Katelyn and Chris planned the most beautiful destination wedding in Amelia Island, and we were so honored to capture every sweet moment.

Amelia Island is the perfect backdrop for a modern coastal wedding - the Spanish moss, the vast marshes, and the sleepy waterways create a relaxed and romantic vibe for portraits. There’s so much ground to cover for such a small island! Aubrey and I have visited several times in the past with our family, and we always find something new to love about it (this time around, it was a bottomless mimosa brunch at Leddy’s Porch).

Katelyn & Chris chose Walker’s Landing at Amelia Island Plantation to host their ceremony and reception, and it was the perfect blend of everything Amelia Island has to offer. We planned for the first look and portraits all around Drummond Point Park, which worked out absolutely beautifully and gave us some really great variety in their photos.

Side note - this wedding makes a really great case in support of a first look. I never try to sway my couples one way or the other (it’s a really personal choice - Aubrey, for one, did NOT want a first look on our wedding day). But when you’ve got so many cool places to work with for portraits, the bottom line is that we likely won’t get to hit all of them without doing a first look. There are so many logistics involved with keeping the couple separated until the ceremony, and it’s usually much more time consuming. So if you’re looking for a way to maximize your portrait time and cover the most ground you can, I’d suggest considering a first look.

Katelyn & Chris chose to work with an incredible team of vendors for their wedding, and I can’t say enough what an honor it was to be a part of the squad! Simply Grace Events handled every gorgeous detail, with Shea Hopely behind all the blooms. I can’t even deal with those GIANT coral peonies. They were so perfect paired with all the muted green tones in the palms and moss at the ceremony site, AND with the natural wood tones in the reception space. One of my other favorite details was that Katelyn and Chris chose to display both of their mothers’ wedding dresses at their reception. So sweet, and both dresses were gorgeous, of course!

Throughout the night, the guests played giant board games on the boardwalk outside while I took Katelyn & Chris for more portraits down by the water (can’t beat that coastal sunset). Then, everyone danced for the rest of the evening until a super fun golf cart sendoff. It was so much fun, and I hope you enjoy the photos.