Jared proposed to Nicole with a Nifler. Nicole searched high and low for the perfect Funko Pop cake topper for their day (pretty sure she even did some head/body switching to get it just right!). On their wedding day, they gifted the two of us with our very own HP wands. Nicole and Jared are our people, and we adore them. We loved that their wedding perfectly reflected how awesome these humans are, and it was also the perfect example of why we have the BEST job in the world.
C'mon along, we're bound to overshare, so get ready . . .
We've gotta rewind a bit to give you the whole picture here. We met these two back in 2019, and planned to photograph their wedding in April of 2020. You already know where this is headed, right? Yeah, COVID impacted many things, and the McGowan wedding was one of them. Since it was still such a scary time, Jared & Nicole chose to postpone their big day, and opted for the next best thing: they got married on their original date, in their own home. The big ceremony and party would come later. Like two years later.
Guys, Nicole was an actual WEDDING PLANNER, with every. single. detail. planned out perfectly to reflect who she and Jared are as people and a couple. The grace and patience she and Jared have shown these past couple years as they awaited the wedding of their dreams has been remarkable to witness.
So now we fast-forward up to April 2022--when their day was finally happening!!
Like we mentioned, Nicole knows what she is doing when it comes to planning a wedding! Every detail was so well thought-out, she picked amazing vendors, and everything truly came together so well. We'll highlight many of those things as we go, starting right here. Word on the street is that Nicole told Robyn over at RK Florals to put together flowers of certain colors, and gave her creative control to do her thing. And Robyn delivered in a big way! You guys, those flowers were GOR-geous. Scroll to see Nicole's "bouquet first look" and the amazing floral designs Robyn created. Lesson learned, brides out there--let the florist handle the design, cause they clearly know best!
Have we mentioned the wedding was held at The Crystal Coop in Anderson.? We love this venue for SO many reasons, but we will let it speak for itself in the photos--just don't miss the Tiffany blue barn doors coming up later.
The ladies were glammed up by Andi from Something Blue Stylists. Par for the course with the vendors Nicole selected, her work was fantastic!!!
Back in 2019 when we met Jared and Nicole, our VERY first conversation was centered around Jared's passionate refusal of anything resembling a first look on their day. Seriously, we argued with this stranger, laughed with his fiancé, and that's when we knew we loved them both!! Guys, we tried our best and gave all of our own passionate reasons why we are pro-first look, but alas, the man would not be swayed.
PSA: It should be noted that while we do really love first looks, we're always totally on board when a couple wants to wait until the ceremony to see each other. We promise. :)
So next up--bridesmaids and groomsmen photos, separately, of course!!
Ceremony time!! The Crystal Coop has the perfect outdoor location for ceremonies. It's gorgeous, and that aisle is dramatically long in the BEST way.
One quick extra tidbit of info--the officiant you see here was subbed in sometime during the 24 hours before the wedding. You'd never know--the ceremony was flawless and beautiful. We should all have a friend who's willing to do what it takes to step up and save the day!
We loved getting together the full bridal party for their photos. They were such a fun group. We've already established that Nicole and Jared have good taste and judgement--so all their best people were no exception. We laughed so much with this group.
We sent the Bridal party off to cocktail hour and spent some time with N&J finally taking their bride and groom portraits. We say it all the time--it's so important to us that we help create moments for our couples throughout their day. Those are the times they get to relax, rest, and reset with each other before heading back to the wedding day festivities. You'll see us do this one more time later in the evening.
Before we let you in to the reception, we're gonna show you around a bit, mkay? Everything was set up beautifully, and Nicole & Jared even found ways to include their dogs into the decor! Since we're highlighting so many of their amazing vendors, we'd like to introduce you to Chef Susan's Catering, Slice of Heaven Cakery, and Tina's Traditional British Tea. We could NOT wait to try all of these foods, because Nicole & Jared had raved so much about them (they love their vendors, and it shows!). Chef Susan even donned a Hogwarts t-shirt under her chef's jacket for the occasion. Everything was as wonderful as N&J claimed it would be!!
Okay, that last photo skipped ahead a bit, but we had to throw it in there. :) On to the actual party!
At some point in the reception, Deann realized we had a little bit of a sunset peeking through the clouds for us to grab some final bride & groom photos. It was a perfect time to sneak N&J off for a few minutes and let them have another quiet (and magical!) moment together.
And then it was back to the reception fun!! DJ Futon John had everyone on their feet and enjoying the night. Fun fact: wedding receptions flow SOO much better when DJ's and photographers collaborate throughout the night. We got to hang out with John quite a bit, and he was fantastic to work with!
Another fun fact: the entire wedding day also flows SOO much better when videographers and photographers collaborate. If you're looking for a videographer, head straight to Danielle Clark Filmography and book her. For real. Danielle is just the sweetest, also the smiley-est (we invented that word just for her), and so creative. We have been waiting forever to work with her, and we're here to say that she is awesome (you can see her in action below). We can't wait to see what she captured for N&J!
Anyway, the dancing and laughter carried on for everyone. Jared and one of his groomsmen even gave all of us an exclusive performance of their traditional karaoke song, and it did NOT disappoint. We'll never hear that song again without thinking of those two! We bet you can figure out which photo below was taken during that time--it was so hard to focus and take photos despite our astonishment and laughter!
The whole dang day was just PERFECTION.
If you ask us, we'd say this wedding was 100% WORTH THE WAIT. We're so thankful to Jared & Nicole for letting us capture the moments throughout their day. Wish we could do it all over again!! We're gonna have to come up with some excuse to hang out again soon, because we're already in McGowan withdrawal. Congrats, you two, we just love you both!
