Norcross Georgia July 4th Wedding at The Lodge At Simpsonwood

Nicole and Johnny contacted me to plan their July 4th wedding back in May. With less than 2 months to go, I worked with Nicole to secure her venues as well as her vendors in a few weeks' time.

Nicole is probably one of the most easy going bride I have ever met, which really helped when it comes to wedding planning in a short time frame. I was able to brake my own record of planning and coordinating a wedding in less than 2 months (previous record was a little over 4 months)!

With 10 days to go til the wedding, I checked the weather forecast and it was calling for rain. I asked the Lodge at Simpsonwood if they will open one of their meeting rooms with stained glass windows just in case we need to do the photo sessions indoor and the coordinator Amy Edwards assured me that they will open the room as a backup location. I also went to Ikea and bought the last 10 umbrellas on display on rehearsal day just to be prepared!

On the morning of July 4th, I woke up and checked the hourly forecast for Norcross, GA. Thank God for listening to my prayers, the forecast actually showed "cloudy until 2:15pm" although it had been raining all week and the original forecast was 100% rain that day.

I called Libby from LibbyPhoto immediately to check on the possibility to change the timing of the photo shoot as well as Nia from Nia Tran makeup/hair to check on the ability to finish the makeup/hair for the girls earlier than planned. Once I got their confirmations on the new timing, I called the wonderful florist Laurens from Laurens Floral Arts to ensure that the flowers can be deliver earlier than planned to meet the new photo shoot time. All I can say is that I am so grateful to have a great group of vendors who really care about the bride and groom and were flexible enough for the last minute change!

The forecast was so accurate that day as it literally started pouring down at 2:11pm (and the Ikea umbrellas were put to good use) but we were able to get a whole lot of outside photos! Amazingly, the rain stopped before the ceremony was about to start and actually held off until later on that night so all the guests were actually able to stay dry.

Nicole and Johnny's wedding changed my perspective on rainy day weddings. Yes, it is a lot of work when the weather is not the best but the photos also showed how incredibly romantic rainy wedding days can be!

Congratulations to Nicole and Johnny! If rain on wedding day is supposed to be lucky, I know that God opened the windows of heaven and pour down a lot of blessings for you two that day!

All Photos by LibbyPhoto

Vendor Team:

Ceremony Venue: The Lodge at Simponwood

Reception Venue: 1001 Nights Persian Cuisine

Florist: Laurens Floral Arts

Cake: Artisan Cakes by Julie

Photographer: LibbyPhoto

Videographer: A Reel Occasion

Pianists: Ping Yun Hsu and Bob Cardone

Peacthree Road Luthern Church and La Grotta Ravinia Wedding

Today I would like to share some photos from the wedding for Amy Wang and Chun Pang. The lovely couple got married at Peachtree Road Lutheran Church and had their reception at La Grotta Ravinia inside the Crowne Plaza Hotel Perimeter.

When we first visited Peachtree Road Lutheran Church together, Amy liked the huge organ a lot. We also thought it was a perfect size ceremony venue for Amy's 100 people guest list. Even though it has a maximum capacity of 200 people, the church actually looked and felt a lot more intimate.

On Amy's December 1 wedding day, the church actually put out its Christmas decoration one week earlier and it was a very nice white and gold decoration which went well with Amy's favorite color: red, which she chose as the color of her bouquet.

Before the ceremony, Amy and Chun also did some portraits at nearby Oglethorpe University. It was a lovely spot for photos and Chris Helm captured some amazing images of the couple!

The ceremony was followed by a lunch reception at La Grotta Ravinia, an Italian restaurant located inside the Crowne Plaza Hotel Perimeter. We worked with Danny Salinas, the manager at La Grotta Ranivia to customize a menu consisting of a dual appetizer plate and a dual entree of chicken and salmon. 

One of the great features of the restaurant is the huge windows that overlook the garden outside. Amy changed from her wedding gown to her red reception dress and the couple took more pictures together in the garden prior to the start of the reception.

Amy and Chun both like crafting a lot. As a result, Amy chose to make her own centerpieces and table numbers. The tables were also named with different characteristics of love. Later on during the reception, we devised a game that involved asking the guests to write a creative blessing involving their table names for the newly wed. Amy and Chun then had to choose the table who presented the most creative blessings with the use of their table names. Since Amy used to lead a lot of the games at her church fellowship when she was in charge of activity planning, incorporating wedding games was just another way that we used to personalize her wedding.


Working with Amy and Chun throughout their wedding planning process was a lot of fun and I also loved coordinating the wedding day! Congratulations to Amy and Chun! May you have a wonderful marriage. I am very honored that you chose me to be your wedding planner and coordinator.

All photos by Christopher Helm Photography