This week’s wedding is one that hits close to home.  I have known the bride since she was 10 years old.  Her parents were in my small group at church, so I saw her grow up and graduate college.  Now she is a young woman who found a great guy and is getting married!

Megan and Jaylen met while they were going to Georgia State.  They have been together for about 4 years.  When Jaylen proposed to her she started planning her wedding.  One thing you need to know about Mergan is that she is a planner!  She contacted me about a year and a half ago.  I was so honored to be her Atlanta wedding photographer.

In January her parents wanted everyone to get together and talk about the wedding.  So one Sunday afternoon Megan,Jaylen, Danyl and Matilda (Megan’s mom and dad) came over to my house.  We talked about the wedding and then Matilda, her mom, let me know that they were also going to have an african/Cameroon ceremony a few days before the wedding.  After we talked about the logistics of the wedding Megan and Jaylen left.  Then Dany,l Megan’s dad, dropped the bomb on me that he had cancer.  After this meeting he was going to the hospital , to start isolation and heavy doses of chemotherapy.  I let him know that I was praying for him and his family and to keep me posted on what I can do to help.  Four months later Danyl is much healthier and attending his daughter's wedding.

Thursday was the Cameroon ceremony held at Premier Event Center in Gwinnett County.  As with every celebration there was phenomenal food.  Matilda served Sangah (a mixture of maize, cassava leaf, and palm nut juice), plantains, meat pie then couple of types of Koki Corn (African Fresh Corn Tamales) – a wonderful corn dish made primarily with fresh corn and cornmeal, spinach, and palm oil wrapped in banana leaves or foil and steamed to perfection. Then there is Kwacoco Bible which is cocoyams grated , fortified with crayfish,  wrapped in plantain leaves, and steamed until cooked through. 

The Cameroon ceremony started with a welcoming of the guests and prayer before the meal.  Everyone enjoyed the exotic flavors from around the world.  Once everyone was done eating then there was the presentation of the bride and groom.  Before they came into the room they were surrounded by family from Cameroon who were singing and chanting.  The bride and groom came into the room but were preceded by Megan’s aunts with brooms clearing a clean path for the bride and groom.  Behind the couple were the same family members singing, chanting, and even blowing a whistle.  They came to the front of the event hall and Megan and Jaylen had their first dance.  Then everyone was invited to the dance floor where a good time was held by all.

Saturday was the wedding at White Fox Cottage in Commerce, Georgia. It is a fairly new wedding facility with a great owner.  They have a large covered area for receptions and an expansive dining hall.  There are also two outdoor options for wedding ceremonies.  There is an open framed church area and an open patio with columns and chandelier. They also have one other thing that a lot of places don’t have and that is plenty of parking.

We started Saturday at White Fox Cottage, where I had Chandler, one of the newest photographers on our team,  taking the detail and getting ready photos.  At around 12 the ladies came out in their matching PJs and popped a bottle of champagne to start out the day right.  The men were in the next building getting dressed while the ladies were in the bridal room.  There were several notes being exchanged between the groom and the bride while they were getting ready.  Once the ladies were dressed we started on their photos and got them tucked away.  Then the guys had about 20 minutes to do their photos. Then the guests started to arrive.  

The ceremony was held in the open air church area.   Once everyone was seated the ceremony began.  The mothers and groom came in first then the groomsmen wearing black tuxes.  The bridesmaids were not far behind wearing beautiful green flowing gowns.  Once the bridal party had gotten up front Jaylen turned away from the guests.  He wanted to be surprised when Megan arrived since he had not seen her in her dress yet.  Danyl her father escorted her down the aisle.  Jaylen’s best man tapped him on the shoulder.  When he turned around and saw Megan he became emotional and overwhelmed by how beautiful she looked.  It was a fairly quick ceremony.  They exchanged rings and they sealed the marriage with a kiss.  They then raised their hands in the air to let everyone know they did it!

Then there were more photos with the families and such. While we were taking photos, the guests were enjoying cocktail hour.  After a while it was time for dinner where we had the usual toasts and cake cutting.  Then it was time for the dancing! There were fog machines and flashing lights.  It was like a regular disco.  

Like all good things there comes an ending.  The couple exited the wedding venue with cold sparklers going off into a Rolls Royce.  A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Thanks for checking out this Atlanta wedding photographers blog! I hope you enjoyed the read! Make sure you keep coming back to our blog to see what the Atlanta wedding photographers at Atlanta Artistic Weddings get 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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