The Grand at Willow Springs. Northwest Arkansas' Newest Wedding Venue

Aug 9

Ok you made it. A lot of photos in this real wedding blog post but the truth is that a couple like Cassandra and Will, a venue like The Grand at Willow Springs, and a wedding planner like Katie McIntire deserve a little extra hype. All around this one was epic but there were a few things that really stood out to me that I wanted to make sure and point out.

First Thing’s First - Cassandra and Will are gorgeous.

That probably seems like a dumb statement but it’s worth saying. They are. And when I say that I mean equally on the inside as I do the outside. These two just embraced the day and poured themselves into every moment with their parents, their ceremony, their dances, and of course their time together. We always help direct the show just a little to make sure people feel confident and comfortable on camera but the goal is to allow as much of the authentic emotion, movement, and story come through as we possibly can and the reality is that about 95% of these photos are totally unstructured. I was a kid in a candy store.

The Grand at willow springs is a dream wedding Venue for Northwest Arkansas.

This place is huge, something we’ve desperately needed. It’s a little removed from the hustle and bustle of the Bentonville/Rogers scene I spend most of my time in the area shooting but the drive out to it is a beautiful reprieve from the city traffic and noise. The chapel is flawless and shoots pure white which is a tricky thing. Truth be told a lot of “white” venues actually are either shades of eggshell or sometimes even a more bluish white that make finding a pure and natural baseline for colors kind of tricky. This place is absolutely pure and the skin tones, contrast, and color inside is perfect.

The Bridal Suite is unbelievable.

I mean just scroll back up and look. The two windows on either side of the ginormous mirror alone make it for me but just having the space to spread out for the girls while they get ready and then (maybe most importantly) room to push all of the bags, hangers, and piles and piles of “STUFF” that comes to a wedding around the corner so that the room is clean for photos is epic.

Katie McIntire is a pro Wedding Planner.

I know Katie’s done a few big weddings at the Grand now and I’ve kind of stalked the way she likes to set it up so I knew a little bit of what I was going into. But the truth is this is such a big beautiful space that filling it is not easy. She always makes life easy for me as a photography by helping keep schedules on track, making sure that everything looks amazing and everybody is chill and content when we roll into a room, and that if we need to pivot or shift something just a little she can handle the ripples to that splash. In this situation dinner ran just a touch behind on service and because of the heat most of the cocktail hour had spilled inside for the air conditioning. This left us trying to find time for that golden hour session I was bragging about above which wouldn’t have happened had she not carved us a few minutes, communicated with Jared the DJ, the kitchen, and the bartenders to adjust our schedule by 10 minutes and then made sure she was waiting at the front doors when we got back to get the first dance going. PRO MOVE KATIE.

The Wedding Party Matters.

So much. Invite people to be in your wedding that you love and that love you. This group of bridesmaids was absolutely beyond supportive. When we hit that 95 degree mid day sun they didn’t flinch. When we reminded everybody what time we needed to be dressed and ready they were ahead of schedule. When we asked for a fresh mimosa for Cassandra they were already pouring one. All day these girls were epic. On the other side of the hall the fellas were a riot. Dudes that have known Will for most of his life and plenty to celebrate. Sure, they got a little rowdy but that could have been from the photographer absolutely egging them on. When game time hit they were on point making sure Will was excited, calm, and ready to fly. The secret to having these ginormous wedding parties that everybody wants these days is eliminating the drama. We don’t really care if you have 4 or 24 people in each side as long as everybody knows their place and that is supporting the couple and helping the day run smoothly. Mission accomplished 10/10

So that’s it. First one in the books at the Grand and I hope 100 to go. If you’re on the hunt for a big, modern, beautiful retreat for your wedding venue that is owned by an amazing family, managed by incredible people, and an open book for creativity and design for the photographers The Grand is a perfect solution and with this much space you can invite every person on that list and still have room to party.

● PLANNING: KATIE MCINTIRE XO

● VENUE: THE GRAND AT WILLOW SPRINGS

● CEREMONY: THE GRAND AT WILLOW SPRINGS

● MAKE-UP ARTIST: BOUN

● HAIR STYLIST: BOUN

● PHOTO: MILES WITT BOYER

● VIDEO: SOLARI FILMS

● RENTALS: EVENTURES

● DANCE FLOOR: DANCENHANCE

● LINENS: EVENTURES

● FLORIST: ARLOH FLORA

● CATERING: THE SOUS CHEF