Emma and Austin actually met as friends at UVA, where they both went to school. They started dating in May 2020, right as COVID turned the early part of their relationship into a long string of Zoom dates. Emma is originally from Arizona, and after just three in-person dates, the two of them took a cross-country road trip together, which is about as honest a test of a relationship as you can get. Four years later, they got married at Maymont, close to family in Williamsburg, where Emma’s younger sister is a current William & Mary student. These days Emma and Austin live near San Francisco, but Richmond is where they chose to come back to and say “I do.”
Emma and Austin got married at Maymont in May, under the blue cedar tree, or at least that was the plan. Rain had other ideas, and their ceremony ended up moving away from the tree they’d originally pictured. But we still got them there for their first look, and honestly, some of our favorite images from the whole day came out of that moment, both on digital and on film.
This is the thing about weddings outdoors: the weather doesn’t always cooperate, and it genuinely doesn’t have to ruin the day. We’ve shot enough Maymont weddings at this point to know the property has options for exactly this kind of situation, and Emma and Austin’s day is a perfect example of making the most of it rather than feeling defeated by it.
Their cocktail hour was held in the Maymont Nature Center, which meant we got to sneak in some genuinely cool photos with the animals there, not something every wedding gallery gets to include. Emma’s sister made her bouquet by hand, and each bridesmaid wore a different colored dress that matched one of the flowers in it, which gave the whole wedding party photos this gorgeous, layered color story.
When Emma and Austin were looking for a photographer, what stood out to them was how genuine and happy the couples looked in our galleries, nothing stiff, nothing overly posed. Emma told us she’s a little camera-shy, and it meant a lot to her that we talk openly about helping people feel comfortable in front of the camera instead of just handing them a pose list. They also loved seeing candid photos of guests actually enjoying themselves at other weddings, which is exactly the kind of coverage they wanted for their own day: not just portraits of the two of them, but the whole room having a good time.
We say this every time, but we mean it every time: we always love Maymont weddings. There’s just so much range in what this one property can give you, rain or shine.
Vendor Team
Planning: Forevermore Weddings, Hali Massey (@forevermoreweddingsva)
Ceremony + Reception Venue: Maymont, Cameron Taylor
Caterer: Mosaic, Missy Burton
Rentals: Party Perfect, Rachel McKenna
Entertainment: DJ KO Entertainment, LLC, Kelly Ordogne
Desserts: Shyndigz
Photography: Black Pepper Photography, Chayil McGlotten (@blackpepperphoto)
Planning a Maymont wedding of your own? We’d love to be there.