Marmaros Productions

May 31, 20236 min read

Ashley & Cory

3.25.2023 | Barn South

How We Met

In May of 2022 we heard from Ashley and Cory who had found us through Instagram. We were excited to learn that they were getting married at Barn South because it’s one of our favorite venues! While chatting with Ashley, she realized that we would be a good fit for her wedding day and shortly after that call we had a March wedding at Barn South on our calendar!

Love Story

"In 2018, Cory and Ashley were both living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where they were attending The University of Alabama. Cory spent most of his time in the law school library while Ashley was completing her Ph.D. and hidden away in the EcoCAR lab. But on a random Friday in March, Ashley came up on Cory's Bumble feed and he decided to "swipe right".

For those that have not used Bumble, or any dating app before, each user is presented with another user's profile and you can decide to swipe left (not interested) or right (interested). If both users swipe right on each other, then it's considered a match and can begin messaging each other. But the difference between Bumble and other dating apps is that when you match with a person, the messaging can only be initiated by the woman and it must be within 24 hours. If she doesn't initiate the conversation within this time frame, then you are unmatched and probably won't come across each other again.

But of course, Ashley swiped right on Cory! How could she pass up a bio that says "soccer coach and Bojangles enthusiast"? Ashley kicked off their first text conversation with a "Hey!"

Cory responded with a classic Cory debate: fries or tater tots. But Ashley did not realize this conversation foreshadowed what her future would hold with Cory: a lot of fries, tater tots, and fast food.

After multiple weeks of messaging back and forth, Cory and Ashley decided to set up their first date for when they were back from spring break. They decided to go eat gyros at Glorybound and talked until the restaurant closed. Then at the last minute, they decided to go see The Strangers Prey at Night at the Tuscaloosa movie theater. Again, some more foreshadowing as Cory and Ashley go to the movie theaters almost 1-2 times a week and love horror films!

For the next 2 years, Cory and Ashley spent most of their dates studying in the law school library. After Cory graduated from law school, they did two years of long distance as Ashley finished up her Ph.D. in Tuscaloosa and Cory worked in Charlotte, NC. But their long-distance finally came to an end on May 7, 2022, as Ashley moved in with Cory in Charlotte! They now call Charlotte their home and continue to eat a lot of fast food and visit their local movie theater almost every week."

Down to Business

All of our meetings with Ashley and Cory happened virtually since they live in Charlotte. Ashley was an autopilot bride who knew exactly what she wanted and came to every meeting with plenty of questions to ensure that her vision came to fruition. We finally got to meet in person in February at Barn South where we solidified final details with the venue and walked around the space in awe. We were so excited for their wedding day!

The Big Day

The day started around 9 in the morning for the ladies who arrived at the venue and started getting hair and makeup by Jahna Christa HMU. Evergreen Florals arrived at Barn South and started to work on the ceremony florals before moving on to the guest table florals. When we got to the venue, we went and said our hellos before getting down to business helping set out all of the stunning decor that Ashley had brought. Andrea Kelley, their photographer, and My Bride Lights, the marquee lights for the evening, arrived around the same time and got straight to work.

After some fun champagne getting ready photos, Ashley headed back into the bridal suite to get into her stunning dress from Affordable Bridal. Ashley headed out to the ceremony site to do a sweet first look with her dad before taking some pictures with her ladies. By this time, the guys had arrived and headed straight to the airstream. Once Cory was all ready, we led him to the arbor to see his bride for the first time! Seeing a groom’s reaction to seeing his lady is such a sweet moment at every wedding. After the first look, Andrea knocked out the remaining large group photos with the wedding party before we tucked everyone away to rest up prior to the ceremony.

After an intimate ceremony, guests were invited outside to enjoy some food and drinks provided by Sweet Magnolia Catering. Inside, Andrea was capturing some family photos while we were busy flipping the room. The room transformed before our eyes which is always so fun to see! After the room was ready and Ashley & Cory had a moment to privately admire their reception space, we invited the guests to find their seats.

The new Mr. and Mrs. were greeted with applause as their guests cheered them on before they shared their first dance as husband and wife. After their first dance, Ashley and Cory shared special dances with their parents. Next, it was time to eat! Everyone enjoyed Sweet Magnolia’s food followed by either a donut from Krispy Kreme or some cake from Publix! While everyone was enjoying dinner, we snuck out with Ashley, Cory, and Andrea to watch some golden hour magic happen. These photos are some of our favorites because they always turn out so dreamy! When Ashley and Cory came back inside, we heard heartfelt toasts from Brenda, the matron of honor, and Brian, the best man. The reception was in full swing at this point, so guests got up and either hit the dance floor which was electrified by DJ Luke from One Night Entertainment or headed to the photobooth by Robot Booth. You could tell that all of Ashley and Cory’s loved ones were having the best time celebrating these two! Before we knew it, it was time for Ashley to do the bouquet toss before we instructed guests to head outside for a fun bubble send-off. Ashley and Cory ran through the bubbles and the cheers - everyone was so ecstatic to see these two married!

Something Spectacular

During the planning process, we give our couples a reception worksheet where they can start to brainstorm what songs and genres of music they want for their wedding. Ashley mentioned a few times that they have a more unique taste in music, but we assured her that it would still be a great celebration even if they chose not to play all of the typical “wedding songs”. Their reception was complete with EDM, heavy metal, and even some karaoke which was so fun to see! Their DJ, Luke with One Night Entertainment, had such a fun time bringing their musical tastes to the dance floor and all of the guests enjoyed themselves. We saw guests of all ages waving foam glow sticks along to the beat and even forming a mini mosh pit! Not your typical wedding dance floor vibe but we LOVED it because it was so Ashley & Cory!

Happily Ever After

It was lovely getting to know Ashley and Cory during the planning process and getting to celebrate them day of! We wish nothing but the best for the two of them and know that great things are ahead. Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. Church!