Amy and Peter’s wedding anniversary is a date that surely neither of them will ever easily forget. The couple met on the 4th of July at an Atlanta Braves game, and they were wed exactly four years later. Despite originally wanting to elope, the couple settled on an intimate garden ceremony with just their families, followed by a larger reception filled with family, friends, and fireworks.

A huge thank you to Paige Jones for capturing Amy and Peter’s big day and sharing it with us!

Georgia garden wedding

Amy, 32 & Peter, 31

Atlanta, Georgia

Wedding Date: July 4, 2014

Number of Guests: approximately 35 (only family, minus our officiant, who is Peter’s childhood friend) for the ceremony

Wedding Cost:  $25,000

Wedding Ceremony Location: The Boxwood Gardens at the Swan House

Wedding Reception Location: The SkyLounge at the Glenn Hotel

wedding dress

bride portrait in woods

close-up of bride and groom hands

bride and groom recessional

wedding portrait

bride and groom dancing

forest wedding portrait

Why did you have an intimate wedding?

This is hard and not very wedding friendly, but if it were up to me, we would have run off to somewhere tropical with a photographer and eloped. When other people got involved (i.e. family), it made it a bit more difficult to do so. So, I guess we met a bit in the middle. We wanted to maintain the intimacy of it being just us along with the feeling of our two families joining together. It made it special and comfortable (although there was still a sense of nervousness). I can’t imagine having to do something like that in front of a larger audience. Eeks!!

wedding dress hanging up

bridal sandals

bride getting dressed

groom getting ready

groom doing up his cuffs

What are some of the challenges that you faced planning an intimate wedding?

Just the overall stress of the planning process; finding the right vendors for what we were looking for, and hoping it would all come together. Lucky for us, it did. All of our vendors were absolutely wonderful.

groom's american flag socks

purple, pink, and yellow rose bouquet

wedding portrait

bride and groom first look

bride and groom hugging

groom kissing bride on the cheek

bride and groom hugging

black and white wedding portrait

Was it difficult to pare down the guest list?

Not really. We only invited immediate and close family members. For the reception, we opened it up to our friends who are really important in our lives. We didn’t invite people just to invite them – each person had a special place in our lives.

bride and groom embracing

groom kissing bride on forehead

bride and groom kissing

Did you have any ‘issues’ with the small guest list from friends and family? If so, how did you address them?

Yes, we had a few minor issues, but we were able to tell them that the venue had a 40 guest limit and we needed to keep it to just family. People were pretty understanding. We were able to have the officiant’s wife (and friend of ours) record the ceremony and put it on YouTube, so we were able to relive the moment and also share it with those friends who weren’t able to be there.

bride walking with her father

bride walking with her father

Atlanta garden wedding ceremony

What were the highlights of the ceremony?

He said: ” Seeing you for the first time as you were walking down the aisle”; reading our personal vows to each other; our officiant talking about how Peter and I met at a Braves game on the 4th of July, four years prior and I instinctively did the braves chop…at the altar. And I love the crazy group picture Paige captured of all of the family members immediately after the ceremony.

We encountered a lot of 4th of July traffic on our way to the reception, but we embraced it. It felt like we were in a parade of our own as we rode in a ’63 Bentley that Peter had surprised me with. We posed for pictures and waved to the people on the street as they yelled out warm wishes and congratulations.

garden wedding ceremony

atlanta wedding ceremony

wedding ceremony

wedding ceremony kiss

wedding recessional

bride and groom walking down aisle

What were the highlights of the reception?

Being introduced to our guests as Mr. and Mrs. Hall with “Welcome to Atlanta” playing in the background, being eye level with the Centennial Olympic park fireworks, and dancing the night away with our friends and family.

view of atlanta

wedding reception bunting

wedding monogram

wedding reception terrace

wedding cocktail table

circle garland

wedding instagram sign

atlanta-georgia-garden-wedding-amy-and-peter-1535

What was the best thing about having an intimate wedding?  

We had all of our favorite family and friends in one place celebrating together. We were really able to enjoy being together, in the moment with them and not have to break into a the formal wedding meet and greet routine. And we could really be ourselves – it took a lot of pressure off of the situation and we had the most amazing time.

vintage getaway car

bride and groom driving off

What advice do you have for couples who are considering an intimate wedding?

Do what feels right for you. It’s such a special moment in your life, share it with the people that matter.

bride and groom in getaway car

Vendors:

Photography: Paige Jones

Hair: Emily Galbaugh with Event Hair and Tan

Flowers: Lindsay Coletta

Ceremony Music: Mary Beth with Classy Chicks

Ceremony Venue: Swan House

DJ: Tim DeGroot with Hip & Hitched (amazing DJ-highly highly highly recommend)

Reception Photography: Whitney Kilcrease, Sister

Reception Venue: Glenn Hotel

Transportration: Special Day Limos

Cake: A Piece of Cake