2018 Mid South Wedding Guide by Mid South Wedding Guide

Dear Fans,

Table of Contents Kalea & Josh

Writing Your Own Vows

Wellness by Cayce

Style Shoot

NYC Engagement

At Mid South Wedding Guide, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find inspiration for your unique and memorable wedding. An engagement is a once and a life-time experience. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spend it stressing over wedding details. We have some great news for your wedding planner, vendors, and yourself. This past year has been a whirl-wind after getting engaged to my best friend in New York City. It was truly a dream come true and we love that we are able to share it with our audience. Now sit back, sample the cake, taste the champagne, and truly smell the roses at MidSouthWeddingGuide.com

Allison Brooke Brigance allison@midsouthweddingguide.com 901.652.1969 For more information about MSWG email info@midsouthweddingguide.com Frozen Exposure Photography

The Proposal: Josh and Kalea are avid sports fans. He’s a basketball coach at PurdueUniversity.Kalea’s brother played football at Purdue, therefore, it was a rather uneventful Saturday evening spent gathered around the television watching college football. Then around halftime of the ball game, Josh asked Kalea if she had ordered something because he had seen a package in the kitchen. She brushed it off saying it was just something her mom had sent not knowing the package he was referring to. After additional questioning on the part of Josh, Kalea begrudgingly went to the kitchen to discover a professionally wrapped package. Her eyes lit up, but it was rather large so at no point in time in opening did she think, “Ohhh this is a ring!” Kalea proceeded to open the wrapping to find the Louis Vuitton purse she had drooled over a few weeks back when they were in Chicago. The thank you’s, you’re the best, I love you so much followed. She was taking pictures of her bag to send to her friends when Josh says, “Now make sure the authenticity card and receipt and all is inside in case you want to exchange it.” “Exchange it? I don’t want to exchange it!” Kalea shot back. Then that’s when her mouth dropped to the floor. Not only was the authenticity card inside, there was a ring box with the cushion cut diamond Kalea had told Josh she wanted over a year ago. At that time, he rolled his eyes at her, but now fast forward to the present, and here it was right in front of her. For a small town Mississippi girl, this was a great night. She got a Louis and a diamond. Oh and a good looking fella too.

Mr. Thomas & Mrs. Joanna

Aaron Feldman, True Photography

One of the most infamous exercise excuses across the board is “I just don’t have the time.” Then you have coaches, trainers, and other health professionals constantly rebutting that phrase, because we can’t imagine not having the time for something that we practically eat, sleep, and breathe daily. But if I’m candid with you, there are days when I also feel like I don’t have time. Or maybe I do have time, but I’m so exhausted and/or ravenously hungry that exercising is the last thing I feel like doing. I have a few clients who, after telling me about their days and schedules, I applaud for even showing up to our sessions. Life gets busy. Especially in our culture, where packed schedules and full agendas are glorified. Yes, I do believe we make time for things that are important. However, as much as we might not like to admit it, exercise is not always at the top of our priority lists. One of my favorite sayings is “some is always better than none.” Even if that some is a mere 5-10 minutes, it is much better than no minutes at all. Will you burn 600 calories? No, but your body will still experience positive responses to the quick bout of exercise (hello, serotonin)! This will not only help you feel better physically, but also mentally, giving you momentum to continue making healthy choices. So for those of you who don’t have a lot of time, I wanted to share one of my quick, go-to workouts that helps me stay on track without taking up a large portion of my day. There’s no equipment required so you can do this anytime and anywhere! Spend a couple of minutes warming up (jumping jacks, body weight squats, walk/jog, etc.). Set your timer for 10 minutes (or 8, or 5, really just however much time you have). Perform 10 repetitions of each exercise and go through all 6 exercises as many times as you can in 10 minutes. The intensity of this workout is up to you. Listen to your body. If you need to rest in-between exercises, take a quick breather. If you want high intensity, don’t stop and rest until the timer goes off. The goal is to work through these as quickly as possible with proper form! One of the most infamous exercise excuses across the board is “I just don’t have the time.” Then you have coaches, trainers, and other health professionals constantly rebutting that phrase, because we can’t imagine not having the time for something that we practically eat, sleep, and breathe daily. But if I’m candid with you, there are days when I also feel like I don’t have time. Or maybe I do have time, but I’m so exhausted and/or ravenously hungry that exercising is the last thing I feel like doing. I have a few clients who, after telling me about their days and schedules, I applaud for even showing up to our sessions. Life gets busy. Especially in our culture, where packed schedules and full agendas are glorified. Yes, I do believe we make time for things that are important. However, as much as we might not like to admit it, exercise is not always at the top of our priority lists. One of my favorite sayings is “some is always better than none.” Even if that some is a mere 5-10 minutes, it is much better than no minutes at all. Will you burn 600 calories? No, but your body will still experience positive responses to the quick bout of exercise (hello, serotonin)! This will not only help you feel better physically, but also mentally, giving you momentum to continue making healthy choices. So for those of you who don’t have a lot of time, I wanted to share one of my quick, go-to workouts that helps me stay on track without taking up a large portion of my day. There’s no equipment required so you can do this anytime and anywhere! Spend a couple of minutes warming up (jumping jacks, body weight squats, walk/jog, etc.). Set your timer for 10 minutes (or 8, or 5, really just however much time you have). Perform 10 repetitions of each exercise and go through all 6 exercises as many times as you can in 10 minutes. The intensity of this workout is up to you. Listen to your body. If you need to rest in-between exercises, take a quick breather. If you want high intensity, don’t stop and rest until the timer goes off. The goal is to work through these as quickly as possible with proper form!

Aaron Feldman, True Photography

Aaron Feldman, True Photography 9

Location: Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Auberge Del Mar | Wedding Planner: Katie Hoffman Dress: Antonio Gual | Suit: Ted Baker Flowers: Adorations, LaVonne Crawford | Cake: Twiggs Bakery Photographer: Aaron Feldman, True Photography

You listened attentively as the couple read their own personal wedding vows to one another, promising how they would love each other for the rest of their lives. The reason the wedding vows exchange is so impactful during the wedding ceremony is because personal wedding vows capture what’s special about your unique relationship as well as your personal feelings about the person you have fallen head over heels in love with. There’s no better way to start your marriage off on the right foot than with your own personal words of promise. But many engaged couples stumble over writing their vows. Some get writer’s block from just thinking about it. What to say and how to say it can be overwhelming especially when there’s so much emotion involved so I’m going to arm you with some tips to get you going in the right direction. You can ensure that your wedding vows are a crowd-pleaser by avoiding three common mistakes. Mistake #1 - Oversharing Your wedding vows should be fueled by your love story, otherwise, why write your own? In fact, I even coach you how to do this in my, “How to Write Wedding Vows That Wow Start-to-Finish Guide and Workbook,” but there are some things that need to be kept private. “TMI” wasn’t invented without reason!

Writing Your Own Wedding Vows? Three Common Mistakes To Avoid Can you recall the most memorable wedding ceremony you’ve attended? What made it unforgettable? I bet the one that you are recalling is the one with the most compelling wedding vows exchange.

Use your own judgment on what’s appropriate to share in the intimate setting of your wedding ceremony. Some things in the oversharing category include going on and on about relationship stories. It’s great to share a personal story, but there’s a limit. You’ll want to share your story clearly and concisely and then move on. Also, don’t tell or reference inappropriate jokes and leave your inside jokes for another time.

Mistake #2 — Making them up on the spot or leaving them until the last minute If you choose to write your own vows, you, in essence, have indicated that these words are important to you and represent more than simple sentences on a piece of paper. They are the building blocks of your marriage. As such, you need ample time to write a first draft and revise it to make sure your vows reflect your heartfelt thoughts and feelings. Think about your partner who you will be saying your vows to. You would want him or her to deeply feel all the intent you put into your vows. Any good speechwriter will tell you that they start on their draft months prior to the big day. Why? Because they need time to write, write some more, edit and finalize. That’s the difference between an amateur and a professional. Which do you want to be on your wedding day?

Mistake #3 —Leave your improv routine for another time Your partner has come to know you and fall in love with you. You surely don’t want to freak him or her out at the altar with a comedy schtick that’s completely out of left field. And remember all those people out there listening in? This is the time to rise to the occasion and be your best self. Here’s a quick tip from my course “How to Write Wedding Vows that Wow”... Write your wedding vows as if you were talking to your friend because that’s your voice! Nothing is put on and your true personality will shine! The long-lasting benefits of writing your own wedding vows is totally worth overcoming any overwhelm that you may be feeling. Take an afternoon and devote a few hours to brainstorming all the reasons why you love your soon-to-be spouse. Once you have your loving sentiments on paper, you’re halfway there and if you need additional guidance — a personal wedding vows writing coach if you will — my personal wedding vows writing guide and workbook is just a click away!

Photography by Frozen Exposure Photography

-Kristen Rocco is the professional love storyteller and wedding writer of Love Notery. Putting her professional background as an interviewer and writer to work, she created Love Notery to help engaged couples capture their love stories in the beautiful words they deserve to share on their wedding day and treasure as a wedding heirloom for generations. Her wedding vows writing course exclusively designed to help engaged couples from start to finish write heartfelt and meaningful personal wedding vows is now available at www.lovenotery.com/howtowriteweddingvows.

Meet Wellness Coach Cayce Brasel

What made you start your business? I started my business because I found myself in a situation where I was referring people to a program in order to get my own products for free, but I was leaving money on the table. You know when you go to a really amazing restaurant or movie and then you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to tell other people to go try or see it too because you enjoyed it so much?? Well the restaurants and movie theaters donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay you for those referrals, but I found out that ViSalus does. I first became a customer at the end of 2011 because I was not only struggling with tendinitis, due to lack of nutrition, but I was also struggling with my body image as a college cheerleader. When I realized how much I loved the products and that I could help other people feel as amazing as I did, I took advantage of that and began referring multiple people to the program. That is what led me to get started and take advantage of my business opportunity. @caycebrasel - instagram Facebook.com/cayce.brasel Website - www.cayceschallenge.com

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a great way to burn fat and boost metabolism in a short amount of time. In fact, the 3 workouts below will only take you 15 minutes to complete but, trust me, your body will be burning afterwards! The provided workouts are a combination of high intensity exercises to increase your heart rate and lower intensity workouts that will build strength. The ultimate goal here is to strengthen your body and gain lean muscle, which is the secret to fat burning that will lead you to a lean, toned body.

HIIT 1:

HIIT 2:

HIIT 3:

Complete each exercise for 30 seconds, rest for 10 seconds in between each exercise if needed, repeat 3 times!

high knees butt kicks alternating leg squat jumps shoulder taps push ups (knees are optional) russian twists x-ups

squat, left kick, left reverse lunge squat, right kick, right reverse lunge push up to plank up downs criss cross squat jumps left leg toe tap raises right leg toe tap raises forearm plank

squat jacks mountain climbers hip raises left leg hip raises right leg hip raises bicycle crunches straight sit ups

Helpful hints: On the squat jumps, start with one leg in front, hips facing the side with one hand on each side of your leg. Keep your bottom down and your chest up to work your legs and not harm your back. When jumping, make sure to twist your hips when switching legs so that you are also working your abs at the same time! On your shoulder taps, your right hand touches your left shoulder and vise versa, keeping your core tight so that your hips don't sway very much from side to side. On the russian twists, clasp your hands and make sure the back or side of your hand touches the ground while you switch from side to side. As you get better with your x-ups, alternating right hand to left foot and left foot to right hand you can increase the difficulty as your abs get stronger by keeping your feet off of the ground the entire time!

Helpful hints: Keep your core tight when you kick after your squat so that you are working your abs and legs at the same time. While squeezing your core, keep your bottom low on your plank up downs so you are working your abs, shoulders, and arms simultaneously. To work your inner thigh muscles, keep your toes and knees pointed out on your criss cross jump squats. On your toe tap leg raises, squeeze your glute (butt) muscle at the top of your lift while squeezing your core, making sure your back doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t arch and your hips donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sink down.

Helpful hints: Get low, get low, get low! On your squat jacks, keep your knees facing out and drop as low as you can before exploding through your toes and pulling your feet back together. On the mountain climbers, keep your shoulders in line with your wrists and squeeze your core as you switch your feet back and forth. On all of the hip raises keep the weight in your heels and your shoulder blades, lifting your toes off the ground and squeezing your cheeks together at the top of your lift to tighten and tone your glutes and hamstrings. On the bicycle crunches, the goal is to touch your right elbow to your left knee and vice versa. This exercise will really work your lower abs if you hold your neck and shoulders off the ground and extend your legs out all the way each time you switch. And last but not least, the straight leg sit ups are great for your upper and lower abs as long as you are focusing on reaching for the sky as fast you can and then coming back down slowly.

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Dressses: USA Bridal Photography: Melvin Motley Photography Florals: VivanRose Designs 16

VivianRÂ se DESIGNS, LLC vivianrosedesigns.com

Event Planning and Floral Design hello@vivianrosedesigns.com 615-933-9705

The Proposal: August 4, 2017 was a beautiful day in New York City. Allison and Chase had arrived the day before and decided to walk through Central Park. They started at Strawberry Fields and while walking Chase asked Allison if sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to go to Tavern on the Green later and made reservations. When they reached the Bow Bridge Chase stopped, got down on one knee and asked Allison for

her hand in marriage. She had no idea Chase had planned out the entire day ahead of time including the photographer who captured the moment in photographs and continued to photograph them in different areas of the park. Afterwards they went to the restaurant Tavern on the Green where champagne was sent by friends, family waiting their celebration.

John Lemon Photography