bella faccia — Beauty & Beard PhotographyBlog

Not only did we love this wedding day as our last wedding of 2021, we got to work with some of our favorite vendors and an amazing couple. It took place at SRP Park in North Augusta, SC and we got to work with H|A Wedding Planner for the first time even though we’ve known and wanted to work with her for a while.

The wedding day itself started with us parking in a parking garage and finding the correct entrance to get to the room the girls were getting ready in and grab all of the details we needed to photograph. Once we got there and said hey and grabbed the details, Heather showed us the layout of the wedding day and we made our way down to the where the ceremony would be held (3rd base area), and Morgan got started on the details while I helped our third shooter Tom get into the park as well as go meet up with the guys and have Garrett read his private vows for the highlight film. Once we finished that we took the Father of the Bride over to the front gate for his first look with his Daughter. Once he was in place, Lindsey started coming around the corner so we got them in place before backing off and letting them have the moment which ended up being a lot less about the words and more about the tears and hugs and made for a great moment where her Sister and Mom were even tearing up behind us watching. From there we went straight to get Garrett in place out on the field for their first look as well and I mic’d him up quickly then we made our way out of the tunnel onto the field and had him facing away and swapped sides for them so we could get everything with the stands in the background. Once he turned around, he kept smiling and holding his Bride to be. Once they had finished their moment together, we started taking a little more posed photos and also got the wedding party onto the field to get their photos. Before we knew it, guests started showing up so we needed to hide everyone away to line up for the ceremony. We were worried about the chance of rain that we had but it held off through the entire ceremony until we got to the reception but, it did start to get cloudy half way into the ceremony. Once everyone was in place and found their seat, the music started and they all made their way down. Garrett and the officiant came out of the tunnel onto the field after the first few family members were seated and then the wedding party came out. The Bride and her Dad shared one last private hug before it was their turn to go down the stairs and the smiles they shared in the little bit of space before the stairs were so sweet. Once they made it to the stairs, I grabbed a few photos of them going down from behind before getting out of the way for Tom and Morgan to get their shots as well while I checked on the extra camera recording the ceremony quickly before returning to photograph the hand off. The ceremony itself was fairly short and sweet with a beautiful moment of communion as their first act as a married couple which we always love. Once they made everything official and finished communion, they went into a cool and elaborate hand shake before sharing their first kiss. Once they made their way up the stairs, we had some more family photos to do so we got a few that we didn’t get before the ceremony on the field and then one more with Lindsey’s Grandmother up the stairs before heading off to the reception.

Now that it was time for the reception and we had already sent Tom off to photograph everything before guests arrived, we could hop straight into it pretty quick but had to wait and get the guests out on the tent covered patio for the announcements. It was about this time that the sky started falling and the tent was shaking which made us nervous but, luckily it was tied down super well. Everyone came out with a little dance and surrounded the dance floor as the newlyweds started their first dance. It was so sweet and we love getting to shoot inside of White tents because it helps bounce our flash super well and we have a lot of flexibility with that. They also did the Father Daughter dance where Lindsey’s Dad picked her up at one point and it was super sweet. Then the Mother and Son dance which was also super sweet. Once all of the dances were finished, it was time for everyone to eat so we all went inside for the blessing and a quick speech. After dinner, we walked around with the couple table to table to take some photos and then there were toasts before they signed the marriage license. At this point, it became party time and we had already done the cake cutting so, everyone made their way outside to dance or watch but, it was a ton of fun even with the rain. Eventually we came to a point where they were ready to go and wanted to share one last dance privately before the exit so, they did just that and it made for such a sweet moment that I didn’t even want to disturb so I took just a few photos and a video or two and got ready inside where everyone was already lined up for the glow stick exit. They stopped to kiss twice and everyone was cheering which made it super fun. The limo driver was there at the end of the line to take them out with the umbrella so, we followed them down the elevator and outside to the limo through the pouring rain and it actually was a lot of fun. The limo driver offered for us to take a few photos of them through the opened privacy window (is that what you call it?) so I snagged a few and said goodbye before running back inside to dry off everything a little. We then got to say goodbye to the family and vendors which is always such a great moment and we even got some uplifting compliments that warmed our hearts as we packed up to leave. We cannot wait to see what this next season has in store for the Wilkinsons as they start their adventure together officially and are so excited for what 2022 holds now that we’re here!

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue: SRP Park - North Augusta, SC

Wedding Planner @professionalweddingplanner
Entertainment @amplifiedeventsaug
Florist @florologie
Cake @diannahall
Bride Beauty + Wedding party Hair @bellafacciallc
Makeup @courtneycoffeycolor
Rentals @rancoeventrentals
Brides Fashion @bridalsbylori
Wedding party fashion @davidsbridal
Mens fashion @charlestontuxedo
Couples rings @windsorfinejewelers

We had the honor of meeting Matt and Lauren via Zoom back in March to learn more about their beautiful day and got to hear the story of how he proposed. They went horseback riding in Wyoming at the Grand Teton National Park and with the beautiful mountains in the background he proposed to her (She said yes obviously and also, So beautiful). We also learned about their garden box that they had made together which makes their wedding favors even more beautiful (you will understand when you see the pictures just below). We knew right away that this would be a wedding day for the books and that we would fall in love with this couple and their families. It was such a perfect day so, let’s hop into the wedding day!

It started with us making our way up stairs to say hey and grabbing the details to photograph while we had our third shooter Tom doing a little bit of the getting ready photos. It was in this moment that we met the florist “Mindy” who it turns out was out of Dublin, GA where I grew up for some of the earlier parts of my life. Once we finished with the details, Tom was down the hill with the guys as they got ready and hung out mostly then we had Lauren’s mom finish up the last bit of the dress before taking all of the girls down to the garden for their group photos. Once we had were all there and having fun taking the group photos, Kyle (the DJ) had just finished setting up so he gave us some good posing/walking music which made for a super fun moment. Once all of the girls made it back upstairs, we grabbed the guys for their group photos which, if you look at the photos, they’re a great looking and hilarious group of guys. We also learned that we shared in a love for Lord of the Rings and that he’s a huge Wrestling fan which explains the reception photos later that are in place of a typical garter toss moment where the guys all hyped him up to receive his Championship Belt. Once the guys went back inside, we found ourselves ahead of schedule so we enjoyed a glass of water really quick and made our way back up the hill to get ready for the ceremony.

Rose Hill is such a beautiful wedding venue and has a lot to offer like even the ability to use the chapel as the location for everyone to come out of going to the ceremony in the gazebo garden ceremony location. Once everyone was in place, the bride made her way out of the Chapel and up the path to where Matt could finally see his Bride and, he held it together pretty well for a minute but finally gave in as they got closer and it was a beautiful moment of seeing the looks they exchanged during the handoff and ceremony. They had such a lovely ceremony and the officiant prayed a beautiful prayer over them as well. Once they had said their I-do’s, the words every groom can’t wait to hear “You may kiss your bride” was spoken and everyone cheered. They joyfully made their way back to the chapel as husband and wife as well as the rest of the family and bridal party as the staff broke down the ceremony chairs and everyone else made their way to cocktail hour on the other side of the gardens. It was at this time that we started with the family formals, full wedding party and couples portraits which we went through pretty quickly even dealing with some difficult light from the sun peaking through which ended with us moving to the other side of the gazebo but having many more beautiful photos there including the wedding party photos and a few of the couple before whisking them away to other beautiful locations around the venue. There was a funny moment where we needed to walk across gravel but the bride didn’t have her shoes so the groom gave her his and he went to get hers as we made our way to the fountain which was our last location before the bride bustled her dress and they made their entrance to the reception.

Once in place, Kyle announced everyone into the reception and they are all so great but there were too many funny photos to not make this the largest blog post without leaving some off so, we decided to save that for the bride and groom to share when they get their full set soon. Once they had all danced their way into the reception, there was a beautiful speech given to lead into dinner. Once dinner had ended, it was dark out and everyone gathered for the toasts. Words cannot describe how amazing and unique to each individual the toasts were but when going through the photos to choose some for this blog. They all had tears and smiles at one point and ended with a big hug so, in their own way whether it be beautiful sentiment, a poem or amazing stories shared together, all hit home perfectly. After the toasts and cake cutting were all finished, we all made our way inside for their first dance, father-daughter and mother-son dances. They even did their first dance twice almost and it was just as good the second time even. Once they had all shared in loving glances and conversations during the dances, the dj got the entire wedding party out on the dance floor and had them pull more people out to start the party which started off strong and somehow carried the perfect amount of energy all the way to the exit. Kyle even hopped out with everyone on the dance floor for some of the line dances and made it even more fun. Once it was getting a bit later, it was time to toss the bouquet which ended with a little competitive catching and then went into the moment we mentioned earlier of all of the guys hyping Matt up to receive his Championship Wrestling Belt. There was then a little more dancing and party before everyone got ready for the sparkler exit starting by the gate to the property up the driveway ending the night of a great and joyful moment sending everyone off with the memories of this perfect wedding day. We are so excited for this couple and just know that great things lie ahead for the Cromer family.