the one where Payton + Colton get married at a friend's house
I can’t let another day go by. NOT ONE MORE! Today, I’m blogging this bad boy of a wedding for everyone to see! It’s that good.
A little backstory about this wedding…
Payton grew up at Cooper playing basketball with my girls. Heck. All her sisters did. They developed something called Gregory Time. When we would ask in a group about when we should meet and time was decided on, the group would ask, “Is this Gregory Time? Or REAL time?” Because you just knew that “Gregory Time” ran late. It was simply a fact of life. I’m not even sure which Gregory was the one responsible for creating “Gregory Time”? It doesn’t really matter. But I’m rambling. And what I really want to tell you is that this family is so much fun and so darn sweet. So, when Payton fell in love and decided to get married… HELLO! I had to be there! If only to see if the bride and her family would be on time! Which, I’d like to report, they were!
Here come the bullets!!! Are you ready?
(For those that don’t know…sometimes I bullet my thoughts and notes from a wedding as I’m editing, attending, photogarphing, etc.)
The groom’s mom was at a wedding I photographed many moons ago. She’s got a killer karaoke song that I witnessed in person just a few short weeks after this wedding, and her son, the groom totally gets his laugh from her. You can scroll down to witness that in the pretty pictures I included below. Oh! And they both love a good beer bong. That picture? Not included. LOL
The videographer knows the bride’s cousin, I think college roomies? She put a video together of the couple’s day and posted some images on her site. Her name is Mason and we got to hang out together most of the day. Super fun.
Mr. Gregory and Payton have the same smile. In fact, many said they are the SAME. As in thinking, mannerisms, only one has longer hair. I’m not sure about all that but I know he made everyone cry at least once that day.
speaking of crying, the groom of course, CRIED when she came down the aisle. Which was a booger to shoot, by the way. Sunshine galore and a pool in between. I had to pay attention or get wet. Thank you, Colton, for crying.
I loved the flowers! They were simply gorgeous and I’m a sucker for a good bouquet. This one did NOT disappoint.
Feathers are pretty darn cool on a dress. Not sure if it shows in the photos, but Dana, the bride’s mom had feathers on the sleeves of her gown. Super cool!
Praying makes people cry. Especially when you are touching each other and are close together in a bathroom.
I’ve never seen a beer bong AT a wedding reception. Maybe at the rehearsal dinner or the after-party, heck even in the getting ready room, but at the reception? Nope. I kind of like it. I can’t show photos of it because of the shape of the tube, but you get the idea.
Groom’s that bring small flashlights to weddings to use during the garter toss find amazing things under those gowns.
Wedding shoes do NOT have to be new. You can wear shoes you’ve worn before as long as you love them and they make you happy. That’s important. Happiness on your wedding day is the most important thing of all.
When one of your bridesmaids is a nurse, it’s AWESOME. She knows the best stuff to pack and it’s things you just can’t get youself, you know? Pedalyte in JUMBO bottles, meds, and various other ailment remedies. When you really think about it, you never know who’s going to need some nursing.
Some people think black isn’t a great color to wear to a wedding. I beg to differ. Payton let the girls choose their own gowns. It didn’t matter the style, just the length, and the color. HELLO! She wins an award for this, doesn’t she? And it’s always feels (and photographs) elegant to me.
When the groom take shower and his friends are around? You know there’s going to be something to photograph. And there definitely was, but I can’t share that photo. TMI if you know what I mean. Gosh! Guys sure do know how to smell good when they wanna.
Watch out for flies in your wine. Yep. Payton + Colton planned for a communion time during their wedding. They had a sweet table set up with the wine and the bread and when they went in to partake, there were flies belly up in the wine! Good thing these two looked before they drank.
Please have all your groomsmen dance with the mother of the bride. It’s just too darn GREAT when they “frat boy” all over her! Makes for some super great picture taking.
If you bring a +1 to a wedding, (this is for you, Avery) make sure he helps your dad hang a chandelier at the ceremony site instead of sleeping in that day. I’m sure that was a bonding time for those two. No?
I had a new lighting assistant help me out this day. A very good friend of mine, Davia and we had so much fun together! She ran into quite a few of the wedding guests that she knew so it made it a fun night for her as well. Work is always good when it’s fun, right?
Okay, so enough for now. I know you wanna see ALL THE PRETTY PHOTOS! Please be sure and read through all the details that Payton + Colton left in regards to their wedding day. And if you know someone getting married, SEND THEM THE LINK TO THIS BLOG POST! I truly love my job and want everyone to have wedding photographs they love!
Love Does,
Kristin
The gorgeous GREGORY girls!
The following are questions I asked the bride and groom. I love the story behind the photos.
what do you remember most about your day?
Payton - The encouragement, specific prayer, and personal words spoken/written throughout the day are what I remember most. My bridal party and women in my family put together a scrapbook of pictures and personal letters. These words and memories blessed my spirit. These women also specifically prayed over the day, my husband and I, and our lives going forward just before I walked down the aisle. Colton also knows my love for words of affirmation, so we were sure to carve out a bit of time in the day to share letters that we had written to one another (around a corner because we wanted to save our first look for the aisle). Tears filled my eyes through all of these moments, but especially as we stood before the Lord, friends, and family to read our personal vows to one another. Being able to share all of the promises that God laid on my heart over our two-year engagement was by far one of the most memorable moments I have from our day. Going forward, committing to and following through with these promises will always remind me of when we said I do and the evident presence of the Holy Spirit in a moment of such treasured words.
Colton - I remember Payton walking down the aisle, laughing about the panties being thrown around while the song stand up and shout played, and crying saying my vows to Payton.
HOLY MOLY! Talk about getting comfy with the photographer. Colton and his guys we sharing the getting ready space together and I mean TOGETHER. The bathroom and the shower. AT THE SAME TIME. That’s the first thing that came to mind. The main thing I remember about the day more then anything was the intensity of the thought that Payton put into EVERYTHING. Not the details and amount spent on her wedding day, but the thought and intention that went into every decesion based on her and Colton. This girl THINKS. You can definitely see it in her eyes during the ceremony. Gosh! I could feel how much she was into it. Almost like she was blocking everything else out and just concentrating on that moment. In all my many years of photographing wedding, (over 250) I had never witnessed that through my lens before. Oh, and that dance moment with the underwear? YEP. That was definitely a memory! LOL - Kristin
Your ceremony in three words.
Spiritual. Intentional. Beautiful.
music...
Our first dance was to "The Rest of Our Lives" by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The first time that we heard this song play, Colton had already bought the ring and asked my parents for my hand in marriage. I had no idea about either of these things, I just knew I was going to marry Colton someday. We were sitting in my living room listening to new music releases and this song came on. Both of us teared up when we heard the sweet lyrics ("You know there's just something about you. You brighten my day...With you, I'll stay young for the rest of my life.") and just knew that it was our song!
We debated back and forth between having a DJ or a band for a couple of weeks but ended up going with a DJ due to the space limitations we had where we got married and already having very specific song selections picked out for the ceremony and reception dances. The guys who DJ'd for our wedding were Heath Stewart and Todd Chambers (also play for the Spur 327 Band). After we selected the songs that we needed for the ceremony and reception, they put together a FANTASTIC dance playlist just perfect for our reception. Not putting a reception music playlist together myself was one less thing I decided I wanted to worry about in preparing for the wedding, so I completely trusted their judgment on putting one together for us based on what we liked in general and they blew us away. We had the best dance party our my lives!
Any advice for future b + g's?
On the wedding day, whenever you have a chance to step back and take visual snapshots of what's going on around you, DO IT, every chance you get. This was some advice that we were given prior to our big day and these visual and emotional memories that we have in our minds and hearts of our day are so memorable. Also, if you're going to splurge on anything, splurge on photography. The real and raw moments that beautifully happen throughout a wedding day NEED to be captured well! (Shoutout to Kristin. We are IN LOVE with ALL of our wedding pictures!)
Payton, I LOVE YOU!!! Thank you!!!
If you could do it all again, anything you would change?: Not a single thing.
Where did you go on your honeymoon?: We spent our honeymoon and first Christmas together at a resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. A few hours before our arriving flight left the airport, we realized we weren't going to make our connecting flight in Houston due to delays and had to change our flight. We were also upgraded to first-class because that's all that was left on the plane we were switched to. Apparently this isn't a common accommodation that airline companies make, so merry wedding, honeymoon, and Christmas to us! On the flight back home we did not get upgraded to first class. Instead, we snuggled up with the much smaller amount of space there was in coach class. We didn't mind this though! Over our week in Jamaica, we spent a lot of time on the beach and at the pool, relaxing and enjoying one another. We couldn't have had a better getaway for our first week as husband and wife. Jamaica is just BEAUTIFUL and we hope to be back someday!
hair: Hanna B Beauty
makeup: Makeup By Aubrie
flowers: Everly Peach Design
venue: Private Residence (in Idalou, Texas)
dress: Wed Bridal Boutique
tux: Men's Warehouse
video: Mason Huckabee
cake: Colton's Aunt (Ranae Isch)
