Georgia Featured Wedding Meredith Loyd & Bill Malone

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A-PDF MERGER DEMO Macon, Georgia, November 20, 2005

Meredith Loyd & Bill Malone BY ALI MIZE PHOTOS BY STEVE SCHROEDER

Meredith Loyd went home for the weekend with classmate April Malone to work on a project for a Georgia Southern University interior design class, not to meet her future husband. Although a romantic meeting was not in the plan, when April’s brother Bill Malone locked eyes with Meredith, they both new it was the beginning of something very special. Meredith and Bill met at the end of 2002 and just a little over a year later, Bill was ready to pop the question. Bill planned to propose at the end of a weekend trip to Lake Oconee, but on the drive up he simply could not wait to ask Meredith to be his bride. “When I drove right past the house she knew something was up,” he remembers. The nervous soon to be groom parked the car and walked Meredith out on a dock overlooking the lake. There, he asked his love at first sight to be his bride, and she of course said, “Yes.” “I’d been keeping a notebook since the age of ten with everything that I wanted for my wedding, so planning really wasn’t that difficult,” Meredith says. The bride chose to carry a subtle theme throughout the weddings with classy hues of champagne, white and green. Also important to the bride was incorporating Bill’s personality into the wedding along with her own. The result was a truly classy event with flares of personality. The two chose to have the ceremony at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon, which they decorated with four wrought iron candelabras with pillar candles entwined with smilax and arrangements of every kind of white flower from calla lilies to roses, hydrangeas and snapdragons. The reception was held at Coleman Hill, which provided the most romantic view of Macon’s night sky.

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Wedding Sources:

Meredith wore an off the shoulder ivory satin gown by La Sposa with an asymmetric waistline and lace three quarter length sleeves. Her cascading bouquet was woven from phalaenopsis orchids and was trimmed with smilax while her bridesmaids carried arrangements of short-stemmed, ivory calla lilies. The girls looked equally as elegant in their ivory off-the-shoulder tops and champagne colored floor length skirts. Bill looked perfect standing with Meredith in his classic black tuxedo with tails and white tie. The groomsmen wore classic black tuxedos with tails and black ties. White hand gloves perfected their ensemble. The gold bracelet on Meredith’s wrist has been worn by every family bride since the bride’s great grandmother and Bill’s cuff links belonged to Meredith’s late grandfather. At the reception guests found romantically lit white tents each with their own personality. The entrance tent housed both the bride’s four tiered cake under a wrought iron gazebo covered with smilax, as well as the groom’s John Deere cake, which was made by Meredith’s paternal grandmother. The larger tent was draped at the ceiling with lighted chiffon and was full of Meredith and Bill’s favorite foods. For Meredith’s choice guests enjoyed raw oysters, shrimp, cheese grits, and a pasta station. Bill’s side of the tent was a bit more masculine with deer antler décor and flower arrangements of pheasant feathers, willow twigs and stems of cotton. Perfect for any avid outdoorsman, Bill’s menu consisted of a venison carving station and fried quail. Perhaps the most popular tent was the party tent, which not only offered the perfect view of the city, but also featured a clear top revealing the starry night sky. All the tables were covered in ivory linens, surrounded by gold bamboo chairs, and topped with tall, calla lily arrangements. White, Chinese lanterns hung over the black and white tiled dance floor where Meredith and Bill shared their first dance as husband and wife and where their friends and family helped them celebrate such a special occasion. As a surprise to his new bride, Bill arranged for the couple to leave the reception on a John Deere tractor. “It was such a fun surprise and was one of the most memorable parts of the day,” Meredith remembers. After making such a dramatic exit, the couple flew to St. Lucia for their honeymoon. www.idoforbrides.com

Ceremony Site: Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, Macon Reception Site: Coleman Hill, Macon Officiant: Reverend John Haney Bridal Gown Designer/Source: La Sposa, Frills-N-Fancies, Statesboro Bridesmaids’ Dresses Designer/Source: Watters & Watters, Angie Hardison, Macon Veil: Ansonia, Frills-N-Fancies, Macon Hair: Attaway Cottage, Macon Men’s Attire Designer/Source: Ralph Lauren, The Sir Shop, Dublin Rings: Sons, Masina, and Treasures, Atlanta Gift Mart Wedding Directors: Beath Smith and Cecil Ethridge, Jr. Invitations: Crane and Co., Creter’s on Ingleside, Macon Guest Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Macon Soloist: Dave Holmes Organist: Cam Bishop Florist & Linens: Wayne English, Artistic Flowers, Griffin Transportation: All-Star Limousine, Macon Tent: Macon Tent Rentals Caterer: Jill Nunn, Two’s Company, Barnesville Wedding Cake: Cecilia Villaveces, Athens Music: Jonathon Loyd, New York; The Fabulous Expressions; Macon, John Sweat with the strings quartet, Macon Photographer: Steve Schroeder Photography, Macon Videographer: Laura Solomon Nixon Travel Agency: Travel Service of Dublin Wedding Night Accommodations: Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Honeymoon Destination: Sandals Regency Golf Resort and Spa, St. Lucia

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