Chaos before the calm…

It was less than 30 hours before Maggie Mae and Will’s wedding day. Maggie Mae and Will both live in Ohio and they drove down before their wedding. Maggie Mae and her girls arrived late to their Airbnb only to realize it was infested with ants and roaches. We’re talking ants and roaches in the beds and sheets and all over the floors! That night, Maggie Mae and her girls slept on the floor of her parent’s hotel room. By “slept,” I mean, they stayed up until 3 AM looking for a new place to stay and get ready. I (Callie) got a call from Maggie and her mom at 9 AM the next day (Saturday). Immediately, we went to work. We Googled and called hotels, Airbnbs, VRBOs, and small venues. We needed a place that would fit everyone and provide natural light for the morning-of hair and makeup and photos.

Thankfully, we found a hotel in Greenville that still had 3 premium suites available. Plus, we were able to get Airbnb to agree to pay for the hotel rooms since they had inconvenienced everyone so much!

With a location now secured for the girls to get ready in, we now had to reassess the timeline. The original getting-ready location for the girls was only 15 minutes away from Glassy Chapel. The girls were now getting ready in downtown Greenville, which is 1 hour away from Glassy. This meant we needed to entirely redo the ENTIRE day less than 24 hours away from the wedding. We needed to call all of Maggie Mae and Will’s vendors and let them know that big changes were being made!

A moment of peace

After hours of calling each of Maggie Mae and Will’s vendors, I was finally able to get everything straightened out. All of Maggie Mae and Will’s vendors were now aware of and adjusting to the new timeline. The last vendor call ended just an hour before the rehearsal began. It’s safe to say I and my team were glad to finally relax and enjoy directing the rehearsal. We loved meeting all of Maggie Mae and Will’s loved ones and the bridal party.

Maggie Mae and Will’s wedding day

The next day, we got up bright and early to begin what turned out to be a perfect wedding day. Even with the looming weather, we marched through the morning, praying that the rain would pass before the ceremony. Maggie Mae was the “picture of peace” throughout the morning despite all the last-minute changes to her wedding day. Throughout all the pre-ceremony photography, I, Jenny Haas (the photographer), and the Will Wright Films team guided the beautiful bride and bridesmaids through each group of photos, from the bride getting dressed and the bridesmaids’ first look, to the father-daughter first look and a few family photos.

A beautiful mountaintop ceremony

Once photos concluded with the girls, we all loaded up and drove to Glassy Chapel for the ceremony. As the bride and bridesmaids boarded the bus, there was a light sprinkle of rain, but it certainly wasn’t cloudy. However, as we all drove up the mountain (Jenny Haas and I leading the charge in my car), torrential rainfall began and it didn’t stop for the entire ride up the mountain.

When it seemed like the rain wouldn’t stop, we collectively decided we were going to make the best out of the day, no matter what. As the groom, officiant, bridal party, flower girls, and ring bearer walked down the aisle, miraculously, the rain began to subside. It’s safe to say all of Maggie Mae and Will’s vendors and wedding guests were praying the rain would continue to dissipate and the sun would come out. Sure enough, as Maggie Mae walked down the aisle to meet the love of her life, the clouds parted, the sun came out, and the majestic view from the Glassy Chapel was revealed.

Maggie Mae and Will’s ceremony was full of thanks and praise to the Lord for all the good He has done in bringing Maggie Mae and Will together, and providing the perfect weather for their wedding day, even if it was at the last minute. To mark the end of such a joyous ceremony, we gathered all the guests at the entrance to the chapel for a grand flower petal send-off. The photos from this moment are some of my favorite images ever!

A memorable downtown reception

All the guests were directed to join the reception at The L in downtown Greenville and as they all made their way down the mountain, the newlywed Liles and their vendors stayed back at the chapel to capture some magnificent post-ceremony photos around the chapel grounds.

Once we finished photos at the chapel, we rounded up the wedding party and headed to Falls Park to gather even more post-ceremony photos of Maggie Mae and Will with their family and their bridal party.

At one point, while we were taking photos, a very young boy came up to Maggie Mae and told her “You look BEAUTIFUL!” His parents said he told them he wanted to tell the pretty lady she was beautiful. It was such a sweet, unexpected moment in the afternoon. 

Let’s dance!

With all the photos captured, it was now time to dance the night away. We all piled in our cars/vans/buses for one last time and headed to The L to join the wedding guests. The reception began with heartfelt first dances, including a song that Maggie Mae sang and recorded for her first dance with her dad. The singing sounded so beautiful, the guests (and the vendors) were all extremely impressed when the DJ announced it was Maggie Mae who had sung it.

Later in the evening, we all got to enjoy some cherished toasts from Maggie Mae’s older sister, her younger brother, and Will’s best friend/best man. The drink of choice for the guests to toast with was personalized Coke bottles and custom bottle openers that Maggie Mae and Will had made which said, “Share a Coca Cola with Will and Maggie Mae.” These Cokes were such a special touch for all of the Liles’ guests to enjoy.

The night ended with a magical, private last dance between the newlyweds and then a sparkler send off leading to one of the coolest classic cars we’ve ever seen.

Maggie Mae and Will waited 2,565 days for their wedding day and it certainly was worth the wait. We were so honored to play a part in their special day and we’ll always look back on their wedding photos fondly.

The Vendors

planning & design

TOUJOURS EVENTS

photography

JENNY HAAS PHOTOGRAPHY

florals

STATICE EVENT DESIGN

video

WILL WRIGHT FILMS

rentals

BERBANK EVENTS

ceremony venue

GLASSY CHAPEL

reception venue

THE L

hair & makeup

COTTON ROUGE AND CO

cake

 HOLLYS CAKES

transportation

EASTSIDE TRANSPORTATION

live music

 UPSTATE STRINGS TRIO

dj

 AARON JAMES