Southern Charm Estate out in Mount Vernon Missouri has morphed into this beautiful and grand wedding venue here in Southwest Missouri, truly a wedding photographers dream aesthically. In my efforts to blog more about my wedding endeavors I decided to start here with this venue because well, they have my heart and we have history... no not the toxic relationship kind, but the good kind that just feeds your soul everytime you think of it.
I'll start with the basics first though incase you don't feel like reading my drawn out life story and just want to scroll through the pictures, lol. Southern Charm Estate is set on 10 acres in Mount Vernon Missouri. It has an outdoor ceremony area and an indoor chapel option. The reception hall is a spacious 7500 sq ft that is sure to fit all your guests...seriously it fits 350 guests. They have remodeled, refaced, restructured all the things and have turned it into a truly stunning southern plantation feel. It's a real photographer's dream aesthetically as well as working along side the venue owners. They often have open houses for couples to go check out the venue, which I highly recommend doing. Please note that I have been photographing there since they opened so you will see the change in the venue appearance as we go.
So this story begins back in 2017, I was living in Republic MO and my neighbor had proposed to his girlfriend Mariah. I knew her somewhat but we had limited interactions, she being slightly introverted and me being busy in motherhood and oblivious to anything around me. One afternoon waiting out at the bus stop together making small talk as moms often do when forced to stand there together waiting, she noticed I was holding a box that had just come in the mail, my new business cards. We talked about how I was a photographer and she being newly engaged didn't know where to start as far as finding vendors that are reputable. I'd say we were friends from this point on and yes she hired me as her photographer, but it was more than just that. I was apart of the planning process with her. I got to be there when she picked out her wedding dress, I got to create her bouquet and really became a support to her throughout it all. To me it was such a priviledge to get to be there for such a time in someone's life.
Quick backstory to that backstory, I had also recently met Denny Perdue, currently with Elevate Entertainment. Now I could write more on that, but I'm trying to stay on track lol, so that can wait for another blog. Denny had invited me to Southern Charm's open house, where wedding vendors such as myself set up a table to show engaged couples what we offer. At this point I had never been in an open house, so this was a first for me. Upon arrival I met the owners James and Christine. They had just moved here from Georgia and while talking to them it all made sense, they were the epitome of southern charm. Sweet, gracious and a heart for the wedding industry because they had a love for couples and wanted to provide a really beautiful space for them. At that point they were still making renovations to the venue. Christine walked me through with visions she had for the future. They had started booking the venue with their first wedding coming up in April of 2018 and guess who's wedding that was... my neighbors! Yep, I had the pleasure of photographing the first wedding out at Southern Charm Estate. And it was a beautiful, sunny day there, perfection! As the wedding planning progressed I realized that many of the loved vendors in the wedding industry that I have worked with were also apart of the big day. Let me tell you, when it's a group of vendors that all know, respect and love working together working on your wedding day... it's magic! Denny, as previously mentioned was her DJ and Emcee for the event, Amy with Shakers bartending supplied the liquids and Brianne Duvall at Luxe Salon did a stellar job on her hair and makeup... just to name a few.
The night and the entire day really went off without issue and Mariah's stress of the wedding planning melted away. She was stunning and I had the pleasure of capturing it. After her wedding was over and we had become close friends I hired her as my assistant. So you'll actually see her beautiful face frequently in some of my posts on Instagram and other social medias. As of today she has moved on into the dentistry world and just being her awesome self. But occasionally when we're together we try to pop back in to say hi to Christine and James.
I have gone on to shoot multiple weddings at this venue and as you can see above, more weddings along side Denny from Elevate as well.
This slightly rainy day really gave some great cloud visuals and this couple here were so fun, down to earth and lovely to work with as all my couples have been. I've been really lucky in having great couples to work with at each wedding!
And if you needed proof that a rainy day can work for a wedding here's some more rainy day wedding shots. BTW I have a couple of clear umbrellas I like to bring when I know it's going to rain so we can still head outside for the perfect romantic "in the rain" shots. Don't worry, I won't make you get out if it's a down pour though.
And if you read all the way down here, thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to listen to my rambling on these moments in my life as well as my love for these weddings. <3 I love sharing them because I get to relive them as I go through these pictures and it's just such an honor to be apart of someones big moment like this and to give each of the couples something that documents these memories and moments for them long after the day is over.
If you are looking for a wedding photographer and want more info on my wedding services then click the link below! Especially if you are booking Southern Charm, I love any reason to work with such a beautiful venue and wonderful people.