Crystal and Justin were so awesome to work with. Despite it raining ALL day on their wedding day, we were able to get some stunning portraits of them. Their love for each other was extremely apparent all day long. One of my favorite parts from the day was during the first look, Justin choked up a little, and it was so sweet.

Thank you, Crystal and Justin, for letting us work with you guys and trusting us to document your day! I hope that you both cherish these photos forever.

-Ann-Marie

“Justin and I met through mutual friends of ours, and we had actually met a few times before when Justin’s close friend finally convinced him to take a chance and message me. We texted and called each other for a few weeks before we finally went on our first date.” – Crystal

“Justin and I contemplated having a first look for a long time before we actually decided on it. He was worried about not getting the full effect when I walked down the aisle, but I wanted to ensure we had enough time to take pictures with our families and bridal party. For me, I am glad we had a first look because it was the moment when the stress of the day and planning the wedding melted away, and I was so excited to get to see him. Justin teared up at the first look, and when I walked down the aisle, so I would say that he got a double dose of the full effect!” – Crystal

“We had our two black labs, Daily and Goose, join us for pictures before the ceremony. We really wanted them to be a part of our day and be able to have photos of them forever.” – Crystal

“Instead of reading personally written vows during our ceremony, Justin and I wrote each other a letter to read before our wedding that we called ‘our vows’ to be able to share a special moment before the busyness of the day began.” – Crystal

“A special memento I had was my grandmother’s rosary wrapped around my bouquet. My grandmother passed away last year, and it felt really special to have a part of her so close to me. My older sister had used her rosary when she got married, and it was nice to be able to carry on that tradition.” – Crystal

“Nothing was going on in Oxford the weekend Justin planned to propose, which was pretty rare. There was no sports game, and none of our friends were visiting from out of town, or so I thought. We had reservations to eat dinner at Grit that night, which is one of our favorite restaurants and is where we celebrate most of our special occasions. I knew that Justin had gotten my engagement ring and was planning on proposing, but I had no idea as to when it would happen. Of all the weekends that Justin could have proposed, I was 100% sure that it would not be this specific weekend because my twin sister was out of town interviewing for her graduate program. I was clueless, and I kept thinking to myself, ‘huh, that’s weird, but okay, whatever.’ Justin shaved his beard, was wearing a sports coat, telling me to wear a dress, and was rushing me to hurry up, and I didn’t think into any of it because I was so sure this wasn’t the weekend he would propose. Well, little did I know that my sister’s interview ended sooner than she told me, and she secretly flew into town, along with my older sister and the rest of our families and friends, to surprise me. Justin told me that we were going to grab drinks before dinner on the Square with his parents and as we were walking, he pulled me over and dropped down to one knee to propose in front of the courthouse. I was the most excited I have ever been! After we celebrated at dinner, Justin told me that we were now actually going to meet his parents for a drink and when we walked up to Boure, he surprised me again with all our family and friends screaming off the balcony to celebrate with us. We spent the rest of the night celebrating and reminiscing on that perfect day that we will never forget!” – Crystal

“Proposing was one of the most nerve-racking things I have ever done, from the planning, all the way to actually proposing. For months before the proposal, I had been secretly planning a party for afterward that included our families and our closest friends. I had rented out a venue and hired a photographer, so all that was left was to propose. A few days before, I suggested that we have a date night at one of our favorite restaurants, Grit. The whole reason for me doing that is so she would be dressed up for the photos. I had also tasked my mom to take her to get her nails done earlier in the week because I knew she would want them done. We get to the day of, and I can’t focus on anything else, I’m very nervous, and I’m practicing what I’m going to say, and on top of that, I am having to make sure she doesn’t find out her family is in town. We are finally on our way to ‘get drinks’ so I can get her to the proposal location- in front of the courthouse on the Square. We get there, and I find myself uncontrollably nervous. I get to the spot and get down on one knee, and I honestly don’t remember much after that; I kind of blacked out. So we finish, and everybody is cheering, and we took photos, and it was amazing. She was so beautiful and glowing with excitement. It was one of the happiest days of my life.” – Justin

“Maggie Louise helped me find the perfect dress, and I have never felt more beautiful than I did in that dress!” – Crystal

“Having our wedding during this pandemic certainly threw many obstacles our way, and with the addition of an unexpected hurricane, our wedding day was still the most incredible day of our lives. Because of COVID- 19 regulations, we reduced our guest count and had a smaller wedding than originally planned. Being able to have our family and closest friends still attend and celebrate, we feel so incredibly thankful and loved. We are blessed to of been able to still get married in a time when so many others had to postpone or completely cancel and that none of our guests contracted COVID-19 at our wedding.” – Crystal

“All of our vendors worked seamlessly together, and we couldn’t have asked for an easier day. A&N catered our wedding, and the food was so delicious that we are still getting compliments from our family and friends. Their bartenders especially did a phenomenal job since we had more complicated ‘his and her’ cocktails. Justin’s was the Oxford American, which is one of Grit’s original specialty cocktails, and mine was a Pimm’s Cup.” – Crystal

“The best advice that I had received as a bride was to not overly stress out- that I wouldn’t care or even worry about any of the small details I had planned because, on that day, the only thing I would care about was marrying Justin. And it was true. This would be my advice to any bride because really nothing mattered on that day. All I thought about was the excitement of getting to marry my best friend.” – Crystal

“People say that rain on your wedding day is good luck, and maybe with not only rain but also a pandemic that we will have good luck for a lifetime!” – Crystal

Lead Photographer: Ann-Marie Wyatt | Second Shooter: Alex Sage | Dress: Maggie Louise Bridal | Bridesmaids Dresses: Satin and Lace Bridal | Bride’s Cake: Sweet T’s Bakery | Venue: The Mill at Plein Air | Coordinators: Ellen Thomas Event Design & One Fine Day Events | Officiant: Father Joe Tonos | Flowers: Twisted Twig | Rentals: Details Rentals | Band: Mike Rob and the 601 | Caterer: A&N Catering | Hair and Makeup: J Lauren and Co.