Brent and Rachael's day was LOVELY in every way. Rachael's friend and bridesmaid Britney Ray offered to style the wedding and do the flower bouquets (with Britney's super talented mom) and they did an AMAZING job. Britney made everything for her wedding and it was incredible so I knew Rachael's wedding would be quality style, too. Brent and Rachael are avid readers and as a couple they read together, so books played a unique role in the decor. Along with their love for reading both Brent and Rachael love music, so guests were given sheet music to write notes on for the couple. One of my favorite unique elements of the wedding was the table numbers- each table in the reception was given a number that had special significance to Brent and Rachael. One table had the number of days they would spend in Jamaica for their honeymoon, another had #88 for the number of keys on a piano (one of the favorite instruments), and other significant numbers like their birthdays and their first date. Each table also had a list of conversation questions for guests to ask each other during dinner. I LOVE these types of questions and thought that it was such a good idea to do! I know I've been at weddings where we awkwardly sit at tables and don't know what to talk about so I thought this was such a creative and fun little help for guests to enjoy each other more. The wedding was at the Cotton Warehouse in Monroe, GA (about 30 minutes outside of Athens), and this venue had so much charm. It is located in a long series of warehouses that are now mostly vintage stores selling all sort of treasures, so we made sure to get some quick pictures in one of the stores with some of their old cameras and lovely decor (if you are looking for some awesome finds you definitely need to check this place out! it's right next to the Cotton Warehouse). The wedding ceremony was especially beautiful since Rachael's dad officiated it along with a close pastor friend of Brent's from UNC. I was thinking about this on Saturday- that no matter how many weddings I photograph I still cry at ALL of them! At the risk of sounding totally sappy (which is ok because I am) I think I find it even more emotional because I'm a mom and I am always thinking what it must be like to watch your child get married. The mother-son dance makes me ugly cry sometimes because I just think that would be so sweet and surreal to love a child from birth, help them eat and grow and play and then see them grow up and fall in love- I think it must be one of the greatest joys of being a parent. My dad has always been so sweet with us kids and can tear up pretty quickly when he hugs us, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... I just think that (God willing) if my boys get married some day I will ugly cry all day with tears of joy. That being said you can imagine how special it must have been for Rachael's dad to officiate his daughter's wedding. Usually I post some pictures of all the details of the wedding, including the bride's shoes but you won't see any shoes pictures here because Rachael went barefoot, which is her preferred mode at all times if she could! The reception was a huge party with lots of dancing and some awesome dance off's (I almost thought a flash mob was forming a few times). I feel it almost necessary to talk about the mad skills of one guest- Kay Mallet. One of Brent's groomsmen (Bernard) was tearing the floor up until Kay walked up and busted some moves that made the ground smoke. I'll have to post a picture so you can see how everyone's faces were just in awe of Kay! It really was such a good time for all. I think I may need to hire Kay to teach me some of her moves for future weddings. When Brent and Rachael left the wedding there were still soooo many guests which is a good sign that everyone had a blast. Brent and Rachael, I can't wait to see how God uses you guys as a couple and know that you both are people of such quality character- I wish I could do follow up pictures on a 30th anniversary to tell the rest of your story! Thanks also to my friend Alyssa Alig for second shooting the wedding with me- she is uber talented and about to go to Africa to document the lives of children with AIDS to help raise support and awareness back in the states (and is still raising support through kickstarter so definitely check out her site here and know that even a $5 donation makes a difference!) . Alyssa you are awesome my friend. So many cool people in one place- I love my job!!
a few funny notes about the following pictures... the first one was a total photo bomb by John and Anna kissing in the background of this "quick smile!" picture (love it)... the next is the series of the dance off between Kay and Bernard. You'll see the picture of the crowds' reaction to Kay's killa moves. I thought those expressions were pretty priceless!
