62 I Do For Brides www.idoforbrides.com

Meredith Loyd& Bill Malone

BY ALI MIZEPHOTOS BY STEVE SCHROEDER

Macon, Georgia, November 20, 2005

MMeredith Loyd went home for the weekend with classmate April

Malone to work on a project for a Georgia Southern University inte-

rior design class, not to meet her future husband. Although a roman-

tic meeting was not in the plan, when April’s brother Bill Malone

locked eyes with Meredith, they both new it was the beginning of

something very special. Meredith and Bill met at the end of 2002 and

just a little over a year later, Bill was ready to pop the question.

Bill planned to propose at the end of a weekend trip to Lake

Oconee, but on the drive up he simply could not wait to ask

Meredith to be his bride. “When I drove right past the house she

knew something was up,” he remembers. The nervous soon to be

groom parked the car and walked Meredith out on a dock over-

looking the lake. There, he asked his love at first sight to be his bride,

and she of course said, “Yes.”

“I’d been keeping a notebook since the age of ten with every-

thing that I wanted for my wedding, so planning really wasn’t that

difficult,” Meredith says. The bride chose to carry a subtle theme

throughout the weddings with classy hues of champagne, white and

green. Also important to the bride was incorporating Bill’s person-

ality into the wedding along with her own. The result was a truly

classy event with flares of personality. The two chose to have the

ceremony at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon,

which they decorated with four wrought iron candelabras with pil-

lar candles entwined with smilax and arrangements of every kind of

white flower from calla lilies to roses, hydrangeas and snapdragons.

The reception was held at Coleman Hill, which provided the most

romantic view of Macon’s night sky.

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Wedding Sources:Ceremony Site: Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, Macon

Reception Site: Coleman Hill, Macon

Officiant: Reverend John Haney

Bridal Gown Designer/Source: La Sposa, Frills-N-Fancies, Statesboro

Bridesmaids’ Dresses Designer/Source: Watters & Watters, Angie

Hardison, Macon

Veil: Ansonia, Frills-N-Fancies, Macon

Hair: Attaway Cottage, Macon

Men’s Attire Designer/Source: Ralph Lauren, The Sir Shop, Dublin

Rings: Sons, Masina, and Treasures, Atlanta Gift Mart

Wedding Directors: Beath Smith and Cecil Ethridge, Jr.

Invitations: Crane and Co., Creter’s on Ingleside, Macon

Guest Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Macon

Soloist: Dave Holmes

Organist: Cam Bishop

Florist & Linens: Wayne English, Artistic Flowers, Griffin

Transportation: All-Star Limousine, Macon

Tent: Macon Tent Rentals

Caterer: Jill Nunn, Two’s Company, Barnesville

Wedding Cake: Cecilia Villaveces, Athens

Music: Jonathon Loyd, New York; The Fabulous Expressions; Macon,

John Sweat with the strings quartet, Macon

Photographer: Steve Schroeder Photography, Macon

Videographer: Laura Solomon Nixon

Travel Agency: Travel Service of Dublin

Wedding Night Accommodations: Renaissance Concourse Atlanta

Honeymoon Destination: Sandals Regency Golf Resort and Spa, St. Lucia

Meredith wore an off the shoulder ivory satin gown by La Sposa

with an asymmetric waistline and lace three quarter length sleeves.

Her cascading bouquet was woven from phalaenopsis orchids and was

trimmed with smilax while her bridesmaids carried arrangements of

short-stemmed, ivory calla lilies. The girls looked equally as elegant in

their ivory off-the-shoulder tops and champagne colored floor length

skirts. Bill looked perfect standing with Meredith in his classic black

tuxedo with tails and white tie. The groomsmen wore classic black

tuxedos with tails and black ties. White hand gloves perfected their

ensemble. The gold bracelet on Meredith’s wrist has been worn by

every family bride since the bride’s great grandmother and Bill’s cuff

links belonged to Meredith’s late grandfather.

At the reception guests found romantically lit white tents each with

their own personality. The entrance tent housed both the bride’s four

tiered cake under a wrought iron gazebo covered with smilax, as well

as the groom’s John Deere cake, which was made by Meredith’s

paternal grandmother. The larger tent was draped at the ceiling with

lighted chiffon and was full of Meredith and Bill’s favorite foods. For

Meredith’s choice guests enjoyed raw oysters, shrimp, cheese grits, and

a pasta station. Bill’s side of the tent was a bit more masculine with

deer antler décor and flower arrangements of pheasant feathers,

willow twigs and stems of cotton. Perfect for any avid outdoorsman,

Bill’s menu consisted of a venison carving station and fried quail.

Perhaps the most popular tent was the party tent, which not only

offered the perfect view of the city, but also featured a clear top reveal-

ing the starry night sky. All the tables were covered in ivory linens, sur-

rounded by gold bamboo chairs, and topped with tall, calla lily

arrangements. White, Chinese lanterns hung over the black and white

tiled dance floor where Meredith and Bill shared their first dance as

husband and wife and where their friends and family helped them

celebrate such a special occasion.

As a surprise to his new bride, Bill arranged for the couple to leave

the reception on a John Deere tractor. “It was such a fun surprise

and was one of the most memorable parts of the day,” Meredith

remembers. After making such a dramatic exit, the couple flew to St.

Lucia for their honeymoon.

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