Jaime and Erik first met as cast mates on CBS's Survivor: China, even though they grew up only 20 minutes away from one another in upstate South Carolina. This past June, Erik proposed to Jaime on The Battery overlooking the Charleston harbor. Jaime and Erik now reside in Nashville, TN where Jaime devotes her time to helping women at Mercy Ministries, and Erik pursues his passion of making music in the rock band, Florez.
Jaime and Erik are blogging their experiences leading up to the wedding in Charleston. Check back often, or use one of our subscription options to keep up to date with their latest stories, video, and more!
By erik | February 11, 2009 – 11:07 am | Comments (0)
On our last trip to Charleston, I made a trip downtown to look at formal wear. I had always imagined myself in a traditional tuxedo for my wedding day. However, as it stands, I am getting married in Charleston, SC, and it just doesn’t seem fitting. So with that in mind, I went in search of a more “Charleston-esque” look.
After asking around and looking at a couple of different places, I found Berlin’s on King St. They had several suits and styles to choose from. But I decided on a “sand” colored suit. It is very simple but looks very sharp! I might just surprise my groomsmen with a bright colored bow tie to really bring in the Charleston style. There are some great ones at M. Dumas (also in Charleston), so we’ll see…
The details are slowly coming together, and we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This is going to be an amazing wedding… first because it is OUR wedding, but also because we have a lot of professionals helping us make it a great event! Thankfully, Jaime has only given me a couple of things to do, so all my tasks have been manageable so far. The big day is less than two months away – I’m getting excited!
By jaime | February 9, 2009 – 10:14 am | Comments (0)
On Wednesday I was able to speak to Felice Killian of Felice Designs. We immediately hit it off! We are actually at very similar places in our lives and we had a great conversation. My mom was diagnosed with Larynx cancer in November and is currently undergoing Chemo and Radiation. Right now she is doing great! She is staying strong and optimistic and her courage during this hard time is really amazing. Felice offered some advice, and encouragement and it was good to talk to someone who understands what my family is going through. I look forward to meeting Felice when I am in Charleston, I feel like I already know her.
Felice is also the mastermind behind Felice Designs. She started doing lampwork in 1994 and has been making fun, colorful jewelry ever since. I had a great time going through her website and picking out jewelry for the wedding. I chose the snowflake Pocahontas for my wedding necklace. I love it. It has white and clear beads and I think it will really compliment my dress.
I also picked out fun colorful jewelry for the rehearsal dinner and Sunday cruise. One of my favorites is the 7 bead jellyfish on green. All of her stuff is amazing and fun. Even after the wedding, I can wear the jewelry on a daily basis. I can’t wait to go by the shop in a few weeks!
By jaime | January 29, 2009 – 12:13 pm | Comments (0)
So the wedding is getting close! I can’t believe it is less than 3 months away. My mom and sister are planning a bridal shower in Spartanburg in February. I can’t wait! They are having the shower at a place called Theodore Morris. It is a beautiful little shop across from Converse College. My mom loves the owners, Terry and Jim, and she really wanted to have the shower at their place.
Erik and I went home to South Carolina over the holidays and we were able to stop by Theodore Morris to take a look around. It was so cute that I decided to register there too! The store has an awesome line of pewter stemware from Italy. It is gorgeous. They have all sorts of fun things to decorate your house. They even had cute tumblers with USC and Clemson emblems. Of course, Erik and I did not come to a mutual agreement about the tumblers…he is a Clemson fan and I love the Gamecocks so we decided to register for the glasses with the SC state flag instead! I think my favorite thing we registered for was a picnic set. It is adorable and would give us a great reason to relax, and take a trip to the park for a nice picnic. I love those types of gifts… the ones that Erik and I will actually enjoy together!
Now my mom and Jenna are planning the shower. I think they are doing a kitchen theme which will be really cute. They are sending fun little recipe cards in the invites for people to fill out and bring to the shower. I love to cook and I can’t wait to try out some of my friends’ favorite recipes! I am not sure what kind of games we will play at the shower. If anyone has any ideas, please let my sister know. She is a great host but I know she would love some fun suggestions.
By jaime | January 26, 2009 – 10:42 am | Comments (1)
I think one of the most exciting parts of wedding planning for a bride is picking out her dress. When I found out we won the contest, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to wear a dress from Maddison Row!
When I went down to Charleston for the weekend, I was able to go by the store and I had a private trunk show and gown consultation. My mom and Erik’s mom were able to join me for the fitting. The girls on staff were so sweet and helpful. They made it an awesome and stress-free experience. The store was adorable! They greeted us with champagne and some sweet treats. I tried on about 15 dresses from New York designers Anna-Maijer and Ulla-Maija. They were all so beautiful. After I narrowed down my search to the final two, my mom helped make the final decision. I absolutely love my dress! I wanted to take it home with me. It’s simple, elegant and beautiful. When I put it on, I felt like a princess! I won’t go into any details (in case Erik reads this blog) but I can’t wait to go for my second fitting and see the dress again.
By erik | January 23, 2009 – 12:21 pm | Comments (0)
The wedding planning has been crazy enough so far (the guest list was by far the hardest part). Thankfully we do have so much help with the other wedding details! So in the midst of the craziness, I decided to add some more excitement to the mix…
Thanks to the contest, Jaime and I had a little more money to spend on buying a house. We have dreamed of owning our own place, and for months we had been looking for the right place to live. In fact, we put in offers on two houses, and those deals fell through. We were very close to considering a move back to SC in the near future. But finally our agent (Diane Crawford) called us and said she thought she’d found the perfect place. Sure enough, we checked it out and loved it. Soon after, I was sitting at the closing table, buying our new townhome here in Nashville!
I have been nonstop cleaning, organizing, re-assembling furniture, installing appliances, and so much more. Thankfully my parents came to Nashville last weekend and helped us paint our living room, dining room, and kitchen. It looks awesome! My dad is a professional painter, so it looks way better than it did before. And my mom helped us get a little more organized. I’m so blessed to have such great parents!
It will be tough to break myself away from the house this weekend, but I am actually excited for our upcoming Charleston trip. We have a lot of details to plan and decisions to make! But Jaime told me we will get to taste food, so I’m happy!
By jaime | January 21, 2009 – 3:56 pm | Comments (0)
We met our photographer, Lea Dales, for lunch at the Mills House. The lunch was amazing and it was great to talk to Lea about the wedding and details of the photos. Lea was great and had some awesome ideas for the wedding pictures.
Erik and I love photos. I actually did photography for about 5 years. Throughout high school my nickname was even “picture girl.” I was the editor of photography for the yearbook and I was always running around at school finding good shots. My love for photography was one of the reasons Erik made sure to incorporate a photographer into the proposal. So the pictures of our wedding are really important to us.
I think we both like artistic photos. The ordinary plain Jane wedding pictures are nice to have but I prefer something a little more edgy and fun. We are going to do a test shoot this month sometime and I can’t wait to see Lea’s work.
By jaime | January 21, 2009 – 3:26 pm | Comments (2)
Well the wedding is coming fast and we still have a ton of planning to do! Erik still has to decide on his groomsmen’s attire. We wanted to switch it up a bit. Rather than a regular tux, we wanted to do something a little more southern. I was thinking a blue blazer, with khaki dress pants and a Martha’s Vineyard bowtie. Does anyone have any suggestions of cute Vineyard Vines patterns? I was thinking about the light blue bowtie with the starfish… What do you all think? The girls’ dresses are a light sea green so I thought it would look nice together. I guess I can always go with pink! We are heading to Charleston this weekend and we are going to try to pick out the suits. I hope we can find something we love and that the boys will enjoy wearing. Erik has 7 groomsmen and my cousin, Tommy, is going to be the ring bearer. It is going to be an awesome group of guys!
By jaime | January 9, 2009 – 4:53 pm | Comments (0)
So we finally registered at Macy’s! It was actually a very enjoyable experience. We went completely unprepared, we did not have any lists made or even ideas of what we needed but luckily, Rhonda, the wedding registry consultant, was a huge help! She gave us a list of items most couples need when they start off their life together. She even helped us with our china selection!
We ended up picking a gorgeous Kate Spade pattern, June Lane. Erik actually spotted the set. He noticed the cute coffee pot with a small silver dragonfly on it. I love it! It’s very cute but still classy and my birthday is in June so I figured it was a sign. Haha! Rhonda came over and set the place setting up for us on a table. I never realized how many pieces were in each China set. Plates, utensils, goblets, wine glasses, bowls, and serving utensils… the possibilities were a little overwhelming. But, I think we covered our bases and found everything we could ever need. With so much and such nice china, we will have to invite more people over for our taco nights.
We registered for everything from towels, to cutlery, electronics and even bathrobes. I think my favorite item on the registry is the big mixer. I have always wanted one! I also think the juicer is pretty awesome! Erik’s favorite item was defiantly the coffee maker! After scanning all of the items at Macy’s, Erik and I don’t really feel the need to register anywhere else.
By erik | December 19, 2008 – 3:42 pm | Comments (1)
We recently got to go to Ashley Bakery while we were in Charleston for the weekend. We were able to meet Hayden and her mother, who owned and ran the bakery. They were so welcoming and nice and not to mention extremely talented. Jaime went through three massive books with photos of their previous work. By the end, Jaime had plastered the books with about 50 post-it notes marking her favorites.
Hayden pointing out our flavor options...
We got to sample at least 8 different flavors of wedding cake… this was by far my favorite part of the day. I am hoping we can have an 8-tier cake because I liked them all! Thankfully Jaime and I agreed that the Hummingbird flavor was our top pick. It was very unique and was somewhere between a carrot cake and a yellow cake. It had pineapple and pecans and several other ingredients that made it stand out and hard to resist. My parents came with us and after we sampled all of the flavors my dad had no problem finishing off the platter. My dad and I share a big sweet tooth.
Before we left, the ladies took us for a tour of the bakery. They had the biggest mixer I had ever seen and I think Jaime really wanted it! Her eyes glazed over and I think she was daydreaming about how many cupcakes she could make in that kitchen!
The whole gang at Ashley Bakery
I was excited when Hayden reminded me that I could get a groom’s cake for the rehearsal dinner. I am defiantly thinking something chocolate… I am going to have to get creative for this one!
By jaime | December 19, 2008 – 3:41 pm | Comments (2)
So, today I went to my friend, Julie’s bridal shower. I am so excited for her! She is marrying an amazing guy named Andrew and they are just adorable together. They actually dated all through high school and then went their separate ways for college. Years later, fate brought them both to Nashville, TN (which is pretty crazy because they are from Oklahoma!). They started dating again in May of this year and now they are getting married on the 27th!
I was thinking about all of the crazy ways people end up meeting each other. My parents met when they were 16 years old at a campsite in the Florida Keys. My mom is from Canada and my father is from Buffalo, NY so it is pretty remarkable they met in Southern Florida. They ended up dating long-distance and then getting married when they were 19 years old. And now they have been together for 29 years!
But there I was, sitting in the hotel lobby in Beijing China. I was pretty antsy to start the game and meet all the strangers that were surrounding me. I kept counting the number of people in the room and there were only about 9 of us so I knew a few were still missing. Then he walked in. I couldn’t help but stare. He was gorgeous, his long brown curly hair was perfect and he had his guitar case in his hand. I wasn’t allowed to speak to him, I didn’t even know his name, but immediately I knew there was something special about him. I referred to him as “Dierks” in my journal because he reminded me of Dierks Bentley. I was such a dork, I actually prayed every night before we started that he would end up on my tribe. One of my first memories of him still makes me laugh. We were all eating breakfast, still not allowed to communicate with each other, and Erik sat there cutting out every yolk from his eggs. I kept laughing to myself. Here we were, about to get stuck on a deserted island without any food, and he was worried about the egg yolks… I still give him a hard time about it. But I will be honest, I thought it was adorable and still do! haha
I will never forget the first time we were able to speak to each other. We were walking up hundreds of stairs to the Buddhist Temple to start our adventure. I said “Hey, I am Jaime and I am from Spartanburg South Carolina!” He turned to me with surprised look on his face and told me he was born and raised in Greenville, SC. I was shocked, here we were in the middle of nowhere in China and we grew up 25 miles from each other. I knew it was a sign and it was a huge relief that someone from back home was going to be sharing this crazy experience with me. It was a whole lot easier to trust him knowing that if he did anything mean, I could go home, drive to his parent’s house and tell his mama!
Then my prayers were answered. We were both on the Zhan Hu tribe. Every since then we became the best of friends.
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