tent reception — Beauty & Beard PhotographyBlog

Well, this one is another one close to heart which is crazy that our past 3 blog posts were good friends before. For some perspective, we photographed their best friends’ wedding back in 2017, their whole friend group getting baptized the following year following great loss of their friends and then Matt also went on a mission trip to Haiti with us in 2019. A lot has happened since then that has brought this couple’s family together even still and getting to know we’ve photographed so many big events for their lives is so special but, this day at a friends event property on the Savannah River of course holds such a huge and special place in the list.

The day itself started with us meeting up with Rashelle (our 3rd shooter for the day) and saying hey to everyone. We instantly grabbed details from Anna for photos and I made my way downstairs with the guys for some getting ready photos and once we finished all of those up, we took the dress outside and got to take some adorable photos of their daughters in the dress just before Anna got into the dress as well. As soon as she was in her dress, we got their boys mic’d up and in place for a first look with Anna and honestly the boys are just hilarious in general and their reactions were funny but they still had a loving moment too which then transitioned straight into the next first look with her Step Dad and Brother. It was super sweet and they all shared some great hugs and that was bringing us close to ceremony time but we had one more thing to do which was their first touch right before for them to just hear each other’s voices and say how excited they were. The ceremony started with everyone being driven down the hill on a trailer attached to the back of a truck and once they hopped off the back and formed a line, everyone made their way down the aisle with a few stars of the show being all of the kids and then their flower man/beer passer outer guy. During the ceremony the whole family came up to complete a unity puzzle and they also exchanged some beautiful and personally written vows. After they said their I-do’s and sealed the deal with a kiss. They walked back up the aisle together as the Joyner’s and as they started taking the chairs up to the reception tent, we transitioned into family and wedding party photos leading into their couple’s portraits which fell into Golden Hour perfectly for some gorgeous sunset light.

As everyone prepared to enter into the reception tent, they all planned out what to do. Once they began entering, they all danced or did something as a fun gesture which the finale was Matt and Anna entering in with a twirl into their first dance. That sweet dance was then followed by Anna and her Step Dad sharing a dance and then Matt and his Mom as well. Everyone then went to get some delicious tacos for dinner. As the night rolled around more and the open dance floor was filled, it began turning more and more into a hilarious and fun party for everyone. At one point they took a break and made their way inside to cut the cake and even shared some with their youngest Blakeleigh. From there, it was even more open dance floor, bouquet and garter tosses then the last big formal event was toasts. They had a few that were planned toasts and then a few that weren’t and it’s easily to tell that everyone loves and cherishes the Joyner family so much. They ranged from everyone crying to everyone belly laughing so, I can only imagine how those will turn out for the wedding videos later. We ended our night with them at the sparkler exit by the front porch and streamed lights which worked out perfectly. We love this family and are excited for their future and seeing the kiddos growing up over the years to come!

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Flowers - Lings Moment

Cake - Halee’s Sweet Bites

Men’s Attire - Simon’s Formal Wear

DJ - David Doane

Dress - Elegant Bridals

Where do we even start with this wedding day? I suppose first is to say that Joel and Lauren complement each other so much and that seeing these two families coming together was one of the most fun parties and experiences to witness as Lauren is apparently amazing at making playlists to make everyone dance and enjoy themselves. The wedding day itself took place at Perry’s Landing in Hephzibah, GA right on the Waynesboro, GA line basically. The day was partially rainy but kept none of the magic from happening but does explain the amount of porch photos in some of the earlier part of the day and it just doesn’t appear near as rainy as it was.

We met Joel and Lauren a while ago but got to meet up with Lauren more recently for her Bridal Session at Pendleton King Park and get to know some of her family along with her better which made for a super fun session but also gave us an even better foundation for starting the Wedding Day off on a great foot with comfort and fun so we got to swing in and say hey to the girls and do some quick photos in their robes and then do all of the detail photos as well as film their letter readings in the midst of getting ready. Once everything was done and they were dressed, that was about when the rain started so we set up the first look on the front porch of the house that everyone gets ready in on the Perry’s Landing property. We also brought their adorable dog Finn (I think that’s how you spell it at least) for some photos with them and also had to show off Joel’s cool socks with Finn’s face on them. They also had buried a bottle of bourbon on the property and dug it up so we had everyone gather around on the porch to take a quick shot and celebrate and about the time we were finishing up with those photos we also had the fun plot twist of the venue losing power due to the storm but it had also stopped raining so, they were working on getting a generator going for the ceremony just in case and we made our way to set up for the ceremony as well. Right as the wedding party started making their way to the ceremony, the power turned back on luckily and everything stayed on schedule perfectly.

Once the ceremony started, everyone made their down the aisle of greenery, which is one of our favorite parts of Perry’s Landing, and we didn’t know it but Marty Baker from Stevens Creek Church was officiating and I knew him from when I used to play drums at Stevens Creek so it was cool to work with him. Once Joel was in place and everyone came down the aisle, Lauren and her Dad came down the aisle together. Joel held it together pretty well both times of seeing her but was super happy but, the same cannot be said for Lauren’s Sisters and family which was so sweet to see. The ceremony was beautiful and they exchanged personal vows which will probably show up in the highlight film some but there’s was a lot of crying and laughing on both sides of the aisle. Once the final phrase, you may kiss your bride, was uttered, they shared a kiss and made their way back up the aisle as the Pabon’s and full of joy. From here, we hopped into family photos and full wedding party in a different location besides the porch a little bit which didn’t take too long and then a few with Joel and Lauren around the property to quickly get them back to the reception to be announced in and start the party.

The reception began officially when the wedding party was all announced in and they did some fun dance moves then formed a line for the newlyweds to run through before going into their first dance. They shared a beautiful first dance and then we transitioned into prayer for the dinner that was prepared and everyone started working on getting their food. We also privately did their cake cutting and popped some bubbly for a quick toast and moment before the rest of the reception as a quick pause moment. Once everyone finished eating, we started back with where we left off and did the Father-Daughter dance and Mother-Son which then transitioned into another song and picked up to bring everyone else out on the dance floor. From here, there were so many funny and smaller moments that I don’t even know how to type them all but the photo and video probably shares those moments better than anything else could. At one point in the reception we got to catch up with another one of our favorite couples from May of last year who actually recommended us to Joel and Lauren and it was so great to see them happy and in love on the dance floor again. You would think that at some point the party turned down for a little bit but, no it actually just kept getting turned up more and more and it was so much fun to see what songs and moments brought everyone out to the dance floor. At one point, the wedding party devised a plan to charge the dance floor and start throwing the couple in the air which was a ton of fun and unexpected. They then got into some more of the formal moments like the bouquet and garter tosses which were followed by a game for the two that caught them both to have the guy move the garter up her leg until she said stop which we hadn’t seen before but turned out to be a ton of fun and full of crowd reactions around the circle. We then had the crowd line up and get ready for the fake sparkler send off which went perfectly and we even got to make an extra pass while the sparklers were still going and we then followed the couple back into the tent so they could share a private last slow dance moment together while everyone else was still putting out sparklers and then making their way slowly back to the tent to realize what was happening. As that dance finished, everyone else came to join them again on the dance floor and I would say the big ending of the night for us was when they started playing one of their favorite Clemson Tiger’s Marching Band classics and breaking out their Clemson flags to celebrate together. We got to give them a hug and say bye as they continued to enjoy their party but we know that great things are ahead for this sweet couple and we’re excited to see what that holds now that they just got back from their Honeymoon in Hawaii!