This week the Atlanta wedding photographers at Atlanta Artistic Weddings captured a family wedding at Rays on the River. It was a relatively small wedding with about 75 family and friends.  The couple’s names are E-Kat and Bruce.

The day started at the couple’s home where they raise their family and where they got ready for the big day.  E-Kat was getting her hair and makeup done at her home while Bruce helped the kids get ready. They have 3 beautiful daughters and the youngest child is a precious boy about 11 years old.  The girls had matching green dresses that were cut the same as their moms wedding dress.  They had a draped collar with a sheath cut dress.  They looked very tasteful and elegant.  The groom and their son wore blue blazers and purple striped ties that matched their boutineers. 

I arrived first at Rays on the River.  The restaurant has been an Atlanta staple for almost 40 years,.   premium steak and many types of seafood.  It is llocated in Sandy Springs off of Power’s Ferry Road.  The elongated restaurant runs parallel to the Chattahooche River. It has outdoor seating and walking areas.  Just about every table in the dining area has a scenic view of the river, where you can watch the lazy river flowing by.  

When the family arrived there they brought the last of the decorations for the tables and started to put the finishing touches on everything.  They were like a well oiled machine putting out favors and decorating the wedding cake with sprigs of light white flowers.  They then practiced walking down the aisle with the flower girl who was about 4 years old and did her job with joy and adventure.  

Once that was done we took a few photos around the grounds of the restaurant.  We talked and got some great photos with the river in the background.  It was also the perfect time of year for the leaves.  There were burnt orange and yellow leaves sprinkled all over the grounds.

The wedding was a mixture of modern and Bulgarian traditions.  The groom stood at the front of the hall with his friend David who is a lawyer and presided over the ceremony.  The flower girl did an awesome job paving the walkway with flower petals. The bride came in escorted by her daughters under each arm.  The daughters also wore a crown of flowers which was a tip of the hat to Bulgaria where their mom is from.  David shared some light hearted antidotes on Bruce’s sense of humor and how they met.  The actual ceremony was very brief; he announced them husband and wife and they kissed.  Then Bruce, who is Jewish broke the wine glass and the crowd yelled mazel tov!

They then went around the room and greeted their guests.  There was a cocktail hour before the first dance.  They had a very talented jazz band that played throughout the night.  Once 7:30 came around the band leader announced that it was time for the first dance and they were going to have a special guest come up and sing.  The 11 year old son came up and sang Ed Sheeran’s song Perfect as his mom and dad did their first dance.  He did a great job and everyone was amazed at his talents.

Since everyone was seated they brought out the food.  It was as you would imagine, delicious!  They brought out salads for everyone then they brought out either large marinated steaks covered in mushroom gravy or salmon.  It was definitely a feast for all.  As people ate the groom thanked the guests that came from near and far.  Then the groom’s brother did a short speech but the real special moment came from the youngest son.  He spoke how happy he is having two new sisters and how much his father is in love.  It was truly a special moment that tugged at everyone’s heart.

The rest of the night was filled with dancing and cheer. They had a few slow dances as well as  the horah which is a Jewish tradition.  They also lifted up the bride and groom in chairs and danced around the room.  It was a fun filled night that celebrated love and family.

Thanks for checking out this Atlanta wedding photographers blog! I hope you enjoyed the read and that it inspired you with some new ideas. Make sure you keep coming back to our blog to see what the Atlanta wedding photographers at Atlanta Artistic Weddings are up to! If you’d like to contact me go to the contact page and drop me a line at https://www.atlantaartisticweddings.com/contact-atlanta-wedding-photographer. I would love to hear from you!

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