A wedding reception at Turning Stone, a ceremony at Immaculate Conception, and it all started when the bride and groom were set up.  Set up by the groom’s older brother Matt.  I love these types of stories where one brother meets a kind, sweet girl and immediately thinks that she would be just the kind of person that he’d want his younger brother to marry.  This was just the case with Katelyn and Mike!  Matt worked with Katelyn, got to know her, and when the time was right introduced the two of them!  Fast forward to August 17, 2019, their wedding day!

Here are a few of the bride’s details, her shoes, bouquet, bracelet and broach from her grandmother!

Here is the bride herself!  Katelyn looked stunning her wedding dress!  My favorite aspect of the dress was all the gorgeous lace around the neckline.

While the bride and bridesmaids were getting ready at the Courtyard Marriott, Mike and groomsmen were all ready at the church for photos with Andrew!

The groomsmen were so fun and I’m not going to lie… I loved their ties!

In our meeting before the wedding, Katelyn and Mike had requested we get a shot of Mike’s cuff links.  I wasn’t sure what the significance of them was but now that I see them, I LOVE them!  Such a sweet keepsake from their wedding day!

Once it was time for the ceremony, Katelyn just beamed all the way down the aisle!

While I couldn’t hear Mike as Katelyn’s dad was handing her off, I’m pretty sure it went something like, “Hey!  You look gorgeous!”

Oh please guys, stop smiling at each other. I’d think you were in love or something!

Then there was the kiss at the altar.  I really love the look on Erin, the Maid of Honor’s face!

From the short time between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of family pictures, all of our phones began to chime a tornado and severe thunderstorm alert.  But one of the best things about doing wedding pictures at Turning Stone is their plethora of places to shoot out of the rain!  During our picture time, the rain even tapered down to a drizzle so we could step out from under cover and shoot beside the creek in front of The Lodge!

I love these fun, candid pictures of the bride and groom and the real emotions on their faces!

Here are a few bridal portraits of just Katelyn!

And of course, Andrew got a few of Mike in the meantime!

Mr. & Mrs.!

The girls were all cued up and ready to go once we were done with bride and groom photos!  I love this group hug!

Check out how sharp the whole bridal party looks!

After about an hour, as summer thunder storms tend to do, it blew away and you would have never known that it had been raining!  So during their Cocktail Hour, we asked Mike and Katelyn if they’d like to do just a few more wedding pictures out near Turning Stone’s golf course behind the Shenendoah Clubhouse.

The sun actually came out…

… and we got the “glowy”, beautifully backlit photos that I really wanted!

I loved Katelyn’s waist length veil… not too short, not too long!

And then after maybe 10 minutes, we let them head back to their guests and Cocktail Hour while we went into the ballroom and grabbed a few detail shots.

 

The bride and groom shared their First Dance to Diamonds or Twine by Ryan Hurd

In all my years shooting weddings, I’ve come to really enjoy the toasts by the Best Man and the Maid of Honor.  Its a time when Andrew and I get to know the bride and groom a bit better as told by their best friends… the sweet, the funny, the kind of stuff that makes me cry.

And then!… we had a dance party hosted by the band Nik Lite!  And gosh were they fun!!!

As the orange sun was setting, we grabbed Mike and Katelyn one last time.  These cotton candy clouds just make me so excited!

To Katelyn, Mike, their friends and family… thank you so much for allowing Andrew and I to be a part of the biggest celebration of your lives. We were truly honored!

If you’d like to get to know us a bit better, check out our Team Hawkins page or more of our work here!

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