The Dream Hot Springs, AR Wedding
A moment for this couple. You guys I could write a novel here. Literally. Chapter 1 : how to have the perfect southern wedding. Ok, I’ll digress immediately and admit, it wasn’t perfect… but it was close. I’ve got a list of blogs to write right now. An updated style guide for grooms in 2024 coming soon. A “how to propose and have incredible photos of it” blog coming soon. A whole list of the lessons I wish I had learned earlier in my photography career but this blog right here is me pushing all of those things just a little to the side to share the story of last weekend.
The real wedding of Allie + Dylan
It was a 20 hour day for Jared and I between the drive to and from Hot Springs which gave us plenty of time to chat in the car (4 hours each direction) about all the things we’d seen at this beautiful event. I’ll start by saying I’ve never stepped foot in Hot Springs, Arkansas when it wasn’t roughly 342 degrees. I’m not sure where the Springs are exactly but I’ve more than experienced the Hot. That being said when we found out that this was going to be an outdoor wedding with an outdoor cocktail hour and dinner and a tented reception for over 200 people I was prepared to need an IV the next day. Somehow you guys, Allie + Dylan’s wedding was the first time in history that Hot Springs wasn’t (TOO) hot. Let me be clear - it was still hot.
When we arrived to The Reserve to see Amanda Reed’s team and Silks a Bloom already setting up what looked more like a Ralph Lauren garden party than an actual wedding in the terraced gardens and a few hundred clear chairs set up in front of this beautiful southern home we were instantly in awe. The truth here is that Allie is absolutely stunning (more on that below) and Dylan totally holds his own with her in photos but an incredible couple with a bummer venue is still quite the challenge for photographers. This was not that day.
The Reserve in Hot Springs is incredible. The main home is tastefully decorated like something right out of Scarlet or some other perfectly southern movie. The guest house where Allie and her 10 bridesmaids (+ 1 junior) got their hair and makeup done was equally if not even a little bit more cute. Truthfully every door we walked through felt like a movie set and a beautiful canopy of massive gorgeous trees quickly had us forgetting we were literally across the street from the horse track. By the time Allie was fully finished with hair and makeup and her army of bridesmaids were ready to kick off photos the reality sunk in.
This was going to be a really photogenic wedding.
Let me back up for a second and say that what keeps us in this week after week isn’t the beauty of it all on a shallow scale. The truth is I adore the story. I love the way little moments can become bit memories. I love the way a photograph can connect people. I love my job and genuinely more so, I love my clients and the vendors I get to do this job right along side week after week and even more… I love doing this job with a friend. All those disclaimers written in there I’ll go back to my original statement. This was going to be a really photogenic wedding. Allie is absolutely stunning and her sense of fashion that played out in everything from her dress to the florals and design elements throughout the day is iconic. The bridesmaid’s dresses were maybe my favorite ever if I’m honest and even the dudes were absolute rockstars once they all got dressed. A quick moment for that white dinner jacket that Dylan wore and how absolutely epic a man has to be to pull that look off as well as he did.
A few short minutes after the bridesmaids photos kicked off we were done because honestly - there isn’t a need to just make a wedding a series of photoshoots. In stead it was on to the main event, a first look that we weren’t even sure was going to happen a few weeks ago. Allie + Dylan went back and forth a million times about doing a first look. In the end they trusted me when I said that I thought it would give both of them a chance at a deep breath, a perspective shift on how important this day is for the two of them, and time to be able to enjoy their own party just a little bit more after the ceremony concluded. Spoiler alert on the way back to the house at the end of the first look Allie looked at me and said “I feel so much better now that I’ve seen him.” - I didn’t say “I told you so”… but I thought it.
At 3:00 Lost Wax started sound check and the reality was all the way evident to anybody within about 10 miles of downtown Hot Springs. We were about to party. I love lost wax, love the way Amanda Reed Weddings always manages to pull together the coolest vendors and make us all friends, and love that Jared and I had the chance after shooting a million tables stacked with dreamy decor and design ideas to hide behind the house for 10 minutes and just chat with Patrick from the band about his life, his kids, and all of the big things the band has coming up.
Tell us about the wedding already Miles.
Fine - I’ll get there. Allie walked down the aisle with her dad and tears in her eyes around a giant fountain with a huge bronze horse in the middle right up to the base of the stairs in front of this iconic mansion where Dylan stood with a massive smile on his usually very reserved face. She’s this little bucket of fireworks. About 75 lbs and 5 foot nothing with the personality and charisma of an atom bomb. I loved the very idea of being her friend from the very first moment we met let alone being her photographer and yet I was beyond intrigued by what the guy would be like that had not only caught her eye but could bring some balance into the equation. Enter Dylan. Sure there’s a really beautiful Rolex on that wrist, a kind of calm confidence that never flinched until after a few drinks on the dance floor with his buddies but what caught me most was just how much balance he really does add. Allie feels totally safe with him. Safe to be spunky and sassy and stylish and sweet and Dylan gets to be this laid back, confident, “we’ll figure it out” type guy. It’s sort of perfect.
Once I really saw all of that up close the wedding itself made perfect sense. It was just the right amount of extra. A stunning outdoor party in the lawn filled with soft music and massive florals and even a little bon fire crackling behind her dad while he gave a toast to the daughter he didn’t know he’d have so young. All of it was measured, curated, elevated, elegant and then - the dance floor opened and these 200 people let the music run through them and the cocktails sink in. The party was iconic to say the least. In fact I’ve seen Lost Wax as a million weddings now but this is certainly the first time I’ve seen Patrick put his electric guitar over the brides shoulder and have her pretend to play while the groom sings Journey at the top of his lungs into the extra mic. Iconic. Legendary.
At 11:00 they ran through streamers with still probably 120 people present. Nobody wanted to leave and yet it was over. We jumped in the car not sure how we were going to make the trip back that said would have us arrive back home about 3:30 but the left over caffeine and adrenaline from that dance floor kept us wide awake until just past Russellville where there’s no hotels left. So this is the story of a wedding that demanded to be on the blog today. Not tomorrow and not when I could work it in. A wedding day that deserves to be shared and enjoyed celebrating two beautiful people and their 200 wild friends. An absolute honor to call this work but more so, a thrill to call these two friends.
WEDDING VENDOR LIST
PLANNING + DESIGN: AMANDA REED WEDDINGS
VENUE: THE RESERVE AT HOT SPRINGS
HAIR + MAKEUP ARTIST: BOUN VANG
PHOTO: MILES WITT BOYER
RENTALS: ALCHEMY, EVENTOLOGY
STAGE, LIGHTING, PRODUCTION, PHOTO BOOTH, DANCE FLOOR: CENTRAL ARKANSAS ENTERTAINMENT
LINENS: STRADLEY DAVIDSON, NUAGE, BBJ LA TAVOLA
FLORIST: SILKS A BLOOM
BARTENDING: TOASTS IN TOW
CATERING: GINA’S CATERING
LATE NIGHT SNACK: DELUCA’S PIZZA
CAKE: SHELBY LYNN’S
CEREMONY + RECEPTION ENTERTAINMENT: LOST WAX
INVITATIONS: BY INVITATION ONLY
GETAWAY CAR:
SHUTTLES:
