Standing at the deli counter at Martin’s Wine Cellar, Patricia “Trisha” Brousseau Hardin met her future husband’s father, Stephen Sims Kern. He had a hunch that Trisha and his son, Scott Stephen Kern, would really hit it off.
Even though neither Scott nor Trisha were interested in a long-distance romance, his father persisted until they met; the rest is history.
While dining at The Cliff Restaurant on vacation in Barbados, Scott popped the question with a big, blinking gumball ring before he gave Trisha the real diamond.
On October 3, 2009, the two wed at The Farm at Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, N.C. Scott and Trisha fell in love with the location the minute they saw it because it provided a picturesque backdrop for their outdoor ceremony and reception, and also reminded Trisha of memorable family summer vacations in the highlands of North Carolina.
Trisha’s mother, Patricia Willard Hardin, artfully designed their mountain-themed wedding programs. The couple also asked the guests to fill out little words of wisdom for a long and happy marriage in lieu of a guest book.
The bride wore a tulle, strapless princess gown with a sweetheart neckline featuring a pleated bodice, sweeping train and a detailed satin chevron pattern accented with rosettes at the points. Trisha also wore a cathedral-length mantilla veil of tulle and lace and carried a traditional nosegay bouquet of whites and ivories created by Fiddlehead Designs.
The bridesmaids wore pistachio green Jenny Yoo dresses in a variety of styles purchased at Wedding Belles, and they carried hand tied nosegay bouquets with pink Katerina and Esperance roses, hydrangea, shell pink peonies and pink nerine lilies. Scott and his groomsmen looked dashing in their tuxedos. The flower girls donned wreathes of soft tea roses and held kissing balls by satin ribbons.
Trisha and Scott wed underneath a pergoloa dripping with gorgeous garden flowers in shades of white, ivory and pink including mountain hydrangeas in whites and greens, antique oak leaf hydrangeas, hypericum berries, hanging amaranthus, ferns, plumosa, pittosporum and a beautiful arrangement of garden roses.
The reception following the ceremony was held at Old Edwards Inn. Chef Johannes Klapdohr prepared an elegant Southern menu. Passed hors d’oeuvres included: pecan-crusted chicken skewers with clover honey butter; goat cheese and vegetable tarts; and lobster macaroni and cheese fritters. The dinner menu included: buttermilk fried oysters with citrus remoulade; barbeque pork biscuits with peach chutney; and Dave Taylor’s garden salad with marinated seasonal vegetables and micro herbs. The Baker’s Creek Mill Grits Martini Bar served to order sautéed shrimp; forest mushrooms; jalapenos; cheddar cheese and apple wood smoked bacon for toppings. Maple syrup glazed pork loin with apple cider sauce and filet with Dijon mustard herb crust and horseradish cream were among the entrées; a dazzling array of vegetables were also served.
The wedding cake was a five-tier butter cream iced cake with a feathered scroll design and fresh flowers. The groom’s cake was shaped to mimic a woodland tree stump created out of chocolate with gum paste ferns, mushrooms, vines, leaves, grasshoppers and frogs. Petits fours were also available for dessert.
The Second Coming played Motown at the reception and had the entire crowd dancing. Lacour Photography from Atlanta captured all of the happy moments.
Trisha and Scott spent two weeks in Kaui and Maui, Hawaii, for their honeymoon. The couple now resides in Atlanta, where Scott is a management consultant in the retail field and Trisha is a professional photographer.