“The biggest representation of us was the simplicity, intimacy and inclusion of only our closest friends and family. We are not showy people who like to get up in front of a crowd to perform, so it was perfect to be married by Paul’s best friend and surrounded only be familiar, happy, smiling faces.”

Today I get to share with you this utterly beautiful, calming and intimate ceremony of Ann & Paul from Val & Sarah Photography that took place at Parish Foods & Goods in Atlanta where Paul’s best friend married them.

Over 5 years ago in early fall of 2008, I met Paul in Brooklyn after exchanging some stories on a now-defunct dating site that was, at the time, probably being held together by paperclips and string. Tall, goofy and handsome.. just my type! We hit it off and had a whirlwind romance over 6 weeks time.. until he told me he was moving to Nashville. Needless to say, I put the brakes on and he soon high-tailed it out of New York.

Months passed, and although he tried to stay in touch, I tried to move on. One afternoon, in January of 2012, I was updating my LinkedIn, in hopes of finding a new job, when in the right-hand corner of my screen appeared a suggested connection: Paul.

I thought, “How could this be? We haven’t talked in years!”, and quickly searched my email account for anything containing “paul” — hoping to find some straggling email from yesteryear which I hadn’t yet deleted. And there it was! An unanswered email from 3 years prior. He had found a bottle of wine from the Burge Family Winemakers (this is my maiden name), snapped a picture and purchased a bottle to try.

So, 3 years later, I wrote back with profuse apologies for dropping off the face of the earth and a request to catch up and hear how he is doing.. 20 minutes later, Paul wrote back! And he was in Atlanta.

Over the course of a year, we wrote hundreds of emails, thousands of text messages and logged a hefty volume of phone hours while we walked, drove, rode in taxis, cooked dinner, and before we went to sleep at night.

Paul passed through New York a few times, and it was always filled with endless conversation about life, love, and digital technology (forgive us, we were both digital project managers, by profession <3). But after a tumultuous year of changes, both of our minds began to focus and on New Years Day, 2013, spending another day talking, talking, talking, we began our next journey.. US.

On the night of our engagement, after Paul popped the question and slipped my dream ring around my finger, I ran to my computer and queued up ‘Tonight, You Belong To Me’, sung by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in one of my all-time favourite flicks, The Jerk. We dance, twirled and sang to each other in our own drunken happiness. On the night of our wedding, that was our song..

Paul has a printing letter press with a friend of his, so they designed and hand printed our invitations, programs, coasters (fill-in-the-blank advice to the bride and groom, in lieu of a guestbook) and our thank you cards.

We also put together favour bags with Georgia peach jams and paper fans (it is HOTlanta, after all), decorated the space with paper lanterns and created flower arrangements with wholesale butter yellow daisies and Ball mason jars. I think the most fun was probably the outcome of all the printed materials, by Paul. He was so proud of how everything looked.

I am honestly quite conservative in dress and tend not to show off my tattoos on purpose. I really wanted something that was pretty, flowy and comfortable in the southern heat, and then separately I purchased that gorgeous lace shawl in hopes covering up a bit. I always wanted something quite grand with long lace sleeves, but in mindfulness of the kind of wedding we were having, what I purchased was perfect in its own right.

“For every year we are together, I get a tiny black heart tattooed.. I’m sure to be freckled with them by old age!”

How gorgeous to Ann & Paul look in their wedding attire? Both Paul’s suit and Ann’s dress were from J Crew. I especially love Ann’s gold leaf headband! Paul’s fab letterpress company, Diver Press  can be found here. Be sure to leave both Anne & Paul and Val & Sarah Photography some love!