Kellie and Justin’s amazing Embassy Suites wedding in downtown Wilmington was just stunning. The flow of the day was smooth and with so much time for creative portraits we were able to really capture the magic between the two of them. Here’s little more about Kellie and Justin in their words:
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Justin and I met about 10 years ago at UNCW. We were both part of a student organization called the Scottish Society of UNCW, and one day, our club participated in a Tartan Day celebration that took place at King Neptune’s in Wrightsville beach. I decided to take my parents to the event, and they were actually the first to really “meet” Justin, until that event we hadn’t really spoken much at the few meetings we had. He was actually talking to my folks for a while, and then joined some other club members at the the table we were sitting at. Later that night, my mom told me “that Justin guy is kind of cute, I think he likes you.” At the time, I blew off her comment because I didn’t think that he was interested. We later went to the Highland Games together and while there I started noticing I was noticing him more and more. Then on the drive home he was singing in the car “to try to stay awake”. I was pretty oblivious to having someone flirt with me, but that was the thing that got me to think he might actually like me.
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I always feel bad for saying this, but I didn’t realize our “first date” was a date until halfway through the date [I did mention I was completely oblivious to this kind of thing]. We had decided to hang out on the weekend after the Highland Games, so I assumed we were still doing the “hanging out as friends” thing. He didn’t tell me ahead of time what we were doing so, when he came to pick me up I didn’t realize this was a date and not our new normal hanging out like we did on campus. First he took me to Blue Post, cause I had never been to a bar before as we just turned 21 that year, and showed me how to play pool for a while. Then he said it was time for our reservation at the Little Dipper, so we head over. We get through dinner when the server asked if we were celebrating anything, me being oblivious mentioned “well I’m recently single”, to which the server exchanged a look with Justin like “oh, you poor schmuck”. Still it wasn’t registering in my brain that this is a date, in hind sight this man is a saint.
Later we go down to the rocks at Fort Fisher to check out the stars. At this point, my brain finally decides to chime in and go “oh, gosh was this a date? You are the biggest idiot on the planet!” So I turn to Justin and asked, “Was this a date?” to which he said only if I wanted it to be. I kissed him on the cheek and the rest is now history.
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We were celebrating our 8th anniversary on 10/27, and we kind of repeated our first date. He had been planning on bringing me down to the rocks to propose under the stars. Problem: It was overcast and the clouds were not cooperating, so he was contemplating aborting the mission. When we got down to the rocks, the clouds were just starting to part, but there were hardly any visible stars because the moon was so bright. Eventually he gets a break and some stars poke through and he says to me, “Hey, can you see that star right there?” And I’m like what star, all I can see is the moon at this point. He points to a random spot near the moon and insists, “right there! Close your eyes, your eyes might need to readjust.” So I closed my eyes, and when I opened the, he had the ring box over my head. Then he got down on one knee, thanked me for being the most patient woman for waiting 8 years, and asked me to marry him. The ring he gave me had 8 stones in it, one for every year before the proposal.
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Now, tell us about your amazing wedding!
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2021-10-30
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126
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I love the riverfront, and it was easy for all of our out of town guests. I figured sunset over the river would be super romantic.
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I made the joke to Justin that since my brother likes to joke and call us Hobbits for being so short, that I am going to walk down the aisle to the Shire song from the Lord of the Rings. I mentioned this for months, and he forgot. So when I came down the aisle and the song started playing, I could see him laughing at the end of the aisle, which was the best part of it for me. Justin doesn’t show is emotions well in front of people, so I’ll take it as a win.
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A few years ago, I went to Ireland with Justin’s family and on that trip he bought me a claddagh in Galway. So I wanted to incorporate that into the wedding in small ways. Also because I have a lot of floral allergies, I wanted to find a way to have pretty decor it with minimal flowers. I loved the idea of white drapes, candles, rose gold terrariums, and small accents to make it a nice atmosphere.
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My rings are rose gold, so I selected fall colors [Burgundy, Navy, Ivory] that would compliment the rose gold accents.
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The first look, because I know I wasn’t going to get a legitimate emotional response from Justin in front of everyone else. That was the best part.
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Planning a wedding in under a year, during a pandemic is probably going to be my version of “having to walk to school uphill in the snow” for future generations.
Vendor Team
Venue: Embassy Suites Downtown Wilmington
Planner: Knot Too Shabby Events
Florist: Design Perfection
Hair and Makeup: Reign Beauty
Video: Vsync Films
DJ: Regal Event DJs
