Here to inspire you, it’s Real Weddings Wednesdays! Today’s is a bit different though as it’s an editorial engagement shoot but it features newlyweds Hayley and Jake (of Wander Love Photography). We just loved these engagement-style photos so much we HAD to share them! Plus, we heard from the bride and groom on what it takes to plan a wedding during a pandemic.
How did you meet? We met over Instagram! We both had photography pages at the time and were just starting our careers. We connected over photography and started talking all the time, then Jake invited me to grab a cup of coffee at our favorite coffee shop. We immediately clicked and now the rest is history!
Tell us about the proposal. He totally surprised me. Our best friends had just gotten engaged a few months before me and they scheduled an engagement session with us. Last minute Jake had a reason why he couldn’t go with us but little did I know that Jake would be waiting for me with a bouquet of roses at the spot when we got there. We got engaged in Truckee overlooking Donner Lake at the same place Jake had asked me to be his girlfriend. He had our amazing friend Kayla Esparaza there to photograph the whole thing and both sets of our parents waiting to meet us at a little diner in Truckee after he proposed. Easiest “YES” I’ve ever said!
What did you enjoy most about wedding planning? Making it so uniquely us. Being able to add personal touches and curate an experience for our guests to come celebrate with us.
What did you enjoy least about wedding planning? Planning a wedding during a pandemic was extremely difficult and discouraging as most of you know. But love will always come out on top!
How did COVID affect your wedding planning and your actual wedding? COVID really made wedding planning 10 times harder. There’s a lot of emotions you go through and thoughts of should I postpone, de-sacle, cancel altogether? After careful thought and consideration we made the decision to move forward with our wedding with lots of cute hand sanitizers and safety precautions, of course. We faced a lot of obstacles including losing our venue a month before our big and losing our DJ about a week before. But despite all that tried to get in our way we will never regret the decision to celebrate with our family and friends.
What advice would you give to couples who are planning their wedding right now? Enjoy the process! When they say it flies by it really does. And although the world has so much disaster right now and it seems like your wedding is a significant thing to celebrate amidst a pandemic, don’t feel guilty. Your love is SO WORTH celebrating however that looks. Whether it’s just you two, on a zoom call with your family, or your original wedding surrounded by your family and friends, celebrate it!
Participating Wedding Pros on this Styled Engagement Shoot:
THE DETAILS
Venue // The Willow Ballroom
Photographer // Allison Upchurch Photography
Floral Designer // Perky Posies
Cake Designer // Custom Cakes by Tara
Mobile Bar and Curated Cocktails // The Horseshoe Bar
Hair Artist // Hair by Christine Watanabe
Makeup Artist // Veiled Vanity Artist
Rentals // Blossom Farm Vintage Rentals
Paperie Designer and Calligrapher // Minted
Host // The Shootout Society
Creative Director // Brianna Brolyes
Photos courtesy of and copyright Allison Upchurch Photography, used with permission.
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