bbq barn — Beauty & Beard PhotographyBlog

Back in the Spring, we had the chance to meet up with Andrew and Samantha in person for the first time at their engagement session which you can see here. It was so much fun and the fact that we were able to include their sweet pup Stevie which you will notice he shows up in some details in the wedding since he stayed home on the big day. The wedding day itself took place at one of our favorites, Windsor Manor, where we got married back in 2018 ourselves and every time we get to visit, it’s so special and we have such a kinship with the couples in having similar taste already and this couple is just so sweet and we have loved the entire process of getting ready for this wedding day with them!

The wedding day itself started with us showing up and saying hey to Samantha and everyone getting ready in the bridal suite and then gathering details to photograph which is also where we got to formally meet the coordinator Justine as well and she helped even with some of the details in the midst of juggling doing a ton of other things as well and we loved talking with her. Once we finished with details, we poked our heads back in and said hey to Andrew and his Groom’s team also as they were all showing up. Once everyone was ready, we set up for their first look for photo and video really quick with just Morgan and I covering it. Once they had a short sweet moment together, we hopped straight into some couples portraits before getting the wedding party together and they made their way inside to do one more practice of their first dance together inside which made for a great photo op as well! At that point we also had the finished cake nearby to photograph and some other details then before long it was time to setup for the ceremony and get in place as guests were showing up. As the ceremony started, the song selection was immaculate and a lot of the wedding party danced their way in a little down the aisle which would be better seen in the video later and would have been a ton of photos to include here. From our understanding, this was all a passion project of Samantha’s for the songs and then it switched from the upbeat songs to the beautiful song “Turning Page” by Sleeping at Last as Samantha and her parents came down the aisle and Andrew only got a little misty eyed but had a huge smile on his face which would later change during their vows and the story he told about the courage that Samantha has given him to overcome things in his life and the way that she loves him and really all of the vows and stories were beautiful and I am pretty sure everyone shed a little bit of a single tear at least. As they exchanged all of their vows and rings, they then finished off the ceremony with a kiss and making their way up the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Jones.

After the ceremony, we all met up together to do the family formal photos and full wedding party as well as just a few more couples portraits with the Golden hour light since we were ahead of schedule on everything and then it was time for Samantha’s dress to get bustled so they could make their way to the dance floor for their first dance which was so well done with the Ballroom Dance Center being great dance teachers and it all ended with a nice dip towards everyone at the reception. It was then time for the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dances, a delicious BBQ dinner and then we made it to an open dance floor for a while followed by cake cutting which apparently was something they had been waiting on in excitement for a while in the planning and it turned out beautifully and even had Stevie included in the decor on the cake table. It was worth the wait they said and they had multiple flavors so it was fun to see some guests wait in line for the next layer to get cut instead because they wanted it bad enough. From here, we got back into an open dance floor for the rest of the night and taking photos with the different tables walking around then ended the night with a fun glow stick exit surprise before going back into dance some more where Mike from Magic Sound Productions did an amazing job as always so it was a ton of fun to see him again. From here, it came to time for us to leave and so we got to say goodbye to everyone and congratulate them again. We of course cannot wait to see what the future holds for them and Stevie as they start this new chapter together officially!

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - Windsor Manor

Bride Hair/MUA - Destiny Brees

Day of Coordinator - Justine Bosdell

DJ - Magic Sounds Production DJ Magic Mike

Cake - Sweet April Cakes by Rebekah Thompson

Catering - BBQ Barn

Bartender - Elegant Drinks by Vee

Dress - Elegant Bridals

Groom’s Suit - Simon’s Formal Wear

Austin and Rachael are such a sweet couple and being a part of these moments was such a treasure for us. Not only do we love Ashton Cole Place and the vendor team but, getting to know the family and this couples heart even more made for a day that’s hard to not get attached to.

We actually started the day off by meeting up with my family for an early lunch in Thomson since they are from Washington, GA that’s just around 20 minutes away. After lunch, we made our way to the venue to meet up with Austin first and then say hey to all of the girls with Rachael and get started on details. We always love working with Mallory from Honeycomb Florals as well because she leaves us extra flowers to use for flat lays and things of that nature and basically any time we see her name, we know it’s going to be fun. Once we were finishing up with details, the girls were finishing up and so our third shooter also went with the guys as they were getting ready quickly. As Rachael finished up getting in her dress, Tom and I (Jordan) took Austin to prepare for the first look. Once we knew what angles we wanted, we gave the signal for Morgan to bring Rachael out as well. I cannot wait to share the video of this moment but, you can tell from the photos that it was an emotional and amazing first look and they also exchanged vows there. From there we went straight into the Father-Daughter first look and got him setup with a Mic as well. Here they shared sweet moment near the reception barn before everyone made their way to do some group photos before the ceremony. As guests began to arrive, we finished up quickly and then made our way to the ceremony to setup our other camera and get into position. It’s always fun to play with the dynamics in ceremony spaces but it typically works out to where our third shooter Tom is giving a secondary angle and getting the back of the dress as they pass him and then Morgan and I are at the front capturing everyone in both photo and video as they come down the aisle. Everyone made it into their places perfectly but, a special shout out to the ring bearer for making hilarious faces on the way as well. Now it was time for the Bride to come down the aisle and you could tell how excited and just flat out happy Austin was in that moment knowing that it was really happening. After Rachael’s Dad (Travis) handed her off and gave Austin a big hug, we all had the honor of experiencing a beautiful ceremony that was so graciously led by the officiant. Once they said their vows and sealed everything with a kiss, they made their way back up the aisle hand in hand as Mr. and Mrs. Mejias! We had them stop at the top of the aisle for a quick kiss (long story short, this is a version of one of our favorite photos from our wedding day so we like to do it for our couples). Then we knocked out some beautiful family photos and enjoyed joking with everyone before dismissing everyone to the reception or to meet up with the coordinator for their lineup as we whisked away for couples photos of the Newlyweds. It had rained a little so, we prioritized the beautiful garden areas that were a little more up hill and dry and we were already there so it worked to get a ton of gorgeous photos and get them to their reception quickly as well!

We have to say that, everyone in the wedding party knows how to make an entrance but I think that Carson probably had the most hyped entrance besides the moment that the Bride and Groom came in to “All the way turnt up”. From here they went straight into their dances which one was a surprise to us with a live performance that was beautifully done. From here everyone ate and we eventually came to the Dollar Dance followed by speeches and cake cutting. There were so many emotional high moments in the speeches that trying to type about that would make this much longer of a blog. After the cake cutting, we came to the start of full on party with the bouquet and garter tosses which had some hilarious moments with Travis playing around during Austin taking the garter off and we got to see who was next in line with the Bouquet and Garter as well. Everyone danced their hearts out for quite a long time and then it was time for last dance and then fake send off with sparklers. I think this may have actually been one of the longest lines for sparklers that we’ve seen so, that was really cool to see and made for a bunch of great photos and then as the night continued for a little while longer, we switched up some things camera wise to match the romantic and slow dancing vibe that took place to give a more vintage and bloomy look to the lighting as we got to see all of the happy couples enjoying their night. It was shortly after that we got to say goodbye to the newlyweds and make our way back to Grovetown. We thoroughly enjoyed the honor of being present at this wedding and are super excited for the future of the Mejias family!