A St. Francis at the Point Wedding

St. Francis at the Point and The Venue in downtown Fairhope are such a great combo for a wedding day. These locations are fairly close together, meaning we don’t waste a ton of time traveling between the two. I also love that the path between the two locations takes us right by the Fairhope Pier, making it the perfect stop for Golden Hour bride and groom portraits!

We actually did several of Lane and Jake’s engagement portraits at the pier, so I loved that she wanted to return to the location on their wedding day. The major difference was that we did their engagement portraits in the fall. The summer is a busy time in Fairhope, with so many tourists in town. The Fairhope Pier is also usually crowded with fishermen, musicians and families enjoying the park. On top of that, you never know if you’re going to have to battle rain on a July wedding day. I told Lane beforehand that we’d have to play things by ear when it came to the portraits on the bay. There were just so many variables that could have prevented this from working into our plan.

As it turned out, we didn’t encounter one drop of rain on this wedding day…even though there were heavy clouds in the sky for most of the day. When the trolley pulled up to the pier, I noticed the smaller pier to the side of the main pier was free of people. Lane, Jake and I hopped off the trolley, dashing to the smaller pier for a few bride and groom portraits. Our goal was to get the photos showcasing the bay, while not taking up too much time. In just under six minutes (I checked the time-stamps on my camera!), I shot as many portraits as possible. The whole time I was thinking how magical it was that it was so quiet. I was in shock that we had the spot to ourselves! These portraits turned out to be some of my favorites of the day!

The Summer Season

This day was the warmest wedding day I’ve had so far this year, but thankfully the sun stayed behind the clouds so it was no where near as bad as it could have been for July. When photographing summer weddings, I always like to build in time for air-conditioning breaks. This works so well when you have a location like St. Francis at the Point. I was able to take photos in groupings, sending the bridal party indoors between sets of photos outside.

It’s hard to believe that this beautiful day wraps up my spring/summer wedding season! It has been such a fun few months and I’m thankful to all the couples who had me and my team be part of their wedding days. I’m looking forward to working on some exciting commercial projects over the next month before the fall/winter season kicks off in September (even though we all know that September still feels like summer in the Mobile Bay area…haha!).

Lane and Jake, thank you for an absolutely fabulous ending to a great season! Cheers to many years of happiness together!

Y’all, this car was so fabulous for a grand exit getaway!

One of my second photographers, Alexis (camera left in the photo below), is leaving us for a bit because she has some new adventures on the horizon. We were so sad that this was our last wedding with her for a while! She has helped me on wedding days and miscellaneous shoots over the past two years. It’s crazy how time flies! I am so thankful for her hard work and dedication, as well as for her friendship. Cheers to you Alexis! We wish you all the best!

Vendors

Photography by Elizabeth Gelineau

Second Photographer | Alexis Williams

Photographer’s Assistants | Regina Gomez-Guillen + Lauren Hodges

Planning | Jenna Laine Weddings

Videography | Stoneybrook Films

Ceremony | St. Francis at the Point

Reception + Catering + Lighting | The Venue

Florist | Belle Bouquet

Cake | Cakes by Tammy Reed

Groom’s Desserts | Something Sweet

Rentals | Port City Rentals

Band | 2nd Groove Show Band

Transportation | Gulf Coast Tours

Makeup + Hair | Becca Townley Snell

Exit Car | A Bride’s Ride

Bride’s Gown | Heidi Elnora

Bridesmaid Dresses | Bella Bridesmaids

Invitations | Jenna Laine Weddings + Weezie B Designs

Calligrapher | Southern Calligraphy

Save the Dates | Minted