Intimate Alabama Wedding
What do you get when Austin Gros photographs a beautiful wedding day in Alabama? Something very lovely, of course! We can’t get enough of how simple and intimate Sarah and Will’s deep south wedding is, nor can we get over that it looks so effortless and yet so refined at the same time. Using the stunning nature scenes surrounding them, Invision Events transformed a family home from the groom’s side into the perfect location to continue their family legacy. Talk about tearjerker! Marked swooped in and added some impressive blooms from the ceremony altar pieces to the floral crowns worn by the bride and her maids. We love how this Alabama day is so heartfelt and steeped in family roots!
From the bride, Sarah: Will and I wanted a small, intimate wedding. As we searched around for venues, we had a little bit of difficulty finding that right place. On a visit to Will’s father’s house, it occurred to me that the whole time the place for us was right under our noses! In early 1975, Will’s grandfather (Papa) found an old shotgun in Marvin, Alabama, and moved it to 13 acres he owned in Opelika. It’s a special place, set off the road a few hundred yards and surrounded by pines and hardwoods. When Papa died, he left the home to Will’s father. The house itself is a piece of Whatley family history. We decided to (humbly) add to the legacy by having our ceremony and reception there.
We wanted to create a nostalgic and timeless feel for the guests and used the weddings of our respective grandparents as inspiration. For example, my oversized bouquet and flowers came from Will’s grandmother’s wedding portraits. The seven-piece band played toe-tapping jazz classics, the kind that just put a smile on your face. More than anything else, the music really seemed to enhance the timeless vibe we were shooting for. All in all, we tried to tip our hats to a bygone era while celebrating the future we were beginning together.
