Clay and Taylor Wedding at The Hamp Williams Building in Hot Springs, AR

FROM CLAY AND TAYLOR

“I cannot say enough positive remarks about the process of working with April. Through the detailed, meticulous editing, down to the laughter and ease of personality, working with her was a dream come true. One hope when it comes to your wedding is NO STRESS, and DON’T REGRET MISSING A PHOTO. I can truly say that each experience was captured the way I had dreamed, and I fall in love with my photos more every time I look at them. The small detailed USBs, the character she brings to her craft, it was absolutely everything we needed throughout the engagement and wedding process.

The Venue

When looking for a wedding venue, my mom mentioned that her friend’s daughter was getting married at this venue in Hot Springs called Hamp William’s Building. We looked it up and called immediately. We were told to come on over and have a look. IT WAS AMAZING. I remember just being in awe, and so excited that we found our venue in such a quick venture. The venue just had so much character.  

Personalizing Their Big Day

I LOVE to plan, so in my mind I wanted our special day to be an urban/industrial theme. The venue already had so much of what I envisioned in reference to that theme, so I didn’t want to add too much décor and take away from that. In my mind, I pictured candle lit and beautiful wild flowers. I knew from the beginning that one of my best friends was going to sing at my wedding. I asked her to sing our first dance song, and she sang a beautiful acoustic version of  “Still Into You,” a song by Paramore. It was so perfect, personal, and sweet to share such a special moment with one of my best childhood friends.I also nannied two sweet boys for 6 years, so it was very important to me to include them in our special day. My sweet Grant and Jackson walked down the aisle not as ring bearers, but as “Taylor’s Best Guys,” carrying the largest balloons I could find them. I wanted to include my grandpa in any way possible, but it wasn’t going to be easy to have him walk down the aisle with my dad and I (my original hope). Instead, I asked him to say the prayer before we all ate dinner. He is always the one at family dinners that prays before we eat, and my wedding was in my mind, one big family dinner! 

The Dress

I am still obsessed with my wedding dress. It was so classy and elegant. The day I went to try on dresses, my sister said that I looked very 70’s; prompting the wedding dress coordinator to suggest the perfect 70’s style dress to go with my look. I was instantly in love. The only thing I truly wished the dress included was a cape. I wanted a one of a kind wedding dress, and one of the awesome gals at Inverness helped me to create just that. We took two veils and affixed them to the back of my dress, right on top of the shoulders. Perfection. I had never felt as confident and beautiful as I did in my wedding dress. A hope I have for all brides out there! 

The Most Memorial Parts of the Day

One of the most memorable parts of my day started with a gift from my bridesmaids. They had a book made with pictures of all of us, along with personal messages written on each page from the bridesmaid about our friendship. When I turned to the last page I gasped, and instantly started crying harder. Clay had written a little note to me, and it completely surprised me. It was so sweet and made me so ready to see my Mr. Murphy. 

Another memorable part of my day was during mine and Clay’s first look. As he remained turned backwards, I just got so excited for him to look at me, and I stood and stared at him. I was hoping he loved my dress as much as I did. My heart rate instantly started to race, and then he turned around and I just giggled! No tears!  I was so happy to see my sweet Clay standing in front of me on our wedding day! We had waited 6 years for this moment, and it was finally here… so surreal. And my goodness did he look so handsome! 

Lastly, I wanted to have a first look with my dad and grandpa. This special moment ended up being so dang cute! I felt so proud to be standing in front of them. As their baby… about to marry a guy they both truly loved and were happy to see us build a beautiful life together. Ugh, I love those two so much.