I knew from the day I met Nick and Kelly that they were going to define what my ideal client was. My relationship with them began when Nick inquired with me about photographing his proposal to Kelly. Nick and Kelly live in Memphis, TN and I live in Northern Virginia. Nick was bringing Kelly to DC to pop the question so I had to do some scouting to find a good location for them that was en route from their hotel to the restaurant they were having dinner at. I could tell how excited Nick was and how he just knew that this was really going to catch Kelly by surprise. We were nervous about the weather and the amount of people that might be crowding the National Mall over Labor Day weekend in 2015. The rain scheduled for that day never came and Smithsonian Castle turned out to beat the perfect place with only a few passersby. After Nick proposed, successfully catching Kelly by surprised, we went right into an engagement session with the National Monuments taking place as their backdrop. I had so much fun in the hour I spent with them, and it meant a lot to me that in between monuments they were calling all of their family members to share the news!
I arrived in Memphis the day before the wedding to attend their rehearsal dinner at Folk’s Folly Steakhouse. The food there was absolutely amazing and everyone was so friendly! Nick took me by surprise by keeping in touch with me the entire step of the way, making sure I got in on time and had no trouble with my rental car or finding my hotel. When I met them at their rehearsal dinner, they walked me around and introduced me to everyone. I felt like an old friend and everyone they introduced me to treated me the same way.
Nick, being friends on social media, took note of my ritual of stopping at Chick-fil-a on my way to every wedding and made sure to tell me where I could find the closest one. I picked up my Chick-fil-a and headed to Hedge Farm in Byhalia, Mississippi where they were getting married. When I arrived, the place was already adorned with details from photos of the two of them a children and as a couple to pews with quilts and blankets creating the aisle the Kelly would walk down.
Kelly was relaxed as could be, she was just full of smiles and laughter the whole afternoon. Nick on the other hand I could tell was full of nerves. He didn’t seem anxious but you could tell that wanted everything to be perfect for Kelly and that that was the most important thing to him.
Before Kelly even made her way down the aisle, Nick was on the verge or tears. As soon as she stepped into view he began to cry. Kelly was all smiles coming down the aisle, she knew that Nick would certainly cry and that was the one photo request she had, was his reaction to seeing her for the first time.
The night was laid back with a buffet dinner beginning right after the ceremony. Nick and Kelly had great barbecue catered by Hog Wild BBQ and delicious bundt cakes for desert from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Following dinner, Nick and Kelly danced the night away surrounded by the most amazing family and friends and I am so lucky to have been the one to document this story for them.
