Gals, pull that box of tissues a little closer. Bride Casey (you may remember her from here) commissioned Catherine Orr to create a short family documentary video about her relationship with her mom, a stage-four breast cancer survivor who also happens to be her best friend. The two kept the project a secret for months, until Casey gave the final video to her mom the day before her wedding. Please enjoy the beautiful result.

Have a wonderful weekend celebrating the women in your life! We’ll see you back here on Monday.

Though wedding films generally put a smile on my face, Shirley + Lijay’s big day in Austin, Texas, was one that truly reflected their fun-loving personalities and chemistry together. Though a storm was headed straight for the city, their ceremony was all sunshine, making their vows even more special and showing us how adorable these two are together and how excited they are to start their married life! Sending big hugs to Vanessa McKellar for sending this our way!

From the bride:

Lijay and I live in San Francisco, but with both sides of our families back in Texas, there was no place more perfect to get married than our college town, Austin, TX. Our friends and family thought we were insane to have an outdoor wedding in Texas in the middle of the summer, but we assured them that we would keep the ceremony short and then everyone can retreat back into the hotel.

The one thing we could not plan for was the Texas thunderstorms. The week leading up to our wedding, temperatures averaged 109 degrees, so we planned to have the ceremony as close to sundown as possible. As we were getting ready, I kept looking out my window to watch the trees and the Texas flag blowing violently from the winds of the coming storm.

Our florists, Petal pushers, called my fiance to let him know that they were going to start moving their arrangements indoors. He said to wait as long as possible before doing so and “whatever you do…don’t tell
Shirley!” Our friends from Houston were calling to tell us that the storm had already blown past them and it was headed straight for Austin! My husband made the gutsy call to keep the ceremony outside and it turned out to be a wonderful ceremony. Once we got through the beautiful, picturesque ceremony, everyone moved inside for the cocktail hour. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before it started pouring outside. It was a Texas miracle!

Much like when looking at Lynae + Brenton’s wedding photos, I guarantee you’ll feel a smile creeping across your face when you watch this film by FocalPoint Cinematic Weddings. These two are just so full of life! From their vows (weren’t you wondering what they were saying to each other after viewing these photos??) to their exuberant balloon parade and fabulous dance moves, this is one wedding that I’m so glad we get to see come to life.

For all the credits and photos, be sure to check out parts one and two!

Since the Old Edwards Inn is my absolute favorite destination in North Carolina (see here for why!), this film from McKenzie Miller was a shoe-in from the start. If I needed extra convincing, though, Wesley’s mile-wide smile, her shocked face when she opened Matt’s gift, and all of the (Southern) winter details that filled their wedding did the trick. Please enjoy, friends!

From the bride:

On January 26, 1957, my grandmother married my grandfather in Moultrie, Georgia. 57 years later to the day, I became Mrs. Matthew Edmonds up in the beautiful mountains of Highlands, NC. We lost my grandfather in September of last year and couldn’t have imagined a better way to remember him on their anniversary. It was the most incredible feeling to be surrounded by our two families and our closest friends for an entire weekend of celebrating what God has blessed the two of us with.

We had only dated for a year when we got engaged but that saying “you know when you know”, well, I believe it! Highlands made the perfect setting for an Atlanta girl and a Birmingham boy to be joined in marriage before God and before our very favorite people. We are so blessed and thankful for such a perfect weekend, icy roads and all, and couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to forever.

Thank you so much for sharing, McKenzie!

Pen Weddings made a perfect song choice and combined it with spot-on editing to create a film that is simply beautiful. Of course, it’s easier to make something heartfelt when you have such good material to work with, and Sarah + Rick definitely did, from the touching words at Elyse + Andre’s ceremony to the sentimental footage from Elyse’s childhood home to the bride’s gorgeous Christos gown (just like me!). And keep an eye out for the father daughter dance — it actually made me tear up, something which does NOT happen often! (Sarah admitted that it’s one of just two that have made her cry in her career, too!)

From the bride, Elyse:

When I first imagined my wedding, I suppose I though about the classic things most brides do. What dress will I wear? What color flowers do I want? Tux or Suit? Band or DJ? I didn’t want to find myself, a year later, browsing Pinterest and regretting every choice I had made. After all, you only get one shot at this and everything must be PERFECT.

Ultimately, that mindset was only setting me up for a stressful and disappointing day, filled mostly with bridezilla meltdowns and lots of eye rolling from my groom. When the guests had gone home, the flowers had wilted, and the white dress placed on a shelf in the closet – would those things still be what were most important to me? No.

Thankfully, I had a change of heart. Instead of focusing on perfection, I chose to focus on love.

Today, when I remember our wedding, my mind doesn’t race with all of the countless details. Instead, I think about the small, quiet, intimate moments that made that day so special. The laughter of my best friends as we reminisced about our childhood, the nervous smile of my future husband as he waited to see me for the first time, the whisper of a tear in my dad’s eye as he held me on the dance floor. These are the moments I remember when I think about that day.

Overall, Andre and I really just wanted our wedding to be about love – the love the Lord has for us, the love we share with each other, the love of our friends and family, and all of the moments during our special day where love still dwells.

Pen Weddings is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!