On Saturday, April 23, Tim and I drove to Summersville, WV in the 83 degree heat. We arrived at the home of Katelyn and Ashley around 1:30 pm and when I knocked on the door, I was immediately impressed with the calm in the room.
To the right Katie and her bridesmaids were getting ready with no signs of stress at all. In the kitchen were a handful of groomsmen doing what groomsmen do, snack and talk.
The day felt good.
I shot her details in an upstairs guest bedroom where I immediately made friends with the bridesmaids and chatted about dress styles and the bouquet that just arrived.
After shooting over 300 weddings, you get to recognize real quick who is there to get married and who is just having a wedding. These two were showing up to get married and therefore, there was no reason to be anxious. They knew the purpose of the day and made me feel at home.
The girls finished up and Katie had her hair and make up done in a less than an hour! Impressive. One real interesting conversation during this time was the explanation of two wedding gowns - respect! I was able to meet her sweet daughter Braylee and her bridesmaids explained that she was simply a miracle. Nothing was rushed with her, or with anyone.
We headed to the venue, Summersville Armory about 30 minutes before the ceremony was to happen and the guest arrived just minutes after. The rooms were beautifully decorated in pink and white and it just felt like spring. The ceremony was traditional, short and sweet and quite literally perfect. I may have panicked when the wedding planner told me we had about 45 minutes after the ceremony to get all the portraits taken but I kicked into teacher Kelli mode and off we went.
The bridesmaids led me to a hidden spot 3 minutes from the armory for pictures and we passed gates, crossed wooden bridges and climbed over rocks and creeks but we got the pictures and made it back on time to hear the live band play while the guest enjoyed an Italian feast.
They danced and talked for hours and seemed to speak to every guest with the utmost attention. It was such a good day.
Thank you Ashley and Katie for choosing us on your most important day!
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