A real Arkansas Dream Wedding
Let me start by saying on the record that we want to shoot every single one of Kacie + Sage’s friend’s wedding. This group of people was absolutely amazing. There was no drama, nobody behind schedule, nobody out of place all day. Secondly I’ll say what I already have a few times in the little breakout captions above, what made this wedding absolutely beyond a dream was two things :
This bride and this groom are in a league all of their own in energy, joy, and fun.
This list of wedding vendors is absolutely legendary.
Might as well brag for a hot second about Kacie + Sage (and their families). I rarely shoot rehearsal dinners but when these two asked if I’d come to theirs the answer was an easy yes. On the 6th floor of the Ledger building looking across the sunset in downtown Bentonville I had the chance to hear ten - YES TEN - speeches. All of them had familiar elements of inside jokes and moments from high school and college. All of them were delivered by articulate and yet nervous fiends and family members trying to jog their memories from bullet points on their phones as they chatted BUT what stood out was that all of them truly, deeply, admire Kacie + Sage. Both as a couple and as individuals these two are people who have left a ripple in their friend group of joy and fun and what showed up on Saturday morning was a whole crew full of friends and family members (and vendors) who were eager to just celebrate two people who truly deserve to be celebrated.
Kacie is quietly brilliant. I say quietly because it’s the only thing quiet about her. Her laugh is enormous and she’s clearly stunning but in the breaths between hilarious jokes and almost too beautiful smiles there’s this calm articulation and confidence to her. She’s the girl that can totally juggle a successful and super demanding career with perfect eye lashes and high heals. Sage is a bit more reserved, but only (I found out) at first. He knows exactly how to talk to her, how to hold on to her, and how to keep up but when Kacie isn’t even around this dude is still the coolest guy in the room. So after six years together what the heck took so long? I have no idea - but I’m glad they waited so I was fully ready for this one.
I’m going to interject this SUPER long blog post real quick to give you a BTS look at another project we’re so excited about that happened at this wedding! Our friends in Memphis with Shoot The Veil contacted me and asked to do a full day video follow along with us from a real wedding as a way to educate and encourage other photographers. It’s a big passion of ours not to “gate keep” with a bunch of dumb secrets but instead to encourage up and coming artists with the way that we go into these jobs and the intentionality behind our creative process. It was super special and though I haven’t see more than just a few fun clips from the day from Sam, I am over the moon humbled and honored to have been asked to be a part of this project and so grateful for the way all of these vendors and especially Kacie and Sage so willingly agreed to let THEIR WEDDING be the subject of this training video!
The wedding day itself was flawless.
Stylists on time. Florists on time. Decor built on time. Flat lay set on time. Tablescapes done on time. Sound check on time. Photography… EARLY? Ya - seriously.. but we’ll just say ON TIME. It really was the secret sauce on this one though. Not that we didn’t have any buffer time built in for what ifs or oops moments but the execution of a day like this when it is this surgical allows for us as the weird artsy guys to have so much freedom to just create. It’s quite honestly how I look at my job and I think it’s one of the things that has really set us apart of wedding photographers in this part of the country.
We put SO much effort into building the vision and schedule ahead of the day so that we can simply be present during the day.
I know that if I have 45 minutes for bridesmaids, I can just wander and let them play and hang out and the good stuff will show up. I know that if I have 45 minutes for a first look and we run a few minutes behind there’s no need to rush anybody. I know that if we carve out 10 minutes for a sunset session that is only going to take 5 we have an extra 5 minutes to wander and just let them decompress and process the day. Everything about incredible wedding photography starts with being intentional about our time holding the camera, grateful for the people who ask us to be there with them, and fully trusting that all of the other moving parts will fall into place on time. So here’s where I brag on those people.
● PLANNING + DESIGN: AMANDA REED WEDDINGS
Amanda - You and Madi and Mackenzie and honestly the entire team did an incredible job on this one. I know I joke sometimes about being tired after long days only to hear from yall that you’re usually there hours and hours before I show up and hours and hours after. I’m so grateful for the way you guys approach this job with humility and joy and SO thankful that in this situation I had this team driving the ship. It looked incredible and went off without a hitch.
● REHEARSAL DINNER VENUE: LEDGER
The Ledger is an absolutely incredible spot for an event like this and it was my first time doing one there. I adore what this building represents, adore the view off of the balcony over a city I get to call home, and loved so much the usage of the space. I’d shoot here week after week if I could.
● WEDDING VENUE: OSAGE HOUSE
The Osage House is iconic Northwest Arkansas weddings. This place is absolute excellence from start to finish with a beautifully curated place to celebrate, incredible use of light and line, and a staff that is always kind and approachable. We’ve shot a lot of weddings at the Osage House and I’m as excited to show up now as I was the very first time.
● CATERING: CATERING UNLIMITED
The Short Ribs were TO DIE FOR. Honestly Catered food can be really tricky to pull off and I eat a lot of it. Sometimes the places that feel like they’d be the most bougie for food fall the flattest but Catering Unlimited always delivers. I didn’t even get a chance to see what all was offered because Madi was so generous to make plates for me, Jared, and Sam but every bite was wonderful.
● BARTENDING: MINT 2 MIX
My favorite bartenders. These guys are always so cool. It takes a lot to pull off bartending a wedding when there are custom cocktails, a long line of people all asking for different things, and a constant revolving door of new people. I’m not going to lie, I got nowhere near the pickle martini but I heard people raving and the coconut margarita I had at the rehearsal dinner was unbelievable.
● HAIRSTYLIST: SHAE SAMPLES
Shae is just so cool. She is just always right on point. I can’t imagine trying to do this job. In fact I think hair and makeup are the two vendors that often don’t get enough credit but every single girl that went through the stylist’s chairs on Saturday looked beautiful. So grateful for the way these ladies calm people down, make them feel a little extra beautiful, and then get them over to me on time - every time.
● MAKEUP ARTIST: GHLAM BEAUTY
The makeup was absolutely flawless. Not caked on, not dry, not too “dewy”. The color wasn’t pumped up in some kind of weird “photo makeup” concept from the mid 90’s but instead looked natural and beautiful and again, ON TIME. I’ve said a few times before that one of the only things we ever see go “wrong” at weddings is when hair and makeup take much longer than was scheduled. It throws the rest of the day off because obviously rushing that isn’t a great idea but that’s never the case with Page. Perfect makeup all day, right on time.
● RENTALS: EVENTOLOGY, ALCHEMY
I’ll be totally honest, I never know what rentals come from where. That is way over my pay grade and I can’t even fathom how some of this stuff get’s put together and visualized but I do know this. From the epic gold hightop tables and bar, to the ten foot mirror walls behind the band, to the martini glasses and shelves everything that was “rented” was something I wish I owned.
● STAGE: STAGE KING
Nobody gives the stage guys enough credit. If you’ve ever seen a wild wedding band try and play on the ground level you know, the stage is the secret.
● DANCE FLOOR: DANCE FLOOR MAN
A custom, round, vinyl dance floor? That’s EPIC. Watching the guy sit with an exacto knife and cut the perfect circle for what seemed like 2 hours - that’s commitment. This round dance floor was perfectly placed under the hanging floral that commanded the attention of the entire room and they both worked seamlessly together.
● LINENS: BBJ/LA TAVOLA, NUAGE, LOLA VALENTINA
Again, I just can’t even wrap my mind around how all of these decisions are made. I’m a little high maintenance about a lot of things but when it comes to linens I just have no idea how anybody chooses anything. I do know this, the linen under the cake was incredible and the simplicity of the green high top tables mixed with the lavender floral linen was so cool visually.
● LIGHTING: LIGHTWORKS
Steve is a legend. I’ve literally seen it happen now so I can say this. Lightworks can take a street corner and make it look epic. (I need to blog that wedding soon too don’t I?) These rooms look so clean and beautiful during the day but the way they transform with texture and tone and feature lighting when the sun goes down is so unbelievable. I’m so grateful for a team of people who trust me to be able to light my photos how I need to and instead focus on making the ambiance in the room as wildly beautiful as possible.
● FLORIST: SILKS A BLOOM
On a whole other level with this one. An entirely different level. The centerpiece alone was mesmerizing. I don’t know how many people I watched walk right under it and look up just to try and understand how it even worked. Between that and the flowers across the stage and bar the room smelled amazing, look incredible, and the colors were just unreal. Also one of my favorite bridal bouquets ever.
● CAKE: SHELBY LYNN’S
I don’t eat wedding cake anymore. I’ll be honest it’s been years since my last piece but I’ll say this on the record. Shelby Lynn’s did our wedding cake 15 years ago and it was delicious. I have no doubt this one was too but for me to post an up close detail shot of the cake in the blog? That’s rare but this cake deserved it. The level of detail was unbelievable.
● ENTERTAINMENT: LOST WAX
These are my people. I just love this band so much. The joy they have doing their jobs. The level of production behind it all. The artistry. I listened to Patrick simply play acoustic guitar and sing by himself on Friday at the rehearsal for a few hours and was every bit as blown away by that as I am his wild guitar solos while Shelby riffs up on stage. The horns, the guitars, the drums, and the vocals all just collide with Lost Wax. I love a lot of things about Kansas City, but this band is near the very top.
● INVITATIONS: SHINDIG
People don’t know this but when I was in college getting my graphic design degree I was an absolute lunatic about typography. When we chose the names of our sons I wrote them out, typed them in multiple fonts, all lower case, all caps. I looked at monograms, rhyming words, and squinted my eyes to see how they felt on a paper weight wise. I’m a nut about printed words and Shindig makes me look tame. These invitations were stunning. The monogram and gold and tiny attention to kerning and spacing was absolutely perfect.
● GETAWAY CAR: NWA HIGH SOCIETY
Who. Doesn’t. Love. That. Black. Convertible? It’s iconic in NWA and it never gets old.
● SHUTTLES: PINNACLE
RIGHT ON TIME. The magic words with any shuttle.
● PHOTO BOOTH: SOCIAL PHOTO BOOTH CO
OK the floral backdrop was epic but social photo is always a hit. I love the way a Photo Booth relaxes the pressure on me to shoot a ton of 1.2.3. cheese moments so I can stay plugged into the action. It’s always fun to see them at wedding and they’re always super professional!
