Sarah and Jesse's wedding at St. John's Lutheran Church in Knoxville was joyful, emotional, fun, exciting, beautiful, and all around amazing!  You'll see proof of all those things below.  One of my favorite shots from the day is this first one. We had to make sure we got the "iconic red door" shot, according to Pastor Amy.  I'm so glad she suggested the location!

Sarah and Jesse did not expect that Jesse's sister Valerie would be able to make it from New York, but at the last minute, she and her husband got to Tennessee!  We told Jesse that Sarah wanted to do some "around the corner" shots of the two of them holding hands around a corner but not seeing each other.  Valerie surprised him instead.  What a sweet moment.

In the meantime, Sarah finished getting ready to actually meet Jesse for their First Look, and Jesse's mom helped him with some finishing touches.

There are so many ways to do a First Look (and so many reasons it's a great idea!), but our favorite First Look set up is to simply have the bride walk toward her groom while he watches her approach him.  This way he can experience the thrill of watching the doors open with her standing behind them, and witness how beautiful she is from head to toe as she gets closer. Sarah and Jesse's First Look is definitely one of the more emotional ones we've had the joy of photographing.

Finally, after many years of dating and months of planning the wedding, the moment had arrived.  Sarah got to watch her own wedding begin while she waited to head to the sanctuary.

Imagine a wedding with a traditional setting (a stunning church), many personal touches (Sarah's brother helped officiate the ceremony), a heartwarming message (tears, laughter, and sincerest of love letters), beautiful music (cello, piano, and trumpet!), and an overall sense of "joyful love", and you have imagined Sarah and Jesse's wedding.

The reception was at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, TN.  Weddings are fun anyway, but Sarah and Jesse's was REALLY fun!  Catering provided by Savory and Sweet food truck, bar services by Barger's Beer Truck, a bouncy house, cornhole, giant Jenga, bocce ball, 1,100 paper cranes, a general Japanese theme, and homemade desserts to include mini cheesecakes and TN whiskey balls.

After Sarah and Jesse's first dance, the cake cutting, toasts, and craziness in the bouncy house, it appeared to be a quiet and peaceful evening that would slowly wind down while the sun set...

However, D.J. Porter of Davis Sounds made sure that was NOT how the evening ended.  In fact, the party had really just begun!

What a great night!  Joshua and I once again were thrilled to be part of such an awesome couple's special day, and honored that they entrusted Jaclyn Paige Photography with the memories of their special day.  Congratulations, Sarah and Jesse!  

Now that you've read all about the day, head on over to LIKE us on Facebook so you can tag yourself and your friends in these pictures!