Real Couples // Backyard Wedding: Janean + Andrew

Real Couples // Backyard Wedding: Janean + Andrew

When Janean first inquired with me about shooting her wedding, she described the wedding as "invoking old fashioned elegance, but not fussy by any means." Janean and Andrew got ready in the home they’ve been renovating over the last year, along with their cat, Pam. Then came a pop-up wedding in Glen Echo Ravine, and it was a very short and sweet ceremony. Led by a flautist, the guests played follow-the-leader to the bride and groom’s Clintonville home for a cocktail hour (catered by Al-Tubasee Street) and a serve-yourself-bar of mini champagne bottles. After toasting the bride and groom, the group moved to the sister of the bride’s house, which was only a few blocks away. The DJ spun records, and the tacos from Taqueria El Fogoncito were plentiful on a beautiful October evening. Janean made the invitations and all of the signage. Hannah Hoffman Jewelry made their custom rings and jewelry.

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Real Couples // Knoxville Winter Backyard Wedding After 26 Years: Diana + Sue

Real Couples // Knoxville Winter Backyard Wedding After 26 Years: Diana + Sue

26 years. That is how long Diana and Sue have been together. I was five years old when they got together. It’s a lifetime when you think about it! And I could feel that lifetime as I walked into their home in Knoxville on their snowy wedding day. Their home was filled with trinkets from a life well lived: hundreds of cookbooks lined the shelves in the kitchen, Christmas cards from the recent holiday hung on the rafters, and photos of children and grandchildren lined the hallways.

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Real Couples // Reception-First Backyard Wedding: Stephanie + Felipe

Real Couples // Reception-First Backyard Wedding: Stephanie + Felipe

Stephanie and Felipe's wedding was an extension of their relationship and their community. They opted to mix things up a bit and do the reception before the ceremony which was a first for me (and hopefully not the last). People got a chance to mingle and catch up, sharing drinks, a great meal, and a lot of laughs. The setting, Stephanie's family backyard, was absolutely perfect and just captured the intimacy, and spirit of this weekend. Stephanie wore a skirt that she loved and turned it into a dress wearing a belt she and her mother made specially for the day. Her mom even hand embroidered napkins for the guests and they were gorgeous. When the ceremony started it seemed like the most natural thing to watch and be part of this day with these two. Words of encouragement were shared by the family and Stephanie sang a song to Felipe, I don't think there was a dry eye there, I know mine were a little damp at one point during the day. The night ended with dancing and time together, no huge send off, just a, "See you tomorrow at brunch." The weekend ended with a brunch at a local vineyard and as with the theme for the weekend you knew this couple wanted this to be as much about everyone else as it was about this new part of their journey together.

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