The Side Porch Wedding

From the photographer on The Side Porch Wedding: I met Jade and Titus about 4 or so years ago after posting a model call on Instagram. At the time, they had only been together a few months, but I knew they were soulmates. In all my years of photographing couples, these two just had such a passion for one another. And I was right!

I had the incredible pleasure of shooting this Pinterest-worthy wedding in October. Jade spent so much time planning every little detail. She thrifted a large majority of her decor and details and brought her boho dreams to life!

From the bride: My husband gave me complete control over the design of the wedding, as I am sure they all do. I was inspired by the overall Autumn color palette as we had an October wedding. I have always loved old and worn things and felt connected to items from earlier eras.

My biggest inspirations for overall design were vintage, eclectic, and bohemian styled decor pieces, florals, bridesmaids gowns, and table scapes. I loved the idea of mixing different textures and patterns that complimented each other in various mediums throughout the entirety of the wedding.

It was our biggest priority to shop exclusively small, local, or pre owned. It is important to us to be mindful of our carbon footprint and waste, so it was quite the adventure checking in at local shops, thrift stores, yard sales, and Facebook market place to collect our decor.

The few things I could not find second hand; groomsmen ties, macrame hangings, and custom pieces for signs throughout the venue, we chose to reach out to local and small, female owned shops and businesses through Etsy to buy them from. We know weddings are historically known for being wasteful and it was fun and rewarding knowing ours was not going to be.

I collected over 100 vintage and vintage style rugs for our aisle and rug dance floor, over 150 brass candlestick holders, mismatched table runners that I hand dyed, vintage amber dishes for our charcuterie cocktail hour spread, and 150 gold charger plates that all matched from 5 different Goodwill’s in two different states. My husband built and soldered custom copper sign stands to place throughout the venue as well as mini ones to place on the dinner tables.

Our ceremony space was in the forest beside a creek on the property of the barn where our reception was held, The Side Porch in Gray, Tennessee. Being that our wedding was in October and in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee, I wanted to use the natural elements of our beautiful home place to set the mood for our eclectic, bohemian day.

We have a few favorite moments from our wedding. Directly after the ceremony, we sent our guests off to cocktail hour and we shared a private foot washing to symbolize that we promise to love one another as Christ loved us. I have washed my husband’s feet every year on our anniversary since the day he asked me to be his girlfriend, so that tradition means more to us than anything.

At the end of the night, before our sparkler send off, we lit a sky lantern as our guests shared well wishes, prayers, and sweet comments as we waited for it to lift off. Also, our dogs were at the wedding the entire time. Doc and Mila, our babes.

Our vows were definitely the most special moment of our wedding day. We hand wrote them, I spent the better part of a year editing mine, and he quoted my favorite movie “The Fault in Our Stars” in his. I wrote a book, because thats who I am, and he made me laugh because that’s who he is. We tell each other sweet nothings all the time, so it was so sweet to see how he would express his love for me, in words, in front of our entire family and all of our friends.

Associated Vendors

Makeup Artist: Makeup By Leann
Event Venue: The Side Porch
Floral Designer: Rose Moss Designs
Photographer: Taylor Parker Photography