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
Dakota & Dustie
Dustie & Dakota when we first met them back in October of 22, the more we talked, the more we understood and got attached to the beautiful life and story they have unfolding together. We learned about the sunrise proposal on the beach in St. Helena, SC as well as their dogs and enjoyment of golf as well as how they met through their friends. All of this led us to the wedding day at Pine Knoll Farms in Augusta, GA as our last wedding of 2023 and it was an absolute joy of a way to end out our year!
The wedding day itself at Pine Knoll started off with the team arriving and splitting off where the girls stayed with the girls to work on the details while the guys went with the guys and did some venue coverage as on the way. After some time had passed, everyone was pretty much ready and we needed to get the Groom in place for the first look where they shared a nice private moment while their wedding party watched through the windows at a distance. We then split off again into guys and girls to do group portraits and then bring them back together for the entire wedding party before doing couples portraits in other locations. The weather was overcast the entire day which meant that doing mid day portraits was limitless because everywhere had good light so, of course that was a great time and led us into preparing for the ceremony as well. The Chapel was full of beautiful greenery and made a perfect backdrop for their ceremony. During the ceremony they exchanged vows, rings and sealed it all with a kiss and ringing the bell on the way out of the chapel. Afterwards, we did some more of the formal photos and then made our way to the reception.
As they entered into the reception surrounded by the cheering of their friends and family, they prepared to go straight into their first dance, Father and Daughter then Mother and Son dances. They all had such beautiful moments and during the Father and Daughter dance, her sisters also joined in for a cute ending to the dance as well. Not to long after eating dinner, they also had toasts, cake cutting and some photos outside which included opening and shaking a bottle of champagne which was a ton of fun. Throughout the rest of the reception, everyone enjoyed dancing as couples and just in general which eventually led to the sparkler exit ending out an absolutely gorgeous wedding day. We’re so excited for Dustie & Dakota and know that the future has some beautiful things in store for them!
Vendors List
Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto
Venue: Pine Knoll Farms
Bridesmaid dresses: David’s bridal
Suits: Goldman and Wengrow’s, Lincolnton
Florals: Sweet Magnolias, Liz Spratlin
Invitations: Zola
Wedding dress: Elegant Bridals
Planners: Al & Ashley Danner
Caterer: Something so right Events
Cake: Cakes by Diana
DJ: Brandieth Carter
Hair/Makeup: Bombshell Creations
Officiant: Chad McKee
Brandon & Melissa
Brandon and Melissa, as we quickly found out, have big hearts and love their people deeply. We met them back in September of 22 and then we got to do their super fun engagement photos at the Columbia county fair! We learned a lot about them and their trips to New Orleans, LA which eventually brought us to their beautiful wedding day at Pine Knoll Farms!
The day started off with details and saying hey to everyone as well as all of the venue coverage for both photo and video and then that led us up to Melissa getting into her dress and then us setting up the first looks with both her Dad and then the Groom who both had big smiles on their faces once they saw her. We also setup a quick first look with the Bride’s siblings near the chapel before doing family photos which shortly after that, it was time for the ceremony. The ceremony had so many adorable moments like the flower Grandmother, a bunch of family crying as well as the tears of joy from Brandon as soon as he saw his soon to be Wife. They also tied the rope of three chords, shared personal vows and once everything was all said and done, kissed and made their way to ring the bell as Husband and Wife. This led straight into some couples portraits as the sun was going down and then we made our way to the reception so they could get the party started.
As the reception was kicked off with their entrance, everyone cheered and they started off with their first dance, the father and daughter then mother and son dances which has become some of our favorite moments here lately as we’ve become parents (it hits differently now). Everyone got to enjoy some delicious dinner and then Brandon and Melissa cut their wedding cake. Throughout the rest of the reception, they made their way around to all of the tables to make sure they got to see everyone, danced a ton, tossed the bouquet and garter, took a bunch of fun 360 photo booth videos, did some night time wedding party photos and a few other family portraits and then ended off the night with the sparkler exit into Brandon’s Jeep which was followed by more dancing since it was a fake exit and they came back.
Vendors List
Photography - Beauty & Beard Photography @beautyandbeardphoto
Venue: Pine Knoll Farms
Christian Covenant Catering (Pj Newkirk)- Dinner
Hair Essentials Myranda- Makeup
Hair- Tonesha Haymon
Wedding Coordinator- Mary Dant
Drop the Mic- DJ
Black Lotus Catering - Rehearsal Dinner