THE GRACE IN LETTING GO

STORY BY BETSY ILER PHOTOS BY HEATHER DURHAM PHOTOGRAPHY

When the pandemic forced changes to the wedding arrangements, giving up control made it perfect

The couple married at Church in the Pines and made their getaway from the Children's Harbor dock

Lyndsey and Phillip Stutts originally planned to be married on a different day and at a different Lake Martin venue. COVID-19 restrictions got in the way of those initial plans, but as it turned out, they married at the perfect place and time and now have very special wedding memories to celebrate every anniversary.

The two met years ago at a wedding but did not start seeing each other until mutual friends set them up on a blind date.

“Phillip said he would love for me to go to this ball that his sister was going to. He said there might be a few people in his family there. Well, there were about 50 of his family members there, his entire extended family,” Lyndsey Stutts said. “But they were all so sweet. It made me like him even more.”

The liking grew to love, and the couple began to talk about marriage.

“We had ordered Hello Fresh, and it was coming to his house, so I went over there. He is an avid woodworker, so he said he had made something for me, and he went to get it. He was always making things for me, so I didn’t think a lot into it. I thought it was a cheeseboard, honestly. And he came out with this little wooden ring box with our initials carved on it,” she said.

And they began to plan a wedding at Lake Martin for May 2020.

“We liked the idea of a destination wedding. It was a lot, logistically, but it was so different and fun. My family grew up going to the lake with friends and family, so it is a special place for us,” Stutts said.

They changed the date to October because the pandemic would have prevented many friends and family from attending.

“We wanted to make sure our family and friends could be there, so we pushed the wedding to October. In the end, we were very blessed, and it was amazing,” said the bride.

As wedding details changed, it was hard to keep up.

“Eventually, I just had to give up control and let our wedding planner handle it,” she said. “She was amazing.”

LThe result was that bride and groom found a plethora of sweet wedding surprises. One of them was the weather. “October is the perfect weather for a wedding. It was beautiful. The sunset was gorgeous on our wedding day, and it was cool for the rehearsal dinner at Willow Point. My mother-in-law had gotten together all these blankets for the guests. I loved that,” Stutts said. Another surprise was the cake Stutts ordered for her groom. “He loves tools, and he’s a huge Alabama fan. When he lived in North Carolina, he had adopted this pet duck and named him Woodford, for Woodford Bourbon, so Barb’s Cakes in Alabaster made the toolbox cake for him with the little duck there,” Stutts said. The ceremony was moved to Church in the Pines, and the couple took a boat to the new reception venue, the Lodge at Cocktail Slough. “I forgot to tell Phillip that we were taking a boat ride to the reception. Our wedding planner was Meghan Cease at M. Elizabeth Events. Her parents were at the lake for the weekend, and her father offered up their boat and said he would drive us,” Stutts said. “That was so special. He drove slowly, so Phillip and I had some time together. We had champagne and snacks, like a light dinner, while the guests all arrived at the reception. We made a grand entrance on the boat.” The bride’s mother added her own surprise. Some time prior to the wedding, Stutts had momentarily mused about having a live painter at the event. “I just mentioned it; and then, the thought was gone, but my mother had arranged for Ruth Oneya Illustrations of Birmingham to come and paint a picture. She gave us the painting later,” she said. The bride and groom drove back to Birmingham in a limousine and left the next day for a honeymoon at Sea Island. They had planned two separate honeymoons, one

Portraits were taken at SpringHouse

The Wellhouse ivy provided a splendid backdrop for their wedding photos The reception took place at Willow Point Golf and Country Club, where Lake Martin showered the couple with one of her most spectacular sunsets

The cross at Church in the Pines was laden with flowers for the occasion

Following the reception, the newlyweds honeymooned on Georgia's picturesque coast, where the hotel upgraded their accommodations to the Presidential Suite

international and one domestic. With travel restrictions looming due to the pandemic, they chose to visit Georgia’s picturesque coast, which also held its own sweet surprise.

“The travel agent was family, and she told the hotel that we were a COVID couple, how we had to reschedule everything, and they told us we were eligible for an upgrade. On the way to our suite, the bellhop said he had never even seen the room we were in. We went down this hallway, and it was not like walking to a normal hotel room. They had given us the Presidential Suite. We just thought this was not real. It was our first vacation together, and they spoiled us,” Stutts said.

“We didn’t plan for it to be that way, but I think I never would have appreciated how special it was. I was able to give up control when everything changed, which made it more special.”