a lot of postponements, rescheduling and smaller guest lists. It’s been hard for a lot of couples, but weddings are still happening, and so is love. The following stories in our COVID Wedding collection share the tales of how three couples said, “I do,” and the process of making their big days happen.

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e h T Sanders

previous page and the Sanders’ photos by LAUREN WOOD PHOTOGRAPHY, LLC

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cCarthy and Drake Sanders knew each other going back to middle school. In high school, they were friends, but when Drake graduated two years earlier than she did and joined the Army, they lost touch. One day, McCarthy bumped into Drake’s mom, and the two caught up; his mom told Drake about running into McCarthy, and the two rekindled their friendship and started dating.

In July 2019, Drake told McCarthy they were going to have dinner with some friends, so the two got ready. Before they left, they were feeding some horses behind their house, and Drake asked her to marry him. She said yes.

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They began planning their wedding, and the two fell in love with a venue in Oxford and set their wedding date for Oct. 10, 2020. McCarthy wanted a fall wedding, and the venue had it open.

“We booked (the venue) and I had everything planned, everything was going great,” she said. “And then they called and canceled.”

“That was pretty out of nowhere,” Drake remembers. “They called on a weekend and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to limit your party size down to 10 people inside.’ Immediately, we just kind of looked at each other, there really wasn’t a way to salvage any of it, so it was back to square one with nowhere near the amount of time, and it was a scramble from there.”

Their venue called the first week of August, about two months out from their wedding date. They decided to move the date up and get married on Sept. 5.

“We literally threw everything together,” Drake said. “By that time, we kind of hit the point to where it was like, ‘Okay, we’ve had so many things that we planned for almost a year taken out of our control, let’s try and start making decisions and venue and plans, and things like that, that we can have a little bit more control over, and just go ahead and nail everything down.’”

With this new motto in mind, the couple decided to plan for their ceremony to be in the backyard of her family’s house, overlooking a lake in Saltillo. When they were starting these plans from scratch, Drake remembers it was “the height of COVID as far as restrictions.”

They had to take their original guest list of roughly 200 and drop it down to less than 25 to meet requirements at the time for outdoor gatherings.

McCarthy said she was initially disheartened by the new reality for their wedding, but she said when the day finally happened, she enjoyed every minute of it. They were able to have their parents, siblings, grandparents, and they could each have one close friend.

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“Even though everything had kind of taken a shift and gotten really stressful there for a second, it was probably the most peaceful way to go about it,” Drake said. “Because we had kind of already come to terms with how things (were) going to go that day, as far as being taken away from the original plans, so we just got out and made the most of it. Her dad and I went hunting that morning, and she had kind of had a little girls’ day at her parents.”

McCarthy said she was very relaxed by the time the day rolled around. Luckily, the couple’s wedding planner was still involved, so she took over the day of.

“I had no worries, I wasn’t stressed out,” she said. “I just got to sit back and get ready, and I didn’t have to worry about anything. It was nice.”

For the ceremony, the couple rented an outdoor tent, and had florals and greenery all throughout. At the end of the aisle, there was an arbor decorated with fabric and more floral elements. There, McCarthy and Drake stood alone with their officiant, and were married in front of their close family.

Afterward, they went to a restaurant they had reserved, where they celebrated with about 50 of their friends.

“I wouldn’t change anything,” she said.

In the end, though it wasn’t what they had originally planned, they both said it was their dream wedding.

“I think, even given the chance to go back and just do it normally, the way it ended up was probably better than we could’ve even pictured it,” Drake said. “Everything worked out so much better, to really take all the stress away, it made it that much more special.

photo by LINDSAY PACE

Where are they now?

After the wedding, Drake and McCarthy returned from a week together in Destin Beach, and now live in Saltillo with their 6-year old Yorkie, Sophie. Drake is an Air Force contractor as a mechanic on the base in Columbus, and McCarthy teaches high school. Soon, they plan on taking their original honeymoon to Jackson Hole, a valley between the Tetons and Gros Ventre mountain ranges in Wyoming.

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e h T Carrolls

the Carrolls’ photos by EVERY GOOD THING PHOTOGRAPHY

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ally Kate and Will Carroll met when the two were camp counselors at Camp Lake Stephens in the summer of 2018.

“We just kind of became friends over the course of the summer,” she said. “After camp was over, Will asked me on a date, and then we’ve just been together ever since.”

They were both starting their senior years at college; Will at Mississippi State University, and Sally Kate at the University of Mississippi. The rivalry stretched into their families, as many of their family members had attended their respective schools.

Their first date was in Starkville, where they went to Stromboli’s to eat, followed by a walk in the Veterans Memorial Rose Garden.

The two moved into tackling a long-distance relationship during their senior year, which they said was easier thanks to the fact neither one had Friday classes.

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After graduation, Sally Kate was working and Will was attending graduate school at MSU when the two started planning their engagement, though Sally Kate didn’t realize she was in on it.

“Sally Kate was trying to plan me a surprise party for my birthday, and her roommates were helping her,” Will said. “I got them in on it, so that she was trying to surprise me with a birthday party, but it was actually a surprise engagement party.”

After church on Feb. 9, 2020, Sally Kate was trying to kill time for her friends to set up what she thought was the surprise party for Will; so, going along with it, Will took her for a drive, and they ended up at the Rose Garden. There, he asked her to marry him and she said yes.

“Then we went back to her apartment where the surprise party was supposed to be,” Will said. “And then it was our families and the friends that were going to be there for the surprise party, plus for the engagement party.”

The two decided to wait a month to start planning, until Will’s spring break. Sally Kate took off work the weekend before spring break, and they started seeing venues.

“We booked the venue and picked the date that Friday,” she said, “and then the next week was spring break, and that’s when everything shut down.”

While they had an idea of what they wanted the day to look like, they held off on the remaining planning until things had calmed down, and they didn’t pick it back up until July.

“We changed a lot of things,” she said. “We thought we were going to have this big wedding with our family and all of our

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friends, and everyone kept saying, ‘Oh, this will be gone by November,’ ‘This will be gone by November.’ So we kept trying to hold out hope, I guess that’s why I waited so long to start planning.”

But they had their date: Nov. 28, 2020.

“It was obviously not planned, but when they moved the Egg Bowl, we ended up getting married on the Egg Bowl,” Sally Kate said as they both laughed.

Come rain or shine, no matter the regulations at the time, the two were determined to stick to their date, no matter what their wedding looked like.

“We still wanted to get married,” she said. “So we were just going to go to the courthouse if we had to, and it just be us and our parents.”

As the date approached, more things started firming up.

They’d get married in Big Springs Church, “this little white church out in the middle of nowhere,” and use Fountain Square Professional Suites as the reception venue. The vendors were supportive.

“Vendors were just confused, just like me,” she said. “But we picked great people to work with, and if I had a question, they’d figure it out for me, even if they didn’t know the answer.”

But there were still some challenges. They had to change their honeymoon three different times: First it was a cruise around New Zealand, then a four-day trip to Snowmass, Colorado, followed by a sunny four-day visit to San Diego, California.

As Nov. 28 approached, California was starting to shut back down; so they had to move that portion of their honeymoon to

Colorado Springs, Colorado, which ended up being sunny and 60 degrees during that portion of their trip.

To top it off, their wedding planner had to back out a month before their wedding due to personal reasons related to COVID. Luckily, the best friend of Sally Kate’s mom stepped in for the day-of coordination; and both of their moms took over the decorating.

The biggest issue was the guest list. Originally, their list was “pretty large,” but as the invites were sent out, they had a lot of “older people and more vulnerable populations ended up saying they weren’t going to come anyway,” she remembers. But as the date approached, the two had to pare down the list even more.

“The church that we had booked was relatively small,” she said.

“To allow people to social distance and to keep people safe, we did family-only at the ceremony.”

While it was family-only at the ceremony, which totaled about 45, they opened the reception up to about 100 friends.

At the reception, their guests were able to spread out into multiple rooms throughout the venue, so they could reserve spaces for the elderly and more vulnerable.

“It was kind of sad, just because people come to a wedding to see the wedding, and to see you make your vows and make your promises,” she said. “It was sweet and very intimate that it was just our family, and I wouldn’t go back and change anything, but I do hate that a lot of our friends and a lot of our extended family couldn’t be a part of that.”

While they both agreed that their wedding day would have looked different if it weren’t for COVID, they said wouldn’t have changed a single thing with about the wedding they did have.

photo by LINDSAY PACE

Where are they now?

While Will is finishing his masters in electrical and computer engineering, Sally Kate is completing a year-long pastoral residency at the Orchard in Starkville. While they’re unsure what’s next, they’re excited to see where they’re led in their newly married life together.

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e h T Deitels

the Deitels’ photos by FAITH RILEY PHOTOGRAPHY

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rittney McCoy-Deitel and David Deitel went to the same high school in Center Grove, Indiana, where they both grew up, but they never met each other.

“Although he played football and I cheered, our paths just never crossed,” she said.

David graduated first and went off to Indiana State University, and Brittney “packed my bags” and went to the University of Mississippi.

After they both graduated college, they found themselves in Indianapolis in 2018; once they finally met, “I mean, the rest is history,” she said.

They laugh about never having met in high school now, because Brittney’s brother went on to play David’s position on the football team.

“When I graduated from high school,” he said, “I started to hear about this young up-and-coming football player, and his name was Titus McCoy.” When they put two and two together, Brittney laughed because they wound up chatting about her brother fairly often over the course of their first few dates, since it was a comfortable topic in the beginning of a new relationship. When David mett Brittney’s two brothers, she said it was a big moment for her.

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“He was the first guy that my brothers actually really really liked, and they couldn’t say a bad thing about him,” she said. “So I know when my brothers could imagine him being their older brother, that really put it in great perspective to me that, ‘Okay, this is something that is completely orchestrated by God.’” For David, he said he fell in love with her about six months into dating, when they were on a weekend trip to Chicago in December 2018. They hadn’t said ‘I love you’ yet, but the two later realized that’s when they both fell in love.

“Just the conversations we had, I just really thought to myself, ‘Wow, I want more of this, and I truly do see a future with this woman, and I just can’t wait to continue this,’” he said. “This is the one I want to marry.’”

David proposed to Brittney in September 2019. He planned a date that included the three places they went on their first three dates in Indianapolis, and proposed to her on the canal, just the two of them.

“We really wanted to enjoy that season of engagement — we did not want stress to enter,” she said. “We opted for a longer engagement. We originally set a date to get married in April of 2021.”

Their original wedding plans were far different than the wedding they had. Their guest list exceeded 300 people, and they were wanting to have a “formal, southern-style big wedding” in Indianapolis, with a religious ceremony, southern cuisine, a groom’s cake and monogrammed details throughout. Brittney’s extended family lives in Mississippi, and she spent her summers visiting her grandparents in Tupelo; she’s always loved Mississippi.

“I absolutely loved it, it was just a peaceful place for me,” she said. “And the southern hospitality is so unrivaled. I’ve traveled a lot of places and I’ve gone to different countries, but there’s no place like Mississippi.”

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But as the date approached, their vendors suggested pushing back the wedding to July 2021. She and her mother went dress shopping, but with the difference of Indiana weather in April, when it could still be snowing, and July, when summer is in full swing, there was too much in limbo to decide. And they felt that way about a lot of choices for their wedding.

The couple heeded a friend’s advice: “‘You guys should give people something to celebrate, in this troublesome year, with some joy,’ so we did just that,” Brittney said.

The couple gave their closest family and friends one month’s notice: They were going to elope in a place the couple loved so much: Oxford, Mississippi. Brittney worked closely with the Visit Oxford tourism center to coordinate their weekend plans and to stay in-tune with local and state regulations. In the end, their family traveled from Indiana, friends came from Washington D.C. and Denver, some family from Missouri and her family from Mississippi joined.

The guest list went from over 300, down to 25, and they all converged in Oxford for the big day. Three of Brittney’s bridesmaids were able to be there, and four of David’s groomsmen were in attendance.

“We didn’t know how it was going to unfold until we actually went down there, and did it. So the actual day of the ceremony, it was just kind of go-with-it,” David said. “But the cool thing is, I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding.

(We) didn’t know what was going to happen, but everything fell into place perfectly.”

On Dec. 11, 2020, on Friday afternoon, they had the civil ceremony in Oxford’s courthouse, where David wore his suit and Brittney wore a jumpsuit. Her grandmother was able to sew on lace details from her mother’s wedding dress.

“Although I wasn’t wearing a traditional wedding dress,” she said, “I still felt like a bride because I had a piece of my

mom’s wedding dress in my attire.”

That evening, Brittney’s parents hosted “an intimate dinner” on the Square for all the guests, where her father and some of the guests gave speeches and toasts to the newlyweds.

“That was really, really sentimental for both of us,” she said.

Saturday morning, her parents reserved a double-decker bus tour to guide the family and guests through Oxford, where they got to know the small town and its history, and to see it in “all its glory with the Christmas lights and all the holiday décor,” Brittney remembers. After the tour, the group attended a bridal brunch hosted by David’s parents.

“During weddings, there’s a lot of events that take place leading up to the wedding, and I just felt a little selfish during a time where there’s so much darkness and uncertainty, asking people to focus on David and I,” she said. “I felt like that just wasn’t us. We just really wanted to, more so than anything, just give people a reason to celebrate and to be happy and kind of experience a new place.”

Originally, when they first agreed on the elopement plans, they had intentions of returning home to Indianapolis, and celebrating at another time with friends and loved ones there; now, they might not.

“We are just at so much peace, and we are so happy with how everything came together, that we don’t need a wedding dress or a reception to feel married. We were able to exchange our vows legally and in the presence of God, so to us, we are just happily married now,” Brittney said. “This would be hard to beat.”

The couple agreed they wouldn’t change a single thing about their wedding day, and the trip they shared with their guests.

“I’m so thankful we did it this way,” she said. “Looking back on it, I wish we would have done it this way to begin with; it was so great. I’m so thankful we did it this way.” M

Where are they now?

After they were married, Brittney and David returned to Indianapolis, where she moved into his house. David is a real estate broker and owner of an electric company, and Brittney is the director of marketing and PR specialist in the architect and design industry. They’re busying themselves with home renovations, while also training their eight-month old Australian Shepherd puppy, Archie — that’s Archie, like Archie Manning, though David’s a huge Colts fan so Peyton Manning is his favorite Manning.

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Pro tip:

Q A

Wedding Planner

by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH

Denise Kennedy-Brown, owner of Special Occasions by Denise Kennedy-Brown, has been in the wedding industry for about 15 years, and took her business to full-time seven years ago.

Her business does anywhere from 25-45 weddings a year, along with other happenings like corporate events.

What exactly does a wedding planner do, & what packages would work for me?

“My goal is to make sure I know just as much or more about their wedding than they do,” Kennedy-Brown said. “And that everything is finalized and taken care of, up until the week of the wedding, that way the week of the wedding, they are definitely enjoying themselves, doing those last-minute massages, mani-pedis with their girls or their moms, and just enjoying everybody coming into town.”

She takes on the timeline and times out minute details of the day based on the information provided by the photographer and hair and makeup team, helps with the rehearsal, makes sure the vendors arrive and are set up on time, and calls shots throughout the day, until “waving goodbye as the happy couple leaves for the night.”

She offers three different wedding planning packages: full service, monthly check-ins and day-of coordination.

“My full service, that’s usually more for the brides and moms that just really don’t have much time at all,” she said. “Their plate is already full with life and day-to-day activities, that the extra thought of wedding planning is just too stressful.”

The monthly check-ins align best if “the bride’s kind of a procrastinator, if they don’t stay on task very well.” KennedyBrown will reach out each month to remind the brides about monthly goals, and to make sure things are getting done. For those brides who are well organized, they might just need some assistance with the set-up and day-of work, cue day-of cordination.

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Create a wedding email that you will put down for all vendors, registries, venues & websites, so you have all your wedding’s information in one inbox & can find things easily.

Is a wedding planner really necessary?

Without a planner, “Then the bride is not able to be a bride, a mom’s not able to be a mom, or a sister is not able to be in the wedding party or (be) a sister, because they’re still trying to wrangle all of those details that they really don’t know how to take care of.”

Will a planner be able to see my vision?

At the end of the day, Kennedy-Brown’s business is to make her clients happy, which means achieving their vision: “It’s their wedding; I am there only to ensure that their vision comes true.” During consultations and meetings, she’ll help brides build their wedding books and vision boards.

Usually, she encourages her clients to use Pinterest as a starting point, but not as a bible.

“Pinterest is great, I love Pinterest,” she said. “But what I also stress to all my brides is go ahead and look through those pictures on Pinterest, but now let’s gather three or four of those photos, and take different elements from each of those and now make your creation.”

She wants to make sure her brides aren’t just copying other people’s weddings, because at the end of the day, she wants them to have their personalized, perfect wedding experience, and she has a test for it.

“If you take the bride and the groom out of being on location when guests came in, do they know whose wedding they’re going to because they’ve picked different elements?”

Get your jinx out of the way “I want to hear all about our visions and what our plans are, that’s what we really want,” she tells her clients. “But then I’m going to talk about that little dirty word. We’re going to talk about the rain or the weather or the cold or the heat, so we establish a plan b. So in the very beginning I go ahead and lay that groundwork.”

Kennedy-Brown stresses to her clients that it’s crucial to plan for the unexpected ahead of time to avoid future stress; plus, with a plan already in place, they can have an established time to “pull the trigger” and start carrying out that backup plan to make sure it looks its best.

“I always say that’s our jinx — if we go ahead and talk about it, then it’s not going to happen,” she said. “You hurry to have that plan in place, so that they continue having fun, getting ready, and I know what I need to do.”

How to plan a wedding during a pandemic

Left: Carson and Ryan Reese, married Aug. 8, 2020, at Sadie J. Chapel and Family Grounds in Plantersville. Reception was October 17, 2020 at the Tupelo Cotton Mill. Photo by Faith Riley Photography. Above: Madison and Chase Floyd, married Nov. 10, 2018, at the Tupelo Cotton Mill in Tupelo. Photo by Sara Gatlin Photo.

How to add personal touches Writing your vows doesn’t have to be the only way to make a wedding ceremony personalized to a couple, but it can be a good place to start. If writing vows is a little too intimidating, the union ceremony can be a great place to add character. Kennedy-Brown has seen a couple plant a tree they’ll keep in their first home, a bride paint an abstract piece of art. She even had one couple who were wine enthusiasts, and had a bottle of wine they wrote on enclosed in a box with letters to one another, and had their officiant bless the box, which they opened on their first anniversary.

Three decisions for a smoother wedding day Kennedy-Brown highly suggests her brides do a first look with their grooms.

“It gives them that first look time to where they are just all by themselves, (they) don’t have to worry with the whole congregation,” she said. “You still get to have those butterflies, you still have that first look time where it’s just them.”

The couple doesn’t have to worry about missing an hour of the reception because of photos, and if the bride gets a little teary-eyed, she doesn’t have to “look like a little raccoon going back up the aisle.”

She also always encourages her brides and grooms to be alone after the ceremony for 15-30 minutes. This gives the couple a chance to be together, but they can also use this time to eat, “because let’s face it, if that’s not built into their timeline, they’ll never get a chance to eat.”

A new thing she’s seen, and has sometimes surprised her clients with, is right before they drive away, as the guests are lining up outside to see the couple off, Kennedy-Brown highly encourages the bride and groom stay inside for a last dance. This gives them a really intimate, sweet closing to their wedding day.

“Love is not canceled, and neither is planning,” KennedyBrown said. “Don’t let COVID take away the newly engaged glow feeling and happiness, keep things positive.”

She’s encouraging her clients to go ahead with their wedding planning: Book the venue and vendors, “because let’s face it, vendors have booked up because of last year’s postponements, and of course for all the new engagements, so you want to go ahead and book them.”

While telling her clients that having a year-long engagement is not at all uncommon, she’s stressing that the most important thing for her brides is to closely look at the contracts. Check policies for rescheduling or postponing, and see if they refund deposits. She implores her brides to look at venues that “have indoor-outdoor capabilities, that way you feel safer.” See if the venue has doors to open and keep the area well ventilated.

Once your vendors and venue are booked, she said to hold off on the fine details until two or three months out.

At that point, then it’s time to start asking, “What are the restrictions?” “How’s our area handling this?”

She always encourages her clients to have a wedding website, but especially now. These websites serve as a single place guests can go to find answers to all their questions, but it can also easily update people about new COVID restrictions.

If people are particularly concerned and plan on not attending the wedding, the couple can offer a virtual option through their website, too.

As far as the reception goes, she’s seen a few different options. 1. Have the guests come in waves, starting with the elderly and vulnerable populations, so they can still visit with the couple and get some hors d’oeuvres and cake before the other, less concerned guests arrive; 2. Space out tables, and offer smaller tables.

“Maybe they don’t feel comfortable telling people how they feel, but they really are concerned,” Kennedy-Brown said. “So that gives them that opportunity and option of, ‘I’m going to stay out here more in the hallway,’ or, ‘I’ve got this pub table here in the back and it makes me feel more comfortable.’” M

Should I get married this year or next?

Will you be willing to reduce your head count?

2021

2022

yes

no

Are you okay with people being socially distanced?

yes

no

Are you okay if a lot of guests skip dancing?

yes

no

Will you be okay with people wearing masks in photos?

yes

no

Can you budget for a plated, served meal to make your guests feel safer?

yes

no

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DRAMATIC ELEGANCE Our 2021 styled bridal shoot highlights rich tones and textures for timeless drama, elegance and luxury. photos by LINDSAY PACE

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Location provided by Kingfisher Lodge in Verona. Bridal gown, heels & tux provided by The Bride and Groom in Columbus.

Bridesmaid dresses provided

by Kay’s Kreations in Tupelo. Tables, cloths, overlays, place settings, table designs and cake stand provided by Busylad Rent All Inc. in Tupelo. Cake provided by Creative Cakes in Tupelo.

Floral arrangements provided

by Bishop’s Flower Shop in Tupelo. Necklace, bracelet, gold earrings and stacked wedding band set provided by The Diamond Divas of Way-Fil Jewelry in Tupelo.

Stationery suite provided by Flourish Paper in Tupelo.

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painting love in real time

by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by BLAKE McCOLLUM PHOTOGRAPHY and LINDSAY PACE

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enjoyed art, but to me it’s just a “ I’ve always creative outlet.”

E

d.D. Felicia Brown Pollard, doesn’t necessarily consider herself an artist, because for her, painting is something she’s done since she was a young child.

“It was always available to me growing up,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed art, but to me it’s just a creative outlet.”

Her mother would paint and even make her own canvases, sometimes using sheets if she had to. Pollard remembers when her mother would challenge her and her siblings, “Okay, see if you can cover every piece of this paper with color, don’t leave any white spaces.”

“Now I know as a mom, she was just keeping us busy for the longest amount of time,” she said. “But it didn’t bother her to hang those up in the hall or something just for a few days, so we would feel like what we put out there was valuable.”

Now Pollard is a school administrator, and her workweek is spent being the assistant principal at a school in Lafayette County School District. She said this helped her get into the wedding industry in a roundabout way.

“Me being a school administrator honestly kind of opened the door into me getting into the wedding business. And it sounds strange, at first,” she said. “It hit me that part of my job is duty and discipline and making sure things run smoothly and safely. With a fire drill, you’re telling people what to do on really important days. Like, ‘If something happens, this is what you do,’ as an assistant principal. Well, a wedding is just a really important day, so people want direction that day, and it’s kind of the same skill set, honestly.”

Her first interaction with the wedding industry was doing the calligraphy on her college roommate’s invitations as a wedding gift to her — another artistic knack she picked up from her mother.

Later on, when a girl in her church was getting married, she asked Pollard to direct the wedding: “Well sure, I mean I’ve never done it before, I’m sure it can’t be that difficult.”

It snowballed from there. She went on to direct countless other weddings. She added live wedding paintings into the mix a few years ago, when she “noticed there was an uptick in live painting” on social media. In 2018, a girl she used to babysit was getting married, and Pollard knew the family very well; but she also knew the guest list was incredibly small, and she didn’t want the bride to feel like she “needed to take up a spot.” So she went to the bride’s mother, and asked if she could paint the wedding, and “she jumped on it.”

Pollard said the biggest challenge to live painting is the time constraint, but she felt comfortable because she knew the family, and knew she could finish the piece later if necessary. While at the wedding, she had another couple approach her, and ask if she’d come paint their wedding, too. Pollard said most of her art so far has been through direct requests like this, or through word of mouth with her ties to the industry through directing.

She still directs weddings, too, but sometimes even those brides will ask her to paint their special day; when this happens, Pollard has to paint the reception instead of the ceremony, because she’s too busy with the rest of her duties. She said painting receptions

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Opening page: Pollard’s painting, done at the ceremony, is displayed at a reception in West Point. Photo by Blake McCollum Photography. This spread, clockwise from left: She paints a ceremony at Old Waverly Golf Club; Pollard takes a quick break from painting a ceremony in Derma for this photo; For indoor weddings, she often relies on a light, which clips onto her easel.

has become more popular recently anyways, because people often want a painting of their first dance.

“The reception kind of wanes on into the night, and a reception kind of goes on,” she said. “So there’s not a crunch time, but when you paint a ceremony, there’s a definite time when the ceremony is over.”

Pollard usually shows up two hours before the wedding to get set-up and start painting in the background, whether it’s for the ceremony or the reception. She’s learned a few things along the way. One wedding ceremony she was painting was going to be an outdoor wedding; but there was a storm coming through that pushed it indoors within 15-30 minutes of the wedding starting.

Pollard quickly had to repaint the background.

“I’ve learned to adapt kind of to my environment,” she said.

Now, she carries around an extra canvas, just in case she has to start over with a new background. She also carries around a lamp, because each church has different regulations for where they’ll allow her to set up, and one time she was “tucked away in a balcony in the dark.” She also packs a fan and an extension cord with her, because she never knows what the weather will be like and how close she’ll be next to an outlet.

Once she’s done with the background, she’ll start filling in guests as they arrive.

“If the mother has on a blue dress, she’s going to have a blue dress seated on the pew,” she said. “So I start that when they walk down the aisle.”

She’s learned to ask a few questions ahead of time, like what colors the groomsmen and bridesmaids will be wearing, so she can get a jump on their figures. She said the groomsmen are easy, “basically it’s facial hair, hair color, and a suit, a suit, a suit;” but bridesmaids are a little more complicated.

“One popular trend, it’s kind of dying out now, but in the last three years, it’s been popular for every bridesmaid to wear a different color dress, like in the same color family,” she said. “I have to reflect that in my painting, so instead of going through with one color, I have to change those out and make sure I have the (right) dress on the blonde bridesmaid, not the brunette.”

She said there’s a lot of intrigue while she’s working, and people often come up to her to watch or chat, but she doesn’t mind at all.

“It doesn’t make me nervous if people want to come and talk. I hear a lot about people who have cousins or grandmothers or aunts that paint, and people have a story to share. For me, I love the social

nature of it,” she said. “Little kids come over sometimes and they want to know if I painted them in there.”

Pollard said she does these paintings as “a labor of love” and uses it as her creative outlet, that’s “still very personal.”

One of her favorite parts of painting weddings is getting to paint churches’ stained-glass windows, and listening to the prelude music as guests start walking in, and said those moments are almost spiritual to her. But her favorite part of weddings is when the groom walks his mother down the aisle.

“That there’s the sweetest moment to me,” she said, a mother to two boys.

Last year, she was able to paint five weddings for students who were all in the first class she taught, and she said that was incredibly special for her, “I think you’re always attached to your first class of kids.” Last year, she also says she’s had the special honor of being asked to paint smaller weddings due to COVID, which she said have all been so intimate and heartwarming. She said she particularly remembers the first micro wedding she was able to paint; the regulations had just been lifted from 10 to 20 people for outdoor events, and with that, she was able to attend and paint the ceremony.

“To get to paint that was exciting, and to me, it was just kind of the first step of, ‘We’re going to be normal again, it’s going to take some time,’” she said. “Getting to be a part of that and see it, it was pared down, but it was very intimate. It was gorgeous, and love still happens.” M

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champagne, anyone?

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honeymoon luxury

by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by LINDSAY PACE

With so many uncertainties, it’s hard to guarantee that a honeymoon is just around the corner.

But that doesn’t mean the first stint of newlyweds’ lives together shouldn’t be meaningful. If the big honeymoon trip is on hold (or even if you just need a romantic weekend with your love), here are a few tips on how to still feel luxurious at a hotel or Airbnb.

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bring the botanicals

antique, mismatched tea cups as a keepsake M &M

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modern metallic elements add elegance, while pottery, textured plush pillows & wooden elements add coziness

pick a pair of fabulous coupe glasses for the occasion

charcuterie for you & for me

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now’s the perfect time to exchange gifts with one another

special thanks to: staggs interiors for supplying the pillows & blanket in our cozy corner | & the concord cottage in new albany for letting us use their airb&b as our destination make a charcuterie board with us. visit mudandmag.com

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Rehearsal dinner fashion

Who: What: Where:

The bride Dress, $112.99; Shoes, $99.99.

L.A. Green | Tupelo shot at Crave Community | Tupelo M &M

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Who: Mother of the bride

What: Dress and jewelry, prices upon request.

Where: Reed’s | Tupelo shot at Crave Community | Tupelo

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Who:

The groom

What:

Hagen dress shirt; Jack Victor sport coat and pants; Martin Dingman shoes and belt; Robert Jensen pocket square.

Prices upon request.

Where:

MLM Clotheirs |Tupelo shot at Crave Community | Tupelo

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Who:

The bridesmaid

What:

Chinese Laundry boots; She + Sky dress; She + Sky cardigan; Jennifer Thames bracelet; What’s Hot earrings.

Prices upon request.

Where:

Black Sheep Boutique | Tupelo shot at Crave Community | Tupelo

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Who: What:

The flowergirl

Phoenix and Wren Heirloom Hazel dress, $93; Wee Ones bow, $11, Elephantito shoes, price upon request.

Who: What:

The ringbearer

Banana Split Khaki Linen two-piece set, $50; L’Amour tan and white Oxfords, price upon request; Jefferies knee socks, $3.99.

Where:

Little Magnolias | Tupelo shot at Kingfisher Lodge | Verona

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BUYER ’S GUIDE

Publish your engagement, wedding or anniversary announcement in The Daily Journal Submit your engagement or weddingannouncementonlineat djournal.com.

Click on Menu. Then, click submission forms. Finally, click engagement, wedding, or anniversary announcement.

Submissions include a photograph.Multiplesizesavailable.

Forquestionsormoredetails,email sarahbrooke.bishop@journalinc.com

BUYER ’S GUIDE

Start your weekend with

Sign up for our weekly newsletter!

- Delivered every Friday morning - Be the first to see new content - Get access to unique recipes not featured in the magazine - Get in the know with events, special promotions & more!

Sign up online at mudandmagnolias.com

BUYER ’S GUIDE

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• The couple’s last name • The wedding color palette

What to know:

• 8 20x30-inch white foam boards • 100 balloons in varying colors, more or less as desired • 1 precision knife, like an X-Acto knife • White duct tape • Glue sticks & glue gun • Clear glue dots • Pencil or pen • Clear tape • Scissors

Materials:

by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photo by LINDSAY PACE

!

Y I D

MOSAIC BALL N LETTERS

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1. Lay four foam boards in a quadrant on a flat surface; it should measure 40x60 inches.

2. Use Adobe Acrobat to print a capitalized letter as a poster, inputting 40x60 inches as the poster’s size. This will print the letter across on multiple standard pieces of paper.

3. Use tape to connect the letter, then cut the letter out with scissors. Make sure the base of the letter is flat, so it will stand properly on the ground.

4. Use a pencil to trace the letter onto the foam boards. Cut out the traced letter using the

Instructions:

Confetti balloons make everything more fun!

precision knife.

5. Duct tape the letter together on both sides where the pieces meet.

6. Cut the remaining foam boards into 4 long strips, so each piece measures 5x30 inches — these pieces will be the siding.

7. Begin hot gluing the strips along the sides of the letter, until all the edges have been outlined. For curves, use the precision knife to cut scores in the strip (only going halfway through) every 1/2 inch, to allow flexibility.

Hot glue where two pieces of siding meet.

8. Once the letter is completed, attach the remaining board to the bottom of the letter for added sturdiness when standing upright.

9. Begin blowing up the balloons at varying sizes, but none exceeding 5 inches in diameter.

10. Without gluing, fill the letter with the larger balloons and rearrange as needed. Then glue each one, using glue dots.

11. Use the smaller balloons to fill the gaps, and secure with glue dots. Repeat until filled as desired, and the backboard of the letter is not showing. M

WEDDING

Announcements Karly Nicole Weeks + Kirkland Reid Wooten // pg. 102 Baylee Elizabeth Hallmark + Brandon David Sims // pg. 104 Jordan Olivia Kennedy + Corey Dell Kilgore // pg. 106 Alana Jill Timmons + Joshua Lee Easley // pg. 107 Ariel Anastasia Alexander + Alex Jackson // pg. 108 Mundy Montana Easley + Brenden James Blankenship // pg. 109

ENGAGEMENT Announcements Kate Elizabeth Harvey + Robert Andrew Moore // pg. 110 LeeAnn Margaret Ignozzi + Hudson Gregory Roy // pg. 110

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Karly Nicole Weeks Kirkland Reid Wooten Karly Nicole Weeks of Fulton, Miss., and Kirkland Reid Wooten of Golden, Miss., were married on September 26, 2020, at 5 o’clock in the evening at The Riverton in Cherokee, Ala. The venue is owned by the friendly Hank and Pam Thomas, who helped in every area.

The bride’s parents are Barry and Angie Weeks of Fulton, Miss. Her grandparents are Delmus and the late Susie Spencer of Starkville, Miss., and Brenda and the late Harold Weeks. The groom’s parents are Chris and Tami Wooten of Golden, Miss., and his grandparents are Larry and Debi Hyde of Selmer, Tenn., and Larry and Linda Wooten of Dennis, Miss.

The bride’s father escorted her down the aisle. Rudy Randolph, from Belmont, Miss., performed the ceremony. As Carter Sand of Corinth, Miss., walked down the aisle, he held a sign reading “Uncle Kirk Here Comes Your Bride.” The bride walked down the aisle to “I Choose You,” and the couple recessed to “This Is It.” The bride wore an ivory Jasmine fit-and-flare crepe wedding dress with beading, a sweetheart neckline, an open-V-back and a tiffany train with button detailing from Kay’s Kreations in Tupelo, Miss. The groom, the bride’s father, bridesmaids, groomsmen and the ring bearer were dressed by Kay’s Kreations, too.

The couple highlighted navy and blush colors throughout their wedding.

Their florist was Wild Flowers of Belmont, Miss. The bride’s bouquet consisted of pink Mondale roses, white football mums, blush spray roses and seeded eucalyptus. Her arch was made by her father with seeded eucalyptus, light blue delphinium, white football mums, pink Mondale roses, blush and white spray roses, pink larkspur and marzipan roses. The groom’s boutonniere consisted of blush spray roses, pink celosia, blue thistle and seeded eucalyptus.

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Stacy Justice of Russellville, Ala., directed the wedding, and Brandon Fowler of Belmont, Miss., sang. Pianist Dodi Powers of Iuka, Miss., also performed, while music was provided by Jacob Patterson of Dennis, Miss. Kathryn Leigh Enlow of Mooreville, Miss., photographed the event, while Ben Boudreaux of Belmont, Miss., was the videographer. Page Spencer and Maggie Fortenbery of Starkville, Miss., styled hair and makeup, respectively.

The flower girl, Adleigh Ramirez of Belmont, Miss., dropped blush rose petals and wore a baby’s breath halo. Their ring bearers were Luis and Alex Rodriguez and Aiden Wooten of Belmont, Miss. Kealy Sand of Corinth, Miss was the matron of honor, and bridesmaids were Haley Watson of Fulton, Miss., Bethany Davis of Marion, N. Car., Kaitlyn Justice of Russellville, Ala., and Nin Wooten of Belmont, Miss. The best man was Chris Wooten, and groomsmen were Drew Wooten of Belmont, Miss., Peyton Wooten of Belmont, Miss., and Ben Sand of Corinth, Miss.

The couple loves Chick-fil-A, so chicken nuggets were provided. BBQ sliders, mini loaded baked potatoes, a vegetable stand, a cheese log, chicken salad croissants, sweet tea and pineapple lemonade were catered by Ruth Manor Catering from Fulton, Miss. For dessert, the couple chose a four-layered white wedding cake from Sugar Daisies of Belmont, Miss., with each layer designed differently. They also offered guests chocolate cupcakes and patriotic cookies.

Family and friends celebrated the couple with a sparkler send-off. The Wootens honeymooned in Treasure Island, Fla., and now reside in Belmont, Miss., where the groom works for his father, who owns a construction company, and serves as a Military Policeman in the Mississippi National Guard. The bride works as an Optometry Technician at Cagle Eye Center.

Photos by Kathyrn Leigh Photography

Wedding Announcement

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Baylee Elizabeth Hallmark Brandon David Sims Baylee Elizabeth Hallmark of Tupelo, Miss., and Brandon David Sims of Marietta, Miss., were united in marriage on October 24, 2020, at 3:00 p.m., in a ceremony surrounded by family and friends at Leighwood Place in Saltillo, Miss. The ceremony was officiated by Brother Ben Wheeler of Black Mountain N. Car., formerly of Saltillo, Miss.

The bride is the daughter of Tim and Kathy Hallmark of Tupelo, Miss. She is the granddaughter of Lynn and the late Paul Lyle of Tupelo, Miss. and the late Reuel and Helen Hallmark of Tupelo, Miss.

The groom is the son of Jerry Sims of Marietta, Miss. and Mary Stewart of Saltillo, Miss. He is the grandson of Sharon Sarver of Marietta, Miss.

Escorted by her father and given in marriage by her parents, the bride wore a stunning Oleg Cassini gown that featured a beautiful lace train, pleated skirt and pockets. Her veil was a perfect addition with a border that matched the lace train. A gorgeous beaded belt and headband were added from David’s Bridal in Tupelo, Miss. The dress and veil was also from David’s Bridal. Her hair and makeup were styled by Amanda Marcy and Kayla Franks of Shear Perfection in Mantachie, Miss. She carried a bouquet of white hydrangeas, red heart roses, blue thistle, billy balls, eucalyptus and pink stock. The bouquet was adorned with a brooch of her great grandmother. Floral arrangements were done by Rebecca Tackett of Designs by Becca in Mooreville, Miss.

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The bride’s best friend, Rebecca Tackett, served as maid of honor.

Bridesmaids were Lacey Sides of Tupelo, Miss., Tabitha Sims of Marietta, Miss., and Melissa Cole of Panama City Beach, Fla. They wore various styles of wine-colored dresses from David’s Bridal and carried bouquets of white hydrangeas, red heart roses, blue thistle, billy balls, eucalyptus and pink stock.

Jacob Lyle of Saltillo, Miss., was the best man. Groomsmen were Jerry Sims of Marietta, Miss., Bryan Hallmark of Tupelo, Miss., and Logan Lyle of Tupelo, Miss. They wore gray slacks and navy vests with wine ties from Thomas Brothers Formalwear in Tupelo, Miss.

The ceremony and reception was photographed by Deanna Knight of Shoot to Finish in Saltillo, Miss. Following the ceremony, the couple enjoyed a reception with their favorite appetizers provided by Christy Beard of Tupelo, Miss. The bride’s cake was a vanilla three-tier cake decorated with flowers, and the groom’s cake was a two-tier strawberry cake decorated in the theme of fishing provided by Cakes by Tina of Mooreville, Miss.

Following a honeymoon trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn., they reside in Tupelo, Miss., where the bride is a social worker for a clinic in Tupelo and the groom works at Transport Trailer in Tupelo, Miss.

Photos by Deanna Knight of Shoot to Finish

Wedding Announcement

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Wedding Announcement

Wedding Announcement

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Jordan Olivia Kennedy Corey Dell Kilgore Jordan Olivia Kennedy and Corey Dell Kilgore of Caledonia, Miss., were united in marriage on November 14, 2020, in a ceremony surrounded by family and friends at The Antler in Tupelo, Miss.

The bride is the daughter of Michael and Jennifer Hunt of Starkville, Miss. She is the granddaughter of Gerald and Debi Crabb and the late Jimmy Hughey of Ripley, Miss., and Soggy and Linda Kennedy of Kossuth, Miss.

The groom is the son of the late Rachel Kilgore and Edward Clemmons. He is the grandson of Dale and the late Nancy Parra and Lula Mae and the late James Kilgore, Jr. Escorted by her stepfather, the bride wore a Stella York fitted dress with lace details. She carried a bouquet of eucalyptus, white hydrangea, and white and pale pink roses.

The matrons of honor were Destiny Hill of Columbus, Miss., and Briana Lowery of Columbus, Miss. The bridesmaids were Bonnie Riley of West Point, Miss., Elisabeth Shepherd of Caledonia, Miss., Katelyn Vest of West Point, Miss. and Haley Clemmons, sister of the groom, of Hamilton, Miss. Junior bridesmaid was Ella Smith, of Tupelo, Miss.

Dale Parra, the grandfather of the groom, was the best man.

Groomsmen were Hunter Riley of Caledonia, Miss., Austin Hill of Columbus, Miss., Jacob Lowery of Caledonia, Miss., Drew Kisman of Caledonia, Miss., Aidan Fletcher of Caledonia, Miss. and Wess Kennedy, brother of the bride, of Starkville, Miss.

A reception followed at The Antler, where guests enjoyed a delicious meal catered by Krisha Mims Catering of Tupelo, Miss., and dancing with music provided by Bill Thurlow of Thurlow’s Party to Go. The bride and groom’s cakes were designed and prepared by Endville Bakery.

Flowers for the wedding were arranged by Aimee Prevost Sanford of May Flower Co. Aimee was also the wedding coordinator. Capturing the special day were Madison Wright Photography and videographer Michaela Parker of Parker Media.

After honeymooning in Jackson Hole, Wyo., the couple resides in Caledonia, Miss., where the bride is a surgical technologist at Martin Oral & Facial Surgical Center and the groom is a lineman for 4-County Electric in Starkville, Miss.

Photos by Madison Wright Photography

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Wedding Announcement

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Alana Jill Timmons Joshua Lee Easley Alana Jill Timmons and Joshua Lee Easley were united in marriage on Saturday, October 10, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. at Goodlett Manor in Tupelo, Miss.

On the eve of the wedding, the groom’s parents honored the couple with a rehearsal dinner at Agnew’s in Baldw yn. The bride is the daughter of Mike and Lisa Timmons. The groom is the son of Darren and Laurie Easley.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore an Adrianna Papell gown by Kay’s Creations of Tupelo, Miss. The bridesmaids were fitted in steel blue-colored gowns by David’s Bridal. The groom and groomsmen were also dressed by Kay’s Creations, and the bride’s hair was styled by Arianae Bethany of Someone’s Looking in Tupelo, Miss.

The Matron of honor was Janna Clark Gillette, while Lauren Oswalt Waters was the bridesmaid. The best man was Darren Easley, and the groomsman, Presley Ellis. Kaylee Clifton was the f lower girl, while Peyson Ellis was the usher. The ceremony was officiated by the groom’s lifelong pastor, Bryan Collier.

Marsha Clark and Lee Reeder planned the wedding, while Lovelle Photography captured the special day. Angie Wise created the f loral arrangements to boast the antique and romantic atmosphere.

Flowers included ivory roses, pastel carnations, soft blue sea holly and seeded eucalyptus. Lee Reeder provided the catering, which consisted of BBQ pork sliders, BBQ chicken sliders, potato salad, BBQ baked beans, slaw and shrimp cocktail.

The wedding cake was three-tier, with the top and bottom being chocolate, and the middle, chocolate and vanilla swirl. Lee Reeder decorated the cake with f lowers and vines. Westside BBQ provided a strawberry groom’s cake. Desserts were shared, too, including peanut butter pies by Laurie Easley and iced sugar cookies by Natasha Chen of China Capital.

Music included “I Was Made for Loving You” by Tori Kelly, and the bride walked down the isle to “Hallelujah” by Carrie Under wood and John Legend.

The couple honeymooned in Saint Thomas in the Caribbean Islands from October 11 to October 15, 2020.

Photos by Lovelle Photography

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Ariel Anastasia Alexander Alex Jackson Considering the dangers of COVID-19, Ariel Anastasia Alexander and Robert Alexander Jackson planned an intimate elopement ceremony in Colorado on October 10, 2020, in lieu of a traditional ceremony.

With the mountains as witnesses, Ariel and Alex set an altar decorated with symbols of the elements: earth, water, air and fire. Their rings were supported by a bowl of sand gathered from the Florida Gulf beach where Alex had proposed. The couple opened the ceremony with a reading of letters written by their parents, Morris and Alice Alexander of Tupelo, Miss., and Charles and Anne Jackson of Arlington, Texas, followed by personally written vows, and a kiss to seal the deal.

Ariel wore a white floral organza wedding gown with a cathedral train, a deep v neckline, lace-up back and spaghetti straps. A tiara of golden laurel leaves, handmade from New Zealand, donned her head. At her waist was a solid brass belt, and on her feet were blue suede sandals. She wore a necklace set with gold and blue beads, a gift to her from her grandmother, Joy Hyatt. Alex was dapper in a grey tweed suit, vest and suspenders, white dress shirt with a special paisley tie and fine brown leather shoes.

After a celebratory toast and a quick change of dress, they spent the rest of the day hiking around Colorado trails, photographed by their dear friend, Mikalah O’Reily. They received many congratulations from other hikers on the trail.

To celebrate the nuptials with family, Ariel’s family hosted a Halloween

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Masquerade at their home in Tupelo. The small party of guests were greeted with elegant but dark decorations, such as naturally dried flowers, wreaths, floating candlesticks and bats flying out of the fireplace. No detail was left un-spooked – even their wedding cake (handmade by the bride’s sister, Rachel Gibson) was in the shape of a coffin, the icing proclaimed “Til Death.”

Guests arrived, but were not recognized, as their costumes were so grand, and masks were required. Attending from Dallas/Fort Worth were: Popeye and Olive Oil (Charles and Anne Jackson), Cruella De Ville and her Dalmatian Puppy (Lisa and Stephanie Cerovsky), The Mad Hatter (Gloria Ewerz), Captain Jean Luc Picard and Toni Tennille (Matt and Kathy Hardin). From Jackson, Miss., came Unextinct Dinosaurs (Chuck and Corinne Sampson), a Court Jester (Hebron Morris) and Daniel Boone (Clay Alexander). Buttercup and Westley (Rachel and Jake Gibson) made an appearance, along with the infamous Joe Exotic (Jacob Jackson), Gomez and Morticia Addams (Morris and Alice Alexander), Jamie and Claire Fraser (Charles and Joy Hyatt), a 1960’s Flower Child (Susan Hyatt), Flo from Progressive and Jamie of State Farm (Lauren and Rick Culp), and last but not least, a Pumpkin escorted by a Vampire (Carol and Les Alvis).

In 2021, the couple will plan a larger celebration with friends and family when all is safe, but will always remember how special and unique their elopement and celebration were for everyone involved.

Photos by Mikalah Marie Photo + Film

Wedding Announcement

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Mundy Montana Easley Brenden James Blankenship Mundy Montana Easley of Olive Branch, Miss., and Brenden James Blankenship of Olive Branch, Miss., were united in marriage on November 7, 2020, at the beautifully renovated Barn at Snider Farms in Denmark, Tenn. The ceremony took place in the simple but beautifully decorated open chapel under a handcrafted wooden arch at sunset. The bride’s bouquet, the arch and pews were all beautifully designed by J. Kent Freeman Floral & Design in Jackson, Tenn., with white garden roses, cream hypericum berries, white stock flower, seeded eucalyptus, dusty miller and cascading greenery.

The bride is the daughter of Mundy Easley of Olive Branch, Miss., and Ronnie Easley of Olive Branch, Miss. She is the granddaughter of Ramelle Orman of Olive Branch, Miss., and David Orman of Wynne, Ark., and Betty Jo Easley of Olive Branch, Miss., and the late Warren Easley of Olive Branch, Miss.

The groom is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Alan Blankenship of Olive Branch, Miss. He is the grandson of June Moody of Bay, Ark., and James Towery of Heber Springs, Ark., and Jacqueline Ann Blankenship of St. Charles, Mo., and the late James Clinton Blankenship of St. Charles, Mo. Escorted by her father, the bride wore a beautiful fit-and-flare satin gown with a beaded waistline and long train with covered buttons from Low’s Bridal and Formal Shop in Brinkley, Ark. Photos by Kelly Ginn Photography

The maid-of-honor was Mary Catherine Hutchens of Holly Springs, Miss., with one bridesmaid, Brooke Blankenship, of Olive Branch, Miss. They wore soft, f lowing, burgundy gowns with white rose bouquets. The bridesmen were Jack Hagel of Olive Branch, Miss., Johnny Huynh of Memphis, Tenn., Joseph Nguyen of Memphis, Tenn., and Will Anglin, who was also their f lowerboy, of Olive Branch, Miss.

The bridesmen wore dark gray suits with burgundy accents.

The groomsmen were Alan Blankenship of Olive Branch, Miss., Chance Ivy of Hernando, Miss., Parker Pleasants of Holly Springs, Miss., Kyllian Allgeier of Olive Branch, Miss., Will Malatesta of Olive Branch, Miss., and Daniel Johns of Stockton, Calif. The groomsmen wore dark gray suits with navy accents to match the groom’s Air Force Blues.

The reception was a buffet dinner and dancing for all, hosted at The Barn at Snider Farms. The bride and groom danced their first dance “Better Today” by Coffey Anderson. The night ended with an arch of sparklers, and the bride and groom departed in a 1927 Ford Model T. The couple shared a honeymoon in Whitefish, Mont., and now reside in Byhalia, Miss. The bride works for Homer Skelton Ford and the Groom works for National Pump Company, both in Olive Branch, Miss.

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Engagement Announcements

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Kate Elizabeth Harvey Robert Andrew Moore

Ms. Rose Mary Harvey of Tupelo, Miss., is pleased to announce the engagement of her daughter, Kate Elizabeth Harvey, to Robert Andrew Moore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Moore of Tupelo, Miss. Kate is also the daughter of the late John Richard Harvey.

The bride-to-be is a 2007 graduate of Tupelo High School and a 2011 graduate of Mississippi State University, where she received a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education. She currently maintains a career as a Media Specialist for Tupelo Public School District.

The prospective groom is a 2011 graduate of Tupelo High School and a 2016 graduate of Mississippi State University with a Masters of Science and Civil Engineering. Mr. Moore is currently the Vice-President of Murphree Paving in Tupelo, Miss.

The ceremony is planned for April 24, 2021, at First United Methodist Church in Tupelo, Miss.

Photos by Faith Riley Photography

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LeeAnn Margaret Ignozzi Hudson Gregory Roy

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth J. Ignozzi of Dayton, Ohio, are thrilled to announce the engagement of their daughter, LeeAnn Margaret Ignozzi of Dayton, Ohio, and Mr. Hudson Gregory Roy of Tupelo, Miss. The pair got engaged on October 3, 2020, at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in Dallas, Texas.

The bride is the grandchild of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Uhryinak of The Villages, Fla., and Mr. and Mrs. Gus Ignozzi of Pompano Beach, Fla. She is the great grandchild of Mrs. Hazel Andring of Pompano Beach, Fla. Her groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Roy of Tupelo, Miss. He is the grandchild of Dr. and Mrs. Clyde Maxwell Hutchinson and Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Roy of Tupelo, Miss.

They are set to be married June 5, 2021, in Oxford, Miss., by Rev. Rob Armstrong of Harrisburg Baptist Church located in Tupelo, Miss. The ceremony will take place at Oxford University United Methodist Church followed by a reception and merriment at The Jefferson in Oxford, Miss.

The couple met while in school at The University of Mississippi and began dating after they graduated in 2018. The bride completed her degree in education along with a Master of Special Education while the groom completed his degree in risk management & insurance with an emphasis in manufacturing. The future Roy family currently resides in Dallas, Texas, where they will continue to live and work after their summer nuptials. The groom is in the commercial insurance business for Brown & Riding while the bride is a special education teacher f0r the Richardson Independent School District.

Congratulations to the happy couple. Wishing them a lifetime of happiness and love.

Photos by Avery Claire Woodard