One year ago today my husband and I were celebrating our 5 year anniversary and gearing up (literally) for Emily and James’ wedding day! It’s always a blast to invite my husband as my second shooter; we typically save it for friends weddings so that we can take dance breaks whenever we want during the reception! I would bring him to every wedding if I could but his career dreams actually aren’t to be a second shooter for weddings (can you believe it?) so we let him keep his freelance audio engineer gigs.

I met Emily in college but honestly I can’t even remember a time she wasn’t in my life. We were on the same hall and were both in student leadership and lead prayer groups in our dorms once a week. We grew together spiritually and we’re all still best friends with the girls we served with that year. M3 was genuinely the best dorm ever, sorry every other dorm (some even rumor that it’s the dorm DC Talk formed in—before it became a girls dorm that is.)

Having known Emily for so long, I was eager to meet her fiance, and James, meeting you did not disappoint! We all met for a sunrise engagement session in Charlotte, NC at Freedom Park and then got coffee at the Smelly Cat Cafe. James was quick to talk about his heart for missions and I could tell that he’s made every life decision after giving it up in prayer first. And on top of it all, he made Emily laugh and seemed to treat her with the respect and honor that she deserved. He passed my test!

Every moment of the day was my favorite (obviously, because I just love Emily), but one that takes the cake was Emily opening her sweet gift from James; a painting of their house—the home of their new family. I was also seriously loving the wedding venue, and really hope I can make it back to Greenville to visit the Southern Bleachery again! The vendor team was able to make full use of the space by using partial walls—a godsend on the warm day, so that cocktail hour could be held comfortably inside. I’m also a sucker for industrial paired with light and delicate and I think Emily’s team absolutely nailed it.

Emily and James, you are destined for a beautiful life together, and I’m so grateful to call you both friends.