garden gathered flowers and events — Beauty & Beard PhotographyBlog

We had the joy of meeting up with Jason and Alyssa for their engagement session back in the Fall of 2020. You can see that session here. We got to learn about the amazing work that they both do and even get a good feel for their fun sense of humor. Fast forward to the wedding day at one of our favorites, Windsor Manor in Augusta, GA. Every time we shoot a wedding there, I swear Ian has done something new again and we get to try out new things and this was no exception!

On the wedding day, we arrived early to start on details as we normally do and got to meet up with the guys for a bit since the girls were showing up already hair and makeup ready to go. Once we said hey and the girls arrived, we split up to cover details and some different venue shots. Morgan stayed with the girls and got to capture this super sweet gift that Alyssa’s Mom gave to her (pictured below) and they had a super sweet moment. At the same time, I was in the room with the guys getting ready and joking around before heading out to do their group photos. I had our third shooter Tom with me outside and we had a great time getting to know everyone a little more. We quickly finished up the group and individual photos with the guys and then just a few of Jason by himself before sending them back up to their room so we can get the girls to do the same thing. In the process of Alyssa finishing up getting ready, her Dad snuck into the room and we had a bit of a surprise first look that went perfectly as he may or may not have shed a few tears and we may or may not have as well. Once that amazing moment had passed, we took the girls outside to do their group photos before getting ready for the first look. We had everyone outside to watch from a distance for the first look and I ran to get Jason from inside and also to mic him for the first look. Once we had him in place for the first look, we moved out of the way to capture it and let them have their own moment. It was so sweet, Jason held back tears as much as he could. We then went straight into the full Bridal Party photos and had a few funny ones in there.

Now it was time for the Ceremony and we had set up everything we needed to set up. So we’re photographing guests arriving and then everyone coming down the aisle all the way to the moment where the Bride walks down the aisle. This is one of those perfect scenarios and examples of times where the first look only adds to the day and makes it less stressful but, the moment of the Bride walking down the aisle still has an amazing reaction. Long story short, everyone got teary eyed again and there was so much joy in that garden. Once they exchanged vows and rings, they kissed and with a fun little twist, walked up the aisle with everyone blowing bubbles! Once everyone had made it out, we took care of the family photos with everyone to make sure we got everything and then went around the venue grounds with the newlyweds to do their couples photos which is always fun. We finished those up and then they made their way inside to prepare for their announcement into the reception and first dance. They shared a beautiful slow dance and also the father/daughter and mother/son dances were super sweet. After the dances, they transitioned into the speeches by the Bride’s Father and then Jason’s best man Humberto who we actually have the honor of capturing his wedding day in December. That was also followed by Alyssa’s Matron of Honor, Rebecca who gave an emotional speech to her best friend. From that point on pretty much, the dance floor was open as well as the cake cutting, bouquet toss and garter toss that took place. As the night was winding down and actually dark enough for the exit, we Mike (the DJ) announce to everyone to meet us where we would do the glow stick exit. As everyone was in place, we made our way walking backwards as the happy couple walked in front of us and had them stop and kiss about half way. Everyone was cheering and so happy to be a part of this amazing couple’s wedding day. Once we made it all the way and they kissed one more time, they made their way back over to the dance floor and we made our way to parking lot. It was such a fun wedding and we felt like we were just an extension of the bridal party most of the day. We are so happy for them and look forward to catching up in December at Humberto and Teresa’s wedding day.

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - Windsor Manor

Catering- Silver palm

Dress- Elegant Bridals

DJ - Magic Sounds Production (DJ Magic Mike)

Florist- Rachel Frisell (Garden Gathered Flowers)

Another case of rescheduling done right during Covid-19 times! You may remember this couple from their dreamy engagement session in Jekyll Island which you can see here. That was in September of 2019 and they originally planned to hold the ceremony at another one of our favorite local venues, Quinney Oaks but then set their eyes on Enterprise for this year when everything had to change and we have to say, it turned out perfectly! We haven’t been to Enterprise photographing a wedding in a while so there’s even been some changes since we were last there on the bridal suite side of things. Once we found out where we were going, we started with details and talking with all of the girls to see how their day has been thus far. The dress from Tiffinie Bleu Bridal is just dreamy and perfect for Kayla and that’s where we started so that we could have it done and ready if she needed to get into it. We also did some fun photos with the girls in their robes before leaving them to finish getting ready and dressed to visit the guys and catch up with Ben a little bit. They were at the perfect point of getting ready to where we could just start photographing them and head straight out to do their group photos quickly. We have to say that Ben’s guys kept us laughing a good bit and it’s always fun to have those types of interactions through the whole day keeping everyone laughing and enjoying even the in between moments. As we finished up with the guys, the bride’s father showed up perfectly on time for us to get her ready for the first look with him downstairs in the hall. They shared such a sweet moment and then I walked back with Kayla’s dad to get Ben ready for the bride and groom first look. While we were doing that, Morgan captured some sweet moments with Kayla and her mom “Connie” exchanging gifts and cards.

Now once we found the spot that would be decent light but also somewhat hidden away, we set up the bride and groom’s first look and well…you can see for yourself that they were very happy to see each other and it was super sweet. While we had the two of them, we went off for a few minutes to do some couples portraits all around the property and recreated some of their favorite old photos even. Then they went to take a moment and everyone was showing up for the ceremony so we got in our places and mic’d Ben for their ceremony film so they had good audio. From there on, it was smooth sailing and all smiles for literally everyone taking in the ceremony and seeing all of their loved ones around them while they exchanged their vows underneath the chandelier and floral decor. Once they said their I do’s (they had done this once together due to the reschedule), they kissed and made their way happily up the aisle together. They took a right at the bell and we all made our way to do family and bridal party photos quickly before heading to the reception. Once we got into the reception, we photographed the details quickly and said hey to our friends at Amplified Events as we always leave our bags behind their booth and have always loved working with their team closely! Once everyone got settled in and the couple was ready, everyone got announced into the reception with a fun entrance into the couple’s first dance. Then they went straight into the father/daughter and mother/son dances where you can just feel the proud parent emotions from the other side of the room. Next, we cut the cake and opened up the dance floor where a family friend that does dance instructing got to share a dance with the bride’s mother and bring some others to the dance floor as well. At that point, it was perfectly timed for us to go do some sunset photos with the couple as well and boy were they dreamy. We even had some of the tour ferries coming back in as we made our way up that turned out to have some of our dear friends who were married at Enterprise on it (we didn’t find out until later when we saw them) and that made for a very nice surprise on our part!

The night approached and it was time for the other half of the reception to start up (you know the part with the lights, smoke and a lot of dancing). So we started with the bouquet and garter tosses then toasts to kick off the rest of the festivities. No sooner than everyone putting down their glasses after the final toast did the dance floor open up and the photobooth fill up. We split up and watched the night unravel until it was almost time for the exit which would be done with dried flower petals that were placed into very cute little boxes for everyone. Once everyone was lined up and their signs they had made for the end of the exit were in place, we started our way with flower petals flying everywhere and they shared a kiss at the end just before hopping into their getaway SUV. The bride shared a few hugs with her parents and everyone waved as they drove away into the night which then ended our night as well. We headed back inside to pack up and say bye to our friends at Amplified and then said bye to Connie and everyone else that we could find before heading back home ourselves. It was literally a perfect wedding day and even further proves that even in times like these, good things are still worth the wait. I don’t know that you could have asked for more perfect weather and a happier wedding day celebration. We’re excited to see what the Dieterich’s have ahead of them!