WEDDING IDEAS

For their early-December wedding, Holly and Trey chose a holiday theme with a modern twist, using sage green with cranberry red accents for the flowers, bridesmaid dresses, decorations, and invitations. Candles created a soft, warm glow in the cold winter night, and the ceremony and reception spaces were adorned with handmade pearl wreaths and a real 100-foot Christmas tree. Adding to the cozy, intimate atmosphere were tokens of the couple‘s deep appreciation for family: "We displayed wedding photos from both families, to celebrate the many years of marriage that we hope to emulate," explains Holly.

Holly not only designed the remarkable wedding invitations herself -- she printed them herself too. "I wanted the expensive look of letterpress but could not afford to order them from an invitation company," the resourceful bride says. "So I researched the papers and technique, and one of my former professors in college allowed me to use the school‘s letterpress machine and inks." As befits a Christmastime wedding, the hand-printed invitations resembled little gifts, right down to the RSVP cards, printed on gift tags. A specialty online retailer created postage stamps with Holly and Trey‘s photo on them -- "everyone loved this detail!" The bride also created the programs, which used the same typeface and were bound with sage green ribbon. Holly also created the baskets covered in faux red roses which attendants held as they passed out the programs.

Holly‘s lustrous matte satin Pallas Athena dress featured a chapel train with a long line of fabric-covered buttons, which were imitated on the wedding cake as an icing detail around each tier. The bride wore ivory satin slingbacks, freshwater pearl jewelry, and a cathedral-length veil trimmed with a broad satin ribbon -- a detail that the wedding cake designer also incorporated. To stay warm in her strapless gown, Holly left the reception in an ivory fur shawl.

Winter-themed floral arrangements helped Holly and Trey‘s Christmastime wedding glow with rich color. At the bridesmaid luncheon the day before the wedding, attendants and family all pitched in to make the bouquets and centerpieces, using roses, berries, holly, and winter greenery. White snapdragons (a favorite of the bride) were also incorporated into Holly‘s bouquet, and several centerpiece arrangements used only baby‘s breath, "to resemble snow," Holly explains.

Holly and Trey‘s four-tier ivory wedding cake with cream cheese frosting matched the embellishments of Holly‘s dress, with real ivory ribbon around the base and rows of frosted buttons and pearls. The vintage wedding cake topper had been Holly‘s grandmother‘s, and as a gesture of thanks the couple displayed a framed picture of Holly‘s grandmother cutting the cake at her own wedding 55 years before. The groom‘s cake was a strawberry marble cheesecake prepared by friends of Holly‘s mother as a wedding gift. "It was the best thing at the reception!" Holly says.

After the ceremony at an intimate country chapel decked with evergreen wreaths, Holly and Trey‘s wedding party moved to the reception at The Club at Northcreek, which Holly describes as "resembling an old cabin in the woods." A last-minute band cancellation required some fast thinking, but fortunately the band from the rehearsal dinner the night before was able to step in and keep the party going. "The dance floor was small, but it was packed all night!" Holly says. An especially rockin‘ Johnny Cash medley brought the bride and groom out onto the dance floor in full force. "People were asking us if we had been taking lessons -- but we just went out there and winged it!" laughs the bride.

Holly and Trey rolled away from their winter wedding in high style, thanks to a generous stranger. "We rented a 1926 red Model-T Ford from a gentleman I flagged down on the street one day in the summer to ask if he ever rented his car for weddings!" Holly says. The vintage car owner was so thrilled to show off his pride and joy that he even put a wreath on the front of the car -- the perfect frame for the happy couple‘s "Just Married" sign.

Holly & Trey in Southaven, MS

Holly and Trey put a modern spin on their Christmastime wedding in Southhaven, MS, but kept plenty of old-fashioned warmth.

Photos By: Ramblin Rose Photography, Memphis, TN

Event Planning: Kate Wagner of the Kim Dawson Agency, Dallas, TX
Location: The Club at Northcreek

Design-savvy bride Holly Cresswell created a warm, rollicking winter wedding with help from her groom, pro-baseball player Trey Lunsford. Together they treated friends and family to an evening overflowing with handmade details.

The Bride Holly Allyson Cresswell, 26, graphic designer
The Groom Trey Lunsford, 26, professional baseball player
The Date December 3

Before Trey had to leave for spring training, he and Holly made plans to go out for a special dinner. Holly didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary, but Trey had privately made reservations at her favorite restaurant, bought a ring, and asked her parents and sister for their blessing. Trey brought the restaurant staff in on the surprise, too. "The waiter came over and said he needed to set something down on our table for a minute," Holly remembers. "It was a dozen red roses!" The waiter then brought over an "extra dessert plate" -- bearing a beautiful ring box containing Holly's dream bauble.

-- Siobhan Adcock