Mr. + Mrs. Kinsler//Big Day at Kimball Hall

I tend to think couples start to look alike after being together for a long time.  I remember meeting Chris and Chelsea for the first time when they were dating and thought they were brother and sister, which means that after being married for awhile they will be identical!  Clearly they are not brother and sister but an awesome couple who are now husband and wife.  Their wedding took place at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church and Kimball Hall in Roswell, Georgia on a super gorgeous spring day.  All of those purple flowers you see on trees (Wisteria- they are actually a vine) were in bloom and covering the trees at Kimball Hall making for a perfect setting for the reception.  Chelsea chose tiffany blue as one of her main wedding colors and had a lot of thoughtful reception details, like a timeline of major events in their relationship and pictures of each bridesmaid and why they are significant to Chelsea.  Each table had significant numbers to Chris and Chelsea's relationship and an explanation of those numbers.  They did an awesome job personalizing their wedding day!

One part of the day that really sticks out to me is Chelsea and Chris' flower girl, Audrey.  She just cracked me up all day but the best was when she read the reading during the wedding ceremony.  It was so special to hear her little voice read about God's love, how he loved us first.  And to hear her say big theological words from the bible like "propitiation."  It was my favorite ceremony reading yet.

Chris and his groomsmen are clearly close (figuratively and literally as you can see:).  They are a really fun group of guys who made sure to give Chris a hard time and make him laugh all day.  And when it came time to dance at the reception they made sure to bust a move.  

One of my favorite moments of the day was seeing Chelsea's grandmother give her two thumbs up before she walked down the aisle.  So precious! I hope to one day be able to see grandchildren get married!

Kimball Hall is a beautiful reception venue with a real family feeling to it.  I loved how wonderful and personal the staff was to work with at every step of the evening and what a beautiful job the owner, Julie, did in making everything go smoothly and being great to work with.  I can't recommend this venue enough! And check out the reception ballroom... incredible.

Chris and Chelsea- thanks so much for having me and the talented Steven Wallace photograph your wedding... you guys are clearly in love and so loved by those around you; I hope this day always reminds you of that!

Treat Yo' Self Wedding

Taylor and Page are a really special couple to me for lots of reasons.  I was Taylor's history teacher in high school (hard to believe! I was a very young teacher;).  I hadn't seen Taylor for a few years until one morning he walked into our church.  It was so good to see him again, and I remembered how he preferred to be called "Dangerously Good Looking" (DGL for short).  He always made me laugh, especially when grading papers and seeing DGL written for his name.  Soon he began to bring a special friend with him to church, Page.  She is kind and fun and talented (Page graduated from UGA with a photography degree).  Jared and I got to know the two of them together as a couple and have grown closer to them through pre-marital counseling and just hanging out together.  The best way to describe them as a couple is tell about the day they came into church with a "Treat yo self" shirts.  If you aren't familiar with the saying, it's from the show Parks and Recreation.  Seriously you should check out this clip to see it.  At the time Page worked for a t-shirt company so she had 2 'treat yo self' shirts made.  Whenever they wear them that it means it's a treat yo self day.  I can say with confidence that I want to be friends any couple that wears t-shirts like this.

So one day Page and Taylor showed up at our house, sat down at our table, and told us they wanted to get married.  We were SO excited.  Then Jared asked when, and they said in the next month.  GASP! That only gives you less than a month to plan! But treat yo self it was and they pulled off a wedding in less than a month.  Jared officiated the ceremony in Talbotton, Georgia near Columbus.  It was a few days after Christmas and this couple could not have been happier.  I think the pictures hopefully show how incredibly happy they were to get married.  This just goes to show you that all the timelines and expenses brides feel that have to have aren't always necessary if you just want to go ahead and tie the knot! So in honor of my friends this post is officially the "Treat Yo Self Wedding".  Love you guys.

Stephen + Megan//8th grade foes to married love birds

 

Megan told me at their engagement session that Stephen had written in her 8th grade yearbook "he hoped he wouldn't have any classes with her in high school..." Megan I'm pretty sure that needs to be framed in your house next to a wedding picture!!! Stephen and Megan started dating in high school and both attended the University of South Carolina.  Their wedding was full of USC pride, with a special surprise from Megan for Stephen's groom's cake.  Stephen has a hat that he loves and has completely worn out.  Megan told Stephen there wouldn't be a groom's cake while secretly scheming to have one made just like his beloved South Carolina hat.  After they cut the wedding cake, Megan told Stephen about the surprise and how it was even a peanut butter and chocolate cake even though she told him that couldn't be done.  The cake was awesome and such a fun and thoughtful surprise for Stephen... major points Megan!!

Megan and Stephen's wedding party had to be one of the best to photograph- they all had so many ideas for pictures and really fun faces and poses that my second shooter, Stephen, and I were just cracking up with all the pictures we got.  The reception was held at Primrose Cottage, a beautiful home in Roswell with so many rooms with interesting details.  There was an amazing red antique tub that we had lots of fun using for a photo op, and the guys were sure to find other interesting spots for Facebook pictures:) One of the most original ideas from this wedding was the gift room at the cottage.  Megan and her mom decided to showcase wedding dresses from both Megan and Stephen's mothers and grandmothers.  The dresses from the different generations were on body forms in the gift room with pictures of each bride wearing the featured dress by it.  It was so beautiful to see the styles from different eras and to have such a rich family history present through them.  I LOVE personal details like that!

Much thanks to Megan and Stephen for a.) being so kind and awesome to work with, b.) having such fun friends, and c.) being totally in love people despite 8th grade yearbook messages!! I hope Jamaica is treating you well and you're getting lots of sun and rest after a crazy fun wedding:)

Megan had her "something blue" added into her bouquet, arranged by the talented Kim McNaron of Holland Daze... such a beautiful bouquet!

Megan and her sister taking deep breaths before the ceremony started- one of my favorite moments!

Here is a picture of the room with the dresses of each mother and grandmother in it- how awesome is that?! P.S. I think the lace sleeves are going to make their way back into the wedding style world sometime sooner than we think!

Again Megan, great job with the hat groom's cake idea!! The hat bill was even torn up like his... Amazing work by The Baking Grounds Bakery!

Reception pictures are so much fun to take, mostly because there are so many priceless moments to capture.  The picture below was Megan and Stephen with Megan's dad, all hugging and talking to each other.  Love it.

One of the best things to see is a bride and groom having a moment on the dance floor surrounded by so many people yet totally into each other as if no one else is watching (except the creepy girl with the camera...That's me!) A lovely evening with a lovely couple who are totally in love.  Congratulations Megan and Stephen!