All photos in this post were captured by Krisandra Evans Photography.

KrisandraEvans.com | Atlanta Wedding Photography | The Trolley Barn

Short  & sweet.

That’s how we wanted our ceremony. That didn’t mean we didn’t agree with some of the important parts of a traditional ceremony, it just meant that for us, having a long, drawn out and dramatic wedding wasn’t anything we were interested in.

We wrote our own vows.

I think there’s something really special and personal about writing your own vows. It’s not for everyone but for us, it was just right.

KrisandraEvans.com | Atlanta Wedding Photography | The Trolley Barn

KrisandraEvans.com | Atlanta Wedding Photography | The Trolley Barn

John and I decided to see each other before the ceremony. We wanted to share that moment between the two of us and not all of our guests. It also saves some time after the ceremony. No one likes waiting hours for the guests of honor to arrive to the reception so we did photos before and a handful after the ceremony. Not everyone wants to see their groom/bride before their wedding but I wouldn’t have had it any other way!

Another very important factor for us was making sure our guests really enjoy the moment with us. We invited close family and our closest friends to celebrate this day and we really wanted everyone to be present. We did that by requesting that our ceremony be “unplugged”.

KrisandraEvans.com | Atlanta Wedding Photography | The Trolley Barn

It’s not that we didn’t want folks to have fun and take pictures it’s that we didn’t want guests to get in the way of our awesome photographer. There’s nothing more annoying than someone getting in the way of a couple’s “first kiss” picture because they want the first snap. I’d highly suggest doing this. Here’s a great article written by Corey Ann on why you should consider an unplugged ceremony.

Luckily, at our wedding we didn’t have any guests who just stood in front of the photographer; our friends and family were engaged like we hoped!

KrisandraEvans.com | Atlanta Wedding Photography | The Trolley Barn

KrisandraEvans.com | Atlanta Wedding Photography | The Trolley Barn

KrisandraEvans.com | Atlanta Wedding Photography | The Trolley Barn

Order of Service

We didn’t have a lot of pomp and circumstance at our ceremony. Meaning, there was no one singing songs or dancing, there was no candle lighting or jumping of the broom – it was simplicity at its best. The only thing we did “extra”, besides normal ceremony stuff was to have two of my closest friends read the poem, The Art of Marriage.

KrisandraEvans.com | Atlanta Wedding Photography | The Trolley Barn

I love these ladies and I’m so happy they agreed to be a part of our special day! Tisa (on the left) has an awesome blog too – check it: The Gold Curve.

Music

John and I both love music so it was really important for us to set the tone for our wedding with the right music. We handpicked the music that would be playing as guests arrived and carefully picked the songs for the processional and recessional. The songs weren’t anything obscure but they were songs that were meaningful to us. All of the songs used as guests were arriving had the word “love” in the title and they were, in fact, songs that we loved and songs about love.

Here’s the Spotify playlist of those songs plus our processional and recessional songs. songs. Tomorrow’s post: The reception.