Olivia & adrian Holbrook
From Vision to Invitation: The Story Behind Olivia and Adrian’s Wedding
We’re excited to kick off our monthly blog series by sharing the beautiful wedding journey of Olivia and Adrian Holbrook, one of our sweet couples. Over the past year, we’ve had the joy of collaborating closely with Olivia to perfect every paper detail and day-of piece for her stunning wedding in October 2024.
Olivia and Adrian’s love story is truly special. They met back in 2015 and quickly became inseparable. After years of dating, Adrian popped the question in Charleston. The couple chose the charming Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, North Carolina, a place that holds a special meaning in their hearts.
Despite a brief weather scare leading up to the big day, the sun broke through just in time for a picture-perfect weekend celebration. We are so grateful to have played a part in making their dream day a reality!
We’re thrilled to sit down with Olivia to hear more about her wedding planning experience.
Olivia Holbrook
“I reached out to the DuBose Paper girls with my ideas and they made them come to life!”
Tell us about how you and Adrian met.
Adrian and I met in 2015 on a trip called Teens Westward Bound. It was a group of about 80 kids from all over North Carolina, and we spent 3 weeks traveling across the U.S. on a charter bus and camping out in different states. We ‘officially’ met hiking at the Grand Canyon and spent a lot of the trip together after. Fast forward a few years, we started dating my junior year of college and the rest is history!
How did Adrian propose? Did you have any suspicions?
Let me start off by saying, Adrian had me completely fooled! We knew we wanted to get engaged and married and had talked about a general timeline, but he threw me so far off. We were headed down to Charleston, where his sister lives, to celebrate his other sister’s birthday (or so I thought), when in reality, they had planned a whole proposal weekend.
Saturday afternoon, we were getting ready to go get drinks and he really wanted to take our dog Sophie to the beach (she loves the beach), so he convinced me to make a pit stop on the way to the restaurant. He proposed to me on the beach in Sullivan’s Island — let’s just say I was in complete shock! Our families and my best friend were waiting back at the house for us, and we had such a fun celebration — it was perfect.
My only suspicion was that my dad's location didn’t turn off, so I saw he was in Mount Pleasant. But if you know my parents, they are all over the place, and it honestly didn’t even surprise me. My mom made up a great cover story!
We’re obsessed with Old Edwards Inn! What went into choosing it as your venue?
Adrian and I love the mountains (he went to App State and my family spends a lot of time at our house in TN), so we knew we wanted to get married in the mountains — it was just a matter of finding the right spot.
I knew I wanted our wedding day to feel easy, low-stress, all in the same place. A friend recommended Old Edwards, so we went to Highlands and toured and immediately fell in love. Their wedding team is incredible to work with and made it such an enjoyable process from the start. Also, Highlands is the cutest town ever, so we thought it would be a fun destination for our guests to experience as well.
The Farm at Old Edwards is so beautiful, their food was absolutely amazing, and they made the day go so seamlessly. I genuinely could not have asked for a better venue! I’ll always be so grateful we were able to host our wedding there, and it will forever hold such a special place in my heart!
Tell us about the products DuBose Paper was able to design.
Carson has always been so talented, so I knew I wanted to incorporate her designs into our wedding weekend! The DuBose sisters are seriously a dream team — they made all my wedding paper dreams come true! Carson designed the most precious invitations for my bridal shower that carried over to the welcome sign. I absolutely loved the design she made for my bachelorette — it was so fun and girly!
Lastly, my programs, bar signs, wedding weekend cups, gift tags, and koozies were so beautiful. We did different shades of green, white flowers, our crest — it was perfect!
We loved your bachelorette vibe — Palm Beach is a dream! Did you have any part in the theme and designs, or did your bridesmaids surprise you?
Palm Beach is such a dream! I’m already dying to go back. I worked with Carson to come up with a logo for our cups and hats, and it was such a fun design! The girls surprised me with a fun palm design on the itineraries and banner! We had the best weekend celebrating and I felt so blessed to be surrounded by all my best friends!
Bridal showers are such a sweet way to celebrate with your girls. Do you have a favorite memory from that day?
My bridal shower was such a sweet and thoughtful day! I felt so incredibly blessed. I think my favorite part was just being with all my favorite ladies. It was nice to have a smaller setting where we could really talk with one another.
Weddings are such a special time because you get to mix family members, new friends, old friends — all in the same place. I didn’t take a moment of it for granted. Also, Allie and her mom, Martha Anne, were such gracious hosts and I’m so grateful to them!
Tell us about the thought process behind each of your day-of products.
When thinking about our day-of products, I wanted everything to feel timeless but also fun. My color scheme was white, green, and touches of light pink, so I reached out to Carson with my ideas and she made them come to life! We landed on fun striped bar menus and added fun pops of flowers to the programs. I loved everything so much!
Personal touches always make the day extra special. Were there any little details that you loved the most?
Incorporating elements of our families into our wedding was such a special detail to me. From my grandmother’s wedding band, Adrian’s great-grandfather’s watch, to wearing my mom’s necklace she wore on her wedding day, I just loved being able to carry pieces of our families with us throughout the day.
Also, I walked down the aisle to Amazing Grace, which is a very special song to my family. It makes me tear up every time I hear it.
Was there anything that surprised you about the big day?
How calm Adrian and I both were! We prayed over our day for a long time leading up, and God more than provided. The weather was beautiful and the sun came out just as our ceremony started. Adrian and I did a first look and it calmed our nerves so much.
After the first look, I remember asking Adrian if he was nervous, and he said not at all — just excited — and I felt the exact same way! God was so present the whole day, which was not a surprise, but an answered prayer!
Now that wedding planning is over, is there one part of the process that stands out as your favorite?
Old Edwards made the planning process such a dream! We went up for several visits throughout our engagement, but my favorite part was definitely the food and wine tasting!
Adrian and I got to have dinner at their restaurant, Madison’s, and we tried different courses that we would want to have at the wedding. All of their food was incredible, but the short rib stole the show!
Also, my mom, sister-in-law, and I took a girls' trip to Highlands for wine tasting and had the best time. The tasting was so fun and we got to make a whole weekend out of it — the wine may or may not have led to a shopping spree!
What piece of advice would you give to brides-to-be?
My biggest piece of advice for brides-to-be is to trust that God will work everything out. That may sound cliché, but Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina the weekend before our wedding, and while it was stressful and devastating for so many people, I had to fully trust that no matter what happened, God would take care of our wedding and it would be perfect no matter what.
At the end of the day, it is about you and your spouse’s marriage, and I was just so excited to marry Adrian — it could’ve been in the backyard and it would’ve been fine. Something will not go as planned, and you just have to trust that it will all work out!
We’re so thankful to have had the chance to chat with Olivia about all things wedding-related. She made the most stunning bride, and we’re excited to continue working with her through all of life’s exciting milestones!
Thank you for tuning in — can’t wait to catch up again next month
XOXO,
The DuBose Paper Girls