Happy Thursday, everyone :D. It’s time to share with y’all my first wedding of the year! Yay!On February 22, down south Louisiana, John Slavik and Melissa Downing got married :).
Mrs. Kim (Melissa’s mom) looking cute. Hehe :D. Oh, and I’ll take this moment to say I’ve known the Downings since I was about 5, so it was fun being with them and being a part of their oldest daughter’s wedding day :).
Melissa’s younger sister Stephanie was maid of honor :). We were playmates as kids, so it was fun catching up with her :D.
Beautiful, happy sisters :D.
Then her other sister Tammy joined the photo :D. They’re not blood sisters, but she’s considered family and it’s great :). I’ve known Tammy for a while too :D.
Gorgeous ladies :D. Seriously, the whole wedding party looked great.
Cuuuute :D.
Lovely.
I love how these turned out :D.
Melissa’s girls :D.
Beautiful, Melissa :). I’ll take this time now to share what John told me about her :).“I love Melissa so much, from the moment I saw her. Melissa is smart, funny, outgoing, and usually willing to try most of what I like to do for fun.
I love how beautiful she is and how she is very passionate and not afraid to say what’s on her mind.
I love her for a lot more than what I have mentioned, but don’t have the room. I love Melissa, she is my soul mate and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with her.”Precious 🙂 <3
Melissa and her now mother in law :).
Then finally Melissa and her sweet mom :).
Time for the guys :).
This is John, by the way :).
John and his best man :).
James, one of Melissa’s brothers, was a groomsman :). Known him since we were kids, but hadn’t seen him in ages.
John and his dad :).
These are Tammy’s sons who were the ushers :D.
And then John and Melissa’s dad, Bro. Jimmy :). Bro. Jimmy is my dad’s best friend, by the way :D. They’re both pastors :). They met many years ago at a Bible conference we used to go to in Louisiana :).
They were great to work with :).
They had fun with it :D.
I love how cool this one turned out.
I told them this was pretty much the most American picture ever. Hahaha.
Now I’ll take this time to share what Melissa told me about John :).“John is very spontaneous, loving, hardworking, and always willing to help whoever is in need.
I love too many things about John to name them all, but I would say a few of the many I love about John would be his smile, his ability to always make me feel better, his sense of humor, and his dedication to his family and job.”
🙂
We were getting ready to leave and most of them had already put on their sunglasses, and I quickly asked “Do y’all all have sunglasses?” They did, so this had to happen. Hehe :).
The ceremony/reception was so pretty :).
So, this grooms cake…
…is pretty much the best one I’ve ever seen. John used to be a diver. Isn’t this so cool??! So creative and awesome!
Getting close! 😀
Grandmas, aunts, and cousins stopped in to see the bride :D.
Then it was time for the father of the bride to see her :).
This is a classic Bro. Jimmy face. Hehe :D.
Bro. Jimmy is known for his selfies, so they HAD to get one together :D. So cute!
Mother of the groom stopping in :).
Guests arriving :).
The guy on the far left is my oldest brother Jay! Then my parents are on the right :D. It’s fun taking pictures of old friends at weddings ;). But really, besides the joke about my family being old friends, it IS fun taking pictures of old friends at weddings! Lol. Like the man in the middle is Bro. Gary Baker from the church there :D.
Time to start :).
Two of John’s nieces were junior bridesmaids :).
Then another of his nieces and a little friend of Melissa’s were the flower girls :D.
And here she comes!
🙂
Yaaay!
Mr. and Mrs. John Slavik :).
When we were trying to decide what funny picture we could do with the guys, I teased that they could blow kisses just like the girls and James said “Yeah!! That’d be funny!” Hahaha.
Then they came up with this. Haha. I love it :D.
And then this. Hahaha.
Man and wife!
Now it’s time to share their love story :).“Our love story began a little over two years ago when I moved to Alabama for ultrasound school. About six months into ultrasound school, my roommate and I went to go watch a band play, and I met John that night. We talked all night, I remember thinking I have never been this comfortable talking to anyone before. Towards the end of the night, John asked me if I would like to go sailing with him the next day. We exchanged numbers and from that moment on, we have been inseparable. About, a month and a half later, he told me he loved me :). A week and a half after our two year anniversary, John took me to the college world series and during the game, he proposed to me :). And that is our love story :).”
Then it was time to join the reception!
First dance :).
Love this one. Their smiles: yay :D.
Stephanie and her boyfriend Matt; they’re super cute :D.
They had awesome Cajun food for the reception!
Dad again visiting with our friend Bro. Gilbert Barr :D.
Mrs. Kim looked so pretty :D.
All the little kids were having SO much fun dancing :D.
Tammy and her husband Chris :D.
Father daughter dance :).
LOVE this one of all three of them :D.
Dancin’ grandma! Haha.
Mother son dance :).
Haha, love this :D.
The cake pull for all the girls to get special charms :).
Toasts :).
This adorable picture of them seems to be a good opporunity to share their favorite things to do together :D.“We
like to go on dates, dinner and movies. We love to hang out with family
and friends. John and I also like to do anything outside, such as
boating. We may start hunting together, he is trying to get me into hunting :).”
like to go on dates, dinner and movies. We love to hang out with family
and friends. John and I also like to do anything outside, such as
boating. We may start hunting together, he is trying to get me into hunting :).”
Bouquet toss! Sadly, being the photographer, I could not participate. Haha.
I love her reaction. Haha :D.
Fun 😀
Garter toss!
And Jay’s reaction to the little boy getting it is just the best. Hahaha. Jay is pretty well known for his laugh. Hehe :D.
Melissa’s youngest brother, Jonathan, sadly couldn’t be there because he left earlier that week for the Middle East. So, that Monday, Melissa put on her wedding dress and got a picture with him :).
Ready for their exit!
Woohoo!
With a smile,
{ Rachel Leigh }
Ahh, these are lovely. xo
Rachel,
You did a beautiful job~ I could look at these over and over. So lovely……