Being a Bride: McKenzie

Bride Name: McKenzie Fussell
Groom Name: Pearce Fussell
Wedding Date: May 26, 2014
Total number in wedding party: 19
Total guests: 150
Venue: Walkers Landing, Amelia Island Plantation

How you met & the proposal: Pearce and I met in high school. He was that super cute senior I had a mega crush on and I was a freshman. Thankfully I was really bad at math and ended up needing a tutor. My mom hired Pearce for the job. I was obviously thrilled but (plot twist) ended up firing him just a few weeks later because I had THE hardest time focusing and really did need to pass math. The next year we connected again, and a few years later we started dating. His faith in God’s goodness and genuine love for people led me to the conclusion that he was in fact the one.

 He proposed in Nov. 2013 at a Christmas tree farm in Douglas, GA. We were walking around looking at trees when I noticed one of them already had an ornament on it. That was strange but I didn’t investigate much further. I could however, tell that he wanted me to. When I took a second look at the ornament it read, “Marry Me.”I noticed that in addition to the ornament, there was a gorgeous engagement ring on the tree. In the midst of my confusion and shock, he popped the question. How did he know I’d always wanted a Christmas proposal? It was one of the best days of my life! Now every time we visit a Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree, I get to reflect on that happy moment. And yes, I still have the ornament!

What was the best bridal/pre-wedding event you attended, and why? I had two amazing bridal showers thrown by my favorite people. They both made me feel so incredibly loved and I feel like that’s when “it” hit and I realized I was really the bride. My bachelorette weekend was incredibly fun as well! All of my bridesmaids came to town and we did ALL the girly things: they threw me a lingerie party, we lounged by the pool, and I enjoyed every second of relaxation before the big day.  But I think my favorite pre-wedding event was the bridal luncheon for all of my girls and the special women in my life. It brought me so much joy being able to shower them with love and express my gratitude for all they had done for me, right before the wedding. I highly encourage throwing one!

What was something your bridesmaids or family members did for you that made your day or pre-planning experience special? Let me start by sharing this, my MOH was the greatest MOH in the history of MOH’s. Seriously. We joked throughout the planning process that she deserved a new car for all of the work she put into our big day. I couldn’t have done it without her. I was in college at the time, four hours away from our wedding venue (aka our home) so she was a saving grace when it came to site visits, etc. She and my bridesmaids gifted me the sweetest handwritten notes during my bachelorette party, and I still look back on those. I’m a sucker for a handwritten note! They mean so much more to me than material gifts, so it was extra sweet when Pearce wrote the most thoughtful letter for me to read right before walking down the aisle.

What was the best wedding gift you received? One of my sweet bridesmaids, Taylor, gifted me the most beautiful punch set. I love that she chose something so unique and special, knowing I would actually get some use out of it! I love entertaining! I’m actually hosting a bridal shower for my best friend later this month and can’t wait to show it off. I smile everytime I see the set in my cabinet!

What inspired your wedding day (theme/look/feel)? It was Southern and classic with a few preppy and vintage splashes. I love history and wanted our wedding to have that old South feel but still be very comfortable and playful. I think we achieved our goal! The venue was gorgeous without a single decoration up, so we pulled a lot of inspiration from the location itself.

What is something you couldn’t live without for your wedding day? The perfect menu. My dad’s catering company took care of the food which made the day extra special because we were able to customize every detail of the menu. A few food favorites from the big day: our biscuit bar with the most delectable spread of jams and toppings, pulled pork, shrimp and grits, banana pudding, and of course - boiled peanuts during the cocktail hour! It was all kinds of yummy.

What is something you could have lived without/changed for your wedding day if you were to do it over? I definitely would have hired a wedding planner. I decided to go without because I thought hiring a planner would mean giving up some of the “control” we had. I’m rather picky, especially about details so I thought I’d lose the personal touches by hiring a wedding planner. I was wrong! Hiring a planner would have been a huge help!

If you have any wedding décor/planning/survival/DIY tips or tutorials, or money saving suggestions, please share: We DIY’d a ton of things for our wedding but I wouldn’t recommend it. DIY a few things of course, but budget so you don’t have to do everything yourself. There are plenty of affordable Etsy shops, websites, and vendors with great rates. Sometimes a few extra bucks isn’t worth the stress of having another thing on your pre-wedding to-do list. I’m a hobby calligrapher so I enjoyed lettering the invitations and paperie for our big day. If you have a talent yourself (and I’m sure you do!) use it. Oh, and get your friends involved! Our wedding party helped out in so many different ways - one of the groomsmen (who’s ridiculously talented) captured our engagement photos, one of my bridesmaids (also ridiculously talented) sang our first dance song, and everyone else chipped in to help make the big day special. So basically, make sure you’re wedding party is full of talented friends. Kidding, kinda. 

Connect with the Bride
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/winsomeandgolddesign/
Instagram - @McKenzieFussell 
Pinterest - @McKFussell 
Email - McKenzieFussell at gmail dot com
Blog: http://somethinsouthernblog.com/


Interested in being the next featured bride? Email me today for the questionnaire!

Weekend Recap: The Start of the Summer

The Wyld Dock Bar

After finishing up one of my office's two annual fundraisers on Friday, I feel like a kid again. It's almost like schools out for summer, except its work, and I still have to go every day. But either way, things are beginning to slow down just a bit, and I can enjoy the summer with my sweetie at home!

Friday evening we made tacos, guac, and margaritas, which is quickly becoming a weekly staple in our house. If you don't have time to make your own guacamole, Walmart actually has some amazing premade spicy guac in the produce section. We love this stuff!

Christopher had to work on Saturday, so I traveled to Jesup to attend one of my bridesmaid's very own bridal shower! It was the sweetest couples shower, literally! There were so many different yummy cookies and ice cream flavors served to the guests.

Amanda and Jared are getting married in July, and I've loved being apart of it all! They're a very outdoorsy couple, so the shower decor and their gifts definitely reflected that. I loved the tree stump with their initials carved into it! Amanda very thoughtfully gifted her hosts with jars of honey labeled with "Thank you for bee-ing so sweet!" which was the perfect touch.

Bride, Groom, & adorable Flower Girl

Amanda with two of her Phi Mu bridesmaids!

On Sunday, Christopher and I went to Savannah to meet with his new condo renters, browse through a few car lots, and have brunch at The Wyld Dock Bar. I have been wanting to visit since they opened, and the weather yesterday was absolutely perfect for it! It was sunny and 77 degrees, with the coolest of breezes coming in off the water. I swear, the salt air made the food and drinks even more yummy than they already were!

We started off with a pound of peel and eat shrimp and a couple of cocktails. I had the Crab Cake Benedict and Christopher ordered the fish tacos for our entrees. They were both incredibly delicious. I fell in love with the atmosphere of this hidden gem, and know we will be back soon. 

Wedding Wednesday: Gift Giving + Tea Towel Giveaway!

Throughout the wedding season, we've received so many beautiful, thoughtful gifts at showers, in the mail, and even surprises at work! It's so exciting, but one of my favorite parts of this experience has been showering all of my hostesses with the mostesses little gifts in thanks for all they've done for me. Gift giving is definitely my number one love language: I love the hunt of finding the perfect gift for someone, and then watching them open it and hopefully love it as much as I had hoped!

For all of my pre-wedding events, I tried to give the hostesses a little something meaningful so that they can remember just as sweetly as I do! For my first shower, I gave Kim a teacup and some tea from Charleston because we share a love of that beautiful place. I gave her girls, my junior bridesmaids, matching blingy picture frames for their bedrooms so that they can put a picture from either the shower or the wedding in it to remember our fun times together!

For the I Do BBQ just last week, I gave our hostess some yummy local BBQ sauces in a few different flavors to try. I love to shop locally when I can, and Braswell's is a great stop for unique finds for any occasion. You can check out my bachelorette details post to see the super cute monogrammed sand spikes that I gave to all the guests here.

I think my favorite hostess gift was the Catstudio geography collection dish towel that I gave my bridesmaids for hosting my Statesboro shower. I picked out a state or town that was meaningful to each girl or to our relationship as there are tons of options of cities, states, teams, and more! I want a Georgia and a South Carolina towel for our kitchen, since Christopher and I are from these states.

One of my bridesmaids with her Georgia towel!

As a thanks to all my readers for following along during this exciting time in my life, I wanted to give away a special tea towel just for you! All you have to do is follow the steps in the giveaway below to enter for a chance to win your choice of a Catstudio dish towel. And thanks as always for visiting my little blog!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Do BBQ

On Saturday, my new family hosted our final wedding shower, an "I Do BBQ!" It was so sweet, and the weather was absolutely perfect: sunny and {almost} 75 degrees.

The invitations really set the tone for the event, and the theme was carried out through the decorations like the red and white checkered table cloths, mason jars with daisies, and the delicious BBQ. The event was catered by Dublin's coolest food truck, Holy Smokes BBQ. Their pulled pork and chicken quarters were amazing! So tender and full of amazing flavor. And their tangy sauce was a South Carolina girl's dream.

The shower was a great opportunity to meet some of Christopher's family that I hadn't met before the wedding. It was also so fun to open our gifts together...we even made him read all the cards aloud! Our kitchen is coming along nicely, and we officially have all of the place settings for our day china.

Aren't these invites the cutest? Again, Vistaprint!
You can check out my other Vistaprint posts here and here.

Christopher's brother and girlfriend

Me & my flower girl!

The soon-to-be McAfees!

Outfit details: Ruffle top | White Jeans | Wedges, Payless 2015

Christopher and his brother actually made the corn hole boards themselves! They were so proud of them being regulation size...I thought they looked great! I think we're going to stain them a dark brown color, and put a big monogram on them for the wedding. 

Seventeen days from today, I'll be getting ready to be married! Don't forget to follow along with us on social media using our wedding hashtags #marryingmcafee and #themcafees430.

Featured: Gainesville Times' Bride & Groom Magazine

Back in January, my friend Kim {who hosted The Sweetest Shower}, called me about a week before the event to see if I was interested in having my shower featured in an upcoming edition of the Gainesville Times' special edition magazine, Bride & Groom.

Of course I said yes--what an honor, and a surprise! I love creatively themed bridal showers, and was so excited to share mine with readers. After the shower, and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, I stayed up into the early morning hours editing pictures to send just in time for the deadline. After weeks of anticipation, we finally got our hands on some copies! Kim mailed me one last week, and I think it turned out great.

Check out my "Featured" page to see a few other places I've popped up!

Pretty & Pink Party

This past Saturday, my bridesmaids hosted a bridal shower for me in Statesboro. The best part? It was held at the Phi Mu house! It was so meaningful to have such a special event held at a place full of memories and meaning in my life. Plus, it's beautiful and pink inside and out which only added to the fun!



My maid and matron of honor prepped all the food and decor, which included a naked cake, my favorite lemon squares and deviled eggs, and other goodies.

Kirstie, my Maid of Honor, made a lot of the decorations using her sister's vinyl cutter, including this "Future Mrs. McAfee" pin that I wore! She spray painted cute frames from the dollar store to display a few of my favorite love quotes and important dates throughout the room. She also used the vinyl to make the countdown to "I Do" frame, to monogram the acrylic recipe box, and customize the "Bride" tea cup with the shower date.

The picture above in the gold frame is actually the first picture Christopher and I ever took together! It was the night of Phi Mu formal, and we took pictures in the cotton field across the street from my neighborhood. 

Publix petit fours are my mother's and my favorite treat! My Matron of Honor, Niki, picked up a tray decorated with pink flowers for the afternoon's spread. It was the perfect touch! 

Outfit Details: Dress | Earrings | Bracelet | Pumps

My mother and mother-in-law; both sweet enough to make the trip to Statesboro for the shower! So glad to have both of these women in my life. 

My lovely bridesmaid hostesses...I think we have a pretty strong Lilly following between us...

I apparently don't know how to cut a cake. Glad I have 40 or so days to figure it out! Kirstie planned one bridal shower game for me after we enjoyed our snacks. She had asked Christopher a variety of questions and gotten his answers, and then asked me to answer the same questions. For every answer I got wrong, I had to put a piece of bubble gum in my mouth. I got a bunch wrong, and ended up with a mouth full of strawberry gum--so much so, that I could barely breathe! Needless to say, I am not very good with questionnaires at showers!

Christopher and I were given so many beautiful gifts Saturday, and we're so blessed. But I am mostly so thankful for the time everyone has taken out of their busy schedules to celebrate with me and spend time together. It's made this whole experience so meaningful. 

Busy weeks are ahead: Easter this weekend, bachelorette bash the next, and our final shower the weekend after that. I can't believe how fast things have gone! Oh, and Happy Spring!

P.S. If you have any yummy "newlywed recipes" to share, please leave them in the comments below so I can add them to my fancy monogram recipe box!