This week’s couple is Abbie and Tyler.  They have been dating for many years and finally tying the knot at Abbie’s family’s church St. Lawrence Catholic Church and the reception was at 9 Oaks Farm.

The day started out at 9 Oaks Farm which is a rustic farm between Athens and Lawrenceville.  It has a large reception hall, houses where guests can stay, large pastures, milking station, long walking paths, and a small covered bridge.  When Alex and I arrived at 9 Oaks we split up.  Alex went with the girls for their getting ready shots while I started with the guys at the reception hall.  The guys were a blast, laughing and cutting up the whole time.  Once the bride was ready we did a first look with her dad.  It was a very sweet moment for the two.  We were a little short on time so after the first look we went to the church for the wedding.

At the church I met Russ, my Presbyterian pastor, the wedding guild, and the Catholic pastor.  We went over the logistics and rules of the ceremony.  As we were setting up the guests and family started arriving.  One of the things the couple wanted was to pray together before the ceremony.  The bridesmaid’s were quite the team!  They blindfolded the groom and covered the windows to the courtyard so no one could see the couple or most importantly the bride in her dress.  It was a very tender moment between the couple and a moment of peace that they could share.  After the prayer everyone got into place for the wedding ceremony.  Everyone was seated in the chapel and the wedding guild team lined up the bridesmaids and groomsmen outside the chapel door.  Down the hall the bride was holding on to her dad and waiting to be walked down the aisle.  After the wedding party entered the doors closed and the bride and father came up to the door.  The wedding guild doted all over the bride and lining up the train before they opened the doors.  They swung the doors open and a proud father and excited daughter walked down through the crowd to the altar. 

The ceremony was a sort of mixed religion ceremony.  The catholic priest represented the brides family’s church and Russ represented the groom’s family’s church.  The catholic priest did the usual catholic ceremony but without the communion,  while Russ shared a few personal words and the history of the christian marriage ceremony.  The groom’s brother, who has a beautiful voice, sang during the lighting of the candles.  It was a very beautiful and touching ceremony.

After the ceremony everyone traveled back to 9 Oaks Farm.  There was the typical introductions of the wedding party where each entrance was unique. There were shots of liquor, funky dances, and just people bringing their groovey selves to the party!  The bride and groom came entered and they went straight into their first dance.  Then the bride did her father-daughter dance and she even shared a dance with her godfather.  The groom did a mother-son dance and he shared a dance with his grandmother.  It was wonderful family moment for all.   After the dances there was the blessing of the food.  As they ate there were toasts and the cutting of the cake.  There was even a Star Wars photo op in the middle of all that!

As you know, after a big event like this there is an ending.  The guests lined up outside the reception hall with sparklers.  The couple lined up and ran through the crowd, kissing and high fiving the guests as they went to their exit.  It was a fitting exit to a wonderful day.

Thanks for checking out this Atlanta wedding photographers blog!  I hope you enjoyed the read. Make sure you keep coming back to see what the Atlanta wedding photographers at Atlanta Artistic Weddings are up to! If you’d like to contact me go to the contact page and drop me a line at https://www.atlantaartisticweddings.com/contact-atlanta-wedding-photographer. I would love to hear from you!

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