Mr. & Mrs. Wheatley | A Summer Wedding at Talon Winery • kendrarphotography.com

We headed to Talon Winery for yet another beautiful summer wedding in the books. There had been rumors floating around about construction surrounding this venue, but as we approached we were greeted by the same familiar and unscathed view of fields and vines covering the landscape. Because of this and the sweet, adorable interactions between Dillon and Haven I had gotten to capture a few weeks prior at their engagement… I knew it was going to be a good day! Before heading to the house where the girls were getting ready, we had to peek in the reception space…which took my breath away! There were the dreamiest florals all around, arranged by Haven’s aunt, and paired with fruit slices to accentuate the summery garden-esque feel. The tan fabric drapes hanging from the beams amidst the twinkle lights added to this scene. This day was effortlessly beautiful, colorful, and showcased all things summer!

After making my way up the steps in the older house on the property that contained the bridal suite, I was greeted by one of my sweet past brides, who happened to have gotten married at this same exact venue and had the role of makeup artist for the day. Haven was getting all the finishing touches while looking extra cute in her feather adorned robe!! We were joined by more familiar faces when the talented videographers, who we’d just gotten to work with the weekend prior arrived. The florist generously let me take some of the bold and bright florals to accent the details and tie in the colors of the day, plus I had to snag some fruit to mirror the tablescapes from the reception space. Among the details Haven had prepared for me was a delicate heirloom handkerchief which had belonged to her grandmother, been used by her mom on her own wedding day, and finally passed down to Haven now. I always love taking extra care to capture these sweet details that hold such value! We had to step outside to the winding path surrounding the house for some photos of her bridal party in their getting ready attire, the feather robe deserved its moment!

Meanwhile the guys were having quite the moment of their own. Dillon played football at UK along with some of his groomsmen so they wanted to do a game-day style entrance into the venue before getting ready. This was definitely fitting and the guys brought the energy from the get go, with money guns and pulling out all the stops as they made their walk! Once the guys were in their suits, they completed their finishing touches like pinning boutonnieres and fastening the suspenders that matched the girls dresses, and tied into the summer feel. After some solo photos it was finally time for Dillon to be joined by his beautiful bride. You could see the anticipation all over his face at the thought of getting to see Haven at the first look. We found the prettiest spot for this moment to unfold nestled under the shadow of a silo this venue featured that also had a background of a rolling field opening up to a pond below. Straight from there we went into some gorgeous portraits of Dillon and Haven– it was hard to take a bad photo of these two since their interactions were so genuine and adorable!

After some bridal party photos it was time to prepare for the ceremony, which took place under a pergola overlooking the property. The bridal party emerged from the vines behind making for the prettiest start of the aisle. The couple took part in a sand pouring ceremony. The ceremony ended and after some family photos, we couldn’t help ourselves from taking a few more bride and groom portraits, now with the glowing sun starting to set in the distance. We all loaded up in a car to drive down to the pond, as we knew the glow and abundance of tall grass would be so worth it! We were not disappointed and got the dreamist light! The light was just reflecting off the sparkles of Haven’s dress and as she moved the fabric back and forth, looking stunning no matter what she did! She was then joined by Dillon and all the portraits just blew me away, as we were blessed with the best light and perfect couple!

Finally it was time for everyone to head back towards the barn for the grand entrances of the bridal party— and grand this was! Haven and Dillon had decided to make a game of their bridal party entrances by making it a competition of sorts to determine which members of the bridal party had the most extravagant entrance. In addition to the beautiful tablescapes, another treat awaited guests. Haven and Dillon spent the week of her wedding writing personalized notes to every guest, which were awaiting them at their tables in an envelope. How sweet is that??! Malones catered the dinner and it just kept getting better as Drake’s food truck set up for a late night snack of your choice– we went for the mini burgers and fries!! The food was exquisite and paired with the cutest individual banana puddings for dessert. Not to mention the beautiful cake and individual pumpkin pies, as yet another tasty option. The evening continued with speeches and all the dancing. An especially memorable moment was when Haven’s Dad said of Dillon, “I saw him bring flowers” and described how he also always opened the door for Haven during their season of dating. And that was exactly what he did on their wedding day too. These words could not have been more perfectly paralleled. We forgot the bride’s bouquet during sunset photos earlier and Dillon came to the rescue going to get them. We got to see him bring flowers too. Then these sweet actions continued to prove the words spoken by Haven’s dad when Dillon opened the door for her once again after their glow-stick send off(always one of my favorites) and helped her get into the truck, dress and all. This was a perfect glowing note to end the night on! The dance floor was packed the entire night and guest truly had the time of their lives!

Dillon and Haven thank you so much for asking me to capture your day!!! It was so beautiful and I hope you enjoy all these favorites of mine!