celebrate with cake

Jamie & Amber

 

We had the joy of photographing this sweet couple’s engagement session last Fall which you can see here. That session was at the venue as well as the Bridal session we did more recently for Amber as well which we will hopefully share here soon as well. Enough about that though, this beautiful day took place at Vows & Venue in Harlem, Ga with an amazing team of vendors and the sweetest couple with the sweetest family and friends surrounding them as well.

The day itself was full of a ton of beautiful moments with a bunch of matching pj’s with the girls and babies all over the place which is the way to our heart already. Once we finished details and some photos for the girls in the pjs, it was time for Amber to hop into her dress and at the same time, our third shooter Tom was also with the guys and we made sure to say hey while the girls were all getting dressed as well as photographing and filming some of the venue space. Amber was finished getting into her beautiful dress so we setup for the first looks with her girls, her Dad and then her Brother which all three had such completely different emotions but they were all beautiful and special. Before we knew it, it was time for them to tie the knot so we made our way out and setup everything we needed and mic’d Jamie up. The joy was all over Jamie when he saw his Bride. It was a beautiful ceremony with a gorgeous field as the backdrop as well as the arbor that Jamie built giving such a nice personal touch which we took advantage of as soon as they said their I do’s and sealed it all with a kiss. We started with family photos and then wedding party photos then ended with just the two newly weds first at the arbor then out into the field behind.

Then it was reception time and guests were finishing up enjoying cocktail hour and some of the photobooth from our friends at Southeastern exposure just outside of the barn. It started with a roaring crowd cheering the entire wedding party and Bride and Groom into their first dance as well as the Father-Daughter and Mother-Son dances. From there we did the cake cutting and they enjoyed their first custom mixed drink really quick after but from there, we start to really get some plot twists into the mix. They did the bouquet and garter tosses and danced a little, then all of the sudden a table is pulled into the middle of the dance floor for a wedding party edition of flip cup where the girls got to enjoy a devastating victory of the guys. That was also followed up shortly by the shoe game and then a Bride and Groom dance off with cash prizes being thrown at them judged by the cheering of their loved ones. Then it was an open dance floor most of the rest of the night and some people retreated to keep score of the Georgia game that night while others were also enjoying some slow dancing as couples including the private dance for Jamie and Amber before the exit. Then they actually did a fake exit with all I can explain as streamer but also with a hint of like teepeeing the couple since you had to throw them a little but, they looked so cool and all stayed attached so it was a quick and easy clean up so 10/10 would recommend. Everyone then made their way back in slowly to the dance floor and one of the Jr. Bridesmaids gifted Jamie and Amber with the baseball from the game where Jamie proposed to Amber which was so special and Jamie legitimately looked shocked and they loved the gift which, outside of more dancing and cute baby stuff, was the last major event of the night for us so, as things were winding down, we hugged Amber and congratulated them again! They’re such a great couple and I know they have such a great future ahead of them and we’re super excited to see what lies ahead for them!

 

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Flowers On Broad - Flowers

Kathy Clements - Catering

Celebrate with Cake - Cake

Brantley Sound Services - DJ

Tracy Yahn Events - Planner

Dahlia Salon and Spa

Reagan Michele MUA

Rentals: Ranco Event Rentals

Dress: Tiffinie Bleu Bridal Boutique

Tux: Simon's Formal Wear Augusta

Austin & Rachael

 

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!

 
Augusta Wedding Photographer

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - Ashton Cole Place

Dress - Elegant Bridals

Girl’s Dresses - David’s Bridal

Men’s Attire - Men’s Wearhouse

Invitations - Zola

Caterer - BBQ Barn

Coordinator - Yohe and Co. Events

Florist - HoneyComb Florals

Gabby Padgett: makeup and hair

Cake - Celebrate with Cake

DJ - Raymond Thompkins

Garrett & Lindsey

 

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

Miguel & Taylor

 

First of all, props to Miguel for the really cool proposal in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. That was one of the awesome stories that we got to hear when we had our initial meeting with this couple back in December of last year. All of the details lined up to be beautiful and right up our alley so we knew that this day and couple would bring us a ton of joy from the very start. The big day took place at one of our favorite local venues as well, White Oak Road Farm in Appling, GA. Now that we’ve set the scene a little bit, let’s talk about the beautiful wedding day.

As mentioned above, it was all at the same venue and the ceremony was scheduled to start at 4:30 but we started our day with them right around 2 PM and started off straight into photographing details after saying hey to Taylor. We got to work with one of our favorite local florists, Honeycomb Florals and she even had some extra flowers and stems for us to have with detail photos (she is literally the best). Once we got all of the smaller details finished and it was time to photograph the dress, we had to move some family around inside the main house to avoid them seeing the dress too early and then set it up up stairs carefully to be photographed. From there, Morgan and I split up and I went with the guys to get just a little bit of them getting ready and take them outside for their group photos. Miguel and his guys were all hilarious and so we were pretty quick once everyone was ready and had a good time just before sending them back inside to blockade so we could bring Taylor and her girls outside for their group photos but first thing was first, the Bridesmaids reveal and Father/Daughter 1st look. We had all of the girls in place and then brought Taylor out to fluff the dress and make sure everyone was ready and then as soon as they all turned, they lost it pretty quickly and I don’t think anyone was prepared for the happy tears to start (they pretty much kept going for the rest of the day until the reception). Once Taylor wiped a few tears and was ready, we brought her Dad out for their first look next. We love these moments because you never know what the reaction will be but it’s always super sweet and wholesome but, Steve lost it when he saw his little girl in her dress and we’re not going to even lie, we had to wipe a few tears ourselves after that beautiful moment. We all quickly pulled ourselves together once finished hugging and then all of the girls came outside for their photos with the Bride and then were on our way to the ceremony to get ready as they all lined up. It was here that we got to meet the Officiant, Nick, and figure out our angles of coverage and see what to expect with the Sun setting to the right of the ceremony and before we knew it, Grandparents were making their way down the hill. Once everyone made their way to the ceremony accompanied by the hilarious cheering of a relative, Miguel was facing away until his Bride made it the start of the aisle. He did a great job of holding it together up until the moment that she was being handed off by her Dad which is where he let some of those tears out but, the pure joy all over the entire ceremony was contagious. They exchanged beautiful vows that made us wish we were doing a video for them and everyone was crying until the moment where Nick uttered those magical words, “You may kiss your bride”. They had tied the knot officially and made their way back up the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Lantigua. It’s in this moment where we start gearing up for the family, bridal party and couples photos as soon as the guests have all or mostly made their way to the reception. We quickly got the families to the reception after their photos were finished and then the same with the wedding party. It was at this point that we did a few of just the couple near the ceremony site before taking a golf cart down the hill to the pond for a few more. We always love this part of the day and are always honored to be a part of some of the first quiet moments for the newlyweds before going into the reception and seeing the joy and love in their interactions. Being that the Sun sets at 5:30 this time of the year, it began getting dark pretty quickly so we finished off with just a few bridal portraits before getting back on the golf cart and taken to the reception where Taylor would have her dress bustled for the introductions and dances. Once the wedding party had all danced their way into the reception, the whole place erupt with cheering as the newlyweds were announced in and they went straight into their first dance. That was followed by the Father/Daughter dance and Mother/Son dance which were all so incredibly sweet and full of these tiny little moments of loving embraces or tears of joy being shared which led to everyone basically having a hand full of tissues coming off the dance floor.

It was officially that time of the night where the DJ gets to take over and everyone gets to eat some delicious food which is exactly what happened but in a way that you don’t normally see because the two were intertwined in a way we hadn’t seen before. With the okay from the Bride and Groom of course, Kelly (the coordinator and second half of the DJ team) got to take over the mic and have people perform for their dinner as a fun game. That was either singing or dancing and this was probably due to knowing that they had so much talent in the venue that night because we saw everything from an acapella group to and operatic singer to many talented dancers and sweet couples enjoying a quick slow dance. Once everyone was finishing enjoying their delicious meal, we got to check out the photobooth setup outside that was gifted by the Mother of the Bride and not only was it really cool but, Leigh Zurek who runs Southeastern Exposure was an absolute joy to meet. From here we made our way back inside for a little bit of dancing and then cutting the cake/toasts. The toasts were full of many laughs and some tears and super heartfelt gestures which we loved getting to capture. During the night we also came to the Bouquet and Garter toss moments and another surprise and hilarious moment was during the Garter removal where a bunch of different people came out of the crowd with a “key to Miguel’s place” to release him of any worry and there’s so many funny moments here that we couldn’t possibly share all of them without this being one of the longest blogs ever photo wise. After that the party got started and everyone was dancing for a while before arriving to a special couples dance to see who had been married the longest. As the night was slowly winding down, we had a huge sparkler line heading out of the front door going up the hill to do a send off followed by going right back inside to the party because they weren’t actually leaving yet. Other than seeing so much fun being had dancing and the newlyweds being covered with love, the last event of our night before leaving was one that is hard to put into words. A bridesmaid had planned to get into a hot dog costume and surprise Taylor on the dance floor for one last funny moment to capture. So if you had already left at this point and are reading this, you missed out and will have to look out for Taylor sharing those photos here soon! It was an absolute honor to be a part of the joyous day and we know without a doubt that the Lantigua family has big things ahead for them and we couldn’t be more excited to see what happens next!