Indoor Wedding at 5Eleven

When I first met Abby and Cory over a year ago, Abby had contacted me about taking their Christmas card photos and then Cory emailed me about his plans to propose to Abby at the end of their session. It was one of my favorite proposals I’ve photographed and I knew their wedding was going to be just as amazing.

They each started the day getting ready, the girls in the Bridal Suite in New World Inn and the guys started the morning getting ready at Cory and Abby’s house and then went and grabbed a couple beers at Perfect Plain Brewery, which were so perfect for each of them. Abby, looking like a walking vintage bridal portrait and Cory to handsome with all his guys.

The weather this fall/winter season has been absolutely crazy. We’ve had so much rain and this day was no exception. The forecast looked OMINOUS. Abby and Cory originally had plans for their ceremony to be out in the courtyard of 5Eleven, but just to be safe, decided to move the wedding inside. While I am always a fan of ceremonies out in the courtyard, as soon as I walked inside and saw the ceremony set up, my jaw dropped. Plan B needs to become Plan A more often!

Enjoy some (ok… a lot) of my faves from their gorgeous wedding day. It was the perfect day with sun at the perfect times and could not have been more beautiful.

Did you have a theme for your wedding? Why did you choose this theme? If no theme, what feel did you want your wedding to have and why?
“My goal was a vintage/boho kind of theme! I really wanted to incorporate some vintage style with lots of flowers and candles. I chose this because I feel it fits both of our personalities. Also, Supposey has amazing rentals for this theme!!”

“I had a tough time picking out a wedding gown. It was honestly an overwhelming process for me and obviously you have the expectation of trying on the “one” and getting all of those emotions. That did not happen for me! I picked my dress more based on style and knowing I was going to a seamstress to have alterations. One of the alterations included having vintage/boho sleeves added with small lace details. Honestly, that MADE the dress. I could not have envisioned it any other way and it ended up being my dream dress! I wanted my jewelry to be very simple with the dress being the main focus. I wore my mom’s classy pearl necklace with matching kate spade pearl cluster earrings. The sleeves had these beautiful cuffs with lace so there was no need for a bracelet. I also had originally purchased a hair piece, which I ended up hating the minute it arrived. Luckily I thought to myself maybe we can cut it apart and still use it so grabbed it as I was packing the day before the wedding! I showed it to the hairdresser and she knew exactly what I wanted and went to town breaking it apart to form the PERFECT hairpiece.” ~ Abby

“We originally wanted either grey or navy suits when we came up with the idea for Cory to stand out from everyone else! We decided to go with light grey suits for the groomsmen and navy for Cory. Cory just so happened to have his own navy suit! We wanted everyone to have the pop of burgundy and went with bowties for that vintage look.”

Why did you choose this particular venue?
“I’m a sucker for an exposed brick wall… and 5 Eleven has a great one! It also has a really nice layout for courtyard ceremony, inside cocktail hour, and lawn reception. The courtyard is also just amazing with its greenery wall, which was another must have!”

What were some of the sweetest memories from your wedding day?

I remember waking up on Wedding Day at 5 am feeling a little anxious. Luckily all of my nerves completely disappeared and I remember feeling so calm and SO EXCITED for our first look. Beforehand I had said I did not want anyone watching during the first look, but I was so excited when it finally came that I seriously could have cared less haha! I remember the look on Cory’s face when he saw me and I immediately just had this feeling of being the luckiest girl and could not wait to get married! During the ceremony we just focused on one another holding hands the entire time. After the ceremony we sat at our sweet heart table and Cory looked over at me and said “I love you so much I couldn’t do this with anyone else,” which was probably one of the sweetest things he has ever said to me!

I also had come up with the idea to give Cory a gift during our first look. I actually almost forgot it and luckily one of the wedding planners went to my house to get it!! I honestly wasn’t sure how he was going to react to it, but I wanted to give him a pendant with photos of his late grandparents on their wedding day. I was never able to meet them, but I have heard stories that they loved Cory and he was close to them. When I finally gave him his gift, the reaction was even better than expected. I had no idea how much he would actually love it and I think it was truly special to have them apart of the wedding day! (I especially loved that the photos were from their wedding day)

Tell me about your ceremony. What feel did you want it to have?
We honestly did not put much thought into our ceremony! I just knew how I wanted it to look from the arbor + flowers + chandelier to the vintage couches for front row seating. Originally we were suppose to have our ceremony in the courtyard at 5 Eleven, but due to weather we had to move it inside. I really like how much more intimate the indoor ceremony felt and I never would have thought of that as an option! Rev. Bryan was also amazing and I could not have imagined it turning out any better!

What was one of your favorite memories of your wedding day?
One of our favorite memories was seeing both sides of our families interact and connect! Also, all of our different friend groups meeting for the first time. We really enjoyed getting to share our day with everyone there.

When asked about why she choose these girls as her bridesmaids, Abby said…
Obviously I had to have my sister by my side! I also wanted to include Cory’s sister Amber because I truly do feel as if I gained another sister! I have been best friends with Sandi since high school, through college, etc. She’s the one I tell all of my secrets too haha! Kayla is my cousin from back home and no matter how long it has been since we have talked or seen one another we can always pick right back up where we left off and have a great time! Ashley went to school with both Cory and me, and we hit it off as great friends and I know that we will remain close through the years to come.

What was something that happened on your wedding day that you didn’t expect?
The weather resulted in a back up plan that ended up being even better than expected! I mean.. umbrella photos!! 

Advice for Future Brides:
Feeling stressed out and anxious is most likely going to happen! The key is to know that its a normal reaction. Try to pick out your theme first thing, then move forward with booking your big things like rentals, band, etc. I found that I was not as stressed toward the end because the majority of things were taken care of which in turn let me focus on small details! Also, don’t stress about the small decorations because your wedding day goes by so quickly you probably won’t even notice all of those little details that you felt you needed. I would highly recommend making room in the budget for a wedding coordinator even if its a month of or day of thing. PS Weddings went above and beyond for us and I could enjoy my wedding day knowing everything was taken care of!

What was one of your funniest memories of your wedding day?
I think the funniest memory was the family dance, named “the gator.” We have no idea why it is called that!! They do it at most family functions. It was great to see everyones reaction and even have friends and other family members join in!

If you want to enjoy it to music, here’s their slideshow: 

Wedding Pros that made it all come together:

Photography: Indie Pearl Photography
Planning and Coordination: PS Weddings
Officiant: Bryan Adams
Florals: Supposey
Rentals: Supposey
Cake: Adonna’s Bakery
Dress Alterations: Ruthy’s Creations
Catering: Nancy’s Catering and Events
Bar: Old Hickory
Makeup: Vy Nyugen
Hair: Chelsey with Arrow Salon
Band: Lucky Town
Violinist: Jessica Edwards
Venue: 5Eleven
Tent: Gulf Coast Tents