Life is best lived surrounded by loved ones and God. This is so true for so many reasons, and the closer we get to God in our journey, we realize that all we really need is family and a faithful heart to live a joyous and purposeful life. This continues to be true for us in our lives and was certainly true in this beautiful story for Maria and Jordan.
“ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” Romans 8:28
Maria and Jordan’s wedding ceremony at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church was the perfect mix of romance and tradition. Then, their reception in the Butterfly Pavilion was so charming and straight out of a fairytale – birds chirping and all. We remember meeting them on our first MSP virtual double date and knowing that we would have a ton of fun with them and their families, not to mention we would absolutely love to witness their wedding and beautiful story come to life through our images, because wow! Their story guys…its pretty amazing!
Maria and Jordan met at church, the church that they got married in! They and their families were both very involved with church and they attended and volunteered for weddings all the time! You can imagine it was crazy but amazing to see themselves walk down the very aisles they saw many community members marry before.
Jordan is very organized and detail oriented and it showed at every moment starting with the most epic proposal! He went all out with a proposal reception you guys! ???? Two weeks prior to the Engagement, he made invitations for Maria’s closest family and friends as a surprise of course! It was their anniversary weekend and they had plans until Jordan calls and tells her that he’ll have to work late, she was heartbroken because every year on their anniversary they had a date. He convinced her to stay at her cousin’s house (because the surprise was happening IN HER OWN backyard!) Jordan shared that it was not easy to convince her – as most of us are, right ladies – hard to convince lol! However, he was able to convince her and she went on to her cousin’s as Jordan and his family got everything all set up. Jordan was soo determined to make this a total surprise that he picked a fight with her that night so that she would limit communication with him the next day, sneaky sneaky Jordan!
But wait… the next day, Jordan totally made up for the fake fight by secretly bringing her flowers to work, she texted a simple “Thank you for the flowers” but she was so happy she could jump! Next, he would need her to be ready for her ultimate proposal – so her mom helped Jordan pack a bag with two dresses he picked out himself and reserved a room at The Westin in Atlanta. Once the setup was ready Jordan surprised her and picked her up from work. They had dinner and headed to The Westin. Jordan and Maria got all dressed up under the guise that they were on a date and Jordan had tickets to a special show. She was blindfolded the whole drive there. Once they pulled up to Maria’s house, she was held up by Jordan’s cousin as Jordan proceeded to his designated proposal spot – told you he was super organized and detailed! Once he was at just the right spot, she had her blindfold removed and saw Jordan and all her family and friends. She made her way down a lantern lit path towards him – soooo romantic! Jordan then told her how much she meant to him and what she represented in his life, he bent down on one knee and… SHE SAID YES! Maria, Jordan and their guests danced and celebrated the whole night. Isn’t that just amazing?
Maria and Jordan are so great together! They are sweet and loving, they are fun, detail-obsessed and always have a smile on their faces,they are family oriented and enjoy the little things in life – everything we hope for when we photograph weddings. They have the biggest hearts and an incredible outlook of life, love, and faith.
This couple is also strong and faithful to God and his plans for their lives. They had many trials and obstacles as they planned their big day. Unfortunately, Jordan’s brother passed away in a car accident – a heartbreaking event that affected everyone in their family and in their community. Then, their venue canceled on them, and to top it all off, they were unsure of being able to have their wedding because of the COVID-19 virus. But GOD IS GOOD and he knows exactly what he is doing in each of our lives. Maria and Jordan never lost hope and continued to pray and talk to God. That faith resulted in a beautiful celebration for their big day, He made it all possible.
“We can trust God even if He doesn’t do what we think should be done” Megan Fate Marsham
We arrived in Georgia the day before the wedding to do a walkthrough of their reception space since we’d never shot there before and you know us – we like to be prepared! When we arrived in Georgia, the first thing we did was have lunch with Maria and Jordan – we had tacos at Taqueria El Guero and they were delicious! Then, we went to their reception venue, The Butterfly Pavilion, which was beautiful! It was right out of a fairytale – a wedding reception nestled within 105 acres of untouched forest about 30 miles outside of Atlanta. When we arrived we did a tour and planned out where we’d photograph the portraits and where the best light was going to be, met the staff and to our surprise met their parents. It was so beautiful to see everyone getting the venues ready, the dads bringing in the photobooth backdrop, the moms preparing the place setting and favors, it was a full family production. After the walkthrough, we joined them and their family at the church for their rehearsal. The father was one of our favorites ever! He was very organized and thorough, he even told everyone to pause for the photographers, loooovvvveeeee him!
The day finally arrived and we began with the details as per usual. Both Maria and Jordan were getting ready in Maria’s aunt’s beautiful home. Maria was on the main level and they sent Jordan to the basement! It was a very nice basement though 🙂
Love this photo of Maria and her parents!!
Jordan looked so dapper in his bowtie and with his pocket watch, don’t you agree?
Maria sent a letter to Jordan and it was the sweetest moment!
This couple and family was on time y’all! I don’t think David and I have ever photographed a wedding that was sooo punctual – heck early by at least 15 minutes! The church was just a few miles down the road and when everything started I almost cried because I know how much this church and this wedding means to this family.
Their ceremony was very traditional and so beautiful! They even brought flowers to Mary during the ceremony.
When your bride looks at you during the ceremony!! ????
Right after the ceremony we drove to the reception at The Butterfly Pavilion for portraits. It really was magical!
While the couple had a snack in the bridal suite, we took the most dreamy photos of the reception details…
Now it’s time for the couple’s grand entrance!
One of the sweetest things that happened in their reception was the tradition of washing of the feet, it was so beautiful! The tradition is representative of when Jesus washed his disciples feet. “Jesus took the place of a servant to show he was no better than they were. As human beings, we are all equal. In marriage, you are equal partners. There are times when you may stand in awe of the other’s greatness and rejoice in each other’s triumphs. You may also be draw closer together in times of sadness and defeat when you show unwavering support.” – Wedding Ceremony Pro. You can read more about it here .
Aren’t they just the cutest?!
We escaped for Golden Hour and the light was just perfect!!! ?✨
XOXO, David + Meivys
M Suarez Photography
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