Southern Bride 2021

“We got through so many big life moments together and challenges
with family and friends. Anything that life could throw at us, it
kind of did. I think we knew we were going to make it. I always
joked for like the last six years or so that he couldn’t really get rid
of me.”
Flash forward to two years ago, Peyton recalled just how Joey took
the next step of their relationship by pulling out the sentimental
stops to propose. “It was my birthday two years ago and he picked
me up from my parents’ house and I knew we were going to hang
out, but I wasn’t thinking about him proposing or anything. But
he had this excuse that his sister was having car trouble at school
so we had to pick her up and give her a ride home so that they
could get her car home.” She laughed at how he had explained
the well-thought out excuse that caused her to just go along for the
ride to Northside High School. “Then we got to the school and
we kind of got out of the car to find her, I guess. So I just thought
we were going for a walk. We were walking kind of like by the bus
ramp, then he kissed me there. And I was like, ‘Awe somebody is
being sentimental,’ because that’s where we had our first kiss way
back in the day and promptly got yelled at by a teacher. So I was
just thinking he wanted to be a little sentimental and then he was
getting down on one knee.”
She remembered being so shocked and how Joey took advantage of
the moment to propose. He lined up his mother and sister to sneak
pictures of the moment.
Peyton said, “It was really cute because it was where we had our first
kiss and the place where we grew up and became boyfriend and
girlfriend, and now fiancés.”
The couple was ecstatic to jump into the beginning stages of
planning their wedding. Attending a bridal show in Macon, they
met a manager for Farley Estates and immediately fell in love
with the venue and proceeded to book their December 27, 2020
wedding date.
Making the decision to plan for two years allowed the couple to
enjoy the process and make things personal and perfect for them.
They researched all of their vendors and ended up booking Drift
Away Photography, Wild + Lavender (videographer), Jessica Owens
(hair stylist), Rachel Harris Artistry (makeup) and John Vandiver
(DJ). They were able to go over their expectations with the
photographer and videographer to come up with the most efficient
timeline to make the most out of the day.
Being a sucker for details, not having the stress of a quick
wedding allowed the couple to personally make some very special
decorations with their friends and family. Peyton explained how
she had ordered foam flowers from Ling’s Moments to embellish
lanterns and even used them to create her own bouquets. They also
added even more personal touches by decorating each table with a
different movie or TV show they enjoyed watching together over
the course of their relationship.
“You can tell I love the details about everything and knowing that
each thing has a special meaning was really fun.”
Peyton was also even able to customize her dress into one that
perfectly fit her vision. Combining components of several different
dresses, she customized her dream dress by changing the color to a
beautiful, soft blush, added Chantilly lace underneath the top layer
to bring out the original sparkle and added sleeves with the same
lace to match.
A dress completely unique to her, Peyton proudly exclaimed,
“Nobody else is going to have it. It’s perfect. It was really cool that
I got to make it my own.”
Saving their wedding date for 2020 did pose different challenges,
however. With never-ending concerns of the pandemic, the couple
feared that all of their carefully planned details might not come
to fruition. Working alongside The Farley Estate’s owner, Renee,
and their wedding director, Victoria, the group navigated through
all of the potential problems, addressing the necessity of social
distancing, providing proper hygiene, and mapping out the flow of
foot traffic of the guests.
“Honestly,” Peyton began, “they handled everything for us that we
could think of and they kept us on schedule. Once we all started to get
there and we all started to get ready, everything went so smooth. We
had plenty of help and I was just calm and I enjoyed the day. It was really,
really wonderful.”
Peyton fondly recalled watching everyone having such a
wonderful time and explained how it warmed her heart.
She mentioned how it was a little different than how
February 2021
Southern
Bride 23