Events Curator Austin Ackles sat down with Molly Middleton to discuss her wedding & events business. 

AA: You hail from the Atlanta, right? Sadly, I’ve never been to a big southern wedding. What’s so different about them and what makes them so incredible?

MM: BIG is right!  Everything is better when it’s bigger in the South!  Actually, I think that is more of a Texas thing.  Everyone is so hospitable and friendly in the south and they want to share their big day and celebrate with as many friends and family as possible.  I think the southern charm combined with the amount of people creates an amazing energy. Everyone is so happy and they just want to eat, drink and be merry together!  Also, I find that southern weddings are often a celebration of all things southern, like the strong food culture, southern drinks and the beautiful landscapes (think live oaks dripping in Spanish moss).

AA: Do you still work down south often?

MM: Yes, I have been so incredibly fortunate to be able to continue to work down south.  Most recently, I have done a few weddings in Sea Island, GA.  It is such a DREAM to work down there!  The level of sophistication and professionalism is incredible and they still manage to be calm, cool, collected and so much fun to work with!  Sea Island does a great job of balancing luxury and professionalism with that family feeling of the South.

AA: What’s the biggest difference between working with clients down there and those in the New York area?

MM: I would say that the southern weddings tend to be steeped in rich, family tradition.  I recently had a bride from Chattanooga, TN who wore a beautiful cathedral-length Duchess Lace wedding veil that her great-great grandparents had purchased on a trip to Brussels, Belgium. The veil had been passed down to all of the women in the family to wear on their wedding day.  Now, this is not to say that I don’t have traditional clients from New York, because I do.  I also have a lot of highly successful professional couples who come to me who might be getting married in their mid-late thirties or forties for the first time and they are paying for the wedding themselves.  When the parents are not footing the bill, they have free reign to express themselves however they want!  For example, last year I had a client in New York who processed down the aisle to Alicia Keys’ and JAY Z’s Empire State of Mind and then I had another couple who recessed down the aisle to the theme-song from Superman.  Being from the South, I so appreciate tradition, but I also LOVE it when clients want to mix things up.  It’s fun for me from a creative standpoint.

AA: For every wedding there’s a rain plan. Have you ever done a wedding that required a hurricane plan?

MM: Good timing on this question.  I’m planning a wedding in the Bahamas for next spring.  Technically, it isn’t hurricane season, but I’ve got to take that into consideration in the planning process.  Stay tuned!

AA: If your daughter was to get married in 2040, what will her wedding invitation look like?

MM: If I have anything to do with my daughter’s wedding invitation, it will be a beautiful custom letter-pressed invitation on a nice 6-ply card stock.  I happen to love charcoal as opposed to black ink, and I may add a little pop of color with a beveled edge.