I have never planned a wedding in Georgia, but I can only imagine that choosing the perfect locale for your Big Day must be seriously difficult. Difficult, because every last venue is drop-dead gorgeous, filled with Southern charm and straight from a romantic fairytale. Take for example this beautiful Mansfield soiree held at the Burge Plantation, an amazing backdrop to play host to this darling couple’s dream of a garden party style affair, complete with mason jars, DIY florals and glorious images by Mockingbird Photography. See so much more right here.
From the Bride… We married in my hometown of Covington, Georgia. Despite the forecasted 90% chance of thunderstorms, we were lucky enough to have a bright, sunny day with relatively mild temperatures for Georgia in June. This was great since I refused to make a rain contingency plan! Our wedding ceremony and reception took place at Burge Plantation- I wanted a wedding that felt like a summer garden party, with lots of fun and camaraderie, while still embodying southern traditions. Burge Plantation was a fabulous venue to make that a reality. The ceremony took place on the porch of an old plantation home, dinner for 175 was served indoors, and dancing took place underneath the stars. My husband built lawn games to entertain our non-dancing guests, mason jar luminaries hung from willow tree branches, and hydrangeas around the grounds were in full bloom. It was just the garden party we had in mind. The venue also had cabins for both the gents and ladies of the bridal party to get ready in that day – I was surprised by sweet, heartfelt letters from both my groom and my bridesmaids, and we sipped mimosas while curling each other’s hair all afternoon. We were able to take advantage of the lush greenery on the grounds – sunflowers, gardenias, hydrangeas, and peaches all seemed to be in bloom just for our special day.
I wanted a breezy summer pallet and landed on colors of turquoise, green, and peach. The bridesmaids wore turquoise and their well-worn cowboy boots: a true Georgia girl staple. Fathers and groomsmen wore classic black tuxes, with ties picked out by John Henry and cotton boutonnieres that I created myself.
There were several homemade components to our wedding, which made it very personal and special to us. One of my favorite memories is working on flower arrangements with my mother two days before the wedding. We designed and arranged all of the flowers ourselves, and my mother worked on collecting blue glass bottles, mason jars, and other décor elements during our engagement. My husband built our lawn games and I used scrap wood to create rustic directional signs and seating assignments, and even a cake stand. Pictures from our grandparents’ weddings adorned a fireplace mantle, and we each had a signature drink for our guests to try: White Russian for the groom, and Amaretto Sour for the bride. Guests danced well into the night, and the party continued at a nearby hotel for quite some time from our understanding.
We both agree that our outdoor, garden party style wedding turned out to be better than either of us could have imagined. It was such a blessing to spend a night with family and friends from all over the country as they helped us celebrate our new marriage.
Wedding Photography: Kaitlynn Mockett from Mockingbird Photography / Second Photographer: Laura Greenich / Wedding Venue: Burge Plantation in Mansfield, Georgia / Event Planning: Dawn Leonetti from Burge Plantation / Floral Design: DIY by the Bride + Mother / Cinematography: Eric Swanburg Productions / Wedding Invitations: Fine and Dandy Paperie / Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal / Shoes: Ariat