How they met: Conner and Laurel met their freshman year of college through one of Laurel’s sorority sisters, Kelly. Kelly and Conner were friends throughout middle school and high school and they all ended up at the same college! Conner and Laurel remained friends throughout  junior year, but weren’t very close. At the end of junior year, two different friends of theirs began dating. Since the four of them were in town for a May semester, they started hanging out A LOT!

The four of them went to dinner once (Laurel clarifies that it was not a double date, just for fun)! She couldn’t find her debit card, so Conner being the sweetheart he is, offered to pay… Turns out the card was in her purse all along. Oops! This sparked Laurel’s interest in Conner seeing that he was the most genuine, kind-hearted man she had ever met. Laurel said it seems silly, but it’s the little things that make her notice people the most!

Well, it turned out Conner had been wanting to date Laurel for a while and finally at the end of May, they went on their first date. They both went to their respective homes for the summer, but continued to see each other as often as they could. In July, they went back to Milledgeville to float the river with Conner’s fraternity and that weekend Conner asked Laurel to be his girlfriend. The rest is their beautiful history!

The proposal: The summer after they graduated college, they visited Gatlinburg, TN with their friend Kelly and her now husband, Ian. Ian was also one of Conner’s best friends growing up. Since that trip was one to remember, Conner asked Laurel in January of 2019 if she would want to go with them again that coming summer. Little did Laurel know he was planning to make this trip unforgettable and Kelly was helping him with the whole thing! Fast forward to June 2019… they head up to Gatlinburg once again. They stayed at the exact same room they did the time before. They were having a blast exploring the mountains, drinking more moonshine, and playing lots of card games!

During their last day there, they spent time at the pool. Laurel told Kelly that she thought Conner was going to propose this trip, but also said if he hadn’t already then it must not be happening. Their plan for that evening was to get “fancy” and go to a nice steakhouse, but first we needed to take pictures at the top of the resort to get pretty mountain sunset pictures… the perfect set up! Laurel’s mind was fully on the steak dinner she was about to have and far from what was truly coming next. Conner and Laurel stood together to take pictures when all of a sudden Conner knelt down and asked Laurel to be his wife! Kelly got it all on camera and Ian videoed it. But the best had yet to come… Laurel, a girl after my own heart, was so excited to continue our celebration with a big juicy steak and glass (or glasses!) of red wine.

Conner said they needed to stop by the room first because he had another surprise for her. Laurel thought it was chocolate covered strawberries (she said she was was a tad hungry). They entered the room and SURPRISE!! Both of their families were there to celebrate with them! Cue the tears! Laurel’s precious mom was in the middle of chemotherapy for breast cancer and she had not seen her smile in close to a year. (okay now I’m crying!)

The mom’s arranged a taco party for them and their families and we celebrated the night away! Fast forward to four months later, Conner and Laurel were witnesses to Kelly and Ian’s proposal, and then were both in each other’s wedding parties! The sweetest!

——

First of all, this wedding was extra special for me because Laurel was my mother-in-law’s student teacher a few years ago! We came to love Ms. Trust and always talked about her at the dinner table. When we needed a slideshow for our own rehearsal dinner in 2017, Laurel’s parents graciously made one for us. We became Facebook friends and when I saw that Conner had proposed to Laurel, I was secretly hoping they’d ask me to photograph their wedding! We met for brunch in 2019 and quickly found out that Laurel and I had SO much in common… both school teachers and both dancers! Their engagement session was one of my absolute favorites and I knew their wedding would be just as phenomenal.

Their wedding: Laurel had been raving about her venue to me since the moment we started talking about her wedding, and boy — it did not disappoint! Vinewood Stables in Newnan is the most picturesque cottage with rolling fields, a rustic barn, and gorgeous photo spots. It was an overcast day but for the first time all year, it was actually COOL outside! We started off the day at an AirBnB and then headed over to the venue. Laurel and Conner decided to do a first look which gave us an epic amount of time to take photos in all the best locations at Vinewood! Their bridal party was tons of fun and had me laughing the whole day. Their ceremony was beautiful with touches that truly made it *them* and boy oh boy, I knew there would be tons of dancing. Their reception was a blast!!

Congratulations Laurel and Conner! Wishing you a lifetime of love, laughter, and Braves games!

VENDORS – Venue: Vinewood Stables | Planner: Jennifer Newberry with A Divine Event | Florals: Magic Moments Design Studio | Hair and Makeup: B. Young Beauty | DJ: One Night Entertainment | Videographer: Spark Weddings | Caterer: Magic Moments A Divine Event | Bridal Gown: Bel Fiore Bridal | Bridesmaid Dresses: Birdy Grey | Ceremony Musicians: Atlanta Sound Quartet | Ring Bearer Sign: Meredith Phillips Designs