Shayna & Oliver’s wedding day was magical.
From the moment we arrived on Friday morning, we knew that it was going to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was cloudless and there was light breeze coming off the water that carried throughout the day and made their outdoor ceremony even more lovely. Two Rivers Country Club is a beautiful wedding venue nestled along the James River that offers a view of the water (and sunset) that you can’t see many other places. Their grounds offered so many beautiful locations for portraits that we had a hard time choosing where to start first.
Shayna & Oliver’s navy blue & ombre pink wedding was beautifully planned down to every last detail. Oliver’s dress blues paired with Shayna’s gown and cascading bouquet in a way that was the perfect mix of light elegance with traditional class. While we will always support all our nation’s military, we are particularly partial to the Marine Corps due to our own family/close friends involvement. Plus, Marine Corps dress blues definitely take the cake for best military dress uniforms, am I right? 😉
We met Shayna & Oliver almost 3 years ago at Shayna’s sorority’s annual spring formal. We had the great pleasure of photographing their event and meeting many of the ladies of CNU’s Delta Gamma. Over the past 3 years, we have photographed their spring formal annually and we’ve watched as Shayna & Oliver have grown together. From the first year to the second (the day after Oliver proposed) to their engagement session, we have loved capturing bits and pieces of their love story for them. Watching as they became husband & wife was so special to us because we feel as if we truly know Shayna & Oliver. They have been so wonderful to us over the years that we felt like old friends photographing their big day. Our excitement and anticipation for this wedding had a unique feeling to it as we have been dedicated to their love story for quite some time. While we love all of our couples, we will always have a particular sentiment towards our Delta Gamma brides because we’ve truly been able to watch them grow over the years and develop into the women (and wives) that they are today!
Before I get any more emotional about this sweet couple, let me stop and let you enjoy the blog. Shayna & Oliver, we wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!
We love when our brides choose to do a first look with their bridesmaids. It’s always so sweet to see the reactions of her girls as they see how beautiful she looks in her gown.
Time for a first look with the first guy to love the bride 🙂
And now she’s off to see her groom!
After the first look, we love being able to snap a few photos of the bride & groom-to-be just before the ceremony. These photos are always some of our favorites because there is still so much anticipation that they are about to be married that our couples typically giggle at one another throughout this time.
Shayna & Oliver were no exception 😉
Two Rivers Country Club was the perfect venue for Shayna & Oliver’s beautiful wedding. Their intimate ceremony took place at this pavilion that overlooked the water and the sky could not be any clearer for their day.
One of our favorite parts of the ceremony was the Arch of Sabers at the end. This unique tradition was so cool to capture! The bride & groom walk under the first set of ceremonial weapons, but then are stopped by the last two honor guards and must exchange a kiss to pass. Once they kiss, the swords are lifted and they are allowed to walk through, but not before the bride is un-ceramoniously swatted on her rear as her official “welcome” into the Marine Corps.
Reception time!
Is this not the cutest cake topper you’ve ever seen? These little figurines were nearly EXACT replicas of Shayna & Oliver’s wedding day attire. SO cute!
Introducing for the first time, Mr. & Mrs. Oliver Ross!
An emotional daddy-daughter dance ALWAYS pulls at our heartstrings.
Shayna was well protected on her wedding day 😉 Also, we are convinced that if this group ever decides to all get into acting at the same time, this should be the cover for their first action movie.
We love our Delta Gamma girls!
Though we always try and get our couples to sneak away for sunset portraits, we could not pass up the opportunity to take a few shots of the whole bridal party at sunset. I mean, look at this view!
Time to dance!
Although we typically don’t include the garter toss in the blog, we could not resist the urge to share this photo of Oliver just before he removed the garter from his bride’s leg. This guy is doing a ONE HANDED PUSH-UP! Marine Corps has trained him well!
And similar to Oliver’s unique take on the tradition, Shayna made her mark at the venue by getting her first bouquet caught in the chandelier. The second was caught by her younger sister. This reception was a live one, friends 🙂
Before we knew it, it was time for the bride & groom to depart. But not before a group CNU alumni photo!
Congratulations, Shayna & Oliver!
Blessings,
Michael & Chelsea
Featured Vendors:
Photography: Rowlands Photography
Venue: Two Rivers Country Club – Williamsburg, VA
Videographer: Christy Stevens Films
Florist: The Flower Cupboard
Cake: Cakealicious
DJ: DJ Paula Shrum
Officiant: Kim Gunn
Want to see more beautiful autumn weddings like this one?
Courtney & Caleb | A Red Wine & Moss Green Fall Wedding | Historic Jasmine Plantation
Brenna & Hunter | A Dusty Blue September Wedding at Springfield Distillery
Ashley & Logan | A Blush & Navy Blue Kilmarnock, VA Wedding
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Congratulations, Presley & Cody! Best wishes!
rowlands photography 