Once upon a time, a beautiful girl named Whitney vacationed with her family in the tropical paradise known as Hawaii. While there, she met a charming and handsome young Navy man stationed at Pearl Harbor. It was as close to love at first sight as it comes. By the end of their first date, Frankie knew Whitney was the one for him and called home to tell his family about her; it only took a few more weeks for her to realize it, too. The following semester, Whitney transferred to the University of Hawaii, and within just a few months, Whitney and Frankie were engaged. On the two year anniversary of their first date, they married… and we were privileged to be part of a very joyful chapter of their story: their wedding day…

Whitney was calm, cool, and collected — and full of laughter.

Michelle did a fantastic job on Whitney’s make-up, but of course she had a really great canvas to start with! (And yes, there’s a baby in that belly!) Frankie is a Deep Sea Diver in the Navy: tough, masculine — and passionately in love with Whitney.
Whitney and Frankie wrote their own vows, which I love! (Ken and I did that, too, and we highly recommend it! We even have ours framed on our bedroom wall as a reminder of our promises to each other.) Frankie copied his down from where he’d written them on the computer, and then went over them with his best man… and again as he paced up and down the sidewalk, nervous that he might not remember them when the moment came.
The guys headed to the ceremony/reception site, a gorgeous place called The Pavilion at Crystal Lake. Although the couple lives in Hawaii, they are both originally from the New England area, and most of their extended family live in Connecticut, New Jersey, and the surrounding area, so it made more sense to have their wedding in Connecticut. (Note the flowers in the girls’ hair, and their bouquets; Whitney’s nod to Hawaii without being too cliché.)

Whitney put on the finishing touches as we waited for the limo to return for her and the girls. Her mom got a little emotional seeing her little girl all dressed and ready for her wedding. (I love moments like this!)We get so excited about the weddings we photograph, and we love “our” couples. I’m always telling friends about sweet details in weddings, and recently one friend asked, “How do you not get emotional? I’m teary-eyed just at you telling me about it!” Well, we do often get emotional right along with the couple! Like the beautiful moments when Frankie and Whitney — and most of the attendants and family and friends — were crying happy tears as they recited their vows to each other…Frank’s vows began,

“From the moment I met you, it was only a matter of time until we shared this moment…”

Whitney’s included these words:

“I have loved you from the minute I met you, and I will continue to love you until the day I die…”
A few moments with the newly minted Mr and Mrs…
And then — time to celebrate! The grand entrance and first dance:A toast by the best man:A whole lot of fun dancing, and one more slow dance before the end of the evening:

… and away they go!

Want more of Whitney and Frankie’s fabulous day? Then take a few moments to watch their slideshow:

When I spoke to Susan on Friday, the day before her wedding to Craig, the weather forecast called for thunderstorms. I asked if she had a alternative rain plan, and she said she did, and that earlier in the week, she had been praying for good weather, but then realized that it really didn’t matter whether or not it rained because no matter what, at the end of the day, she would be married to the man of her dreams. The venue for their wedding was The Barn at Price Mountain Farm — located next to a lake, nestled in rolling grassy hills. Perfect! The ceremony site faced the lake, and the reception was held primarily in a large tent behind the barn. The delicious spread — by Triple J’s catering — was set up in the barn. Complete with cornbread! How can you not love a reception with cornbread!?!
It rained on and off all afternoon, and as guests began to arrive, the drizzle got heavier. Just when they were about to make move the ceremony into the reception tent, the rain cleared and the evening turned out beautiful!

Susan is a third-grade teacher — and very loved by her students, who all crowded ’round for hugs from Ms. Susan.

Susan invited all of her students to the wedding, even the students from previous years who still come back to visit her. And she gave them all a role in the wedding ceremony. One boy carried her grandmother’s Bible; every girl was a flower girl, tossing petals from galvanized metal buckets; every boy carried a long-stem rose down the aisle and put it in a vase near the communion table. I’ve never seen a wedding with so many — and such enthusiastic — young attendants! So sweet! Here they are all waiting for their turn down the aisle (and the groom peeking out of the barn door)…

Susan’s elderly father walked her down the aisle as Craig waited, nervous but happy.
In honor of her late mother, Susan carried an angel crocheted by her mother and a small photo of her. She set them, along with a single flower, in the empty seat next to her father.

In a heartfelt ceremony overlooking the lake, Susan and Craig exchanged vows and rings…
They shared communion, then braided ropes to symbolize the cord of three strands:

“Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ephesians 4:12

Then — in one of my favorite moments in the ceremony, Susan realized that they were married and were about to be pronounced as husband and wife. She was so joyful, she burst out in such contagious joy that everyone there started laughing, too! As Susan and Craig began the recessional, the wedding party pulled Elvis-style shades (the guys’ were complete with fake sideburns) and boogied down the aisle to the tune of “Burning Love.” Love it! Even Susan’s dad (with her sisters) got in on the Elvis action:A few photos with the newlyweds…

…and then the party started! By far, the best dancers of the evening were the kids, though Susan and Craig looked great out there, too!
The toasting glasses were monogrammed mason jars with lemonade! :)

At the end of the evening, the guests enthusiastically showered the bride and groom with birdseed as they made their getaway. Susan and Craig, we are so very happy to have been part of your day, to have shared laughter & happy tears with you. God bless your new life together!

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Elizabeth says about herself, “I’m not dramatic; I am just passionate about life!” She is fun and outgoing — perfectly suited for her work as a children’s minister. She says, Terry is a down-to-earth, duck-hunting mechanical engineer. They are very different, but very much alike in the ways that count: their faith, their priorities, and their love for each other. They met through a mutual friend, and though Elizabeth had absolutely no plans to become romantically involved with anyone, she and Terry enjoyed wonderful conversation over lunch the next day. Soon, they went on a “real” date, and it wasn’t long before she knew this man wasn’t like any other guy she’d known.

Elizabeth’s dress features antique lace from her great-great-grandmother’s wedding dress. Six brides in their family have worn it, but the dress had nearly disintegrated. The dress Elizabeth found perfectly matched the color of the antique satin, and looks like it was made for that lace!

The boutonniers were made by the groom’s mother. The duck feathers are absolutely gorgeous!

Did I mention Elizabeth is fun?

She’s also smokin’ hot! ;)

Shortly before the ceremony, Elizabeth’s dad saw his little girl in her wedding dress for the first time. They both burst into happy tears as soon as they saw each other. The bridesmaids and the mother of the bride were teary-eyed as they watched father and daughter share an emotional moment.

After a beautiful ceremony at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, We took a few minutes for photos of Elizabeth and Terry in their first moments as husband and wife.

The reception was held at historical Naylor Hall in downtown Roswell, with a fabulous “H” wreath on the door for Terry and Elizabeth’s last name.
A delicious Southern-style grits buffet was catered by Endive Fine Catering. And their fried green tomatoes = yummy!

After their grand entrance as Mister and Misses, Terry and Elizabeth danced their first dance to “Big Green Tractor,” an homage to their differences.
They make each other laugh. ;)

Elizabeth didn’t tell her daddy what song they would be dancing to because she wanted to surprise him with a special song he used to sing to her as a child. More happy tears…

The wedding cake design copied the antique lace on the bride’s dress. Photos from their parents’ weddings graced either side of the cake table, along with Elizabeth’s late grandmother’s glasses for the toast.

But the groom’s cake (made by the groom himself!) was a duck-hunting blind! When Terry proposed, Elizabeth was wearing a duck costume she was making for a Halloween party where he would be dressed in his duck hunting garb. (She is still supposed to be sending me a photo of that!)

When it came time for the toast, Elizabeth’s brother knew he’d cry. He started out sharing a funny story about his sister, but then shared a sweet story of something she did for him when he was a little boy. When he and Elizabeth both got choked up, many other eyes shed a few tears as well. I love to see such close family relationships!

The bride would not allow the single guys to hide when it was time for the garter toss; she called them out by name!

I positively love the expression on Elizabeth’s face as she throws the bouquet!

After a quick outfit change for the bride, the couple headed out for their honeymoon, surrounded by family, friends, love — and bubbles!

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Want more of Elizabeth and Terry’s story? Enjoy their slideshow (below)…

We’ve been blessed to know Jennifer through church, and when she finally met the man of her dreams, we couldn’t have been happier for her! Their God-orchestrated love story is romantic and inspiring, and photographing their day was a joy!

I joked that Jennifer’s bridesmaids ought to hire themselves out to other brides because they are pros at doing the bridesmaid thing! They came with a cooler stocked with drinks and snacks, a crochet hook for the buttons on the dress, and every other thing anyone could even have thought of needing! They treated Jennifer like a princess!

Jennifer has a six-month old nephew, who happens to be completely adorable and fabulous about smiling in photos! Jennifer refers to him as the apple of her eye, but from the look of things, I think he’s pretty crazy about her, too!

Meanwhile, Christopher and his groomsmen were busy looking dapper. I love the morning suits they wore!
We returned to wait in the Bride Room, eagerly anticipating the meaningful ceremony that would unite Jennifer and Christopher in marriage. Pastor Ron, who is a close friend of the bride, officiated the ceremony and came to offer a prayer for the wedding.
Jennifer’s dad looks as if he’s sharing a few sentimental words before walking her down the aisle.

In their wedding program, Jennifer shared two entries from her personal journal, written ten years apart. The first, written in May of 1999, was a beautiful poem written in 1999 to her future husband — who she had not yet met. Exactly ten years after the journal entry containing that poem, she wrote this:

‘The cynic in me is saying it’s too good to be true… I cannot get over how he is pursuing me, how every word and action communicates, “I love you and I want to be with you.” Driving home, it was as if God said to me, “What if this is real and it’s just a little glimpse for you of how much I love you? What if this is real and it is My gift you because I love you, too?”‘

The banners behind the wedding party each have one of the names of God, in Hebrew and in English. The wedding program explained the meaning of each. The bride made each banner herself! Also notice the fabulous silver Victorian-style “bride baskets” carried by the bridesmaids and the flower girls; love them!

The newly minted Mr. and Mrs share a sweet first dance. Christopher sang along with every word.

Inspired by their example of marital bliss, the wedding cake was inspired by photos of Jennifer’s parents’ 1973 wedding cake. My favorite part of this photo is the little girl in the background who isn’t sure if she should be embarrassed about watching Jennifer and Christopher kiss! And then, the getaway car. When Jennifer told me their plans, I was totally, ridiculously giddy — and I hadn’t even seen it yet. It was even more awesome than I had hoped, and even coordinated with the wedding colors! Meet our new friend Louise: a 1932 Chevy Cabriolet Convertible, and one of only five of its kind in the U.S! :)Because time was tight between the ceremony and reception, the couple opted to spend some time doing photos with just the two of them after the reception. So we drove (slowly, so they didn’t get blown out of the rumble seat!) a few miles to a gorgeous location. A.Ma.Zing. ‘Nuff said. ;)

Jennifer and Christopher, we are so happy for you both, and hope you are enjoying every moment of your honeymoon!

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Want to see more fabulousness from Jennifer and Christopher’s sweet wedding? Check out their slideshow…