aiken wedding photography

Darren & Phoebe

 

It’s not every day that we can talk about one of our couples meeting through ultimate frisbee but, that’s exactly how these two met which is so cool! We got to meet up with Darren and Phoebe for their engagement session a few months ago which you can see here. We talked some about the wedding day and getting to know them a little as well as getting into the swing of posing and having fun taking photos for the wedding day at the Big Red Barn in Aiken, SC.

Once the wedding day arrived, we showed up to Darren putting out a bunch of the decor and then playing a little bit of Cornhole with his Groomsmen. We made our way in to get the details from the Bride’s suite and to say hey. Rachel from the Darling Loft Salon was working her magic doing Phoebe’s makeup as we walked in and we grabbed the small container that the Bride had full of details for us already and went out to photograph it all. She had stamps and extra flower stems that just made the flat lay so cute and easy to put together. Once we finished that, we grabbed the dress to photograph before splitting off for some venue details and then the guys and girls getting ready. The guys were ready pretty quickly so we took them outside to do their group photos and made some jokes before getting them back inside to take the girls out of the other side of the building. With such a small and close group of friends, we were able to do everything super quickly and have them inside waiting as guests arrived for the ceremony. Once everyone made their way down the aisle, Darren got to see his Bride for the first time coming to him and you could tell he was super happy and excited for that moment. Once they exchanged their vows and rings, they sealed it all with a kiss then made their way back up the aisle as husband and wife. Being that it was an intimate wedding, they formed a line to welcome everyone into the reception before making their way back for all of the formal photos. We ended up having such a great sunset to work with for their couples photos and we even finished earlier than expected with a ton of good photos so they sat down for a bit before entering the reception. Once they were being announced into the reception, everyone cheered and went to sit down and eat before getting into their dances, a few toasts and cake cutting. Once it was dark and most of the formalities were finished, the night was full of dancing, drinks and a bouquet toss. Morgan even got out to do the Macarena and a few other dances just for fun and then as our night came to a close, we did just a few more photos with Darren and Phoebe as a close to the night and just used one of our lights to back light them out in the field where the ceremony was. It was such a joy to help tell their story and we’re excited for what is yet to come for this sweet couple.

 

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - The Big Red Barn

Catering/Flowers: Berry's Catering

Hair & Makeup - The Darling Loft Salon

DJ: DJ Lightstream

Officiant: Mel Minitor

Cake: Hey Honey! Cakery

Dress: David's Bridal

Suits: Men's Wearhouse

Arthur & Eryn

 

We got to meet Arthur and Eryn at New Moon Cafe what feels like 2 years ago now but we knew right away that we were going to love this wedding day. They had a lot of Lord of the Rings and Nordic themes for decor and not only are we big Lord of the Rings nerds among a lot of other things that we found we have in common but, we absolutely love animals and any chance for animals to be involved in a wedding day is pretty much the best wedding day ever. Being that this was on their own horse farm with two dogs, three horses and a bunch of goats and donkeys. We were having a great time and so inspired by everything that they had for decor. The first thing we were greeted by when finding their home was the big sign with an Elven style quote/play on words with a sign from Lord of the Rings and Morgan’s eyes literally lit up. We pulled into the property and were greeted by Arthur and his best man and given the run down of the space and animals before heading inside with the girls. After seeing how we wanted to setup for some of the video and live stream in the ceremony space, we went in to say hey to Eryn and her girls. We quickly started on details of her dress in their bedroom to keep it close and away from the groom and also photographed some of the flat lay details that we took to the stables. Fast forward a bit and everyone is dressed and ready to start the ceremony so we started the live stream and said hello to the viewers. Everyone made their way out of the gate and to their spots smiling from ear to ear and then the bride made her entrance riding her horse Titus. They built a stare set for her to dismount and walk the aisle with her father the rest of the way and everything went flawlessly. We also would like to add that as soon as she came around the corner, a few of the animals decided to cheer them on and it was both hilarious and adorable. She walked down the aisle and Arthur had a huge smile the entire time. In the ceremony they had their families and officiant provide the three strands of rope symbolically for a cord of three strands which we loved witnessing. Once they exchanged their vows and rings then sealed the ceremony with a kiss, they made their way back up the aisle as husband and wife. Eryn went ahead and started mounting Titus again so we could get some photos with the horses quickly and have the handlers feed them.

We finished photos with the horses and headed over to where we had the family go for family formals and began to go through the list we had specific to the day and photographed them all and had a lot of good laughs during. As soon as we finished and dismissed family to go over to the reception, we did a few with the full bridal party and then straight into the couples portraits. We ended the couples portraits right next to the huge bonfire near the reception and then it was time for everyone to go eat and be merry for a while. Everyone got to enjoy the amazing food that Cordially Invited provided before getting to some toasts, cake cutting and a beautiful moment where Eryn surprised one of her bridesmaids by handing her the bouquet instead of throwing it. The night ended for us with beautiful dances and everyone enjoying each others company lit by fire and the moon which felt like the perfect way to end with their families that night as we made our way back home. We so look forward to seeing what the future holds for these two and their families (including the animals).

 

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - Private Residence

Flowers - DIY with Sola Wood Flowers

Dress - House of the Bride

Suits - International Formalwear in Augusta

Rings - Hers (Helzberg Diamonds) His (Revolution Jewelry)

Cake - Robyn’s Nest Custom Bakery

Catering - Cordially Invited

Rentals - Allstar Tents & Events

Devin and Valerie

 

Devin and Valerie were a last minute due to Covid-19 situation and we got to hop on a zoom meeting to meet Valerie a few weeks before and could tell that we would love being a part of their wedding day already. Having not even met Devin yet, once we met on the wedding day he was super kind and so happy so we thoroughly enjoyed the wedding day with them both. It was such beautiful weather and a nice cool breeze blew through on their hilltop ceremony at the Big Red Barn in Aiken.

We started the day with details as we always do and grabbed her beautiful dress from Elegant Bridals to adventure out and find the spot we wanted to hang the dress and landed on the big sliding barn door. We photographed all of the venue and reception details also as well as a few getting ready shots with the guys. Before too long, it was close to time for the ceremony and the guests waited in the shade before going to their seats. Once everyone started heading that way and everyone made their way down the aisle to the music, the bride was brought over on the golf cart to make her entrance. It was such a beautiful and intimate ceremony and once they said their I-do’s they kissed and happily made their way back up the aisle together as husband and wife!

We then knocked out the few family formals and bridal party photos before venturing around the property a little more with the couple for their romantic sunset photos. We had some good laughs and did a few bridal portraits as well towards the end and then headed back to the barn for their entrance and dances. After that everyone hopped into line at the buffet for their dinner. We actually got to sit across from some friends of friends to talk over dinner and also met the mother a groom that we will be photographing next September which was a fun small world scenario! Shortly after dinner, they grabbed their champagne glasses and headed to the champagne fountain for the toast and cake cutting. After that all that was left was the bouquet and garter tosses which as seen in the photos, had a lot of anticipation and were hilarious! All of that was done in a 5 hour time span and we had time at the end to get a photo with their truck that they would be driving away in later on. Once we finished those shots, we said our goodbyes and congratulated them and wished them safe travels for their honeymoon! We are so excited for this sweet couples and cannot wait to see what the next chapter holds for their lives together!

 
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Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - The Big Red Barn

Dress - Elegant Bridals

Cake - Glaze’n Cake Studio