thomson wedding

Jason & Sharon

 

Now, there’s a lot that can be said about this couple, from his live streaming on Twitch to their shared love of cars being part of how they met. They are so fun and down to earth that we knew we would love this wedding day at Ashton Cole Place in Thomson, GA.

The wedding day itself started with us showing up and saying hey to the couple and the wedding party while also gathering details to photograph. As we were finishing up details and I walked out to do a few photos of the venue, it started to rain which we thought wasn’t going to happen until maybe much later according to the forecast. It worked out that it started early and continued making it a little bit easier to call it and switch to plan b of having the ceremony in the reception space so they pulled out a bunch of chairs. This was for sure a testament to how great the folks at Ashton Cole are at handling any situation and we did appreciate seeing that. Also, they say it’s good luck when it rains on your wedding day and Jason and Sharon handled it perfectly together which in a beautiful manner told the story of how great they are together. Once everyone was ready, we did a few photos of the guys together and also the reveal of the Bride to her Bridesmaids and the Mother’s. We quickly set it up to do a first look with the Bride’s Father as well and then then couple’s Son (who is hilarious and obsessed with fishing to the point of having literal fish shoes on his feet later in the wedding but more on that later) and of course the first look between Jason and Sharon just before it was almost time for the ceremony and everyone was showing up.

From there, we got into our spots for the ceremony and got to meet a sweet pup who apparently was the face of a company (which company it was escapes me at the moment) but any time there’s animals involved, we thoroughly enjoy ourselves. Once we had everyone in place, the music started and the family and wedding party made their way down the aisle. The joy all over Sharon and Jason’s faces as she made her way down the aisle was very contagious and we always love the moment of seeing the Bride’s Father giving her a hug and handing her over to the Groom, moments like that start hitting differently when you become a parent and have that perspective. Their great friend Jarrod who also officiated the wedding did an amazing job and everything went smoothly and ended with Jason and Sharon sealing the deal with their kiss and making their way back up the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Berry.

From here, it had dried enough that we made our way to the original ceremony location for a few family photos and as well as the wedding party and couples photos to quickly get them into their reception. We actually finished a little early and got to give them a breather to sit down before going into the reception as well as change shoes before hitting the dance floor. As everyone set up and entered into the reception, everyone had just finished cocktail hour and were enjoying the photo booth before finding their seats. Once Jason and Sharon entered surrounded by cheering, they went into their first dance. Once they finished that dance everyone started eating and enjoying the photo booth some more as well as dancing a little. Then it was time for the Father/ Daughter dance and then Mother/ Son dance and then to the cake cutting where they got to taste the cake but also enjoy wearing a little bit because they smooshed it into each other’s faces which was funny. From here, we enjoyed both Dad’s giving a toast before trading off to dance with their Son’s new Wife or Daughter’s Husband which was a nice switch up and provided such a sweet moment. From that moment on, it was an open dance floor with a bouquet and garter toss at the very end almost before ending off with a beautiful sparkler exit where they stayed lit for a while so we made a few passes just for fun and then went to actually end the night off signing the marriage certificate in the Bridal suite. From there, they started packing up and planning the clean up process to head home as the Berry family officially. We got to say our goodbyes and get a few hugs in but we must say that we are excited to see what all the future has for Mr. and Mrs. Berry!

 

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - Ashton Cole Place

Decor - Flowers on Broad

DJ- Drop The Mic

Caterer - Penny Jo Newkirk

Brides Dress - Tiffinie Bleu Bridal Boutique

Hair / Makeup - The Darling Loft - Rachel Biestman

Bridesmaids / Flower Girl - Amazon

Groom / Groomsmen - Suit Factory

Kevin & Amber

 

We met with Kevin and Amber back in March and since we were already booked for another wedding, we got to direct them into our Associate program. This marks our first associate shot wedding where we got to work both with a the couple and one of our associate shooters/ dear friends, Chastity. It made for a great experience for everyone and we had even just photographed an amazing wedding day at Ashton Cole and had had Chastity shoot a wedding with us there before so it made for such an easy going experience on all ends.

When we originally met with them and Chastity, we got learn a little about their day and story and loved the story of how he proposed in Hilton Head on a Charter after having the ring burn a hole in his pocket for a year! We also learned a lot about their favorite things to do where we know they will have a such a beautiful life together on their farm where they have 50 cows and 3 wonderful labs. It paints such a beautiful picture where you know that they will enjoy a long life full of family and love and we’re so excited for Mr. and Mrs. West!

 

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - Ashton Cole Place

Catering - Wife Saver

Cake - Cindy Patrick - Madison, GA

Hair - Tori Fields

DJ - Darrell Hope - Madison, GA

Bridal bouquet - Florologie

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

Clint & Sjane

 

We had honor of meeting Clint and Sjane way back when Covid-19 wasn’t even a thought yet and got to talk about them and their relationship like how he proposed at Hopeland Gardens in Aiken trying to make it out to be an anniversary photo shoot and not have the family hiding spoil anything and of course she said yes and was still surprised!

Fast forward some and we got to meet up in April for their engagement session at Brick Pond Park/Hammond’s Ferry which can be seen HERE. One of the first things we saw showing up to the wedding day was those photos blown up beautifully around the reception area and framed with really good taste we must say. It made for such a gorgeous way to surround everything with their love and story which, we are all about!

Now that we’re on the wedding day, this was our first time at Ashton Cole Place and we have to say that it’s nothing short of breathtaking. So much thought and gorgeous spots to use for photos that we could have spent the entire day photographing around the property. We started the day the same way we start every wedding day, details and getting ready photos but we have to say that the flat lay details when we set them up on a vintage white table they had in the bridal suite turned out so gorgeous! Once we did all of the details and the bride was ready, we went right outside of the bridal suite to do a first look with her dad. He called it beforehand that we were trying to make him cry and that it was going to work, what we didn’t know would happen is that the girls would be crying in the window behind them watching. (okay, we knew they would be watching but didn’t think about the crying part) Every moment was beautiful as he turned around and saw his baby girl in her dress that reminded him of her mother’s dress and we can only imagine that all of the thoughts rushing in at that moment about the family in South Africa that couldn’t be there and how happy he was that she found someone like Clint. Going from one beautiful moment full of joy and tears, we fast forward to the next one when Clint is waiting at the altar for her and her dad to walk down and as the doors opened up to present her for the first time, he lost it. That also got to his mom and she started crying so before long, pretty much everyone was crying and smiling at the same time. (us included) Once they got through their hand written vows laughing and crying and sealed the deal with a kiss, they joyfully made their way back up the aisle as husband and wife to go and start on family photos while the guests all went over to cocktail hour. We knocked out the family photos and bridal party photos before walking around more with the newly weds and saved the best for last to go to the pond (they really love water photos and ponds). Once we finished that, it was time for them to lineup and head into the reception and start their dances and they were all so sweet and sentimental. They finished the dances and before long, it was time for the speeches. Her dad stepped out and welcomed Clint to the family and thanked him for being the man he is as well as looked back on Sjane as a little girl. Then one of the groomsmen stepped up to read notes from the family in South Africa that couldn’t be there for the wedding and they were all so beautifully written and you could even feel the welcoming and loving nature of the whole family through just the reading of their words. the Best man, maid of honor and matron of honor all gave lovely speeches as well and everyone raised a glass in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Gantt. They danced the night away and it got pretty crazy (in a good way) and then it was time for the sendoff. It held off rain the entire day but the started right as it was time to leave so, we just went for it and they ran through the sparklers and out into the rain surrounded by their friends and family. It was such a great day and we’re excited to see what the future holds for their marriage and family!

 

Vendors List

Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto

Venue - Ashton Cole Place

Flowers - Florologie

Dress - Elegant Bridals

Brides Shoes - David’s Bridal

Rings - Kay Jewelers

Cake - Halee’s Sweet Bites

Catering - Moe’s

DJ - Andrew Guinn