Mercedes W.: Blue Ridge I Do's

Mother of: Kameron
Wedding venue: Serenity Ridge, Mill Spring, North Carolina 
Vibe: Outdoor destination
Dress: Xscape (shop a similar style)

Kameron and Shauna met as teens, on a school field trip to Pensacola, Florida That was 2011. They’ll tell you they felt an instant spark, but it was nearly a decade later that they had their first date. Their first official trip as a couple was to Asheville, North Carolina. As Kameron’s mom, Mercedes, tells it, “Among the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Kameron realized he had found the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.”

And that’s how a couple of kids from Florida ended up getting married in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. “It’s the one place they always go back to,” Mercedes says.

The bride and groom asked their wedding party to wear shades of blue. Mercedes knew she wanted an off-the-shoulder dress, “so I could wear my hair down.”

She shopped at Camille La Vie, a special occasion dress store with locations around the country including Pembroke Pines near Mercedes’ Miami area home. “The staff at Camille was amazing,” Mercedes says. “They helped me find the proper size and fit.”

Mercedes chose an Xscape Evenings off-the-shoulder dress that came in petite sizes. “That’s not often the case, finding a petite dress in my size. It was great to find something off the rack that I didn’t have to have altered.”

Fabric played a big part in Mercedes’ decision. “I loved that this dress was comfortable. I could move it it, dance in it, and not worry that it was going to wrinkle.”

Wrinkles were about the furthest thing from this mother of the groom’s mind when she took to the dance floor with Kameron. “I had so many special moments [throughout the wedding day], but I must admit, dancing with my son was my favorite,” Mercedes says. “We didn’t do a big choreographed number. We decided to make the moment less stressful.”

Less stressful, and more meaningful: They danced to “Humble and Kind” by Tim McGraw—the very song Mercedes sang to Kameron when he was a little boy. “We would dance together in our kitchen,” she says.

Once again, Mercedes mouthed the words to her grown up son as their family and friends looked on: “I know you got mountains to climb but always stay humble and kind.”

| Photography by North Star Photography