So David & Drew are the absolute sweetest couple. When we met with them and learned about their story we connected right away. They met in Highschool in Jacksonville, Fl but didn’t start dating until College. Their love of board games, movies, outdoors and growing love brought them to the proposal in North Carolina in a cabin while listening to their song “For the dancing and the dreaming” which then led us to meeting them in person near Asheville, NC for this engagement session at Max Patch to see of the first snow of the Winter in 2023. It was absolutely freezing but such a fun little hike and absolutely gorgeous view of the mountains from the top.
David & Drew
We cannot say enough about both David and Drew or their wedding day at one of our all time favorites, Windsor Manor. We met with them back in June of last year and hit it off super quickly and since then, we have hiked up a mountain near Asheville, NC at Max Patch to see some of the first snow of the year for their engagement session which was freezing cold so you can only imagine that it was a great bonding experience as well and we got to laugh about a ton too. Fast forward to their wedding day back in Georgia and it was a gorgeous wedding day that felt like a fun garden party with pops of purple everywhere. Not to mention, these two have hearts of absolute GOLD and their friends and family were all so much fun to get to know and celebrate on the day with.
The wedding day itself started with saying hey as usual and grabbing details to make flat lays as well while I run off to do venue photo and video. Then as Drew slipped into her dress, she did a reveal with her girls before starting to write down her vows into the notebook from what she had typed out on her phone. The guys were also getting ready and David was also copying over his vows around this time and as soon as he finished that, we went outside for their first look. Once he turned around, these two shared such a sweet moment as well as their personal vows in such an intimate setting and it was one of the many highlights of the day for us to be a part of. We then had the wedding party come outside and started doing the wedding party and some of the couples portraits which led us up to getting ready for the ceremony while they were tucked away inside.
During the ceremony, they shared their vows in front of everyone as well as rings and more vows then shared the meaning of a Ukrainian tradition while David’s Brother explained that the first person to step becomes the leader of the household but they both stepped at the same time to show that they actually share that role. They were then announced as Husband and Wife and made their way up the aisle over to the side for family photos while everyone else got to go enjoy cocktail hour. We then finished the family photos, started doing wedding party and couples portraits with a little snack in between as well before bustling the dress for the reception entrances.
As the reception started, there were already fun moments where David’s Babushka was dancing already and having a great time but then the dance floor cleared for the entrances for the wedding party starting off dinner which also led into toasts, first dance, Mother-Daughter and Mother-Son dances followed by their first fight where they brought out swords and had a short fun sword fight. Throughout the rest of the night, the dance floor was full most of the time as well as the cake cutting, shoe game, drinks and bubbles out on the dance floor leading into their big bubble exit. It turned out that some of the wedding party just so happened to have extra bubble guns as well and we had some extra batteries so, there A LOT of bubbles and it was super fun. We know the future will prove to be beautiful for these two and are so excited for the Zhukov family!
Vendors List
Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto
Venue: Windsor Manor
Dress - Azazie
Bridesmaids Dresses - Azazie
Rings - Manly Bands(Groom), Shane Co, (Wedding and engagement band), Diamonds Direct (Diamond)
Invitations - Zola
Men's Attire - Men's Wearhouse
DJ - DJ Reach
Caterer + Bartender - Creative Moment Catering
Cakes + Dessert - A Piece of Cake Bakery
Patrick & Michelle Destination Wedding
Here is a great example of what to do when your wedding day has to change due to a pandemic! They had their closest friends and family go to Saint Simons for a gorgeous destination wedding and will have their full wedding day and party with more guests next year as they had originally intended and it’s what dreams are made of!
We drove down the night before and stayed in a hotel to wake up early and go to the King and Prince Resort where Michelle was getting ready on site in the Wesley Cottage. We were there for the last few touches and then she hopped into her dress to go meet her soon to be groom for their first look on the beach. It was just down the sidewalk so we made our way over and I (Jordan) ran ahead to get Patrick in place on the beach without them seeing each other. Once we all got out there, we set them up and let them have their moment of seeing each other for the first time all dressed up for the wedding and it was so cute. Not to mention it was gorgeous beach surrounding them which made our job a lot easier. Once they let us know they were ready to take some of their couples photos, we hopped straight into a few poses and some fun ideas that we had talked about beforehand. We explored a few more ideas for photos on the way to the venue and then got them back inside to cool off before the ceremony started.
The ceremony music starts and everyone walks the aisle to beautiful worship music and ocean waves in the background. Then the bride walks out and everyone stands to see her and the groom’s father walking from a different different door and making their way to the aisle. Patrick had a huge smile on his face watching his bride come down the aisle and once they were their, both of their mothers read scripture out loud followed by a few words and then the symbolic pouring of sand into a vase that they would keep as a reminder of God’s place in their marriage. They then exchanged their vows and rings surrounded by palm trees and their loved ones tying the knot and the sealing it with a kiss. They were finally announced as husband and wife and made their way back up the aisle hand in hand to go straight over into their first dance with everyone surrounding them. We have to admit that not enough first dances are done with the beach in the background. As they finished up their beautiful dance, everyone cheered and we hopped straight into photos with everyone and everyone had fun with it and we finished up fairly quickly and let everyone else go back inside to cool off as we ran all around the resort with Patrick and Michelle to take some more photos before we left to drive back home. There is no shortage of gorgeous areas in the resort to take photos and we had so much fun running around with them. We ended our time with them by having them repeat their dance one more time in this stunning room full of symmetry and gorgeous columns on both sides of them. After they did their last dip kiss, we headed out for them to go to their reception back at the Wesley Cottage where the day started and we congratulated them and started our drive back home. We are so excited for this happy couple and to see what their marriage and ministries will produce in the future. Not to mention part 2 of the wedding next year!
Vendors List
Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto
Venue - King and Prince Resort
Dress - J. Andrew’s Bridal
Flowers - Honeycomb Florals
Bride’s Ring - Harlin Diamonds
Men’s Attire - Men’s Wearhouse
Groom’s Ring - Blue Nile
Caterer - Front Porch Catering