Dahlonega Wedding at Frogtown Cellars by Brita Photography
If the big smile on the brides face in this opening picture doesn’t say “scroll down and look through these happy wedding photos” I don’t know what will. And truth be told, what’s not to smile about? A scenic vineyard ceremony location at the Frogtown Cellars Winery wedding venue in Helen, GA, honeymoon in Hawaii, two really good looking cakes…sounds like a win-win-win to me. Shot through the lens of Atlanta, GA wedding photograger Brita Photography, we think you’re going to like this one!
Can you give us an overview of the event: We had our ceremony and reception at Frogtown Cellars in Dahlonega, Georgia. We had the ceremony down in the vineyard. The cocktail hour and reception followed in the main lodge at the winery. The dance floor was outside on the covered deck. We had a buffet and the food was done by Frogtown.
Tell us about your wedding dress and what your wedding party wore: Ashley wore a mermaid style wedding dress from David’s Bridal. Her bridesmaids wore Apple colored long dresses with a champagne sash from David’s Bridal. The men wore tuxedos from Men’s Wearhouse. Drew and the ring bearer wore white jackets and ties with black tuxes and white pocket silks, and the groomsmen wore charcoal vest and tie with black tuxes and apple pocket silks.
Was there a particular theme or style: We stuck with the Vineyard theme. The venue does not allow for much decoration, which was easier on us. The venue in itself was all the decor we needed.
Describe your wedding in one to two sentences: Our ceremony took place in the middle of a vineyard with a string quartet playing in the background at sunset. The reception was held over-looking the vineyard in the winery with an outdoor dance floor.
What were the unique twists that made your event unique: We had a photo booth with lots of props for our guests to play around with. They were also able to leave us well wishes on a video in the booth. We got some great photos from the booth. The guests were able to take the photo strips home with them in a nice sleeve. We also got copies of all the strips in a scrapbook that they all signed. That was a cool keepsake. Since sparklers were a no-no at the vineyard, we used fiber optic wands like you would see at Disney World. They made for some great dance floor and departure photos.
Did you DIY any of the details? Yes. Centerpieces, reserved seating cards, ceremony aisle decorations, programs, rehearsal dinner invitations,
Tell us about the food and desserts: The food was impeccable. We did a buffet which worked out great. We had Flank Steak with Chicken Francaise for our main entrees. Sides were roasted yukon gold potatoes and asparagus. We also had a great salad and bread assortment. The appetizers were coconut shrimp, spicy meatballs, and an assortment of cheeses. Dessert was our amazing cakes and chocolate covered strawberries.
What kind of energy did your entertainment give? We had a string quartet that played during the ceremony and cocktail hour. They were spectacular and kept the mood very relaxed. This was our more traditional part of the night. Then the party started! We had an amazing DJ named Amanda from Complete Music. She really knew how to keep the crowd going. She got information from us on our music likes and dislikes and rolled from there. We would not have changed a thing in the entertainment department. We were very pleased.
If there was one thing you could change, what would it be? We would have liked to try the appetizers. That was the only thing we didn’t get to experience because we were taking photos. Other than that, the night was perfect. We had some great vendors and Frogtown took such good care of us.
Tell us how you met! We met at a kickball game that was organized by a mutual friend. We spent the next few months going to Braves games, the movies, dinners, and playing video games. The rest is history…
Now for the proposal: Drew proposed on December 11, 2010 at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC on our ski vacation. There was a group of about 12 people on the trip, and we all went to see the Biltmore on the second day. Everyone knew what was going to happen except Ashley. They all had their cameras ready the whole day. Once he found out he couldn’t take pictures in the house itself, Drew had to scope out a good place somewhere on the property. He knew the front lawn would be perfect come sundown. All the trees were lit with Christmas lights, and the house as a backdrop was the perfect setting. We took some group pictures and he pulled her aside and dropped to one knee and asked the magic words….Will you marry me? She said yes about ten times until he had to ask her to remove her glove so he could put the ring on. She said she would wait to start planning at least a week after it happened so she could enjoy it, but we had our wedding date and venue 4 days after the proposal.
What are the honeymoon plans? We spent 10 days in Hawaii. We started in Oahu and spent the remainder of the trip in Maui. We sat on the beach, went snorkeling, hiking, driving, swimming, saw Pearl Harbor, took a helicopter tour, submarine tour, spend a day at the spa, and ate lots of great food!
