the black tux — Beauty & Beard PhotographyBlog

Some of you may remember this sweet couple’s engagement session from last July which you can see here. We originally met Amanda years ago through her Sister’s wedding and it became one of our favorite situations to where we all clicked so well with the whole family that we now had the honor to be a part of her wedding as well and then after meeting Jeremiah and getting to know him a little more in conversation, we realized that he’s hilarious and that we were just going to enjoy their wedding day so much. Not only did it take place at the venue that we got married at, Windsor Manor, they also broke out some amazing surprises like the old school Bentley and we got to work with amazing vendors.

The day started with us meeting up with our third shooter and dropping Logan off with Morgan’s parents then once we arrived at the venue, we talked with Tracy of Tracy Yahn Events who was the planner/coordinator to catch up a little bit and show our third shooter around a bit. When we made our way upstairs we said hey to all of the guys briefly and then said hey to all of the girls as well as gathering the details to photograph them. After photographing the details, we made our way into the getting ready photos where I went with the guys and as the girls were finishing up, we took Jeremiah out to the ceremony area for their first look. As Amanda came out and stood behind him, we all stepped back to let them enjoy their moment as much as possible and it was all smiles the entire time. They are such an adorable and happy couple and their friends and family watching off in the distance enjoyed it so much that they were smiling as well. From here we went to do their group photos with the entire wedding party and a little bit of family that was present at the time for the photos and just a few of Amanda and Jeremiah.

The ceremony started and you could feel the shift and reverence for the moment happen. Everyone was holding back tears of joy for most of the ceremony and it was beautiful to see. Once everyone was in place for the Bride to come, we saw Jeremiah’s Mom crying and Jeremiah himself did a great job of holding back the tears and smiling. As she was standing in front of him ready and they joined hands, there were a lot of moments of joy and laughter as well as holding back tears. After they said their I do’s, they kissed then her sister Sarah handed the flowers over for them to walk back up the aisle together as the Robinsons. From here they celebrated once they made it out of the ceremony space with a kiss and big hug. As we started to get ready for family formals, there was a bittersweet moment of everyone hugging and crying since Jeremiah and Amanda would basically be moving across the states immediately because of him being stationed elsewhere. We didn’t know they were moving yet but it was such a beautiful and heavy thing to witness how close their friends held them and would miss them but everyone switched back pretty quickly to smiling for the photos with those they love. Once we had finished out the full list and a few others, we did some couples portraits around the grounds quickly so that Amanda could have her dress bustled then also change her shoes as we made our way to get ready for the reception.

As the dj announced the wedding party by names, they entered into the reception and formed a line to watch the dances. As the newlyweds danced, they smiled a lot and exchanged laughs. Then the Bride and her Father danced which seemed to bring some tears with it both for the Bride and her Sister which made for beautiful family bond moments to be seen which carried through into the speeches as well. These were filled with fond memories of how they met the couple individually and even more stories from their past. After that moment, it was time for the joyful reception to kick off into dancing. There were a ton of fun moments so it was hard to really put them all into this blog but, know that the photos and videos are there and you will see more of those! Eventually, we came to that moment where they leave and in this case everyone got to blow bubbles at the couple as they exited. Once they got into the Bentley to ride away, there were just a few more hugs and kisses to give as a big last goodbye for now. They rode off towards their honeymoon which would take them to Disney and then a beautiful Cruise as well. We’re honored to have been a part of this perfect day and can’t wait to see what all this amazing couple accomplishes as just seeing them come back to visit as well.

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - Windsor Manor

Coordinator/Decorator: Tracy Yahn Events

DJ: Ben Stapleton – Brantley Sound Services

Catering: Berry’s Catering and Events

Bartending: ABC Bartending

Cake: Delightful Bites

Florist: Flowers on Broad

Hair: Alysia Collins and Jasmine ORyan

Dress: Tiffinie Bleu

Bridesmaids: David’s Bridal

Groom’s Suit: Men’s Warehouse

Groomsmen: The Black Tux

Ceremony Minister: Pastor Mark Scholten

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.