Wedding | The Venue at Daisy Hill, Fayetteville, Georgia | Dress: J. Andrews Bridal
Wow. Where do I even begin? September 18th was amazing, the Petersons are married, and their love for each other just hits me SO DANG HARD. Grayson and Miranda are truly two of the best, kindest, sweetest, and most BEAUTIFUL HUMANS to ever walk the face of the planet, and I’m just thankful to have been a part of celebrating their unity. Ugh. Such amazing people!!
First off, we gotta start out with Truett’s Luau. If you love Chik-fil-a, you might know that Truett’s Luau is a Chik-fil-a in Fayetteville, GA that’s Hawaiian-style — I learned this via TikTok this summer. SO, when I called Grayson and Miranda for my first consultation with them and they told me that their venue was in Fayetteville, I think I went OFF on Truett’s for about 5 minutes straight, because I had DREAMED of visiting. They just laughed at me and encouraged my obsession (as good friends should do ). So of course, the first thing I did before rehearsal dinner was grab some Truett’s Luau and sit in my car and watch Hannah Montana and enjoy the HECK out of my tropical nuggets. IT WAS FABULOUS AND I WOULD VISIT AGAIN, HANDS DOWN.
Okay, but onto Grayson and Miranda. These two are so selfless and I’m just thankful that I get to call them both friends now. It’s been sweet to encourage them and be in their corner throughout their engagement and wedding planning, and I’m now excited to cheer them on in their first year of marriage and beyond.
The morning of Miranda’s wedding, I asked her what she was nervous about the day ahead (side note I shared a bed with Miranda the night before (#honored) and we got slap happy because of Laura at 12:30am LOL – I LOVE THESE WOMEN. Anyway, continuing…). Besides tripping down the aisle (I’m fairly certain that is every bride’s nightmare), she told me that she was nervous that the day would just fly by and it would suddenly be send-off and she wouldn’t have enjoyed or been in the moment all day. That hit me hard, and I told her right there that it would be my job to make sure she enjoyed the entire day.
Cue getting ready. Y’all, Nicole described this as the most sacred part of the wedding day, and I couldn’t agree more. Standing in that room with Miranda as she put on her dress was MAGICAL. Y’all, Miranda is absolutely stunning, and when she put on that dress, she positively glowed. I couldn’t help it — I started crying. Her beauty was truly unmatched.
But if you know Miranda, if someone else starts crying, she starts crying. And for the next 30 minutes, I don’t think the tears stopped. We had the first look with her family which was endless tears and lots of squishy hugs and her first look with her bridesmaids which cut to my heart. And looking back, I think the tears were good. Miranda feels things through emotions, and you sure as heck can bet that she will remember those sweet times with her family and friends. (I also made her bridesmaids shout out every nice thing they could ever think of about Miranda and Y’ALL that list is endless and her joy in those photos is priceless).
Y’all. These bridesmaids were SO fun to be with the night before the wedding. I had so many honest and sweet conversations with many of them, and I’m thankful for their intentionality and deep joy — oh and did I mention that they are DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!!! They’re all freakin’ amazing, and so are the wonderful groomsmen. These men are so sweet and absolutely hilarious, and just as good-looking as the bridesmaids. Talk about a photogenic wedding party!! It was good to see so many of them again (look back at The Johnsons’ Wedding!) and to just keep growing these friendships.
The first touch between Grayson and Miranda was full of tears and was another sacred part of their day. It was just a sweet moment for the two of them to be together, and I’m thankful that they had the time and opportunity to spend a few minutes alone with each other. Cue lots and lots of tears.
And then the ceremony — I think Grayson might win an award for the best groom reaction, but I know he would just tell you that he couldn’t respond any other way, seeing his very-soon-to-be wife walk down the aisle and realizing he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. Again, Miranda was BEAUTIFUL, but her character and presence speak of greater things — love, joy, and peace. She was truly a sight to see, and I could barely take my eyes off of her.
Their ceremony was the sweetest, with passages from both Ephesians and Revelation, pointing to the future, certain unification of Christ and the church. This is my favorite thing about weddings — they point to greater things. When these two kissed at the end of the ceremony, I don’t think there could have been a bigger celebration. They danced back down the aisle and it was truly a PARTAY.
We took some family pictures and wedding party photos, and then we took the DREAMIEST bride and groom photos — these two are just IN LOVE with each other, and it was so precious and easy to capture their love for each other. UGH JUST LOOK AT THESE.
These two then had 10 minutes alone with each other, to eat some food and relax before the dances, cake cutting, and speeches. The speeches were SPECTACULAR and my favorite part was when Miranda’s dad ended with “we’re excited to see some grandchildren soon” and EVERYONE was shocked and then went into little giggles. It was FABULOUS.
And then we partied for the rest of the evening, I got to dance for a bit (which is always just good for my soul) and then these two newlyweds had their last dance before we sent them off.
