Marmaros Productions

Mar 2, 20225 min read

Karen & Aaron

9.25.2021 | Martin's Landing River Lodge

How We Met

At the start of the year, Mallory received a message from Gail Clarke, a beloved caterer of ours, saying that she had passed our name along to someone she knew who was looking for a coordinator. Within the hour, Mallory was on the phone with Chris Rooker, the mother of the bride, listening to the details of the day and seeing how we could help out! We had a September 25th wedding on the books and we were so excited to be able to be a part of Karen & Aaron’s big day!

Down to Business

As we first started the planning process, Karen was in the process of moving and had a very busy schedule, so we kept everything virtual so that everyone could join! After we nailed down the different vendors and the timeline, Mallory and Chris went to the venue to get measurements, draw up a floor plan, and figure out how many tables and chairs needed to be rented. We met virtually a few more times and Mallory got to briefly meet Aaron in meetings, but Karen always had to walk away from him considering we had some *secret surprise* information to discuss! Rehearsal went smoothly and we were just so ready for the following day!

The Big Day

On Saturday, Karen and her ladies started the day at Even Hotel near the Avalon. Mallory stopped by the hotel to see how the ladies were doing and Quianna Harper was adding some final touches to Karen and her maid of honor’s makeup. Once Jenna & Jack from Honeyroot Photo & Film arrived at the hotel to get a few detail and getting ready shots, Mallory made her way to the venue to start setting up.

When Mallory got to Martin's Landing, Aaron was there with some friends grabbing a bite to eat. We made sure that the chairs were in place for the ceremony and that the reserved tags were on the chairs for the first few rows. Karen was on her way to the venue, so we made sure Aaron was all ready for photos and was in a room where there was no chance that he could see his bride as she made her way upstairs. After Karen settled upstairs, we took Aaron to the spot where the first look would happen. Karen and Aaron had one of the most fun first looks we have ever seen! Next, Jenna and Jack worked on knocking out the bride and groom portraits and family photos. In the meantime, we were directing Bill from Cut Loose Entertainment and the team from Delicious Dished by Gail on where to set up. Once family photos wrapped up, Chris directed Mallory on how to set up the heritage table display. This was one of the most special decorations we have ever seen in all of our years doing weddings! The table was covered with photos from weddings of both Karen and Aaron’s families. Behind the table were the wedding gowns of Aaron’s grandmother/mother, Karen’s grandmother, Chris, and Karen (from when she and Aaron had a small ceremony earlier). This table was such a lovely and unique thing for guests to look through before finding their seats for the ceremony!

As mentioned earlier, Karen and Aaron were already married, but they wanted to have this special celebration as a chance to finally be able to celebrate their marriage with their friends and family. They decided to read one another personalized vows and have a short ceremony before kicking off the party! After the ceremony, guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres from Delicious Dished by Gail as we worked on taking chairs up from the ceremony to the reception area. Since Honeyroot had knocked out a majority of the photos prior to the ceremony, Karen and Aaron got to enjoy mingling with their guests during cocktail hour!

To kick off the reception, the wedding party, parents, and Mr and Mrs were introduced before Karen and Aaron did their first dance. Their officiant, Ben, blessed the food, and then the delicious buffet was opened! Once everyone had dinner, we brought up a few people to do toasts! After toasts, we did the parent dances to open up the dance floor. Once the dance floor was open, it was lively for the rest of the night! In addition to dancing, Karen and Aaron wanted to have a karaoke party, so guests occasionally took a break from dancing by belting out a few songs! Towards the middle of the night, we did the bouquet and garter toss and we loved seeing Aaron’s grandmother in the crowd ready to catch the bouquet! Everyone headed outside for a fake send-off where Karen and Aaron ran through the sparklers to get those magical photos! Once sparklers had wrapped up, everyone went back upstairs to keep the party going. Karen and Aaron kicked off round two of the party with a karaoke performance of “You’ll Be in My Heart”. This group honestly had the best time singing and dancing the night away!

Something Spectacular

Nowadays, a first look between the bride and groom is pretty typical since it helps relieve those pre-ceremony jitters and allows for more pictures to be taken earlier in the day. Karen and Aaron decided to do a first look, but little did Aaron know Karen had a few twists up her sleeve. On the wedding day, we got Aaron in his spot for the first look and led his “beautiful bride” to that location. When Aaron turned around he was surprised to see Shrek instead of his bride. The laughter at that moment was infectious!

Along with being surprised with Shrek at the first look, Karen and Chris got a groom's cake for Aaron that looked like Shrek bathing in the swap. This was another pleasant surprise for Aaron that day! It’s safe to say that Aaron is a huge Shrek fan and that Karen knew how to lovingly surprise her groom that day! Karen, Chris, and Mallory were ecstatic that we were able to keep the surprises a secret throughout the entire planning process!

Happily Ever After

Although they were already married, Karen and Aaron’s day was filled with laughter, singing, and dancing - everyone was so joyful to be able to celebrate the union of these two! We know that their marriage is going to be a reflection of this day - filled with great memories, laughter, singing, and dancing. We could not be happier for Karen & Aaron as they continue to settle into marriage! Cheers to the two of you! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your special day!