There’s a place deep in the Mississippi Delta that few outside the state have ever heard about. A place of antebellum historical signifiance that’s

In the ghost town of Rodney, Mississippi there are several places for great shots.
Once off the highway, you travel to Rodney via small dirt & gravel back roads. That’s the best way out of the town as well.
Even though the few remaining buildings in Rodney are on the National Register of Historic Places, they’re in sad disrepair &
won’t be around after a few more years. So grab the chance to photograph a forgotten piece of Southern history while you can.
Stand at the doorway of the brick church & look up. That’s a cannon ball you see in the brick above the door. It landed there one Sunday morning during church service from a boat on the river during the Civil War.  How it has stayed there all this time is completely baffling to me.
It’s been stuck in the doorway right where it landed for nearly 150 years. You’ll leave Rodney thinking you’re as far from civilization
as you can drive, but no – you’ll go back even further to travel to the Ruins of Windsor.

As a native Mississippian, I grew up knowing about the Windsor Ruins as a staple in Mississippi Delta history & folklore.
While there last year, my daughter & I were the only ones for miles it seemed. Errily peaceful, I wouldn’t have been surprised to have seen a ghostly apparition walking among the columns. What was once a giant among river plantation homes (Mark Twain compared it’s size to a college) now only 23 of the 29 columns & wrought iron from the balcony remain – reduced to this condition
in 1890 because of a careless weekend party guest & the ashes from his cigarette.   
Windsor was slave labor & New England craftsmen built in 1859 & decorated with only the finest furnishings from New Orleans,
New York & Europe & were delivered on riverboats via the the Mississippi River (less than two miles away) & via the Natchez Trace.
The history is heavy there. You’ll feel this when standing in the middle of where the stately house once stood way out in the middle of nowhere. The numerous out buildings have long disappeared & the nearly 3000 acres of cotton fields that were tended by slaves & sharecroppers 
were long ago swallowed up by trees or brush or sold off in bits & pieces.
Later as we were leaving, a photographer drove up & said she was there to hide & capture a proposal that was to take place.
Friends of the groom-to-be also arrived to place a bouquet of roses at the base of one of the columns so he could surprise his girlfriend when he proposed. Unique is an understatement as the opportunities for photographers at the Windsor Ruins are one of a kind.
Yes, the place is that cool.

Just a few miles west of Rodney off Hwy 61 & close to the Natchez Trace is a resturant in a 100+ year old building called the Old Country Store. Devout & strict foodies declare the owner there to make the holy grail of fried chicken – the best in the world. It’s the kind of place you want to keep to yourself. But thanks to some high profile celebs the word is out because when we stopped for lunch & found the resturant closed for vacation, many disappointed travellers from all over America had left notes on the door & window to Mr. D with promises to return.
So after you’ve worked up an appetite visiting ghostly places have some iced tea & fried chicken at the Old Country Store.

Granted, for a Middle Tennessee photographer it’s a long drive. But it’s worth the trip. You could plan a long weekend & stop over 1rst in Memphis. From there, drive to Rodney then back a little north to the Ruins. Windsor is close to the small town of Port Gibson – a town that according to General Grant in 1863 during his time in the state, declared Port Gibson “too beautiful to burn” as he had other towns.
There you have even more chances for some cool photography - old homes, churches & really cool storefront facades for great backdrops.
A great stop over at the end of your day is in Vicksburg – another hictorical river port town full of photography opportunities.
And you’ll also have occasions for shots of the Mississippi River from overlooks along the way.
Cool bridal or engagement shots with a Mississippi River bridge in the background!
Yeah, I know. You can thank me later.

Mississippi husband & wife team April & Paul Russell have documented the Windsor Ruins for their brides through their fabulous photography.
They’re based in Hattisburg but travel throughout the state photographing interesting places for their clients. I love their work of the Windsor Ruins as they have perfectly captured a timeless & rustic Southern elegance. A juxtaposition of the decaying beauty of the ruins & a lovely modern bride – as only an artist can document. I think their pictures are beautiful snapshots in time. Check out their work below & here.
Certainly not to be compared to April & Paul’s shots, also below are some pictures I took of all three places.

You’ll not find many pictures of the Ruins or Rodney on the internet. Just too far out of the way I guess.
All the more reason to take advantage of this little known area. Think of the great shots you can add to your portfolio that few others have!
So if any of you Middle Tennessee photographers decide to plan a few days in the Mississippi Delta & need some advice let me know.
Better still, if you need a tour guide & someone to carry your photography gear then I’m your gal. Yea! Road trip!
{click to find out more about Rodney, Mississippi & the Windsor Ruins}.

But don’t finalize your Delta travel plans just yet!
If you think these are great ideas, I have more out-of-the-way-little-known-Mississippi Delta-places to add to your trip coming up on a future blog. So leave a comment – let me know what you think, if you’ve been or if I’ve inspired you to plan a trip!

{All photos are property of April & Paul Russell or Bella Weddings. Please DO NOT COPY without emailing for permission!}

Old Country Store ~ Lorman, Mississippi…  

Rodney, Mississippi  ~ closest towns  St. Joseph, Louisiana  &  Lorman, Mississippi…

Ruins of Windsor ~ Claiborne County  ~ Port Gibson, Mississippi

1 & 1/2 cups cake flour  (I used Swan’s Down)
2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 & 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 & 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 orange, zested  (I used a large orange & every last little bit of the zest on it)
2 tablespoon Amaretto
sliced strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease well a cake or loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, & salt.
Stir to combine. Using a mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, & sugar until light & fluffy.
With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, & Amaretto until combined.
Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan & bake until a toothpick comes out clean & the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45-50 minutes. Let the cake cool completely.
I layered the cubed pound cake with sugared sliced strawberries & slices of the orange I used for the zest.
And in case this was not sinful enough, I topped it all with heavy cream. Lawsy Mersey!

1~ A Sarah S. Smith original.
A custom sketch by my daughter.
We think she’s pretty darn talented!
Check out her website if you don’t believe me.

2~ Moonbird Art
Lots & lots of marvelous art by a very select group.  
Beautiful jewelry, glass, watercolors, acrylic on glass, custom sketches.
The owner’s focus is on Southern artists and their talent at prices that are a steal.

3~ Erin Lane Bags
This Mother/Daughter super duo can whip up some sewing machine magic.
Their designs are carefully thought out & their work is top notch. 
Erin Lane Bags are perfect for any knitter or crafter.  

4~ A Bottle Tree from the Mississippi Delta.
I’ve wanted a bottle tree for my garden for years.
It’s a Southern tradition & it’s about time I had one.
So Merry Christmas to me!

5~ Snooky Doodles Kids Couture
I have this sweet flapper hat for little Eden wrapped up & under the Christmas tree.
Can’t wait to see it on her.
Take a look at this gal’s website. She also has sweet scarves & mittens in delicious colors.
Perfect little things for little girls.

This year Bella Weddings was involved in weddings of some beautiful brides in both planning & coordinating. And spending time with wedding vendors that have become friends is just one more blessing in my life.

Good health, family, friends, a warm place in the cold months & a cool one in the summer, a business I love in a country that’s the best on the planet.
For all of this I give thanks.

Hope you have a wonderful & delicious Thanksgiving.
~Vickie

The Bride…

It is my great pleasure to announce that
my beautiful daughter Rosemary is engaged!
She & fiancé Chris will tie the knot in July of next year.
So Rosemary, her sister & I have been planning & plotting like crazy.
We’ve googled & pinterest everything from dresses to tablescapes.
But only after we started with the most important stuff
like booking these gals…

The Wedding Coordinator…

As a wedding planner/coordinator I know that booking a coordinator should be the 1st vendor to check
off the Bride’s list. And that’s the 1st thing we did. I have the very good fortune to have friend &
planner/coordinator Emily Humphries of Simply Yours Weddings booked to coordinate the day.
When my daughter Sarah was married 3 years ago, Emily was her wedding coordinator.
Having Emily take care of the day was one of the smartest decisions we made for the wedding – if not the smartest. And I know Emily’s work first hand as we’ve worked together since then on weddings more times than I can count so I rest easy knowing she’ll be in charge. Not one worry. Not one single one. 
And let me tell you, that feeling is priceless.

The Photographer…

Middle Tennessee has such an amazing group of photographers. I’ve worked with so many great ones but we made the decision early on to hire Wendy Cunningham of Wendy Cunningham Photography.
Her work is extraordinary. She has enough quirkiness to make her art interesting,
she pays special attention to the smallest details & her work has that perfect amount of class so we know Rosemary’s wedding photos will be timeless. 
And as a photographer herself, Rosemary felt Wendy’s work reflected her own style.  
I’ve worked with Wendy before & was very impressed with the way she connected with the bride & groom. Her photos from that day were stunning but on a personal level I really fell in love with her work when she took pictures of my 1st grandbaby at just 1 week old. Although Wendy concentrates on weddings,
she was willing to take pictures of a wee baby, which is not easy for anyone. But she did it with ease & gave us our first real beautiful baby pictures. We have no doubt that Wendy will cover the wedding day
as a professional with that important personal touch. And we can’t wait to see the results.

The Calligrapher…

Was there ever any question who we would choose? Rosemary will trust absolutely no one but her sister
Sarah Stanton Smith of Sarah S. Smith Art. We’re always amazed at her talent &  know that the invitations will be beautiful & exactly what Rosemary wants. And Sarah is also in charge of all other art & calligraphy – table numbers, menus, ceremony programs, etc.
Did you know that Sarah? Sorry, we should have already told you!
So excited to see what you come up with!
{If you go to her website, you’ll only find her art. Calligraphy pictures should be posted soon but email her
if you have any questions}

Now on to the other vendors…
I’ll keep you updated as we check off our list!
~Vickie

At some point during every Autumn season I start frantically hoarding the Basil I have growing in my garden & keep a careful eye on the temperature to make sure that I get every last little leaf before the 1rst frost. And curse the fact that I didn’t grown more of it the past summer.
The smell of Basil is as delicious to me as Chanel N º5 .  It’s the 1rst plant I see as I get out of my car & pass under the arbor & I think just as
beautiful as anything blooming. When several plants are close together as I have planted, it makes one huge glossy green bush.
Especially if the top leaves are harvested throughout the summer which makes it thicker & mounds the top. 
Mine is planted along the path to the back door so it beckons me to brush a hand across the top as I pass by.
I simply can’t get enough of the smell & taste. So it’s with a heavy heart when the day comes that I have to toss the plants after the 1rst frost.
Although not quite the same, I do have a way to enjoy Basil throughout the Winter & early Spring.  Homemade Pesto!
So if you didn’t grow Basil this past summer get to the nearest farmer’s market & buy up all you can find.

So have I enticed you to grow your own organic Basil?
Great! Just a few tips…

 ~ Plan now where you’ll be planting your Basil next year. Make sure it’s in a sunny spot & clear any dead plants before cold weather.
Weed it well & give the ground a good tossing & turning to break up the clots & have it ready for Spring.
~Start a place in the corner of the yard for organic mulch. Over the winter add great things like tea bags, coffee grounds,
fruit & vegetable peelings & leaf & grass clippings – turning once or twice during the Winter.  I keep a small covered stainless steel container 
next to the sink & collect this organic stuff & add it to the compost every few days.
Use this organic brew to add to your tilled garden in early Spring before planting the Basil.
~Start seeds inside before the temps warm or if you’re as impatient as I am just buy small Basil plants & plant once the risk of frost has passed.

Ok. So now you’ve grown your own Basil & you’re understandably very pleased with yourself.
What next? With all of this abundance it’s the perfect time to make your own homemade Pesto.
My tried & true recipe…

3 – 4 cups of fresh clean Basil leaves
{Try & use only small new leaves. I think the taste is fresher & ‘greener’}
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & pepper, to taste
~Pulse the Basil & pine nuts in a food processor
Add garlic, salt & pepper – pulse again.
Slowly add the olive oil while the food processor is on.
Add the cheese until just blended.

{Using a food processor is fast but if I’m making a small batch I prefer a sharp knife & a great chopping board - after all, not all great Italian cooks have food processors! And some purists would never freeze their Pesto arguing that the freezer combined with the olive oil would
damage the Basil taste. Whatever. Frezzing the Pesto reminds me of my summer garden & it’s still better than store bought!}

Now it’s time to show everyone how brilliant you are. Make the Pesto & fill tiny jars (that you’ve been collecting)
& freeze for giving away as favors at your outdoor country wedding.
Or freeze the Pesto in ice cube trays then thaw for dipping with warm crusty bread at your wedding reception.
Just add a little more olive oil & maybe some red pepper flakes before serving.  
Delizioso!

Nicole & Jarden Part #1  http://bit.ly/nMA2pY

September & October can still be really warm so these recipes would be refreshing & different to serve at a fall wedding reception.
A couple of DIY recipes for your next event - straight from my garden & kitchen. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

~Lavender Lemonade: If you’re planning a Fall wedding & want that ‘something different’ drink, try my Lavender Lemonade recipe.
Most caterers will be happy to take this recipe & adjust the amount for serving your guests. The intensity of Lavender, Mint & Lemon Thyme
can easily be adjusted by steeping more or less time. Experiment before adding booze. Gin maybe? Vodka? Yum!

~Lemon Lavenders: The last Lavender blooms of the Summer are perfect for this cookie recipe. Don’t overdo the Lavender - the cookies will be too perfumy & be sure & slice them paper thin because they tend to be gummy the thicker they are. And you must use organic!  
Beg, borrow or steal some from a friend if you don’t have a plant or you can find blooms at an organic food store.
Make a extra large batch of my Lemon Lavenders, cool completely then stack in plastic containers & freeze. Lavender Lemonade
7 cups of water
1 cup sugar
1 large can frozen lemonade
3-4  (4-5 inch) bushy stems of lavender (English and/or French)
5 or 6 mint leaves (leaves only)
2 small sprigs of lemon thyme (optional)
Bring water to a boil with the herbs. Add the sugar & cook on low. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved 3-4 minutes.
Add the frozen lemonade. Turn off the heat & cover for 2-3 hours leaving the herbs in the sugar water.
Pour the lemonade through a strainer & refrigerate. Put in a large pitcher & serve over ice & garnish with lavender stems & lemon slices.

These cookies are not as simple as the lemonade but well worth the extra trouble…

Lemon Lavenders
2 lemons - zest & juice
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar & more for sprinkling
1 & 1/2 sticks butter cut into pieces
1/2 t. good vanilla
1/2 t. salt      1/2 t. baking powder
2 cups flour
2 T. lemon juice
2 t. lavender blooms
1/2 t. lemon thyme leaves (optional)
In a large bowl, mix together lemon zest, lavender & sugar until sugar is completely mixed. The sugar will be damp.
(I used the back of a small wooden spoon but a mortar & pestle would work better)
In a small bowl wisk together flour, salt & baking powder. Add to the sugar mixture.
Then add the butter using a pastry cutter or fork until blended.
In a small bowl beat together lemon juice, egg & vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough forms a ball then cut in half for easier handling. Turn onto floured surface & use a floured rolling pin to roll out really thin. Continue to flour the surface if it becomes sticky (I had to pop it in the freezer for a few minutes when it became too sticky to roll). Using a round cookie cutter, cut out shapes &
place on a cookie sheet lined with buttered parchment paper one inch apart. Sprinkle with lots of sugar.
Bake at 375 for about 8-10 minutes (depending on how thin you slice them) or just until the edges become light brown. But keep an eye on them!
Cool on the cookies sheets for a few minutes then transfer to cookie racks for cooling.