Sarah and Joe had a beautiful St Joseph’s Catholic Church and Fall Line Station Wedding on October 16th! It was a gorgeous ceremony with breathtaking views, and their reception was filled with meaningful conversations and laughs. I had been looking forward to this wedding for a while, especially after hearing their story on how they met. Here it is so you can read it for yourself and react to every detail just like I did.
How They Met
“Joe and I met when we were four years old on the preschool playground. He killed an ant for me, and my stupid four-year-old self decided that we would be together forever. I must have been pretty persistent or charming or both because he declared to his family that he was going to marry me one day. When Pre-K ended, we tried to see each other for playdates and such, but going to different schools eventually distanced us. He faded into the back of my memory, and I’m sure he forgot about me. So ends our prologue.
We went to different schools until our eighth-grade year when he transferred to my middle school. He had grown into a tall beanpole and his bright blonde hair got darker, so I didn’t recognize him at first. When my mom matched the name to a picture of us in preschool, my immediate reaction was, “Wait, Joe is Joey?? Like Pre-K Joey??” I wasn’t exactly overpowered by love for my Pre-K romance, but more surprised that he had come back into my life so unexpectedly. I accosted him at school with the photo of us. I don’t think he even recognized who I was, and I don’t think the picture helped.
Over time, we grew to be friends. We had cute moments together. I interrupted a dance he was sharing with his date at a Sadie Hawkins dance in our sophomore year. I remember the way his hands just barely rested below my shoulders, and the raucous laughter we shared while the other couples gave us weird looks. I think then was about the time I started falling for him, slowly and unconsciously. We shared math and English classes together every year of high school, except for 11th grade. Why is this detail important? Because it was the catalyst for how we went from friends to lovers, and you know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Senior year was the year I had sworn off crushing on guys. I was determined to focus on my studies, get into a good college, and have a fun time with my best gal pals. So, naturally, I fell in love. We sat next to each other in class, and when I figured out that he was easily brilliant at calculus, I asked him if he wanted to study together since I wasn’t brilliant. We at my dining room table or on the couch at his house working on calculus homework. That lasted about a month or two before I started asking him if he wanted to hang out outside of studying. We watched movies with my family, went on Halloween graveyard walks, and held hands for the first time in the packed aisles of Christmas in the South. By Thanksgiving, I was pretty sure I had a boyfriend.
We argued in the Howard High School parking lot about whether we should be boyfriend and girlfriend and decided that we were in a relationship. I remember the frustration I felt as I drove him home. It wasn’t exactly how I imagined starting a relationship. Don’t worry, he made it up to me. On the brisk November afternoon of 2012 with the early sunset filtering through the fall leaves in a mosaic of gold and red, we said an awkward goodbye. Not sure what to do about our new relationship status. I turned to get in my car when I heard him say, “before you go, there’s something I need to do first.” He grabbed my hand, twirled me into his arms, and kissed me tenderly. He smiled at me then went inside. My lips tingled, and my heart fluttered the whole way home.
That Christmas break I wrote a long love letter about fate and destiny, how everything that had happened led us to each other. At the end, I confessed my love for him. Sitting in my car on Christmas eve in Howard High School’s parking lot, he read the letter. He told me he loved me too. We exchanged gifts, went to Christmas mass, and smiled secretly to ourselves. We were in love, and we wanted to be together forever.”
Wasn’t that the sweetest story ever?! Congratulations to the long awaited Mr. and Mrs. Hornung!
St Joseph’s Catholic Church and Fall Line Station Wedding | Sarah & Joe
Ceremony Venue | St Joseph’s Catholic Church
Reception Venue | Fall Line Station
Day of Coordinator | Michaela Browning
Catering | Moonhanger Group
Flowers | Petals
Hair & Makeup | Blush
Cookie Tower | Chloe’s Cookie Company
Groom’s Cake | Acres & Oak Kitchen
MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHER
I’m Candice Emerson, a wedding a portrait photographer of almost 12 years. I serve couples and families in Macon, Fort Valley, Perry, Atlanta, Savannah, and I’m always up for an adventure to travel worldwide! Engaged and still need a wedding photographer? Let’s grab some coffee and chat!