G&G Weddings from Garden & Gun magazine

→ WHILE WEDDINGS didn’t originate in the South (the first recorded nuptials date to about 2350 BCE in Mesopotamia), you have to admit: There’s something undeniably special about Southerners’ weddings. When we conceived the idea for a special weddings issue, the G&G editors began a flurry of brainstorms, tossing around memories from our own big days. Many of those pertained to food and drink: Executive editor Amanda Heckert served Cheerwine floats at her reception in Upstate South Carolina; senior editor Caroline Sanders Clements offered a pie bar rather than a traditional cake at her Georgia nuptials. Other happy memories came from heirlooms incorporated into the dress and decor: Digital editor Elizabeth Florio’s “something old” came in the form of a circa-1915 cameo necklace, passed down from her great-great-aunt; two metal…

Caroline Sanders Clements EDITOR “When I got married in my hometown of Athens, Georgia, in April 2022, the dogwoods were blooming,” says senior editor Caroline Sanders Clements. “So I commissioned a local artist to make special dogwood earrings for my bridesmaids and me. I still wear them all the time.” Clements, who spearheaded this special issue, has garnered ample tips and tricks from planning her own wedding and attending myriad marriages of family and friends. “My best advice for brides and grooms: Take moments to step back, look around, and let it soak in that everyone who is there is there because they love you.” Jeffrey Westbrook PHOTOGRAPHER The first snap that photographer Jeffrey Westbrook ever took was of California’s Mount Shasta on a Kodak film camera. Since then, he’s…

The abundance of wedding venues in the South, all seemingly as elegant, romantic, and steeped in history as the next, can overwhelm. But these classic, standout locales offer the best of the region’s hospitality while also showcasing its diverse beauty—whether you’re looking to tie the knot amid the pines of a sporting sanctuary, in the heart of a charming city, with an ocean view, or on top of a mountain that rises from the mist. In the Great Outdoors Barnsley Resort Adairsville, Georgia This three-thousand-acre escape teems with amusements straight from a sportsman’s bucket list. Between wedding events, try your hand at such activities as horseback riding, wing shooting, and archery—all against a backdrop of Georgia pines and historic ruins—which make this recently renovated resort, with its English country cozy…

WHEN YOU OPEN a wedding invitation, it can feel as if you’re unwrapping a piece of art. That’s because, often, you are. With the rise of image-driven social media platforms, and an overall interest in personal storytelling, brides and grooms are increasingly tapping independent artists like Happy Menocal in Bedford, New York; Marta Galaz of Casa Felix in Miami; and Julie King on Johns Island, South Carolina, to create über-custom wedding paper suites that can include save the dates, invites, menus, programs, you name it. “My first job out of college was at an ad agency,” says Menocal, a painter and designer who works mostly in watercolor. “I knew how to draw a little bit because my mom, Katharine Barnwell, is a fine artist, and I grew up around it,…

EMMA DONALDSON HARRELL can trace her life through blooms. Growing up at her family’s garden boutique, Abide A While, in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, meant a childhood configured around greenery. The nursery, which her grandparents opened in 1957 after buying the land for $300 and a camellia plant, has since grown to sell thousands of trees, shrubs, houseplants, and other garden stunners each year. Harrell remembers childhood evenings spent with her older sister, Eleanor, wheeling rolling chairs through the hydrangea and orchid–fringed pathways after closing time. Even the hard work—loading pots into cars, toting around watering cans and hoses, working behind the register—holds a wellspring of happy memories. “I have done everything under the sun at Abide A While,” Harrell says. “And we would all have so much fun.” Her…

SOUTHERNERS HAVE LONG put their own signature spin on sustainable weddings, with an abundance of venues that honor the land, access to farm-grown flowers, and a deep reverence for heirlooms. Now more brides and grooms are catching up: Recent data indicates that last year, a quarter of couples planning weddings prioritized sustainability, a 10 percent jump from 2020. It was certainly top of mind when my husband, Max, and I got married a few years ago. Here are just a few smart—and perhaps surprising—ways you too can make the event a little more earth-friendly, without sacrificing style or Southern flair. Pop the Question with an Heirloom Southerners are a sentimental bunch: We love antiques and pass heirlooms down through the generations. Engagement rings and wedding bands are no exception. Couples…