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KELLY + CLAYTON WEDDING PHOTOS

KELLY + CLAYTON WEDDING DAY

Kelly and Clayton’s wedding day was nothing short of perfection. Let me start out by saying I’ve been photographing “life moments” for this family for a few years now. Both the son’s senior photos, Kelly’s proposal (in which I played a part of a tile expert in a home they were building LOL), and now her wedding.

To get to know this family has been such an honor. They are a family I aspire to make my own family like. There’s so much love and respect there – amongst the children AND parents. As you can see from their photos, they live whole hearted – feeling ALL the feels. Once I met Clayton and his parents at the proposal I knew there could be no better pick. They all just FIT…so perfectly.

So fast forward to wedding planning.

My meetings with Kelly and her mom were mostly mom explaining all the details and Kelly nodding or shrugging. She was THE most laid back bride that really didn’t care about many things with planning. And mom was (from what I could see) LOVING the planning.

She had a beautiful concept, and I have to say, it was executed perfectly. Which is funny for me to say because our last meeting I had the talk with them of “do not expect perfection…it doesn’t exist. Fall in love with the story of the day actually unfolds, however that turns out once it arrives…because THAT is perfect.” And it was.

I’m not going to write the storyline of the day because Kelly does that beautifully for us below. I will just give a few of my favorite pieces.

1 . Jess, my second shooter, freaking ROCKED. She had my back when I couldn’t be in two places. I was blown away at her images, and I am so thankful for her as a team mate.

2. This is the first time one of my brides wore vans.

3. Kelly’s bridesmaids were one of the most gorgeous groups I’ve ever photographed. And their kindness and level of FUN was even greater.

4. There were more people crying at this wedding than I’ve ever seen before.

5. The gnats were terrible in all formal photo session time. But the ceremony started and out of the blue came a breeze that cooled down the day AND pushed out the bugs. (see? perfection…in its own way)

6. The officiant said he wanted to change his plans a little and open up with the scripture Proverbs 24:3-4 which says “Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it’s established, and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all the precious and pleasant riches” – And I FELT that. It’s what I was trying to describe above about their family. This is it.

7. A family member MADE all the signs for this wedding. And I think she nailed it. Everything was beautiful. I remember walking out back to see everything set up and felt tears come in my eyes. Gorgeous.

8. And finally I’ll wrap up with the EPIC party they had. Everyone had fun, including us. The band was amazing and everyone, I mean EVERYONE, had the best night ever.

9. Oh and THIS will actually be last point. Pretty sure this was my first balloon exit. I remember them asking me in our last meeting how it would photograph at night, and my answer was that I didn’t know. But I love how it turned out. Finding an alternative to sparklers or confetti or glow sticks can be tough. But I like how the balloons ended up!

{{Thank you to both families for having me and Jess at your PERFECT wedding day. I’m truly honored to have met you and been a part of your special moments for these years. THANK YOU for the honor of allowing me to document this special moment for you guys.

I hope you relive this day for years and years to come when you see the photos. And thank you for living in such a way that inspires other people like me to hope for my family to be filled with so much love, emotion, and fun as my children grow older as well. I love you guys. }}

Ribault Club Wedding Photography by Tonya Beaver Photography

Love Story:

How did you two meet?

We knew many of the same people throughout high school and college, but never officially met until July 4th, 2015. Fast forward 2 months, we all ended up in New York City at the same time. Clayton knew what he wanted and Kelly was dead set against not having a boyfriend – although slightly convinced by an extra large piece of pizza he bought her after the bars. Clayton went back to Jacksonville, Kelly went back to South Florida, and Clayton was not ready to let things go. Kelly would come home to Jacksonville on some weekends, which would bring dinner dates, FSU games, and Lemon Bar with Clayton and friends.

Now for when Clayton actually won Kelly over… FL/GA brought Kelly home to Jacksonville with some feelings for Clayton. Clayton must have been nervous, and he drank enough to wash away all the nerves. As a way to make up for it, Clayton shipped Kelly a box to South Florida containing the 3 things that stole her heart…a bottle of Meiomi, a Taco Bell Gift Card and an Outback Gift Card. Kelly soon moved back to Jacksonville, which brought years of amazing trips together, lots of wine, and eventually a house and their dog, Miller.

How did he propose?

April 20, 2018 became a day that Kelly would never forget. For her, it was an exciting Friday that they would be going to Thomas Rhett, but Clayton had a lot more planned for her. They left for the concert, and made a quick stop at Kelly’s parents house to drop off Miller for the night. As they were heading out to go to the concert, they went to take a picture out on the dock before they left. To Kelly’s surprise, Clayton got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of his life with her. It got even better when all the family came out of the house to congratulate them and pop champagne for the newly engaged couple! As if things couldn’t get any better, a limo with all of Clayton and Kelly’s friends came to the house to continue the celebrations and bring them all down to the concert together! The rest of the night was filled with lots of smiles, happy tears, laughs and drinks with their friends. What an amazing night Clayton put together to start this exciting new chapter of their life together!

Wedding planning:

How did you decide on your color scheme, flowers, and cake?

I have to thank my amazing mom for this one! She did most of the planning after I chose the venue. I always loved a soft blush so that is what we did for bridesmaid dresses and we incorporated that throughout the wedding too. The venue is outside and so beautiful all alone, so we wanted to compliment the beautiful venue by just doing some white, soft blush, and greenery throughout the wedding and on the cake/dessert table.

How did you decide on your invitations, and who did you use?

We used Minted for the invitations! We couldn’t pass up on the free addressing J In looking for our invitations, we found one that was very simple and had the same white, soft blush, and greenery on it – done deal!

What was the most fun part of wedding planning?

The dress!! I would love to do that over and over again. After going to many different places, Love Bridal finally had the one that felt right the second I put it on. They knew exactly what dress I would like, and it was the only one I tried on there. It was so much fun getting to try on dress after dress for days though.

Which part did you not like as much?

The nitpicky planning – which I again have to thank my mom for! She did almost all of the little things. She did an amazing job and it was awesome to show up to my wedding and not know exactly what I was going to see1

What are the biggest pieces of advice you wish you would have known before the wedding day.

I was told this over and over but never believed it – the weekend will fly by! I did my best to sit back and take in every little minute of the weekend and it is so amazing to look back at all the family, friends, and vendors that came together to make it a beautiful day!

Wedding Weekend Info:

Hotel accommodations for guests: Omni Amelia Island Plantation

Rehearsal Dinner Location: Bob’s Steak & Chop House

Ceremony Location: The Ribault Club

Reception Location: The Ribault Club

Caterer: Gregory Paul’s https://gregorypauls.com/

Wedding Coordinator: Summer Perkins

Wedding Decorator: Lori Crunden

Photographer: Tonya Beaver Photography

Videographer: Lee with Jax Video

https://jaxvideo.com/

Cake: Beth Stophel

Florist: Rick Payne

Officiate: Jim Crunden

Hair: Carolina Winters

Make-up: Carolina Winters

Entertainment: Bay Kings Band

Transportation: Ray’s Rides

Wedding Dress: Love Bridal Boutique

Wedding Shoes: Van’s

Bridesmaids Dresses: Show Me Your Mumu

Groom and Groomsmen Wear: The Black Tux

Invitations: Minted

Balloons: Zig + Zag Balloon

In your words, can you give a storyline of your wedding day?

My wedding day started at 7 am with hair and make up! Carolina was amazing to work with, and kept us all moving. Although it was early, this was such an awesome time for me and my bridesmaids to hang out and talk for hours. It was the best way to start out the day!

After about 7 hours of hair and make up, we all started getting dressed and taking pictures of me getting the dress on. This was a very special moment for my mom and I! We then met all of the groomsmen at the venue to start all the pictures. I first started with my Dad’s first look – whew!

Being the only girl, that was a tough one. Then Clayton and I had our first look which was everything you ever dreamed about. Such a special moment for us to just hold each other before the big night started. Pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Videos, videos, and more videos!

Ceremony time crept up very quickly! It was such a beautiful day and my Uncle Jim gave such an amazing sermon. Some family pictures and pictures of us now that we were finally hitched! The dances that none of us had planned one bit, but they all went beautifully.

My grandmother sang You Are My Sunshine for the Daddy Daughter Dance and my dad wrote his own verse to talk about my life – another whew! We got to talk and dance with all our amazing friends and family! My best friend and Clayton’s brother gave the most amazing speeches.

We pretended like we knew what we were doing when we cut the cake, and then ran straight back to the dance floor for the best part of the wedding night! Dancing with all our friends and family felt like it went on for hours and it flew by at the same time too. The end of the night came very quick, and we exited with the most beautiful balloons leading the way. We could just not accept that it was over – so on to the next bar we went J

What was the high point of your wedding day that you hope to remember forever?

I would say that my high point was standing up and facing the crowd during the ceremony. Looking around at all the amazing family and friends that came to celebrate with us on our special day – it was an indescribable feeling! We are completely blessed with the lives we have been given and the people that are surrounding us.

Tonya Beaver Photography Studio Location: Jacksonville Beach, FL

318 First Ave N

Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250

To view more Wedding Sessions, please visit:

https://www.tonyabeaverphotography.com/weddings

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https://www.tonyabeaverphotography.com/wedding

Hi, I’m Tonya, a Jacksonville Florida Photographer. I specialize in photographing weddings, families, and babies. I would love to hear all about your photography needs to see if we’re a right fit for each other. As a photographer, I get to capture the most exciting and life changing experiences in people’s lives.

Not only in Jacksonville, but all over North Florida: Ponte Vedra, Amelia Island, St. Augustine, etc.

I know there are quite a few photographers in Jacksonville so it can be overwhelming. But I invite you to check out my wedding, family, and newborn portfolio. Also, feel free to check out some of my reviews that my previous clients have given me. Jacksonville is one of the most beautiful areas for photographing engagements, weddings and family photos. From the beach, golf clubs, parks, downtown, gorgeous churches and so much more. I look forward to hearing from you and getting to know you more!