Little Wedding /// April.29.2022

"As you are the Moon of his life, he shall be your Sun and Stars.

Your love shall be as ever-present as those two celestial bodies...even though they are sometimes hidden from one another's sight.

jules + drew

VALLEY VIEW, TEXAS

You guys, I don’t even know where to start with this wedding. I had been looking forward to this wedding ever since I met with the bride and groom, Jules & Drew.

When we spoke, they said it was a Viking-themed style wedding. I was expecting the football team.

But nope, they meant actual Vikings! And I was immediately pulled in and intrigued.

I pulled up to Whispering Oaks Wedding Venue, a beautiful, large barn surrounded by God’s amazing green nature and land.

Trees everywhere and a breeze in the air.

It was, however, extremely humid. But thankfully, a breeze helped.

I walked in and was IMMEDIATELY taken away.

Not just by the stunning venue but, the decor for this wedding, ya'll …. I was speechless. And if you know me, you know that’s not easy to do.

There was greenery everywhere, beautiful glass and plate ware, flowers, handmade cups, swords, axes, shields and SO much more.

It was like I stepped into a Viking forest blast from the past - and I was LOVING IT.

After I stopped drooling from the amazing decor, I was greeted by Jessica, the owner of Whispering Oaks! And I just have to say, Jessica is THE sweetest person ever. Anytime I needed anything or needed help, there she was.

I went upstairs to the bridal suite to meet Jules and all the girls. Everyone was getting ready and Jules was getting her hair done by B (Berenice).

I also met Jules’ mom, Elena. This woman is like Superwoman, I swear. She was so hands-on with everything and she even… well, I’ll get to the rest in a minute.

I started setting up lights for the reception and then I went to see where the ceremony was being held.

When I walked down this pathway, over a beautiful wooden bridge, and turned the corner, the beautiful arrangement of wooden benches covered in furs and an altar/arch that was straight out of a Game Of Thrones episode.

This was just such a sight to see.

As guests would walk up to the ceremony spot, there were signs pointing in different ways that said different things.

And instead of a guestbook, the couple had a custom-made shield that they wanted their guests’ to sign (all of these things, Jules made herself - including the benches I believe)

Come to find out, Jules & her mom, Elena, actually did all of this stuff from scratch. And after you see the photos, you will see it was NOT an easy task - but, they knocked it out of the park times 100!!

I went back up to the venue to meet the groom, Drew, who was just busy trying to make sure everything was all in place and perfect for his bride-to-be!

He, then, took me around to show me places for photos, what stuff they definitely wanted photographed, etc..

We went back up to the venue and hung out in the grooms suite while they listened to music, hung out and started to get dressed.

By the way, I have to give a HUGE shoutout to Drew's Groomswoman, I think thats the correct term, Carrie. She helped me SO much throughout the day and I couldn't have done it without her. As well as one of Jules' bridesmen, Anatoily. He, too, helped me so much throughout the day/night by carrying some gear, supplies, materials, getting me water, etc...

These two seriously ROCKED - so, thank you guys.

I went upstairs to the bridal suite after hanging in the grooms' suite to get ready with them.

As I walked in, there is Jules, on the floor sewing, cutting, and gluing stuff together still getting ready for the big day.

I have never in my life seen such a hands-on bride with literally everything.

As speaking of hands-on, after we got Jules into her dress... I was speechless. Not only did she look absolutely gorgeous, but I was blown away by the dress.

Not only was it beautiful and fit her perfectly, but her mom, Elena, had made it --- from scratch!!! And believe me, this was not an easy dress to get into, haha.

After we got the dress on and all hair and makeup were finished (shoutout to B!), we got ready to do a quick 'First Look' between the bride and groom! (see photos below)

The next thing we know, it's time for the ceremony. And as I mentioned before, it was extremely humid this day. So not only was I sweating (shocker) but, I don't know how the wedding party wasn't drenched while in suits AND FURS.

Gwen, a friend from their church, officiated the wedding and Gwen is just THE SWEETEST woman you will ever meet. Her energy, her vibe, and her enthusiasm and excitement through the ceremony and the evening was just extraordinary. She did the ceremony exactly how the couple wanted it and never once fidgeted with her words or even looked down at, what some people would call, a script. Gwen killed it!!

After the two said their I Do's, it was off to the reception!

Dinner was served by the amazing Chef Carter, speeches and toasts commenced and after every speech, we would holler 'Skal', which fit the theme.

Skal is just another way of saying 'Cheers!'

Then, DJ Ed, was spinning some awesome music to get the party started!!

We went outside after all of that and did their portraits for golden hour - and, this golden hour was unlike anyone I've ever done.

The Viking theme itself is already so unique and different that I just knew they had a trick up their sleeves for the photos - and I was right.

Jules had purchased smoke bombs -- and I was VERY excited to use these.

The Black & White ones were used for the portraits and the green, gray, black, and white were used for the sendoff (see all photos below)

And speaking of smoke bombs, there was a fire pit going on outside where a tray of graham crackers, marshmallows, and Hershey's chocolate bars laid where guests could make s'mores.

The videographer, Ramsey (shoutout!) had a great idea of putting one of the smoke bombs behind them to create a backlit photo and have a more moody/darker touch to the campfire scene - and it worked PERFECTLY!!!!

After all of this, we took a few minutes of a break where I got to talk to the owner of Whispering Oaks, Jessica, and she is just one of the most amazing vendors I have ever worked at and with.

After talking and mentioning I was in the service industry for years, we even found out that she had worked as a restaurant manager herself before getting into the wedding industry and we actually happened to know/have worked with some of the same people!

The wedding industry is a lot like the restaurant industry - it's a very large and broad field, but, at the same time, it's very small.

By the time we knew it, it was time to send off the happy couple in style! and boy did we!

We lit up 8 smoke bombs and the smoke was so overpowering I couldn't even see the lights on the building, but, I kept shooting anyway and I am so glad I did because the results were AMAZING!

Jules & Drew, thank you guys so much from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be a part of such a special and amazing day for you guys.

I'm so excited to see where the future takes you two together (and I can't wait to see the new house, haha!)

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Little!!!

Skal!