Kate & Reuben ~ November 26, 2011

Having a photographer in the family can come in handy. This weekend, my baby cousin Katie got married!! So, Greg and I were her official paparazzi and it was a wonderful event, filled with family touches. The wedding took place at The Solarium in Decatur - a charming 1915 building that was just right for Katie & Reuben's celebration! I (actually, the whole family) can't thank Lisanne at Watermark Weddings enough for coordinating the rehearsal and the wedding, being our guidance counselor and saving the day many times over.





Now let me get to the family touches. The dress hanger above was made with Reuben's mother's wedding dress material.





Katie's wedding ring has diamonds from her mother's ring, Reuben's mother's ring and his grandmother's ring!





Katie inherited these charms (that she wrapped around her flower stems) from our grandparents:





We set the nervous couple up to see each other for the first time in a private area outside:







...and like magic, the nervousness was gone as soon as they saw each other!









Off we went to take pictures in Oakhurst's cute little town square:













Here I am, making Katie do her America's Next Top Model pose.





It was breezy out, but she worked it!













Reuben is from South Africa and Katie is an Atlanta girl, so this next series shows how we symbolized the union of the two people and the two countries.












My cousin is The Queen of Accessories and had to bring a few wardrobe enhancements.















We made the most of the autumn leaves:





No gathering of my family is complete without a "lay down" photo (yes, we are weird).In this case, we got the South African contingent involved and we were all laughing so hard during this!






The wedding party was full of the next generation of my crazy, fun family! We had a BLAST taking the kid's pictures and they were all complete angels for the rehearsal right before wedding ceremony.







Katie got verklempt during the rehearsal!





Greg snaps a prizewinner of the flower girls:







The girls took their job very seriously.The boys didn't know what to think:









The wedding party! My little nephew Aaron (2nd from left) would NOT keep his shirt tucked in because it interfered with his non-stop dancing!!













The ceremony took place outside on a balmy evening under the huge old oak tree:






Katie peeks outside at the crowd before making her grand entrance:











Reuben's mother held a single red rose in memory of his dad:





The moms listen carefully to the minister:











After a ceremony that was sentimental and serious, the newlyweds broke out into a dance and DJ Ted  played "U Can't Touch This" for the recessional - everyone danced down the aisle!








Inside the reception, Proof of the Pudding caterers had buffets with both southern-inspired food and South African dishes. The "kid's table" was awesome and had coloring books, sunglasses and Krazy straws!





Instead of a wedding cake, Katie & Reuben had wedding cupcakes from Gigi's.



















The father/daughter and mother/son dances:











Yes, that is Greg in the WOW Photobooth:











The blissful couple had no idea that their friends were decorating their car during the reception:







After a last dance with bubbles, the couple had a grand exit with more bubbles and flags!


















....off they went into the night, on the way to the beautiful Georgian Terrace hotel. Congratulations to Katie and Reuben!!