A million years ago (okay, really just 13), when I married Drew, I remember having a conversation with our wedding photographer about family portraits. I didn’t want ANY. I was the bride who wanted only candids (“real moments!”), and I didn’t have any intention of framing stuffy formal pictures of family members staring straight at the camera. And to be fair, those still are not my personal favorites from our wedding (grandma cutting a rug on the dance floor is SUCH a better photo than her stiffly smiling on the altar). But there was one particular photo that was important to my husband’s father – one of five brothers, he wanted a formal photo of the five brothers together. When I mentioned this to my photographer, he responded by saying, “This is why I love weddings. It’s for the moments that don’t happen any other time.” And you know – he was absolutely right. In the midst of the flowers, and the lace, the canoodling and the funny groomsmen’s socks, there is FAMILY. Christa and James’s wedding reminded me of this in the best way.
Their Mobile wedding united a South Dakota bride with an Alabama man, and I teared up multiple times watching the families savor their time together. A pretty huge contingent of the bride’s family traveled south for the nuptials, and the day was peppered with stories from their childhood, inside jokes, and shared memories of “remember when grandpa…?” Even the speeches centered on their family; the bride’s father thoughtfully and meaningfully thanked each and every of his family members who had traveled in from out of state, and it was incredibly touching to see the love that was so clearly shared. Even better was seeing how eagerly and kindly they welcomed James into their clan – one of my favorite moments was when Christa’s family pulled him into a group dance, which had him laughing like he had spent years in South Dakota getting to know them.
As for that photo from MY wedding, with all five brothers? It’s framed in my house to this day.
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHER: Aislinn
VENDORS
PHOTOGRAPHY: AISLINN KATE PHOTOGRAPHY // COORDINATION: Noble Events (Marcie) // GETTING READY VENUE: The Admiral Hotel // CEREMONY: The Pillars // RECEPTION: The Pillars // FLOWERS: Ron Barrett // CEREMONY VIOLINIST: En En Yu // DJ: Gary Fuller // TRANSPORTATION: Gulf Coast Tours and Hunter Limousine // CAKES: Ellen Jay // RENTALS: Soho Events & Rentals // OFFICIANT: Johnny Hunt // HAIR + MAKEUP: Sarah Morton with Studio 36 at Opus // WEDDING GOWN DESIGNER: Pronovias // WEDDING GOWN BRIDAL SHOP: Lulu’s Bridal (Dallas) // BRIDESMAIDS DRESS DESIGNER: David’s Bridal // GROOM’S SUIT DESIGNER: Calvin Klein // GROOM’S SUIT SHOP: Men’s Wearhouse // CATERING: Naman’s // INVITATIONS: Shine// PIANIST: Daniel Driskell
