High School Friends Make the Promise of Forever

February 14, 2023
Rebecca Padgett
Real Weddings

Before they were wife and husband, Julianna and Will Hansen were friends. Their friendship began in high school in Tallahassee and continued through college as she attended Florida State University and he moved on campus at Auburn University. Distance made their hearts grow fonder, opening their minds to the idea that they could be more than friends. Julianna shares how Tallahassee became the nucleus to their love story, leading to their marriage in nearby Thomasville, Georgia at Pebble Hill Plantation on March 5, 2022.

“Will and I are both born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, and currently reside there.We have been friends since high school and our friendship continued in college, where I always made sure to give him some of my sorority t-shirts and branded swag when he came back into town to visit for holidays and long weekends. I attended Florida State University and he was at Auburn University. Go Noles!

After college, a little bit wiser and more confident, we finally began to realize there was something there that was more than just a friendship, but we were both nervous to take that step and possibly hinder our long lasting friendship.

One Sunday, we were forced to eat brunch alone at Madison Social after a few friends ‘bailed last-minute’ – thinking there was a greater plan in motion that day – and then we never looked back. Eight years later, we got engaged on the beautiful historic bricks in downtown Thomasville, known as the ‘City of Roses’ so it only made sense to get married there too!”

Photos courtesy of Shelly Lane Photography

“Will and I wanted to incorporate our favorite things into our wedding weekend! We started with creating welcome bags, which included our favorite snacks, local items and our pet-inspired ‘Adler & Hattie B’s Recovery Kits.’ Will and I personally wanted our welcome bags to make our out-of-town friends and family feel special and know how much we appreciated them traveling the distance for our big day. They were a big hit!

I love Lilly Pulitzer and have worked at Pink Narcissus for years. I knew I had to incorporate Lilly Pulitzer pajamas and slippers as part of my bridesmaids gifts.

My dad and I both love The Beach Boys. We have seen them 5 times in concert together! So for our father daughter dance, we tore up the dance floor to ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ by The Beach Boys and halfway through the song my bridesmaids joined in.”

“In addition to our wedding cake and grooms cake, we had a cookie dessert bar. We had some of my aunt’s special chocolate chip cookies and my mom made her ‘JuJus’ which are a little pretzel/Rolo bite size treat.

Our late night snack, Whataburger taquitos and hamburgers, were definitely a special wedding moment! Will and I have spent many late nights at Whataburger and all of our family and friends love their food. From day one of wedding planning, we knew Whataburger was a nonnegotiable.

We got married on my father-in-law’s birthday! And my step dad’s birthday was two days before our wedding, so we sang happy birthday to both of them and brought out cupcakes and candles for them to blow out.”

Photos courtesy of Langley Kate Photography

“We worked with local artist Laura Patrick of Lello. Co to design our custom wedding crest and she also created the artwork and designs for our cups, koozies, welcome notes and more.

A family friend of ours, Caroline Campbell Borders, another Tallahassee local who is now a designer in Birmingham, Alabama, designed our JW logo, which we incorporated into special details as well such as our matches for the cigar bar and our ‘Please don’t take my drink, I’m dancing’ coasters.

Per usual, John Gandy Events was a life saver during the entire wedding planning process! John and his team helped us design the timeless wedding of our dreams.

Lastly, Jackie Johnson Alley with Made by JJA created the most beautiful signs for our big day and captured our vision perfectly! She made our signature drink signage, welcome signs, table signs and most importantly, the late-night snack Whataburger sign!”

“My biggest takeaways from wedding planning are being able to compromise and knowing that you cannot control every situation, especially the weather. Additionally, be prepared to go over budget. It happens to the best of us and usually during the home stretch.”