The Atlanta BeltLine beckons to people as a place to workout, to dine, and to explore the arts. For Jamie and Kevin, the Atlanta BeltLine also beckoned as a wedding destination. The couple, who call the Eastside Trail home, infused the trail into their nuptials from their engagement through their wedding farewell.
In April 2016, Kevin proposed to Jamie on the roof of their loft that overlooks the Eastside Trail and Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark. For their engagement photos a few months later, they picked all of their favorite spots – which happened to be on the Atlanta BeltLine.
When it came to planning the wedding itself, Jamie says, “We wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just a typical ceremony. We wanted it to be extremely personal and our goal was to have our guests feel the sense of community, love and happiness that we feel every day.”
With a guest list of 300 people and so many friends and loved ones to include in a celebration, planning the wedding proved more challenging than they originally thought. To add a layer of complexity, they felt the most meaningful place to get married was where Kevin had proposed and where they lived – their very own loft. That meant cutting the guest list down to 50, moving out the furniture, and transforming a home into a wedding venue.
Jamie and Kevin spend a lot of time on the Eastside Trail – running most mornings, walking almost everywhere, and enjoying the art and energy it brings to their neighborhood. How could they best share that with their expansive list of family and friends? With a parade of course – from a small ceremony to a larger reception at Le Maison Rouge in Paris on Ponce! (The unique, memorable space also set the perfect tone for their honeymoon in Paris.)
Here is Jamie’s wedding story in her own words:
“The wedding day was more than we could have ever dreamed of! Our ceremony guest list included immediate family and the 17 wonderful ladies in which I had been a bridesmaid in their wedding. We included the guys for whom Kevin had been a groomsman, too. Our best friend, Jared Hall, played the ceremony music on his guitar and another friend of ours, Brad Schweers, married us right in our living room. We were able to convert our loft into a gorgeous place for a very special ceremony.”
“The parade was everything! We danced our way to Paris on Ponce with the awesome music of the Feed and Seed Marching Abominables. People were laughing, singing, taking pictures and enjoying the celebration all the way there. People not part of the wedding, who happened to be on the BeltLine, stopped to take pictures and cheer us on as well. You could hear clapping and people yelling congratulations all throughout the parade. We could even see people looking out their windows and stopping what they were doing to see what was going on. I could tell that everyone was having a blast! It was absolutely amazing!”
“Our final send off included the BeltLine, too. Kevin and I rode down the BeltLine on a tandem bike, while our guests cheered for us holding sparklers. Pretty magical! The day was absolutely perfect, combining all of our favorite things: friends, family, music and the BeltLine.”
Awesome time weall had with a Awesome couple
It was a great day with great friends and a great daughter and new son-in-law