After my first meeting with Amber to discuss her wedding at Old Glory Distilling Co., I knew that I was going to be counting down the days to her wedding. I left that meeting on a wedding photographer’s high! Amber’s mother works for PSR Events in Clarksville and they were going to be doing all the wedding coordination, decor, and florals for Amber and John’s wedding so I knew it was going to be absolutely beautiful.

Amber and John got ready at John’s parents’ house, which I think is so special and made the getting ready photos so meaningful. I loved listening to the guys holler out random facts about John’s childhood bedroom and tease him as we were taking some of his photos. We could not stop laughing! To say that this bridal party was a blast is an understatement. We had so many inside jokes by the end of the day!

I love that Amber and John were able to have their first look under the crepe myrtles behind the house. It was just a beautiful setting and that spot will always be special to them now. It really does make my heart happy to think that one day they’ll probably get to watch their kids play in that same little spot that they first saw each other on their wedding day. I can just picture two little boys running around playing football back there.

The Blick family’s big backyard with tall trees was a lifesaver for all of the bridal party photos. It was hot hot hot that day and the shade made it so much more bearable. John’s dad even had these huge fans sitting out by the trees to help with the heat that day. (THANK YOU MR. TERRY!)

This was my first wedding at Old Glory Distilling Co. and I wasn’t really sure what to expect when it came to decor. HOLY COW did PSR Events just blow me away with how beautiful everything was. I think I said “oh my gosh it’s just so pretty” a million times that day. All of the greenery and pastel tones had the entire space feeling so elegant and timeless. And I always love it when my couples do a long family style table for the bridal party at their reception. It’s beautiful and it keeps your closest friends up there with you so you can talk and have fun while eating!

Definitely one of the coolest parts of this wedding was the “filling of the barrel”. At Old Glory, you can fill a barrel with bourbon on your wedding night! You’ll have to scroll down to see the photos of Amber and John filling their barrel. If this venue had been around back when my husband and I were married, he totally would have booked our wedding at Old Glory JUST for this! I’m not even kidding.

Amber and John, I hope you enjoy reliving your amazing wedding day through this blog post!!! It was such an honor getting to be your wedding photographer!!!

I love that all the girls had these matching monogrammed robes from Marley Lilly

Amber’s wedding gown was so gorgeous! She looked like royalty!

Amber’s first look with her step-dad was so sweet. I love his smile so much!

Are they not just the sweetest?! Amber had to take a few moments before she could tell John to turn around. The love that these two have for one another was so sweet to get to photograph.

I definitely wanted to make sure that I got a few photos of John with his family while we were still at their home since it was so special that they were able to get ready there.

I just love these photos of the girls steaming Amber’s dress right before the ceremony.

His face is just priceless here!

How cute is this frame that was decorated for photos?!

I just loved this bridal party! Some of them got really into their entrances into the Reception.

I can’t NOT give a little background on these next photos. John’s grandfather was asked to give the blessing for the meal and it somehow morphed into this epic blessing/toast where story after story of John were told. We all couldn’t help but giggle at the longest blessing ever and it was truly amazing! We all loved it!

Sneaking out during the reception for sunset photos with the Bride and Groom will always be a favorite.

They had the most beautiful sunset over their day.

Showing off their new bling!

He definitely shoved cake up her nose!

The filling of the barrel!!

Below are some of the Vendor links that were a part of making this wedding a dream come true for Amber and John. If you click on the company name, it will take you to their website.

Venue | Old Glory Distilling Co.

Wedding Coordinator | PSR Events

Florals | PSR Events

Hair | Kendyl Davis Unger with Flawless Beauty Company

Makeup | Katelyn Hamaker with Flawless Beauty Company

DJ | Van Herndon

Videographer | Patrick Robinson

Ceremony Musicians | Brio Strings

Wedding Dress | Maggie Sottero

Bridesmaid Dresses | Bill Levkoff

Groom and Groomsmen Attire | Mens Warehouse

Cake | Walmart

Amber and John’s Wedding Highlight Video 

Amber and John’s Engagement Photos

Amber and John’s Gallery of Wedding Favorites

I first met Kelsey via FaceTime. I love to meet my couples in person to talk about their wedding, but Kelsey and Joe live in Atlanta so that wasn’t going to be super convenient for them at all. Thank goodness for modern technology! Kelsey and I had the best conversation! We were able to talk about all the details that she and Joe had already planned for their Owen Farm wedding. For the details that they hadn’t decided on, we were able to talk about all their options and I was able to give a photographer’s opinion on what would photograph well. I really do love that part of my job! I remember one of the more important things that we talked about was the advantages of doing a first look and I’m so glad that they decided to go ahead and do a first look! We were able to capture so many special moments before the ceremony had even started.

I didn’t get to meet Joe until weeks later when Kelsey and Joe were in town visiting their families for the holidays. We met at Starbucks to finalize their timeline and make sure that they were going to have enough photography coverage to capture everything that they wanted. I got so excited just planning their timeline that I knew their wedding day was going to be so much fun. Kelsey and Joe are so funny and easy going and when we left Starbucks that day, they felt like friends instead of clients. If you spend even just a short amount of time with them, you will see that they are so perfect together.

The wedding took place at Owen Farm which is a gorgeous wedding venue with the whole package. Kelsey and her girls were able to get ready in the main house and the guys got ready in the adoarble Silo house near the reception location. It is a perfect setup to keep the bride and groom from accidentally seeing each other! Kelsey and I were able to go outside the main house to capture her getting in her dress, a few moments with just her girls, and the moment her dad got to see her in her wedding dress for the first time. First looks with dads are always a favorite of mine to capture! Kelsey’s dad reminds me so much of my own dad so when he got to see his baby girl in her wedding dress for the first time, I had to fight back tears of my own. Now that I have a baby girl of my own, I am soooooo much more teary-eyed while photographing weddings.

Once we were done with Kelsey’s first look with her dad, it was time for Joe to see his bride. They exchanged their gifts right before their first look and it was so sweet to witness. Both of them had written the same exact thing at the beginning to their letters to one another! They couldn’t help but laugh and I couldn’t help but think how perfect they are for one another. Joe’s reaction to Kelsey’s gift was so sweet and perfect. It seriously made me want to go back in time and redo the gift I gave my husband on our wedding day.

I’m so glad that my wonderful friend Bri was able to shoot alongside me that day so that we could capture both Kelsey and Joe’s faces during the first look. I love how intimate first looks can be and that couples get to have this sweet and private moment where they can hug and actually talk to one another. Joe’s face when he saw Kelsey for the first time was so perfect. You could see how much he loves her and you just know that he feels like the luckiest man in the world for getting to marry her. Their ceremony and reception were perfect and I think my favorite moments were Kelsey’s father daughter dance to Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl (so so fun!!) and her dad’s toast to them. Mr. Kenneth’s toast was the perfect balance of funny, sweet, and meaningful!

OH! And I loved their Krispy Kreme donut bar instead of the traditional cake. I love me some Krispy Kreme donuts!!

Kelsey and Joe, thank you so much for choosing me to photograph your elegant country wedding! You guys were a joy to get to be with on your day and I hope that we will keep in touch so that I can celebrate all your big moments as your life grows together. Below are just a few (ok, maybe a lot!) of my favorite images from your wedding day and I hope that you love them as much as I do!

 

Each half of the heart that was sewn into the bottom of Kelsey’s dress was a piece from each of her two grandfathers’ shirts.

Kelsey’s florals were stunning!

We couldn’t leave their dog Ace out of the photos!

It’s always fun when little ones are a part of the ceremony. I think there might have been two meltdowns but they eventually all made it down the aisle with a little help. They were so adorable!

I love that Kelsey’s mom and Joe’s dad each read special words to them during the ceremony.

Their faces are priceless in this photo!

I love that they rang the “wedding bell” right after the ceremony.

How gorgeous was Kelsey’s veil that her mother made?!

I’m so glad that they humored me and snuck away before sunset to get a few more photos.

I am a huge fan of the guest favors!

Their wedding hashtag was PERFECT!

Married y’all!!

 

Venue | Owen Farm

Florist | A Rose Garden

Hair | Southern Grace Hair Salon

Reception Band | Jim Gibson Band

Donut Bar | Krispy Kreme