Wedding Wednesay - Elizabeth and Chris Clemson Wedding

Happy, happy Wedding Wednesday Clemson Girls!

Today we get to feature a lovely wedding from Photography and Design by Jenny. Special thanks to Jenny for reaching out to us and sharing these gorgeous photos. You can see more of Jenny's amazing work on the Photography and Design by Jenny Facebook page.

Meet Elizabeth and Chris. Chris went to Clemson and graduated in 2010 with a degree in Construction Science Management. Elizabeth went to North Greenville University and graduated in 2009 with a degree in International Business.

Elizabeth and Chris met online in May of 2011 and were married exactly 2 years later. Their first date was breakfast at Panera Bread. Chris was leaving to go out of town and Elizabeth couldn't wait to meet him so she suggested getting coffee before he left. The date lasted over 4 hours until Chris had to leave, and Elizabeth told us that even now, she still can't get enough of spending time with him. {awww!}

The Proposal - as told by Elizabeth...
"We were together almost a year when Chris decided to plan a surprise Saturday adventure for me. I woke up to flower petals directing me around the living room to a scavenger hunt. He left me little messages to get up, get dressed, and get out the door to find him somewhere in Columbia. His last clue included a reference to Clemson football (his true love second to only me). I found him at the spot where we had our first date, Panera Bread for breakfast. From there he recreated our whole first date. To round out the morning and the surprise, he planned a picnic at the River Walk. As we walked up to the picnic tables, Chris asked me to walk out onto the rocks with him. When we got there, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! He had asked my family the week before and even picked out the most beautiful ring. It was a complete surprise!

Clemson has been one of the things that has brought the couple closer together. Chris took Elizabeth to her first college football game at Clemson and even showed her all the great things about Clemson tailgating. The couple knew they wanted to get married at Clemson because they both think it is such a beautiful place.

Elizabeth also shared with us all of the fun Clemson details they had at their wedding:
"We had such a great time adding in Clemson themed touches to our wedding like a tiger paw groom's cake, orange accents (flowers, napkins, and candy), and tiger paw lapel pins for the guys instead of boutonnieres. The two most exciting details for us was having the mascot join us at the reception (of course we walked in to Tiger Rag) as a huge surprise for our guests and getting to take some beautiful pictures inside The Cathedral, I mean Death Valley. We even made our grand exit while our friends and family shook orange and white pom poms."

We also asked Elizabeth to pass along some advice for other brides-to-be:
"Go all out! Plan a surprise or two to keep your guests on their feet. We switched up the music for a more personal feel, and people loved that after we were announced as Mr. & Mrs., we danced our way back down the aisle to Hall & Oats "You Make My Dreams Come True." Make your wedding yours - not your mother's or your mother-in-law's. This is your day! But don't be afraid to ask for help. Your family will do anything for you and they want you to have an amazing day!"

Thanks so much to Elizabeth and Chris for sharing their love story and Clemson wedding details. And thanks again to Photography and Design by Jenny for sharing these amazing photos!

Congrats and best wishes to the beautiful couple!

Wedding Wednesday - Sarah and Brent Clemson wedding and love story

Good morning Clemson Girls and Happy Wedding Wednesday!

Today we are featuring a Clemson wedding of an adorable couple, Sarah and Brent. From their photos, we really wish we had been a guest at their wedding. It looked like such a great time!

Sarah and Brent are both Clemson graduates. Brent graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in December 2008, and Sarah graduated from Clemson with a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education in May of 2010 and a Masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in August of 2012.

The couple met at the first home Clemson baseball game in 2008. This was when students were still allowed to sit behind the outfield. Sarah and her friend were late to the game and had to stand -- that is until Brent offered the two some chairs with him and his friends. Sarah and Brent started talking to each other and ended up spending the rest of the day together. The rest, Sarah says, is history...

The Proposal (told by Sarah)
"Upon arriving in Clemson after a few days at the beach, Brent said he needed to go downtown Clemson to get a shirt. Although tired of being in a car, I agreed – who can refuse a trip to the beautiful downtown area of Clemson? Brent parks our car beside the President’s house and said we could walk to downtown from there. Of course, we followed the President’s path. As we were walking down the path, I asked Brent, “Do you know the tradition of this path?” He replied that he did not. So I explained, “The tradition is that if you walk down this path holding someone’s hand, you are going to marry them.” Jokingly, Brent let go of my hand and jumped off the path – we laughed and he immediately joined me back on the path hand in hand. When we got to the gazebo at the end of the President’s path, Brent stopped in front of me. He began saying beautiful words that I can hardly remember after I heard him tell me he loved me (Brent had told me that he would never tell any girl that he loved them until he was about to get on one knee). I do remember him getting down on one knee, and me saying with tearful eyes, “YES!” He had designed and picked up the ring before the beach, but had decided that Clemson’s President Path was where he wanted to propose."

Clemson has obviously played a very important role in the couple's relationship. Clemson is where they met, where they got their educations, where most of their earliest memories together were made, where Brent proposed, and where they continue to meet up with friends during football season.

Sarah remembers her roommate telling her during Sarah's sophomore year at Clemson that Sarah loved Clemson so much, that she bet Sarah's wedding colors would be orange and purple. Little did she know that she was right! Sarah's bridesmaids wore orange and her honorary bridesmaids wore purple. The couple was married at Owen Pavilion at the Madren Center in Clemson. Her flowers were orange, purple, and white, and the wedding cake was white with orange ribbon. Sarah also wore bright orange shoes with her wedding dress, along with a matching garter.

At the beginning of the reception, there was a 10 minute torrential downpour and storm. Everyone huddled toward the center of the pavilion as family friends protected the cake. It was a funny memory for the couple that ended with cooler temperatures and a beautiful Clemson orange sunset over Lake Hartwell.  The dancing and fun soon followed...

The Tiger made an appearance at the wedding and Tiger Rag was played by their live band. The Tiger also posed for the traditional group photo of all the current Clemson students and Clemson alumni in attendance (Sarah's dad being one of them - 1978).

At the end of the reception, Sarah and Brent rode away on their friend's boat on Lake Hartwell. Later, the couple met up with the rest of the wedding party for a night in downtown Clemson - still decked out in their wedding attire.

We asked Sarah for any advice she has for soon-to-be Clemson Girl brides. Here is what she said:
"Enjoy the day! Don’t worry about what can go wrong, because this is the only day that all your family (from both sides) and all your friends will be together in one place in such a celebratory fashion."

Special thanks to the lovely couple, Sarah and Brent, for sharing their gorgeous photos and sweet love story with us today.

Sarah and Brent's wedding was photographed by the talented Tyler and Bri of 35 Atlanta Photography.