Family is important in the South. It affects everything we do in our lives and develops our value system. This Raleigh based family is exactly what we think of when it comes to Southern Families. Learn more about this beautiful family and their southern roots today!
Names of Family Members and Title :
Wanda (matriarch), Marvin (patriarch) Amber (oldest daughter), Erica (youngest daughter) Avery Jade (Amber’s daughter)
Where is your family from?
Raleigh, North Carolina
Where is your current location?
All still in Raleigh, except Erica, who is in Atlanta, Georgia
What is your favorite thing about being being raised in the south?
The connection to family. There is nothing like being a Southern Family. We love Sunday dinners and holidays together, we talk to each other daily and we have each other’s backs.
What do you love about raising your children in the South?
Amber: The connection to our roots. We are within driving distance to so much if our legacy.
Wanda:
It’s not so much the location of the country in one’s birth,but the person raising that child. I’m a southern mother with roots traceable back past the civil war and would not have wanted to rear my children anywhere else. Even as an African American mother raising a child in the South, has been both challenging and rewarding. I think that it helped build character for my children and to overcome life’s obstacles. The room to run and play outside in their own yard. To know your neighbors and neighborhood, looking out for one another. To know where the food on the table came from chances are you grew it. Luckily for me my daughters grew up in the rtp area where the public schools are really great,plus the colleges and universities.
What are some of your favorite southern dishes to eat together??
Amber & Erica: Mom’s chicken pastry always gets top marks, but all of us women are excellent cooks, thanks to hours in Nana’s (Wanda’s mother) kitchen. She taught all of her girls life lessons and recipes for bringing family together Which do they only eat if your mom or dad makes it? We all cook from the same cookbooks, but if I had to say one thing that no one cooks like mom it would be the Chicken Pastry
Why did you choose this location to do the family photo shoot? Oak view Park has barns, cotton fields, a farm, a stately mansion, and a quaint front porch with rocking chairs. Does it get any more Southern than that??
What are your favorite lessons you learned from your parents?
Amber: that everyone has a story and not to rush to judgement until you know what it is
Erica:Try your best not to intentionally offend anyone and to maintain a reputation for not accepting improper conduct from others
What is your favorite southern activity to do together?
We love going to the farmers market together, planning a meal that we can all have a part in preparing then sitting down to dinner with each other with a bottle of good wine
What are some holiday traditions you do together as a family?
We are always allowed to open a gift (it’s always pajamas) on Christmas Eve. We get dressed in our PJs and spend the evening eating baked goodies and drinking cocktails (milk for the kids) together as we track Santa on the NASA site until it’s time for bed
Who styled the family for this shoot?
Amber, a local wedding and portrait photographer styled the shoot and enlisted her good friend and fellow photographer to shoot the session
What southern values did you inherit from your mom?
Amber: her ferocious love for her children and husband. Being a wife and mom is such an incredible gift and I owe everything I know to her
Erica: the notion that a Southern Gentleman and/or chivalry is a thing to be expected not hoped for, in a man’s actions and words.
What advice did you get from your mother on parenting?
Amber : Lead with your heart and pray to be better tomorrow. So far it’s been the best advice of my life
Where did you get some of the clothing items?
Include links if possible Amber: Forever21.com Erica: Wanda:Steinmart.com
Images courtesy of Emilie Carol
FULL GALLERY:
Comments
Michiel is a Black Southern Belle living a lowcountry life. I love all things fashion, home decor and southern! When I am not running around doing fun stuff for Black Southern Belle, I live in antique stores and have a minor obsession with historic homes :)
Beautiful family, the photography is outstanding!! ❤️