We recently checked back in with Jessica Hans, a wedding planner at Newagen Seaside Inn in Southport who will marry her fiancé Jonathan at French’s Point this July. Turns out Jessica’s done a lot of planning since we last spoke. Here she talks about the wedding aesthetic that’s emerged, her impulse-buy dress, and what she most looks forward to about her big day:
We’re a few months away from your wedding; what’s the status of your preparation?
Well, we’ve selected all of our vendors and sent out save the dates. Now we’re getting our invitations addressed.
Sounds like you’ve done a lot already. What kind of creative theme has emerged during the planning process?
We are pretty casual people and French’s Point is probably a little fancier than anything that we would usually pick, but we so fell in love with the building, the history, the architecture, and the location. So we’re trying to let French’s Point be the fanciest thing and keep it casual with everything else.
What are your wedding colors?
Jonathan is from Maine and I am from Georgia so our wedding colors will be blueberry navy and peach, playing on where we grew up. We’re trying to work the peaches and blueberries into the menu, too. We worked them into our wedding cake — the main cake is going to be buttercream and vanilla cake and we’re using fresh peaches on the cake. And we’re doing magnolia branches in the gazebo for the ceremony. Just trying to meld the two families together in that way.
The navy is a muted navy so it’s not as dark as a traditional navy. My bridesmaids’ dresses will be blueberry navy. I will have white flowers and the bridesmaids’ bouquet will have peach colors, with peach and navy ribbons. And right before the ceremony, we’re serving peach tea and blueberry lemonade.
You said that you and your fiancé originally expected to book a more casual venue, but you fell in love with the elegance of French’s Point. How did French’s Point alter your wedding vision?
My original vision was a little more shabby chic, with Mason jars and things like that. Like, trying to bring in the southern feel. And French’s Point doesn’t seem to fit that. So what we landed on, even with the invitations, has been a little more masculine than I would have thought, because of the architecture and the dark wood at French’s Point.
Where did you get your dress?
I got my dress in Georgia a month after we got engaged. My family’s in Georgia so I at least wanted to go looking with my mother while I was visiting, but I didn’t think I would find anything. But we went into a place and I tried on a couple of dresses and one of them really worked. I’m not very picky about the dress so I just bought it and that was that.
It’s ivory strapless, but I’m having one strap put on it. It’s a drop-waisted gown that gathers together on one hip and has some pick-ups at the bottom. I’m not very good at describing this kind of thing. I have no idea who designed it.
What part of the wedding are you most excited about?
Well, I know I keep harping on this but I don’t get to see my family much, maybe once or twice a year at most, so I’m really excited to see them. That’s what I’m most excited about. It’s going to be great, for lack of a better word, party.