He turned from the crowd and looked down, shaking his head just a little. I knew Mark was trying to get control of his emotions. It didn’t work. When his beautiful bride started down the aise on the arm of her dad, all the work he had done to stay in control vanished. He loves that lady. And now Victoria is his wife.

Even before the wedding, there were lumps and outright tears for those of us who were blessed to see the mother-son first look. The love and connection between Victoria and Brayden is one of the sweetest ever, and her handsome son absolutely lost it when he saw his mama in her wedding dress. It’s something I’ll never forget.

If you’ve been in Kentucky lately, you know that the theme of the week has been wind. And when you are planning an outdoor wedding, wind matters. Aside from helping create beautiful veil shots, (and we got some of those with both Brayden’s and the wind’s help), it really changes your plans for you. The wind didn’t stop the beauty of the couple and their wedding. And the insanely beautiful sunset glow made up for the wind playing havoc with photo options earlier in the day.  (Scroll past the reception photos to see those.)

I just can’t say enough how amazing this couple is and how beautiful their wedding was.  Watching how the guests applauded this couple, and how much they were congratulated showed me how genuinely they are loved and appreciated by their families.

Thankfully there was a beautiful back porch available for us to hide from part of the wind.  These awesome ladies were up for anything we needed to do to make bridal pictures happen.

The world sees photos of a dreamy wedding, but what we often don’t see is the months of planning and work that happens to make each wedding so memorable.  I noticed how beautiful the sunflowers were on the Hamby’s cake, but the back story is pretty cool.  Connie, the groom’s mother was worried about them arriving on time, so she ordered them early.  They arrived nearly a month before the wedding.  Her plan was to freeze them.  That was a no go.  They could not be frozen and also could not be exposed to moisture.  So she stored them in a bedroom and kept her house frigid for that whole month so they wouldn’t disintegrate due to humidity.   They were beautiful, and I know Connie is so happy to have her home at a normal temp again.

Thanks Brayden.  You were awesome help to me!!

I work fast, but Mark survived about a thousand more smiles than he probably wanted.  I knew he didn’t love having his pic made, but because of the way he handled it, you’ll never see that show in these wedding images.  Mark, thank you for being the guy you are.  I appreciate your willingness to make these happen.

Victoria and Mark, your wedding was beautiful, but the love you share and the life you are building is even more sweet.  I was blessed to photograph your most important day so far, and I hope you will enjoy these for years to come.  Love and blessings,  Pat

Huge Thanks to Mallory Lawrence for your kindness 

Catering   |   Handcock’s Neighborhood Mkt 

Cake Artist   |   Jasmine Marin from Hancock’s Neighborhood Mkt

Bride’s Bouquet & Groom’s Boutonniere   |   Prickly Peach 

DJ  |  Sean Mestan

Bridal Party Host   |   Bleidt’s Bucks & Bass Cabins