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A-PDF MERGER DEMO

Macon, Georgia, November 20, 2005

Meredith Loyd
& Bill Malone
BY ALI MIZE
PHOTOS BY STEVE SCHROEDER

Meredith Loyd went home for the weekend with classmate April

M 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,
Meredith wore an off the shoulder ivory satin gown by La Sposa John Sweat with the strings quartet, Macon
with an asymmetric waistline and lace three quarter length sleeves. Photographer: Steve Schroeder Photography, Macon
Her cascading bouquet was woven from phalaenopsis orchids and was Videographer: Laura Solomon Nixon
trimmed with smilax while her bridesmaids carried arrangements of Travel Agency: Travel Service of Dublin
short-stemmed, ivory calla lilies. The girls looked equally as elegant in Wedding Night Accommodations: Renaissance Concourse Atlanta
their ivory off-the-shoulder tops and champagne colored floor length Honeymoon Destination: Sandals Regency Golf Resort and Spa, St. Lucia
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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