The perfect way to infuse your Big Day with bundles upon bundles of personality? Craft every last moment yourself… with the help of a fab team of vendors and your devoted friends and family, of course. And this darling Kingsland duo? Well, they did just that, calling upon some uber-talented friends for florals and decor (Gardenia Floral Design), paper goods and live entertainment (Damion Suomi and the Minor Prophets), all while using their own talents to pull off one seriously epic wedding. See every last moment captured by Whitney Huynh in the full gallery.
From Whitney Huynh Photography… I love Dawn and Samuel, their wedding and their family! They invited us into their wedding with open arms. We felt so welcome. We made so many new friends and so many new memories.
Several months ago Dawn had contacted me about doing their engagement session… at the Brave’s Stadium. Just what I needed to break the rut of shooting at the same spots around town. We had a blast, and the images are still some of my very favorite.
Dawn and her parents practically planned this entire wedding by themselves with the help of a few vendor friends. I must say, it was everything Dawn and Samuel had imagined and dreamed of.
From the Bride… Samuel is from the furthest Northeast county of Georgia (Rabun) and I’m from the furthest Southeast county (Camden). When we first got engaged, we were lucky enough to have the beautiful mountains or the low country as our options for a wedding location. We decided on my hometown in the end, because of budget and being able to enlist my parent’s help. I know most people think of St. Simons and Jekyll Island when they imagine Georgia low country, but I wanted to show our friends and his family the gorgeous county I call home, which includes places like Cumberland Island and St. Marys. The Shell Cracker House was the perfect venue for the vision we had of a Southern vintage wedding on the St. Marys River.
The most important thing for us was to have a wedding and celebration that was fun and a community effort, like a true traditional wedding. One of the groomsmen designed and letterpressed our invitations, our officiant was a childhood friend, a close friend with a successful floral business did the flowers and decor and the band was that of Samuel’s former roommate. Since I grew up “junking” with my parents, I’ve always loved vintage and antique things, so the entire style of our wedding reflected a romantic, vintage vibe. A lot of the details were either made by hand or refinished by us, including the furniture and peach boxes used to hold our programs and escort cards.
The day came together better than we could have ever imagined. Both our families, immediate and extended, and even random strangers who lived near the venue helped set everything up. The weather was perfect, everyone was smiling with happy tears streaming down their faces, and Samuel and I had a beautiful and personal ceremony that we wrote together. The handkerchiefs we provided definitely came in handy! The party was just as personal with it being kicked off with a Braves tomahawk chop as soon as we were announced; Samuel and I are the biggest Braves fans. We danced and sang the night away with one of our most beloved live bands and celebrated the start of our life together to the fullest. We could not have had the wedding day of our dreams if it wasn’t for the people we love coming together to help us. Our families, friends, vendors and random strangers put together an amazing day that we will talk about for the rest of our lives.
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Wedding Photography: Whitney Huynh Photography | Second Shooter: Jenn Wiemann Photography | Wedding Venue: Shell Cracker House, Kingsland, Georgia | Floral Design + Lighting: Gardenia Floral Design | Catering: Creative Catering and Design | Wedding Cake: Swanky Bakes | Rentals: Camden Party Rentals | Band: Damion Suomi and the Minor Prophets | Wedding Dress: La Sposa via Sweet Elegance | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Bill Levkoff via Wedding Shop Inc | Matron of Honor Dress: Alvina Valenta via La Raines Bridal | Hair: Andrea Minter | Makeup: Amber Legier