Kennedy & Jordan's Tallahassee Summer Wedding Photos

Floral Design - Eats by Elyse

Bridal hair design - Erin Stoner

Officiant - Paul Gilbert, Lead Pastor of Four Oaks Killearn (Kennedy’s childhood pastor)

Venue - Hayward House American Bistro

If you missed Kennedy and Jordan’s Engagement Session along with some of their story, you might want to check that out first! Kennedy and Jordan enjoyed an intimate wedding ceremony at Kennedy’s charming childhood home followed by a reception at Hayward House American Bistro in downtown Tallahassee.

It’s a blessing to become friends with clients while we work closely together leading up to their wedding, but in this case, we started out that way on the front end! Play dates with our littles, girl nights discussing our favorite books (hello Emma Lion…).

After praying for Jordan and Kennedy in every stage of their blossoming relationship, getting to be their wedding photographer was a full circle moment.

Ask anyone in their families and you’d hear a similar sentiment - they pair so well together! God’s sovereignty in their story was evident in so many ways, and this wedding was a celebration of God’s work of redemption in both their lives.

Many prayers by those who love and care for them led to this special day; the official first day of their family.

Psalm 145 seems a fitting tribute to our great God, who poured out his blessing of marriage on these dear friends.

Great Is the Lord

A Song of Praise. Of David.

145 I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your[b] mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.][c]
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 145

The First Look

Wedding Ceremony

Hayward House Reception

Floral Design by Eats by Elyse - Tablescapes | Dinner Parties | Gatherings

Venue - Hayward House American Bistro

Road Trip: Florida + Mississippi

We ventured down to Florida and Mississippi last week, so I wanted to share a few highlights of our trip, including adult lunchables and pretty to-go coffee cups, courtesy of Target's clearance section.  It's about a 12-hour drive from Louisville to Tallahassee, so we had plenty of what I like to call "talk time".  My husband Derrik happens to be my favorite person to chat with, so those 12 hours were well spent :)

Here's what I'm calling an Adult Lunchable - see above.  Did you love eating those kids Lunchables with the cracker sticks, delicious fake cheese and turkey squares?  As a child, I firmly believed they were the best thing Publix had to offer, which is saying a lot given my love-love relationship with the place.   

Part 1: Tallahassee, Florida

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We were fortunate to stay with friends during our trip (such an awesome way to catch up, and eat wonderful food when your friends are such good cooks!).  This trip was full of good food.  Side note - I'm realizing I really like parentheses.  It's like letting you into my internal dialogue.  Ok, moving on!

Did I mention this trip was full of good food?  It's fun to go back to where you used to live and enjoy your favorite foodie spots while you're in town.  At least that's how I justify it! ;)  That Chai Latte was from RedEye Coffee - a shop Derrik and I frequented when we were dating.  Such good memories!  That amazing looking pizza was from Blaze Pizza, a chain we'd been wanting to try.  We ordered the BBQ Chicken pizza and added roasted garlic and Siracha for a little kick.  We went back later that week and ordered it again because it was that good.  I'm glad we have a Blaze Pizza in Lousiville because 12 hours would be a little long of a drive to satisfy that craving!

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I had to get a picture of these beautiful dogs while we were at RedEye Coffee.  

It’s so FLUFFY!
— name that movie

Part 2: Mississippi Gulf Coast

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The second leg of our trip took us to Mississippi to visit friends and family for Memorial Day weekend.  We were able to celebrate Derrik's mom's birthday while we were in town, and continued the trend of amazing food.  One of my favorite activities we did was walking down cute streets in Ocean Springs.  Fashion boutiques, candy stores and bakeries?  I can get behind that!

#carbs for the win.

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After going to church and walking through downtown Ocean Springs, we relaxed on the porch where Derrik's mom has a cute area full of healthy plants, including these little succulents, evidence of her green thumb.


A birthday celebration wouldn't be complete without birthday cake!  My mother-in-law always goes to a certain bakery in her town called Anderson's for every occasion that requires cake, which I think should be nearly every occasion!  Every time I taste something from that bakery, I'm reminded why she's so loyal to it (she ordered our Rehearsal Dinner desserts from Anderson's and they were a hit!).

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Part of the birthday festivities involved a legit master-level buffet.  We tried to sample foods we wouldn't normally order when we go out to eat, so we took full advantage of the crab legs! 

We rounded out the trip with a stop by Derrik's old stomping grounds: the University of Southern Mississippi.  It was neat to hear his stories about college there, and feed off his excitement to be back.  

I had two photoshoots while we were down south, one which was posted last week (see here), and I'll be posting the second this week, so stay tuned!