Today we have not just one person but both Jon and Geoff writing about their Atlanta, GA wedding.
Jon and Geoff met in Atlanta and were friends for a year and a half before taking that next step. They got engaged on a surprise anniversary trip to Puerto Rico (Jon planned the surprise trip, Geoff had the surprise rings). They were engaged for a year prior to their big day on September 6, 2009, in front of about 125 family and friends in Atlanta, GA. With the long Labor Day holiday weekend, Jon and Geoff decided to have the ceremony on a Sunday, which allowed for a few days of festivities, including a private dinner for family, a big rehearsal party for all invited guests at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant (the margaritas and cheese dip were flowing), and a wonderful ceremony and reception at The Foundry at Puritan Mill.
Each of the grooms had a Best Man and Best Woman, (our best girl friends and our brothers), and Geoff’s maternal grandmother made the trip from FL, along with tons of relatives on each side of the family, which made for a day made ever so special by all the love in the room. Guests were greeted with passed champagne before the ceremony, and the guys were walked down the aisle by their parents to “Today” by Joshua Radin. They ran back down the aisle after the ceremony to the upbeat “Love Today” by Mika, and danced their first dance to “Better Man” by James Morrison. Guests ate and drank the night away, which included a duo of Thai-Braised Short Ribs and Roasted Halibut with a Lemongrass Buerre Blanc, and in lieu of a wedding cake, their friend Chuck (IT guru by day, cupcake baker by night) contributed two varieties of cupcakes for guests, a lemon cupcake with white chocolate icing and a chocolate cupcake with fleur de sel caramel icing. Jon and Geoff jetted off the next morning for two weeks in Thailand for some much needed relaxation and time together!
J: For me, the favorite moment of the day was the moment before we went down before our ceremony actually began. The Foundry at Puritan Mill had a small loft space that we were able to get ready in — it was in that very quiet moment, the two of us alone, when the reality of the situation truly set in. The realization that I was committing myself — mind, body, and soul — for better and for worse, to my very best friend.
G: Our venue, Foundry at Puritan Mill, had this little “green room” tucked away on the second floor. Immediately after the ceremony, we were able to go up there to catch our breath. It was the first alone moment that Jon and I had after recognizing our commitment in front of all of our guests, and it was wonderful to just be in the space with him, alone for just a few moments (before the craziness of our party started). Angela our photographer actually captured a really good moment of just the two of us up there, I can always just remember it in my mind.
J: I think that the ceremony was meaningful to both of us because we were able to surround ourselves by our closest family members, friends, and co-workers who traveled to Atlanta to celebrate our big day with us.
G: Because we weren’t bound to any explicit tradition or expectations of what we must do or not do in our ceremony, it allowed us to really create something that was “hyper-personal” but also traditional in the ways we wanted it to be. We were able to fly my family’s minister in from Pennsylvania (Unitarian Universalist) and she performed an amazing ceremony. We wrote our own vows (that I attempted not to cry through, but failed miserably), and had moments to reflect on our parents, friends, and family members who couldn’t be there. It made for a really special day.
J: We came into the planning phase with a fairly clear color scheme and aesthetic we were trying to achieve. Our color palette was set prior to meeting with Lois from Event Design Group. During our initial meeting she completely steered us away from our initial color palette and was able to guide us to something very beautiful and really made the aesthetics of the room “pop” for lack of a better word. My recommendation/tip would be to approach every vendor meeting with an open mind because they are professionals paid to have great ideas and you never know how far they can take your vision.
G: The invitations we picked had a design of our initials on the front. We went with that, and created a very similar “logo” that we used through the design and materials including the programs, menu cards, placecards, gift bags (candies and candles were branded as well with our logo). It was all stuff that we created ourselves and made ourselves but it pulled everything together into a singular theme.
How did you make your ceremony meaningful for the both of you?
J: For me it became blatantly apparent that we did not practice with the microphones prior to the big day. When I began to recite my vows with the microphone — I was WAY too loud, a little too exuberant, and this generated a laugh among our guests. Took me a second to recover, but it injected a very light-hearted moment into the ceremony (which was needed with all of Geoff’s crying).
G: My brother Alex was my Best Man. He’s 9 years younger than me, and we have a great relationship. His speech was hilarious and poignant, all at the same time. It was quite memorable.
All images by Love Struck Photography
Planner: None – we are two consultants, so we came prepared with our detailed spreadsheets. We worked with a representative from the Foundry at Puritan Mill, the caterer from Dennis Dean, and the designer from Event Design Groups to bring the entire event together.
Event Designer: Lois Bourne, Event Design Group
Photographer: Angela Georges
Venue: Foundry at Puritan Mill – Novare Events
Florist: Zeb Grant, friend of the grooms’
Caterer: Dennis Dean Catering
Dress/Suit/Accessories: Black Suits — Kenneth Cole; Macy’s @ Lenox Square Mall; tailored to perfection by Q Tailors @ Phipps Plaza
Best Women’s jewelry: ksmithjewelry@gmail.com
Love the photos, but especially the kissing ones! We also flew in a Unitarian Universalist minister for our wedding (from California to Vancouver, BC) :)
As the father of one of these guys (Geoff) I was reminded of how proud I am of my son and his husband. What a nice story. It brought back great memories of an amazing weekend and an amazing event.
Ahh . . . I want to be packing for another Atlanta wedding weekend.
It was so moving to be with each of you and your families last summer and to be a part of this special weekend. As the one who made it legit (at least with the UU church — and who can make it legal with the stoke of a pen when our folk get it together) I applaud your decision, your courage, your style and your love.
rev joan
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