Lauren and Zach Key

This wedding was such a blast as I got to work with Chelsey Williams at Whitestone Chapel in Kingston TN. Chelsey and I met in January of 2020 for Kara and Zane's wedding almost exactly a year before this wedding, and I was excited when she reached out to me about helping with Lauren and Zach's special day.

This was the first wedding I photographed since quarantine, so I was so very excited to get started. When I arrived at the venue, I had to catch my breath. Whitestone chapel is set in the mountains of East Tennessee, on the top of a hill overlooking a lake. It was a bit of a hay morning, but it just added to the beauty of the location. it had a wipe open courtyard, a beautiful farm house, and a white chapel for the ceremony. The have in the air almost made it look like it was about to snow and as if the lake went on forever.

For the first set of photos for the day, we got the team ready and headed outside to the courtyard for some first looks. When Lauren stepped out to the courtyard for the first time she looked like an angel. Her first look with her father had everyone giggling, but when she and Zach saw each other everyone held their breath. Zach was a little nervous, and Lauren looked as if she couldn't wait for the walk to end. But from the very moment they turned to face each other, there was such love in their eyes that did not leave for the entire night. They are such a beautiful couple, and both have such sweet personalities that they made photographing their wedding a joy. Even when the mist would turn to rain everyone was such troupers, taking quick breaks inside before eagerly heading back out to the courtyard for photos. I personally think the courtyard looked even more beautiful after that first rain shower as the bricks took on a reflective sheen for the rest of the photos.

When we finished having fun with photos ;P , we went inside for the ceremony and then moved to the dining hall. It was here we were reminded of the pandemic. During the photos and ceremony we wore masks, hand sanitized and socially distanced. But those have all started to feel normal that I almost didn't even think about it. During Dinner Chelsey and I actually got to have our own little socially distanced meal. We talked with the team and got to claim a little corner of the stairs (looking over the central hall) for our socially distanced meal. It was actually quite funny for us to be in the middle of eating our meal and notice that someone was looking for us. Someone from the team had obliviously told them we were in the entrance hall, but we would watch someone look in, get confused and look left, right, and left again before scratching their head. Some would take a chance to look up and spot Chelsey and I in our little corner giggle and laughing they would start laughing with us. For those who took a bit to find us, I would always giggle a little before catching the person's attention, but it provided some fun stories when we rejoined the bride and groom.

The rain had continued throughout the meal, so when it came time for the sparkler send off we got to have fun on the beautiful porch. Lauren and Zach had fun with this opportunity to go back and forth multiple times under the sparklers. They had bought the extra long ones, so the couple got to go back and forth with a walk, run, and dipping for a kiss before the sparklers started to run down. As the night wound down and we were passed sweets to take home with us, I could not be happier about the first wedding I got to photograph post quarantine. It was truly a fun filled day, and with such a wonderful couple and beautiful location, who could have asked for better. Especially when you get to work with such a fabulous photographer as Chelsey Williams. I can't wait to work together again in the future, and best wishes for Zach and Lauren's future!

Unitl next time. Stay safe, much love!

Laura Mantooth