Just looking around at the wedding guests you can tell how Shannon & Wes have touched each life. Guests came from all over including all the way from Germany. Photos of the family filled the hallway of the reception and scrapbooks of Shannon & Wes’ travels were laid out for all to look at. The scrapbooks told the stories of their years together – lots of cruises with adventures such as scuba diving and snorkeling. These two met swing dancing so it is no surprise that their travels would be as unique and special as how they met. Even their honeymoon has them traveling to Costa Rica for some sightseeing and R&R. Each detail of their wedding was planned to make their wedding stand apart from others. Instead of the traditional clicking of the glasses and the bride & groom kiss, they set up instruction cards at each table advising their guests that if they want the bride & groom to kiss the entire table would have to stand up and sing a song with the word love in it. There was a lot of talent in that room!
Notice Wes’s cuff links? They are the Guinness Bird.
A little airplane bottle to calm the nerves? The men had a bunch of little bottles in the room while they were getting ready. Not sure how many were leftover when they left for the church.
The flowers were from Best Wishes in Blacksburg. They did an amazing job, as always, and they smelled so good!! I was holding Shannon’s bouquet for her at one point and almost didn’t give it back because it smelled so good.
The flower girls are Shannon’s 8 year old twin cousins and were so excited to be in their first wedding. Charlotte, on the left, was asked to hold Shannon’s bouquet and this was her reaction. I don’t blame her – see my comment from above!
Natasha was a mini photographer and made a great assistant for the day. Here she is taking a photo of me taking a photo of her. I was a bit jealous of her orange camera!
Their ceremony was held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. It was just built last year and is such a beautiful location. After the ceremony we headed over to The Inn at Virginia Tech for their reception and some fun photos! Gotta love all the Hokie stone.
We posted another version of this photo over on Facebook. We couldn’t decide which one we liked best, so you can hop on over to our fan page and judge for yourself.
We love people in love!!!
Both Dad’s gave such fantastic toasts. Shannon’s dad is on the left. I think he had 4 pages worth of notes but it was sweet, funny and touching all at the same time. I am such a sap at weddings. Thank goodness there is a camera in front of my face because I definitely teared up a couple of times during the night. Wes’ dad enjoyed some laughs at Wes’ expense – the look on both of their faces is priceless!
Shannon & Wes tore up the floor most of the night along with many of the guests. I think the kids take the cake for most time spent on the dance floor, though. They barely left the floor the entire time. They even requested some of their favorite songs to be played including the Macarena.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this ring shot. They had a candy bar set up for their guest with bags for everyone to take with them. It was such a huge hit that when the DJ was announcing the happy couple he couldn’t get people to leave the table and sit down.
I did manage to work my way through the crowd to get this shot though. And, no worries, I only put the rings on wrapped candy.
Ben & I had such a blast with Shannon & Wes & their family. They were such a fun bunch and made us feel like part of the crowd. They love to joke and have fun as you can see through the photos. Thanks so much for allowing us to be a part of your day!
