We met through mutual friends while in school at Auburn University. We were set up on a blind date for a sorority date party, and the rest was history!
Both of our families currently live in Birmingham, so Lake Martin seemed like the perfect in-between location for our celebration. We both have so many fun memories on Lake Martin from growing up at different friends’ lake houses, so it was a sweet way to bring all those things together.
As a wedding photographer myself, I knew that selecting vendors for our wedding day would be a fun experience for me and a wonderful opportunity to partner with friends in the industry whom I wanted to support and love working with.
Choosing a venue was a surprisingly easy choice for us. I had shot a wedding at Overlook Farms a few years before, and when we toured it together, we both fell in love with the lake and mountain views that the ceremony site offered, as well as the character of the venue as a whole and the kindness of the owners and staff.
We got the opportunity to partner with vendors from all around Alabama as we built our dream team, and it was such a fun experience! Planning our wedding was a joy from the beginning. I had so much inspiration from the weddings I have been a part of over the years, so it was really about taking all the things I loved and admired and piecing them together to make our wedding day uniquely us.
I knew I wanted to plan most of the details myself, but I needed someone to draw it all together and make the weekend a seamless celebration. Kaleigh Barkley, our month-of coordinator, went above and beyond to handle all the details so that we could truly be present and soak up the entire weekend. I will forever be grateful that she was on our team!
Our photographer, Erica Dortch, has been a friend and mentor to me for all the years I have run my photography business, and she was the perfect choice to capture our day. I was able to entrust her with the flow of the day, which allowed both Robert and me to be present with each other and know that our story was being documented perfectly.
Our day featured a classic late-summer color palette with sky blue, soft greens and pinks, and pastels of every color. I wanted our day to feel colorful, yet refined, and our florist, Michelle with Florista Designs, went above and beyond to make our color palette come to life.
All the girls stayed on site at the venue lodge, and our hair and makeup team came down to the house to get us all ready for the day. One of my favorite moments of the wedding morning was an early morning walk down to the ceremony spot with one of my bridesmaids while some of the other girls were getting their hair and makeup done. We got to see the mist clearing from the lake and the sun coming through, proving that the beautiful weather we had prayed for was on its way!
The most special part of our wedding day to us was our ceremony. We were married by a dear friend and mentor of Robert’s, Taylor Teel. Our outdoor ceremony on the lawn was full of blue skies and sunshine, framed by the most stunning view of the lake.
Cocktail hour featured hors d’oeuvres, our signature “House Margarita” and a jazz trio as our guests enjoyed the sunset over Lake Martin.
We started our reception by entering to “Sh-Boom” by The Chords and then sharing our first dance to “I’m Gonna Love You” by Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood. I danced with my dad, Johnny, to “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin from my favorite childhood movie, Finding Nemo, and Robert and his mom, Libby, danced to “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)” by The Chicks.
Our reception was unforgettable, and the dance floor was overflowing from the first song to the last! Our incredible band never took a break and kept the party going into the night. We shared a private last dance to “Ain’t Got Nothing on You” by Leon Bridges and then exited our reception through a tunnel of Auburn shakers and cheers from all our friends and family. We drove away in a classic pickup truck that our venue provided and were off!
We have made our home in Auburn and have fallen in love with the new rhythm of life that we have found in the city where we spent our college years. Auburn has become home in a totally new way that we didn’t expect, and we are so grateful for the community we have grown here.
