The day when the high school sweethearts finally tied the knot! Jon Hunt + Natalie, both Georgia natives, got married in north Georgia in May on one of the most beautiful days of the year. The day started off slow with the bridesmaids and Natalie eating breakfast in a beautiful stone French provincial cottage at Ridge Rose, the wedding venue. The girls slowly began to get ready and when the time came, helped Natalie with anything she needed, even the flower girls served their sweet Natalie by helping bring the dress, which Natalie helped design, upstairs. Natalie purchased a used dress but wanted to make it more her. She took it to a seamstress who used it as essentially a blank canvas. (More on the dress soon! 😉 )
Heart Pine Planning brought the whole day together and made sure things ran as smoothly as possible (despite the impromptu rainstorm!!) The couple wanted the focus of their big day on sharing this moment with the people they love the most who had been there every step of the way through their relationship. The couple shared that their photographer Grace Cobb was hands down the most gifted, joyful, easy-going – yet driven wedding photographer out there. They still can’t overstate the joy and creativity she added to their day and they were thrilled to share the magical photos with us…and now with you! Let’s see them!!
The Dainty Details
Okay, this dress has a STORY and we can’t wait for you all to hear how it came to be!
Their faces say it all! These bridesmaids couldn’t hide their excitement after seeing the bride for the first time!
And don’t these gals look gorgeous in their dresses from Shona Joy??! We are just a TINY bit obsessed with the color palette!!
The Dress of Her Dreams
“My wedding dress was actually a bit of a unique story. As I began to think about and look through the kind of dress I wanted, I began to notice elements in dresses that I wanted but never found them all in one dress. As my friend Chancy and I drove to Atlanta to meet my family for my first (and only) bridal shopping appointment, I told her that I had a vision for exactly what I wanted my dress to look like and that I wish I could draw it and hand it over to a seamstress to make.
We arrived at The Sample Shoppe, a bridal boutique that sells dresses that were once used as floor samples in other stores or are on consignment, expecting this to be the start of a long dress shopping process. However, the second dress I tried on, a very simple scoop neck sleeveless dress surprised all of us. I wasn’t expecting it to be the one, but when I walked in the room and looked in the mirror we all began to see it as the blank canvas that we could build the remainder of my dress upon. Funny enough, I also tried on a Swiss-dot veil that day that we went back and bought five months later and used it to create my sleeves. So, we left that day with the dress in hand, and a whole lot of vision and excitement.
Overtime with the unimaginable talent and support from the lovely seamstresses at Go2Bella in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, we were able to transform this simple, scoop neck, sleeveless dress into a fitted, square neck dress, with swiss-dot sleeves, an open back with buttons down the train, and buttoned cuffs. I can’t overstate how wild it was to see the dress come to fruition in my final fitting. The sketch I had handed to Bella months earlier was standing in the mirror in front of me. (Ps. Go2Bella also did alterations on my prom dress that I wore to Prom with Jon Hunt in high school).“
Let’s do the damn thing!!
The boys across the property were ceremony ready. Enthusiastic as ever, the boys wholeheartedly participated in group photos and gave it everything they had! And they all look so great!! The groom’s dark gray suit is from Suit Supply!
A Ceremony + An Unexpected Surprise!
Once ceremony time rolled around, guests seated, bridesmaids and groomsmen in place, and the sun shining bright, it was time to begin. Jon Hunt, accompanied by the officiant, walked out first, then followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. After that, the flower girls and ring bearers walked down the aisle, including Natalie’s nephew, Lou. When Natalie appeared, the whole crowd teared up as they watched her walk toward her groom.
As the ceremony started, clouds began to cover the sun that was shining so brightly just a few moments before. As the two read their personally written vows, it began to lightly sprinkle. Jon Hunt + Natalie continued on and so did the rain. Out of nowhere, the sun completely disappeared and the bottom fell out. Natalie looked at Jon Hunt and they looked at the crowd. “Should we stop for a minute?!” Natalie shouted over the rain.
“Keep going!” The crowd yelled back. Drenched and umbrella-less, the crowd cheered on their bride and groom and they had to get closer to each other to be able to hear their vows over the rain. Soaked from head to toe, the officiant pronounced them man and wife. Jon Hunt kissed Natalie in the pouring rain in front of all of their friends and family. It was truly a moment out of a movie!!
Okay is this real life? Or a scene from a Nicholas Sparks film?! We can’t tell!!
And the sun is shining again! A miracle! Congrats to the newlyweds!!
The inspiration for our day was twofold. First, we really centered the day around gathering with our community in a joint celebration of the people who have cared for us so well in our seven years of dating. As we were looking for venues, the only thing we really knew we wanted was space to gather around long tables, shoulder to shoulder with the people we love. That became the heartbeat of our wedding, dining around two long tables like we were at a family dinner with all the people we love.
An unexpectedly special part of our day was that after the storm passed through and we were taking our photos, we looked over and began to see our friends and family banded together to put our tables, which had been disassembled to be moved inside, back together. Groomsmen and guests alike carrying chairs back to the tables, moms lighting the candles and fixing our tablescape, and bridesmaids elbow high in plastic gloves setting salads out.
Someone later referred to our wedding, and specifically that moment, as a “community wedding”. That gave us so much joy! Second, we wanted to thank the Lord for the gift he had given us of a relationship together, and the opportunity for a covenant relationship together. The structure of marriage so closely resembles the structure of the relationship Christ offers to each one of us, and we wanted to make sure that that was made known and celebrated throughout the ceremony.
A Perfectly Executed Reception
Isn’t this design divine?! Luma Design really nailed this pristine white decor look!
Natalie + Jon Hunt had a chance to clean up and dry off and once the guests were seated, they made their intro as man and wife for the first time to their guests. The pair thanked their guests for sitting with them through their ceremony and for cheering them on in the process.
The pair moved inside to cut their cake by FPH Bakery.
Natalie + Jon Hunt danced with their friends and family all night. With dance-offs and party glasses mixed in, so much fun was had. At the end of the night, the pair were sent off by all of their friends and family to their honeymoon to Portugal which Jon Hunt had planned all as a surprise to Natalie. The guests cheered them on as they kissed their family and friends goodbye. A perfect ending to a perfect day!! Congrats to these two! 🎉
photography: Grace Cobb Photo // venue name: Ridge Rose, Chickamauga, Georgia, United States // event design: Heart Pine Planning // planning: Heart Pine Planning // florals: Maddy Denmark // wedding dress boutique: Bridal Boutique: The Sample Shoppe // bridesmaid dresses: Shona Joy and Fame and Partners // hair stylist: The Blowout Co. Chattanooga // makeup artist: The Blowout Co. Chattanooga // groom attire: Suit Supply // paper goods: Chancy Cannon // catering: Aviva by Kameel // cake: FPH Bakery // tabletop rentals: The Copper Quail // furniture rentals: Mayker // music: J3 Entertainment // Ceremony Music: Lauren Bell + Ethan Whittington // Cocktail Hour Music: David Schwab Trio // Seamstress: Go2Bella Alterations // string lights: Luma Design // design + linens + place settings: Chattanooga Tent
