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Julia & Ben
Spring Wedding at the Manor House

Weddings

Julia and Ben’s April wedding at the Manor House is finally here!!! It feels like ages since I last photographed this sweet couple’s engagement session over at Cheesman Park. So much has changed!! Their puppy is not quite a puppy and these two are officially the Hoopers!

Some highlights of the day:

Julia and Ben’s doggos being a part of the day and their cute lil garlands (I think I might have more photos of the Corgi’s than of Ben lol
Learning that Ben (and his whole family) have Tennessee alter egos. Lemme know if you want me to change your blog post to Julia & Tige, Ben!
Julia taking a pull of Fireball right from the bottle
Ben’s face the moment he saw Julia walk down the aisle
Julia’s dress 😍
The weather!!! We had rain in the forecast but the weather could not have been better
Ben’s brothers toast
Julia’s maid of honor Annie with the surprise of the century, a custom champagne bottle with the couple on their wedding day
That one guy that did a backflip during the reception

To Julia & Ben

Cheers you guys!! You did it! I hope you’re living it up right now in Italy. Thank you both for entrusting me to photograph such an important day. It’s been a joy photographing you and your families. Thank you for being so welcoming and easy going, I couldn’t imagine two better people! Wishing y’all all the love and happiness and tons of Italian pasta in your future!!

-Leah

The Story

How did y’all meet?

“At work! I trained Ben and we became good friends; then we both split with our significant others a few months later and the rest is history.”

The Proposal

“We were in Aruba with Ben’s parents; they said they wanted to go down to the beach to take sunset pictures and then he popped the question :)”

Honeymoon Plans

“2 weeks in Italy – 1 week on the Amalfi Coast in Positano and 1 week in Rome :)”

What are you looking forward to most about being married?

“We’ve been together for almost 5 years and lived together for over 3 so we’re not expecting things to change too much, just excited to make it official and celebrate!”

The Wedding Day

Getting Ready

Julia and Ben rented out the guest suites at the Manor House, which meant they were able to get ready on location. I arrived as hair and makeup was just finishing up, so I got to snag a few photos of finishing touches. Julia’s doggos were a part of the wedding, so it was so much fun photographing them while everyone was getting ready.

The couple chose not to do a First Look, so we had to keep them hidden throughout the morning. I always feel a bit like a spy on reconnaissance when the couple chooses not to see each other as I shuttle each party to and fro.

Julia did choose to do a First Look with her dad, which was so sweet. He was such a lovely and intelligent man, it was such a joy seeing that moment.

Ceremony

Time for ceremony!!! The two Corgi’s stole the show as they walked out with cute little garlands. But the real highlight was seeing Ben’s face as Julia walked down the aisle. I am a big advocate of a First Look, but man, it is magical seeing a reveal the traditional way. Their officiant was the Maid of Honor’s mom– it was clear she knew and loved this couple so much, their ceremony was perfect, sentimental with just a touch of humor.

Wedding Party & Family Photos

After the Ceremony and marriage license signing, we did a large group photo. I love doing these. Even if it’s not the best photo technically, it is so nice to have an image with everyone who came out to celebrate you. From there, we ducked over for some quick family photos and then went out to the field for wedding party photos. We kept these short and sweet since this group was itching to party. Start to finish, wedding party photos only took 18 minutes!!

Couples Photos

Speaking of quick photos. The couple is self-proclaimed photo taking haters, so I promised them we’d get in and out super quickly and on to the good stuff. We were able to get all these photos in just 13 minutes. I am such a big advocate of short and sweet portrait sessions throughout the day, this way my couples can actually enjoy themselves. For Julia and Ben we put on some Morgan Wallen and just walked around the property. It lended to some really chill, casual portraits that I love.

Reception

Time for the good stuff!! After a full wedding day, the reception was a perfect way for these two to just let loose. We started with dinner followed by some incredible toasts. Truly, I hear a lot of toasts, but every single person knocked it out of the park. There was laughter, tears and a surprise bottle of custom champagne.

Open Dancing

After cake and bouquet toss, it was time to get the party started! I was there for a solid two hours of open dancing which meant I got to capture some super fun photos. These group was a blast, there were ripped shirts, backflips, dance circles and a pair of glasses that I swear every single person wore at least once.