Finery: June 2013

We fell in love with Sarah and Zac and consider ourselves lucky to know them. Within two days of moving from Atlanta to Huntsville Sarah discovered Finery and found her wedding gown. We sat down with Sarah and Zac for a little "Q and A" listened to their story and well, decided that they "hung the moon"and we want to hang out with them {all the time}!

Enter our "Lucky in Love" series highlighting super cool fantastic folks that just have fun in love.

{After Zac proposed}

Q: What has been your favorite part of the planning process?

My favorite part of the process has been finally bringing together all of the images, swatches, pins, links, and visions that I have had in my head for so long. I have been pinning for about a year, thinking about my wedding since I was about 10, and really thinking about the look that I want for a long time. Curating that look to match our style, budget and our venue is the best part.

Q: Besides the nuptials, what is the most important goal you would like to achieve the day of your wedding?

Well, it’s funny because I keep reminding Zac that at the end of the day we’ll be married, no matter what happens. You have to tell yourself that when you’re getting married on the Gulf Coast during hurricane season. More than anything, I want to feel and be present during the day. I want to feel the gravity and importance of the day. It is about us. It is a joining of families, the making of a new family, and a union for life. I want to feel like it is the best day of my life, and that I’m actually in it, enjoying it. I want to have moments with people, and I want to remember those. I want him glued to my side all night. I want to achieve being truly present and happy during the day. I should probably start practicing meditation now!

Q: If you could give your wedding a title what would it be?

A Big Ol’ Florida Lawn Party with Great Tunes, Flowing Cocktails and Well-Dressed and Ridiculously Good Looking Guests

Q: When you tried your dress on, how did you know it was the one?

I have been really inspired by the old Spanish Florida. Our venue is a beautiful European-inspired mansion on a 5.6 acre preserve on the water. It is rich with bougainvillea, Spanish moss and gulf coast plants and trees. I was inspired by Katherine of Aragon, and envisioned myself in lace. I love the romance of lace, and my own style is very romantic and feminine. My dress was the second one I tried on at {finery} but the moment I put it on, I felt a connection to it. It had the silhouette I wanted – form fitting, showing off my curves and lending a narrowness to my torso and waist. The lace put the dress over the edge – the tiers of lace feel Spanish to me, and go so well with our venue and the feel of our day. I knew the dress was mine when I couldn’t even think of taking it off. It was hard, because my mom couldn’t be with me – she was in Italy. I knew I wanted the dress though, and it was actually hard to take it off! I still get goose bumps every time I think about my dress, and I can’t wait to get married in it.

Q: Does Zac have any requests for the wedding?

Yes. He has two priorities: one is that we stay in budget. The other is that I am happy. He is a simple man. He was the driving force behind our Sunday nuptials – Football Saturday is sacred in the South. Things that he has enjoyed helping with are booking our band, tasting the catering, and ensuring we have good bourbon on the bar. He has also taken the lead in planning our incredible honeymoon.

Q:What traditional elements {if any} are you incorporating into the wedding day?

Our wedding seems to be rooted in tradition, yet not afraid to be different. In terms of tradition, as I described above, we have stayed away from trends as much as we can. Our invitations are a very classic letterpress. We are being married in a traditional ceremony by my future father-in-law. We will likely have our first dance to a Frank Sinatra tune. We are staying “apart” from each other for the week leading up to the wedding, but we are seeing each other before. I just couldn’t stand the idea of missing my whole cocktail hour!

Q: Describe one favorite characteristic about each other.

Sarah - It’s so hard to pick just one, I’m going to pick his integrity. Zac has never lied to me, never not followed through on a promise or a commitment. He does not take commitment, or promises, lightly and I always know that when he says he will do something, he will. That feeling gives me a feeling of constant security – he will take care of me and I can trust that to my core. I have never met a man with more integrity and honor. I am so proud to be by his side.

Zac - How can you pick just one characteristic? If it were that simple, this relationship probably wouldn't be heading towards a marriage. I suppose if forced to choose one among the masses, I would go with helpfulness. Sarah has never seen someone who needs help and refused them or at least tried to help them; with no regard for if they would or ever will return the help. This is a quality that is so far from my understanding, yet so dear to my heart. While I may not ever understand this level of caring for others, I truly appreciate it and try to recognize these situations to help out where I can as well (assuming I can find a glimmer of something in it for me).

Q: Would you tell us how Zach proposed?

Back story: Ever since we have been dating, I have wanted to go on a helicopter ride -- preferably with Zac as the pilot. I have been asking for a while, but due to Army regulations, it's not as easy as one might think.

Zac came into town on a Friday, just several weeks before I was finishing my job at Emory and taking a new job in Huntsville. That day, I was leading a retreat for my office at a country club so I was having a busy and somewhat stressful day. Zac knew that and offered to make the Friday plans for us. I started to think something might be up when he was texting in the afternoon confirming when I was getting home, but when I got home that evening from work, he was just hanging out in my apartment cool as a cucumber.He said he had made reservations at a little bistro and that because he hadn't called until last minute, so we should get ready pretty soon and leave. We dressed up a bit because he said it was a dressy place, and got in the car. After driving, getting lost several times {which never happens} and ending up in a weird part of town, I was somewhat frustrated but trying to trust Zac. Just when I was about to grab the phone, we pulled into the PDK Airport.

Although Zac tried to play it like we were going to dinner, I knew we were going on a helicopter ride and was beyond excited. The ride was incredible - we flew over all of our favorite places - from Georgia Tech to Emory, my condo, Piedmont Park, the homeplate of Turner Field, and more. I was having the best time when we did our final tour of downtown and started to turn back toward PDK.

It was just then that we started to lose altitude and I started to feel like - what is happening? Zac was so cool, saying: "we're going to get out and look around." We touched down on the rooftop of the W Hotel & Residences in the middle of downtown. I felt like something was happening but was too stunned to even know what to do. After a very rainy day, we couldn't believe we were seeing such incredible views of Atlanta.The pilot grabbed Zac's phone to take a series of photos of us in front of different views. Just as he had taken the last of the photos and started to hand the phone back, I heard Zac say - "wait, just one more." When I turned he was on his knee! The next part was a blur but I knew enough to say YES and kiss him. I was too stunned to even cry - which tells you how stunned I was - and then we just hugged, and stood in awe on the roof.Finally, when I regained my senses I asked, "wait, did you talk to my dad?" Zac said, "oh yeah, that's the other part. I took your dad to lunch on Tuesday, and I've been in Florida all week." Then the story unfolded about him having been in FL while I thought he was in Huntsville all week. That's when I really became emotional thinking of all of the thought and planning that had gone into the proposal.

Just when I thought I couldn't be any more surprised, the concierge from the W came up to the roof to take us down to dinner at a "little Bistro" called BLT Steak - one of our favorite restaurants - for dinner. At dinner, I just sat stunned, face hurting from smiling and peppering Zac with a million questions about the way everything had been planned. After an incredible dinner of reserve champagne, sizzling steaks and lemon gelato with bacon, we took the courtesy car home. I still can't believe it happened, or that it happened to me, but it's pretty clear that I have the best man on earth. Can't wait to marry him on 10/13/13!

Q: What do you and Zach enjoy doing together as a couple?

I can honestly say that as different as we are (a logical, rational engineer and an emotional, feminine romantic), I have found my true companion. We love to try new things together – this year we’ve taken up tennis, waltzing, and hiking. We are both huge readers and travelers. We love to try new restaurants and tasting menus. Recently, Zac has started cooking with me as my sous-chef. We enjoy long walks and runs and he is always showing me new things in the weight room. One of our favorite things to do is put on some great music, curl up together on the couch and spend the evening telling stories with a great bottle of wine.

Q: Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

Ah, the life of an Army Officer and his wife means that we have no idea where we will be in five years. I would love to be living abroad with a couple of towheads (we have the major blonde genes in our family). The Army will give us a lot of opportunities for adventures. We both want to start a family soon and continue to live in new cities and have new experiences. Zac has lived 11 places. In the meantime, we are loving Huntsville, and would love to stay here as long as possible. The next five years are going to be fantastic.

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