A lot of our Southern Weddings couples have met online through dating sites and social sites.  But there is a bit of a spin to the online meeting of Brieon + Kenneth.  Through and a search for Full Metal Jacket, Kenneth found Brieon and an email relationship flourished.  Months later, the two went out for the first time, and when the date was over, Brieon just knew.  Calling a friend the next day, she said that she had found her husband.  The two tied the knot last fall.  The event was planned by the bride and groom with coordination by {Ashley Baber Weddings}.  The lovely reception took place at {The King Plow Event Gallery} with catering by {Bold America} and wedding cakes by {Deborah's Specialty Cakes}.  The beautiful floral design was done by {Southern Bouquets by Tamela}.  Brieon wore a wedding gown by {Jim Hjelm} and heels by {Nine West}.  This wedding celebration was captured by {www.TheDecisiveMoment.com}.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. What can we say? We found love online and although we weren’t tested on the 29 dimensions of compatibility which have been scientifically proven to lead to “happily ever after”, we’re pretty sure that together we’ll make our way there! We met through , which for those of you who are unfamiliar, is a social networking site similar to MySpace. Kenneth has recently moved to Atlanta and was interested in learning more about the city and what it had to offer in terms of entertainment. Instead of picking up the latest edition of the Atlanta Guide, he conducted a search in Friendster for people who had “ Full Metal Jacket” listed in their movie favorites. (Because that’s what normal people do!) Needless to say, my profile was among those listed. Kenneth sent an email my way, said something about us having similar interests and that he wanted recommendations on things to do around Atlanta. I thought it was strange that he didn’t just conduct a Google search, but thought, who was I to deny someone who clearly was in need of my help. (Translation: Who was I to deny an attractive guy who, if nothing else, could be my friend…and very fun to look at!) Fast forward a couple of months and many emails later…we decided to meet at Front Page News in Midtown for our first date, and have been inseparable ever since!
What attracted me to my husband was: I was attracted to the thoughtful (and grammatically correct) emails he sent when we first connected online. This goes without saying, but I also thought that he was pretty cute.
Why do you love your husband? I love Ken because he loves me wholly and unconditionally.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: I will always remember my first date with Kenneth. After meeting at Front Page News, we decided to head to a quaint little dessert shop in Midtown that was a little more conducive to having a conversation. We made such a connection that we talked well in the night. I remember calling a friend the next morning and exclaiming that I had met my husband!
The weather on our wedding day was: We were a little nervous because the evening of the rehearsal dinner there was a torrential downpour. But, the gray skies cleared up and the weather on our wedding day was absolutely gorgeous!
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We wanted an elegant fall wedding that captured the richness of colors that the season brings. Our main colors were cream, sage, and mocha, accented with “pops” of color like pomegranate and burnt orange. Once we picked the venue, we had to really fight the urge to go completely contemporary. In the end, we fell in love with the idea of juxtaposing the classic and feminine details of the day against the industrial backdrop that is King Plow.
Favorite design element of your big day: I absolutely loved our centerpieces. Cylindrical vases were filled with curly willow anchored in earth-toned river rocks. The curly willow was tipped with rust colored Cymbidium orchids and accented with hanging tea lights. The branches and rust colored orchids reflected the season nicely without being too “Fall”.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I visited at least 25 boutiques and tried on an ungodly number of dresses. Of course, I ended up purchasing one of the first dresses I ever saw!
Describe your wedding flowers: I carried a hand-tired bouquet of rust colored cymbidium orchids, black Bakara roses, mango mini Calla Lilies, and dark red Dahlias. The bouquet was accented with Hypericum berries, Astro leaves and seeded Eucalyptus, and wrapped with bark-wire. Each bridesmaid carried a bouquet of circus roses and burgundy Hypericum berries, which really looked great against their mocha colored dresses.
Describe your wedding cake: Our wedding cake was a delcious four-tiered square confection. Each tier was a different flavor (carrot with cream cheese filling, red velvet with cream cheese filling, chocolate with marmalade filling and vanilla with raspberry filling). The cake was decorated with cream colored butter cream. Speckled Mokara Orchids and birch branches completed the look.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Since Kenneth and I met in Atlanta, both attended Emory (aka Coke University), and Kenneth works for the North American division, we thought it would be nice to incorporate Coca-Cola into our wedding celebration. For our toast, we served ice-cold, old-fashioned bottles of Coke to guest in lieu of champagne. Each bottle was delivered complete with a Coca-Cola shaped bottle opener attached with a ribbon. After the best man gave his well wishes, everyone popped their bottles at the same time and drank to the happy couple!
What was the biggest challenge you has to overcome while planning your wedding? One of my biggest challenges was trying to convince my fiancé that I was, in fact, not obsessed with planning the wedding! It was difficult to get him to understand that there was a timeline to be followed, and that yes, it was necessary to start planning a year out!
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? We ended the evening with an impromptu Second-Line in true New Orleans fashion (my mother hails from the ninth ward). Everyone grabbed their dinner napkin and weaved their way through the King Plow Arts Center with Kenneth and me leading the way. We had a blast and it proved to be the perfect ending to the perfect night!
What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day? The most memorable moment of the day was walking down the aisle with my father. I remember walking as slowly as possible so that I could take it all in. It was such an amazing felling to be surrounded by the ones that I love. Initially, the glow of the candles on the “altar” and the rose petal-lined aisle captured my attention. As I looked around, everything was as imagined it in all of those hours of planning. As we made our way further down the aisle my eyes locked with Ken’s and in that moment everything else seemed to disappear.
Scariest moment? This is relatively benign, but a few minutes before the ceremony began, we were informed that we had a candelabra, but no tapers for the unity candle. Our planner, Ashley, worked her magic, and by the time our moms walked down the aisle, there were the candles waiting to be lit.
Hardest decision you made in planning? The toughest decision we made in the planning process was deciding not to get married in a church. Ken is Southern Baptist and I am Roman Catholic, and we thought it best to recite our vows on neutral ground.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: I don’t know that anything unexpected happened on my wedding day. Between my bridesmaids and day of coordinator, I was pretty well insulated from any catastrophes that may have occurred.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Dream-like, radiant, exciting.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? My advice to any bride would be to become intimately connected with the wedding blogoshpere! There is so much great information out there to be shared and adapted to meet anyone's wedding needs! I would also recommend hiring (at the very least) a day-of coordinator. Murphy's Law was in full effect the week before our wedding…I honestly don’t know if there would have been a ceremony had it not been for Ashley. She was truly a godsend and the best planning decision I made by far!
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration? Countless people commented on how they had never seen Ken so happy. It really felt good to know that I was part of the reason for his smile that day!
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? Everyone who attended has a special place in our hearts. We were overjoyed, almost overwhelmed, by the outpouring of love that we felt from our family and friends on our wedding day.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Because we decided to get married in the middle of Ken’s fall semester, we were unable to take extended time off for a honeymoon. Instead, we opted for a three-day excursion to the lovely Barnsley Gardens Resort in Adairsville, Georgia. We are in the process of planning for, and looking forward to, an exciting trip to Kaua’i in May.

Congratulations to Brieon + Kenneth.  We hope you have a wonderful (long awaited) honeymoon in May!