Katie and Hunter met in middle school and it started with a wink. They sort of fell for each other right after that, and the period that followed was made up of their parents driving them on dates to tractor pulls and the like, until they could get licenses, and through Katie attending UNC-Greensboro to get her degree. Hunter attended NC A&T and after he proposed, they bought and renovated a home together in preparation for getting married. It gave them time to get to know each other even more. Falling in love in your early teens is one thing; hanging drywall and painting is what tells you that you've found your mate in life.

Hunter's proposal, which took place on March 7, 2018, was pretty fantastic, if we at Bridal Traditions can be any judge. 

Katie: "My mom and my sister “planned” a trip to Boone. My sister was going to be attending ASU in the fall, so we were going to tour the campus. When we got up there we began our day at a t-shirt shop on King Street. While in the store the cashier asked if I was Katie and then handed me an envelope. In the envelope was a letter stating that a beautiful day was about to begin and that I needed to head to a specific address for the next clue.

I knew what was about to happen. We went to 3 other locations for clues including a fudge shop and a park where I found my dad sitting on the bench waiting on us. The last clue sent us to a park in Blowing Rock, and it was beautiful. The day was so cold, and it began to snow a little bit when we arrived at the park. In the middle of the park was a gazebo. Hunter was there with one of my best friends who captured the proposal on her camera. When I finally reached the gazebo Hunter got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was absolutely perfect and it was a day I will never forget."

Clearly, we've all heard the heart-breaking stories of long-planned weddings being disrupted, rescheduled or replanned due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The tale of Katie and Hunter is similar. Their wedding day was planned for June 20th and they did actually get married that day, but there were no guests. Some of their wedding party may have been exposed to the virus so 2 days before the BIG DAY, Katie was calling everyone to tell them that they would be celebrating instead on July 25th. On THAT day, they were married in a smaller ceremony at The Barn at Cranberry Creek. 

The bride and her bridesmaids spent the morning of the wedding creating silly tik tok videos while getting ready, and she was able to have First Look moments with both her father and her groom. They read their vows to each other while alone, instead of in front of everyone else, and Katie shared that this made the moment more memorable. 

The weather was gorgeous that day, the venue was perfect for a July wedding of 150 instead of 250 and the photographer Danielle George was able to capture all the little moments that this bride wanted. 

Katie said that she really had no specific vision for her gown beyond wanting it to be comfortable, make her look beautiful and to be affordable. Those are three areas we specialize in. She also knew that she wanted a sparkly belt, because she'd been watching "Say Yes to the Dress" and thought they added a lot. We hooked her up!

Not only did Katie get her gown off the rack, and did not need to order, but we made sure that there were embellishments and details she loved. 

Katie: "BT was amazing!! Kelly and her helper who was there during my appointment helped me so much. They found dresses for me and made me feel like the perfect bride. I could not imagine buying my dress from anywhere else. Kelly helped me get into each dress and made them fit perfectly. I was able to buy my dress right off the rack which saved me the stress of having to order it. The most helpful thing that made my experience amazing was that Kelly and the other girl were there to help me throughout my whole appointment. They catered to me and found the perfect gowns for me to try on."

Katie: it was our pleasure, we promise you!

If at first you don't succeed, ... try again with the knowledge that things may turn out even better in the end. We are wishing this farmer and his elementary school teacher bride the best of luck and much love as they embark on a new life together. 

These two make such a gorgeous couple, and each element chosen by the vendors seems to suit them perfectly. For a complete vendor list, see the end of the blog.

Beautiful #BTbride Brittney (say that 3 times fast) married Avery Blevins almost a year ago at Chapman Farmstead, Traphill, NC in a lovely, rustic and autumnal wedding. They met in high school and started dating in 2018. Shall we say that "the rest is history"? Why not?

... was fabulous, with delicate straps and cut out lace details, a flowing skirt and details at the hemline. It was the right combination of graceful and sweet, with a little modern flair. Brittney shared with us that the season wasn't an issue; finding the right gown was the most important thing and she would make it work.

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The couple also got their groomsmen's vests, shirts, and ties from Bridal Traditions.

Bridal Traditions is always happy to contribute gowns, dresses, suits and accessories for stylized bridal photo shoots and this modern boho session had all the elements of bohemia with elegance, softness and the chic details that you have come to expect. For this one, we loaned the dress, and we must say, the model looked amazing in it. Enjoy! For the list of vendors, read all the way to the end of this post.

Courtney and Dylan went to high school together, but ran in different circles. Neither associated with the other and were particularly aware of the other.

A couple of years out of school, Dylan reached out via social media and the rest is history. The couple were married in June of this year at Jubilee Farms and  had a gorgeous summer wedding, outside, in 95 degree heat and everyone was all smiles. They relied on friends and family during this season of pandemic and worry and it paid off.

​The images, by photographer Emily Smith, say it all. 

Courtney shared that her favorite memories of the day and of the weekend were around how everyone pulled together to make it happen - even with Covid, even with heat and even in "a two week scramble" to pull it off. During the rehearsal dinner, there was a short rain shower that forced everyone under tents. After it passed, there was a rainbow - visible from end to end. "It was if God was telling us that everything was ok, that He had this, and we didn’t need to worry about a thing. I felt as if a weight was lifted off my shoulders. He was telling us that this was how our wedding was meant to happen."

Courtney's description is the best:
"I had an idea of what I wanted, and got nothing even close to that!! I never wanted a strapless dress: got strapless. I never wanted something tight, got something tight. Thought I wanted something white or off white, got a very dark champagne. Didn’t want a veil, got a veil. Literally got the exact opposite of what I thought I wanted, but MY DRESS WAS PERFECT. I loved everything about it. The belt that I picked to go with it and the buttons down the back were my favorite parts about the dress. I loved the color. I hadn’t seen anything like it before, and as my grandma so kindly pointed out, white looked horrible on me. So this dark champagne dress was absolutely perfect."

"I am so glad that I got my dress from BT. Y’all were AMAZING!!! I feel like at the end of that first day I already had a new friend. We came and tried on dresses, left to see a venue, then asked if we could come back to try on some more! BT accommodated all of this. You guys were also honest about what looked good and didn’t look good. I valued those opinions. I wanted to look beautiful on my wedding day, and if there was something that needed to be altered or changed then I wanted to know. BT was there to give me professional opinions, and I appreciated it so much! They also accommodated the things my mom wanted to see, while making sure I wasn’t being pushed into something I didn’t want."

Music to our ears!! This is what we also strive for: happy bride who has been guided gently, honestly and - when the dress is right - enthusiastically. We want all of our brides to look as lovely as Courtney and to be as happy as she was.

Bridesmaid's also purchased their gowns through Bridal Traditions and we worked with them to ensure all was just right and properly sized. "I talked on the phone to Kelly numerous times to make sure things were working out, especially with Covid starting. I can’t say enough good things about working with BT and Kelly!!"

So many congratulations to this sweet and handsome pair. Cheers to you and to decades upon decades of happiness.

These first photos say it all. This was a Covid-19 wedding.
​You can listen to the noise or you can stay true to your sense of hope and joy in the world. Allison and Joshua chose the later for their June wedding in Lenoir, NC. 

Allison and Joshua met while she was a student at Wilkes Community College and he was an instructor. CALM DOWN, their age difference is only 5 years and they were collegial the whole time. They saw each other in the hallways and would chat about classwork, the news and what was going on at WCC. They became comfortable friends after a while. Allison shared that when summer rolled around she knew that she would miss seeing him, so she wrote him a note and shared her telephone number. They began dating and were engaged a year later.

A year after that, they were married.
Josh is still a math professor and Allison is studying graphic design at Liberty University. They love their families, church family, playing drum (him) and painting, art, and gardening (her).

Like all well-planned things, this one was sidelined when the pandemic hit. What began as a wedding to be held on the Watson stage at Wilkes Community College and a reception for 150  turned into a small venue - The Chapel of Rest - with only close friends and family - about 40 people. These two just rolled with the punches, sending out updated invitations and cancelling items left and right. 

Allison shared that her favorite moment was saying their vows. She'd waited for nearly two years and was ready for the I Dos with Joshua.

This bride knew that she didn't want poofy, but definitely wanted something that would make her look like a princess and a bride. She'd found her perfect prom dress with us back in the day and returned. We're so glad that she did, because she found her wedding gown too. 

"It had the perfect amount of poof without being too much and it had just enough sparkle on top to give me the amount of bling I wanted. The back had buttons all the way up (and bonus that the back actually zipped up but it looked like it was buttoned). I loved the button detail on the back and the long train."

You two kids did well! Congratulations and best wishes to you both and thank you for including BT in your day. 

For the OAK theme, the couple actually added dirt to an oak sapling that they planned to plant. It was sort of like the candle or sand ceremony, but special for them. 

Abi describes herself a pretty modest person and did not want to be spilling out of her dress. After Owen proposed, she started sketching what she wanted and musing about options. 

What started as a dress with sleeves ended up being sleeveless and covered with lace for their June wedding. When she came to Bridal Traditions, we showed her options and she found her "dream dress."

Congratulations Abi and Owen! Thank you for letting us be a part of your day. Cheers to years and years of marriage, happiness, Harry Potter and your own bit of magic!

Amber Woodie and Chase Lineberry were married this June in Hamptonville. Yep! A Covid wedding and they pulled it off. Their story is a cute one, too.

"It's kind of funny, he moved to my school when I was in 4th grade and I had a crush on him then. But I was taken out of public school to be home schooled and he moved back to Virginia so I never saw him again, until the summer of 2016. He’s a volunteer firefighter, and I was competing in an annual event in my small hometown, Sparta NC. Of course the fire department was there on standby. He was shy at first, and even had his little brother be his wing man to help get my number. And we were inseparable ever since."

Amber knew that did not want tulle or anything "floofy" as she put it. No problem. She told us that she loved the month of June. It was the season she met her husband, and that set the tone for her choice of gown. She chose something fitted and flattering, with lace details, but went out of her comfort zone to add a train - something she did not anticipate. The results were spectacular. She not only looked beautiful, but comfortable - something that we hope all brides feel on such a big day.

We are so happy that we were able to put Amber in a dress that looked so gorgeous on her and made her feel like a bride. Congrats to this sweet couple as they celebrate their first year of marriage!

The third and final installment of our Wonderlust Acres photo shoot series showcases the same venue, same couple and same set up as Part One and Part Two, but this time with the eye of photographer Megan Sheppard. Bridal Traditions provided the menswear.
The vendor list is at the end. Enjoy!!

In part one, we introduced the scene set at Wanderlust Acres and for it, Wayfaring Wanderer was the lead photographer. In this blog, we're sharing this professional photo shoot using the images captured by Natural Craft Photography. Bridal Traditions was asked to provide a selection of items from our menswear collections and we loved participating. 
Other vendors from the day's shoot are listed at the end of the blog if you're taking notes at home.