West Manor Estate Wedding | Lynchburg Wedding Photographer
Our team was back at West Manor Estate this past weekend for Chris and Kristen’s wedding! They are one of my favorite Hokie couples!! We always have a special connection with fellow Hokie clients. During the bride and groom portraits we may or may not have checked on the Tech game which we won’t talk about the outcome of that game but that is why we love our Hokie couples, haha! This wedding day felt so much shorter than others because they had an early 8pm exit!! James and I are used to 9pm, 10pm, or even 11pm exits, so not gonna lie this was nice!!
This wedding day was going so SMOOTHLY! The hair and makeup were on time, everyone had the right attire, everyone arrived on time, it was seriously going PERFECT!! Then it happened. In the bridal suite.
A small piece of metal decided it didn’t want
to do the only job it had that day.
While Kristen was adjusting the dress, the clasp BROKE OFF which meant the zipper wouldn’t stay up!! This could have been hidden with a veil and safety pin but that wasn’t option this time because Kristen didn’t want a veil! THE ENTIRE room, including my team (even my assistant Mehgan!), went into survival mode thinking of every possible solution.
The planner, Jamie, brought us an emergency sowing kit and all the safety pins we needed but it still didn’t fix the 2+ inch gap that was refusing to stay zipped!! Ya’ll…. while this wedding day emergency was unfolding my bride Kristen DID NOT CRY, DID NOT YELL, AND DID NOT FREAK OUT AT ALL. When I say that I was shocked and amazed by this woman that is an understatement. I am truly blessed with the BEST couples and so impressed that Kristen kept calm and collected the entire time. Mehgan and I talked about it at dinner after the wedding and if that were us on our wedding day we would have ruined our makeup from sobbing and being dramatic!!!
As proof, I have photos of Kristen in the bridal suite posing for getting ready portraits. All of the “putting on ear rings” and close ups of her at the mirror were during the ripped dress situation!! And I’m sure you’re probably thinking “uh Emily why did you take photos during this time?!”. My thoughts were:
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I thought she would appreciate something else to focus on during that moment.
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We weren’t going to do bridesmaids and bridal portraits on time anymore so I needed to get some photos of these little details for her gallery.
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I wanted her to have these photos for memories on her wedding day. These were not the cards she wanted to be dealt but she took this crappy hand like a CHAMP! I couldn’t be more proud of her!!
So I know I am rambling now…you want to know what happened. Well one of her bridesmaids, Katie, found extra lace fabric in the dress packaging, from Ashley Grace Bridal, and a family member, Debbie, came in and sewed her in the dress! So here are some mental notes for the future:
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Pray you book brides like Kristen
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Bring an emergency sowing kit
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Check the dress bag for extra fabric pieces
I posted a photo of the back of her dress in my sneak peek gallery because this was such a huge part of the pre-ceremony memories. If I hadn’t have told you what happened you never would have known, right?! This wedding was a wild ride before the ceremony but we managed to only be 5 minutes late to the ceremony and we got all of the photos done!!
I told Kristen that I wanted to feature her on my blog through an interview so that she can inspire and encourage future brides for their wedding day! So look out for that post coming soon!! The rest of their wedding day went splendidly with no other dress issues. It was so nice working with Jamie again and couldn’t have made it through the day without her!
Enjoy a few of my favorites from this fall West Manor Estate wedding!
Venue: West Manor Estate
Planning, DJ, Cake, & Catering: Entwined Events
Florist: Bella Rose Floral & Design
Makeup Artist: In Your Face Makeup Art
Hair: Color Contour Salon
Dress: Stella York
Dress Shop: Ashley Grace Bridal
Until next time,
Emily
