She keeps cool, this friend of mine, which is why I knew her wedding day would be an enjoyable day. Jovi was calm as a cucumber (where does this phrase come from and what does it mean?!). When I got to her hotel room, she was getting her hair done. She sat there just chatting and joking with everyone, like it was just any ol’ day even though it wasn’t anywhere near  just any ol’ day.

Hair and make-up were done efficiently and beautifully by the always awesome Sherry from The Artform Studio, so unlike many wedding days, the bride actually had time to relax and take a breath before she had to get dressed. As if we were just having lunch in the break room at the office, Jovi and I simply chatted as her maid-of-honor and bridesmaid got ready and I was taking photos of her. I wanted to blurt out, “how can you be so calm?!” But that’s just how she is. Jovi goes with the flow, which makes her so unbelievably capable of doing everything without going completely and utterly nuts.

When it came time for her and Eddie to have their first look, she traipsed towards him, almost doing a little dance in the process. I won’t lie – when they finally met eyes and hugged, I had to keep myself from crying. I’d been friends with them for over seven years; knew the ups as well as the downs and I was just so happy for them.

Thanks so much for entrusting us with your special day, Joves and Edward!!! Love you guys!

Tam said that Eddie and his good friend Darrin were total hams in front of the camera and I didn’t need to see the photos to believe it. 

I just adore Jovi and Eddie’s parents. They’re so very blessed to have grown up in such loving households.

Jovi’s cousin and husband refused to miss out on all the dancing fun just because little Parker was asleep, so they stepped outside and had a party of their own.

The day didn’t start out ideally for Myra. Her hair and make-up stylists never arrived, so she had to leave the hotel to drive to a salon to get herself ready. Such an unfortunate start to one of the most important events of her life could have easily ruined the rest of her day, but lucky for her, she had a great group of gals to lean on.

Myra’s bridesmaids took care of their own hair and make-up, even if it meant driving back home to grab their hair appliances. When the bride returned to the hotel to get dressed, they kept her calm, made her laugh and spent that entire morning making sure she was okay, which she was eventually of course. She had her best friends by her side, not to mention her mom and siblings. Though her dad couldn’t be there (he passed away some time ago), Myra kept him close; a photo of him placed inside a charm that hung from her bouquet.

After a faith-filled ceremony, the newlyweds spent their afternoon reception listening to heartfelt wishes and watching some entertaining performances courtesy of their relatives and friends. It was the perfect beginning to their new lives.

*Sidenote – while taking photos of Myra and her bridesmaids at the hotel, I stood 2-3 steps up on a staircase to shoot down at them, and when I was done, completely misstepped those extra steps and rolled my ankle. Incidentally, Myra and most of her bridesmaids were nurses and were so sweet and attentive when my clumsiness took the best of me. But I came prepared – an ace bandage in the car wrapped around my left ankle helped keep me steady for the rest of the day. As someone who’s had her fair share of lower extremity injuries, it just never hurts to be prepared.