The weekend before Christmas, I flew down to Florida for Olivia & Joe’s wedding (also managed to photograph three different engagement sessions in three different cities while on this trip haha). Everything about this day was a delight to be a part of and photograph! I have done several southern weddings now, but I’ve never had the Spanish moss be quite so beautiful before on a wedding day. The sunlight streaming through it was magical and I LOVE how their portraits turned out. I know for those of you who live in the south, this is a normal part of your surroundings but coming from the north, I just am filled with wonder and awe at the beauty of the southern oak trees and Spanish moss.

But moving on from my obsession with the trees, Olivia & Joe are two of the sweetest humans and filled with so much authentic joy (as you will clearly see in their photos). While friends in college at the University of Florida, it was not until after college while walking the Camino de Santiago that these two began to fall in love. I actually had no idea that we all walked the Camino the same summer until hearing the speeches at their wedding, but I love that that is where God began to stir their hearts towards each other. At this point, both Olivia & Joe had already committed to different year-long missionary positions, both of which required a dating fast for new missionaries. It was in this year that I first met Olivia because she was roommates at Covecrest with one of my best friends from college, Abby. I distinctly remember hearing about Joe the weekend I visited and remember Abby telling me “I have a feeling about this one”.

Fast forward a few years later and God finally brought Olivia and Joe to their wedding day. They chose to get married at the catholic church on the University of Florida’s campus where their story began. Olivia & Joe opted to do a First Look by Lake Alice on UF’s campus and God even gifted them with a little baby alligator appearance in the background (they both love gators so this was such a cool thing for them – it was exciting for me too because my northern little self had never seen a gator outside a zoo before 😂).

Since they did the first look, we were able to do all their wedding party portraits in the morning before the Mass. I always love this timeline option because it means all of their friends were free to go and mingle and enjoy the cocktail hour instead of having to go take photos then.

After their gorgeous Mass we drove out of the town to Clark Plantation which was an open-air barn venue situated on a stunning plot of land. We were able to do all of Olivia & Joe’s portraits under more Spanish Moss and oak trees and at the end, the sun decided to pop back out and give us gorgeous glowy light.

Olivia and Joe, I have enjoyed getting to know both of you and it was such a gift to work with you both!

Xoxo,
Mary Kate

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A huge thank you to all the other vendors who came together to make this day possible!

CHURCH // St. Augustine Catholic Church

RECEPTION VENUE // Clark Plantation

DJ // Genius Entertainment

CATERER // Carrabba’s Italian Grill

DRESS // The Wedding Cycle

HAIR & MUA // Moxie To Go

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES // Azazie

GROOMSMEN ATTIRE // Men’s Wearhouse