brides & grooms, 

i'm ready for a little change. while i do still adore florals & love compiling my favorites here for you ever week, i've grown a tad tired of the same-old, same-old. perhaps it's just my restless personality, but i was sitting here today, finishing up a post all about flowers, when it hit me: you know what else starts with the letter "f"? {no, not that - hush, anyone with bad language! we keep it clean at mge!} 

good morning on this beautiful thursday, y'all! 

i don't know about most of you, especially you brides for whom savannah will be a destination wedding, but over here in our neck of the woods it is toasty. last night i stepped outside to take my puppy on our evening walk and i swear you could have cut through the air with a butter knife - it was that humid out, that late at night! 

in any case, i decided that today's signature cocktail would be one to help us cope with summer heating up. it's refreshing, best served ice-cold, and will make you feel fancy since it involves you infusing some plain ole vodka albeit in the simplest way possible. 

taken from the pages of bon appétit, this recipe - the wake county cooler - replicates a cocktail found in ashley christensen's fox liquor bar in raleigh, north carolina, which makes it southern through and through. 


for 12 servings :: 

"Combine one 750-ml bottle vodka and 2/3 cup loose-leaf black tea in a large pitcher. Let sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 2 hours. Strain into another large pitcher. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a jar, cover, and shake until sugar is dissolved; mix into vodka. For each cooler, fill a Collins glass with ice. Add 2 ounces infused vodka and 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice. Top with club soda and garnish with a lemon wedge and a mint sprig."

photo and recipe credit // bon appetit 

yes, ladies and gentlemen - this is essentially a recipe for making your own sweet tea vodka, which is one of my absolute favorite summer drinks for its flawless sweet tea flavor and its economical ability to mix seamlessly with water rather than a pricey {money- and calorie-wise} mixer. 

if you're interested in serving this cocktail at your summer wedding, you can easily double/quadruple/etc. the above recipe until you have a quantity sufficient for your guests' consumption. 

brides and grooms, 

this may sound like a no-brainer, but you have a choice as to what time of day you get married. many brides unthinkingly go with the typical "ceremony 5-6pm, cocktail hour 6-7pm, dinner 7-8:30pm, dancing 8:30-10:30pm" rough timeline simply because it's what they are used to when attending weddings and it's what most venues automatically suggest. however, there are some hidden benefits to getting married at a different time of day. over the next few weeks, i shall expound upon reasons a morning ceremony, an afternoon ceremony, or a sunset ceremony may work for your wedding. today we shall begin with... 

ladies and gentlemen, 

brides + grooms, 

while i must admit that it does pain my soul a bit to see such gorgeous {not to mention expensive} gowns treated so carelessly post-wedding, i have stumbled upon a few instances of the newly popular "trash the dress" photography sessions done oh-so-right recently and feel compelled to share them with you. 

dear brides, 

you know it's monday when your computer decides to cease functioning mere moments before pressing the "save draft" button on the blog post you're writing. not that that just happened to me or anything. GAH. 

in any case, today i've decided to inspire you all with lovely ways to personalize your bouquet wrap. while there is something to be said for the simplicity of a ribbon wrap, this is also an excellent area to show off your unique style, incorporate a family heirloom {like your grandmother's brooch or perhaps your mother's handkerchief}, or even invoke the presence of a deceased loved one via an attached locket with their photo. 

the following are just a few examples of the different options open to you - get inspired!