first baptist columbia & south carolina state museum steel magnolia wedding

From the Steel Magnolia armadillo reference on the wedding cake, to the colorful socks for each groomsmen, this First Baptist Columbia & State Museum wedding was one for the books.

But, I admit, I took far to long to blog this. It’s not because I haven’t wanted too or didn’t have time, I simple just didn’t know where to start.

Doni and I Facetimed last year and I immediately felt a connection with her. Even through a Facetime chat I could tell this girl was something amazing. The coincidences just started adding up and it was clearly a God engineered meeting.

When we finally got our scheduled lined up, I was able to have lunch & meet Brandan. And let me tell you – these are MY people, if you can’t tell my the cover photo for this post… 😉

From the get-go Doni told me she didn’t really want a big wedding but Brandan did. But once you see how thoughtful every detail was during this wedding you would never believe Doni didn’t want to deal with it all. She was so attentive to detail and this wedding contained more personal touches than I can even begin to share. My favorite thing about this fun couple was how easy going they were! The entire day was so much fun and so easy. Brandan & Doni balance each other perfectly.

But, here is the part I couldn’t put into words for the last 6 weeks…

Doni’s mom passed away a few years ago. I lost my dad when I was younger. While not what you’d hope to bond with someone over, our losses built an instant kinship between us. Even now I don’t have words adequate enough to explain how much my heart was drawn to Doni over the loss of a parent. Doni honored her mom and included her mother in every little thing she could. Her brother walked their mom’s Bible down the aisle (where I most definitely had to bit my cheek to not cry) and the Steel Magnolia references were perfection in honoring her mom.

AHHH! Before I cry again, I have to tell you one last adorable detail! For the Father-Daughter dance, Doni surprised her dad with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” to honor their love for Braves baseball! It was adorable and the best Father-Daughter dance I’ve ever seen!

Doni & Brandan, thank you for allowing me to photograph your beautiful wedding and for allowing me to be a part of your story. I am so thankful and blessed to have clients as amazing as y’all! **end the sappy and on to the photos 😉 **

Vendor details at the bottom!