This summer wedding at Ashton Gardens near Atlanta was A DREAM!!! Although COVID has thrown a wrench in a lot of my couples’ wedding plans, some folks cannot be stopped. Rachel and Brandon are one of those couples. And their family and friends were right behind them the whole time!
(Also– I’m positive you remember these two because our trip to the North Georgia Mountains for their engagement session was absolutely memorable…)
Have you ever seen Ashton Gardens? Ashton Gardens is my most frequented wedding venue, and I’m not mad about it. Although I wish the outside had more greenery and blooms, the inside of the chapel is STUNNING. It’s my favorite place to do bridal reveals and I also love doing bridal portraits inside the chapel. Something I want to try next time I’m there is a creative shot of a bride inside the chapel— in her dress– with fog around her. (I’m so bummed Rachel’s wedding didn’t lend us that extra time- but wait until you see it; we got an EPIC shot, thanks to my brilliant second shooter!!)
Anyway…
Summer Wedding – Ashton Gardens
Speaking of a bridal reveal— have you heard of this before?? It’s seriously one of the most fun things we do on wedding days! It’s especially fun when the ENTIRE bridal party is as excited as these gals were when they saw Rachel. This sweet little flower girl smiled more during this bridal reveal than she did the ENITRE day. She was pumped to see Rachel in her gown!!
Rachel is such a girly girl– and she’s proud of it. Her wedding had it all- horse and carriage, fog machines and huge sparklers at her reception, you name it. She’s gorgeous, and isn’t afraid to show herself off- chasing her dreams along the way. I LOVE THAT about her.
AND she’s genuine, sweet, and absolutely sassy. In the funnest way!!
Summer Wedding Venue near Atlanta
Brandon, her groom, is the one who cares. Hard. For her.
Watching him on his wedding day was… really cool, to say the least. He was in awe of her beauty the entire day, and he stayed close by her side, with his arm around her most of the night. He cherishes her.
And my goodness, if he doesn’t photograph like a DREAM!
Basically, he’s a model. I pretty much shot a model wedding. (What in the world?! This light, and this wedding party. GORGEOUS!)
As their ceremony approached, the day was two hours (or something??) behind. Guess who didn’t bat an eyelash… Literally everyone. Despite being behind schedule, the ceremony pretty much started on time (sans literally a few minutes) AND everyone was super relaxed, chilling in the chapel.
Once we were ready, it’s like the world stood still for a moment once the doors opened and Rachel walked in.
Ceremony- Ashton Gardens
I watched Brandon hold back his tears, while I prayed the entire time that he would just let it out!! (Can you blame me?! Crying photos are the BEST!)
After the ceremony, we headed outside for a few more quick portraits before we headed into the reception to party!
And this is where things got epic.
These tiny pictures on this blog just don’t do it justice. I cannot wait to see the top center photo in a large metal print because— it’s STUNNING!
And, without further ado, the rest of their wedding…
Reception – Ashton Gardens
(For my photographer friends, the shots above aren’t photoshopped! Foreground is my best friend during speeches… Try it some time!)
Congratulations, Rachel and Brandon!!! I hope to see you two again in the future! Thank you so much for choosing me as your photographer, and being one of my very first couples to hire me. A lot changes in a year, right?!
Love you both.
-Rocheal
