An Inside Look at Damaris’ DIY Southern Wedding
Mark Peterson, Mark Peterson
Whether you’re planning your own wedding, are a hopeless romantic or love a good party (with great food), Damaris Phillips’ wedding pictures are a must-see. Food Network Magazine got the invite and talked with the beautiful bride about all the details of the big day. To see photos and learn more about the now-newlyweds’ inspiration for the quirky and unconventional reception, read the full article from the September issue below.
The challenge sounds like the final test on a cooking-show competition: Throw a wedding reception for 235 people in the middle of a city street with a different place setting for each guest, an all-vegetarian menu and a 10-cake dessert buffet baked exclusively by the bride and groom. Oh, and the forecast calls for thunderstorms. This is not, however, a cooking-show challenge; it's Damaris Phillips' real-life wedding day — and she's pulling it all off without a hitch.
Mark Peterson
Damaris, who won Food Network Star in 2013 and now hosts Southern at Heart, says she had never really given much thought to what her wedding would be like — until the minute she got engaged. As soon as education consultant Darrick Wood proposed, "I was like, 'What are you thinking for the wedding?'" she recalls. Darrick suggested they allow themselves the night to simply enjoy being engaged. After that, though, they each wrote a top-three wedding wish list. Damaris wanted an outdoor ceremony, a parade-like procession and tables with mismatched vintage china. Darrick wanted family-style dining, a single table for everyone and, odd as it sounds (the idea came to him in a dream, he admits), he wanted each guest to bring a fork for the couple to keep and use during a lifetime of meals.
Mark Peterson, Mark Peterson
Those six wishes led to a party in June that, despite the big size, felt charmingly homespun and personal. The couple involved the guests every step of the way: Their families voted on favorite cake flavors a few months before, Damaris' mom and closest friends marched her down the aisle, carrying parasols and waving streamers (the parade from her wish list), and the friend who originally introduced Damaris and Darrick officiated the ceremony.
"I was so excited to marry Darrick, I would have gone to the courthouse," Damaris says. "But this was more fun — and a lot prettier."
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