Meet Justin and his sweet bride, Lesli!
A Homeplace Vineyard Wedding was the idea that bloomed into the perfect wedding from Lesli. It’s where in the early morning on June, 6th 2015 that the hustle and bustle of the day turned into a complete masterpiece. I am still “oooooing” and “ahhhhing” over this gorgeous June wedding with gorgeous peonies all around (my favorite flower), multiple shades of romantic pinks, rows if grapes, and so much more.
Lesli came to me shortly after realizing her BFF Brandy (WHO I LOVE SO MUCH) was actually in the wedding. I say that because, Brandy is also a photographer and THE photographer that took their engagement photos (you can check her amazing work out here). So, funny enough I normally get to know my couples well during their engagement session and since I wasn’t able to do that with these two, I didn’t actually meet Justin until their WEDDING DAY! Yes, you read that right!!! Haha! Lesli on the other hand, we met on quite a few different occasions. First initial contact, signing the contract, and doing her OH SO GORGEOUS FAIRYTALE LIKE BRIDAL PORTRAITS. Over the time I got to know Lesli and she has to be one of the calmest brides I have ever had and now I have the pleasure of calling her a friend. She is so kind, relaxed, and just happy to be in love with Justin. I am sure it also has a lot to do with her amazing family and group of bridesmaids as well.
So, what was meeting Justin like? It was like I just met the other half of Lesli of course! TRULY! These two are a match made in heaven! The way they looked at each other were like two children having their first crush ever! I say that because Matthew 18:3 comes to mind when I think of the kind of love they share.
Enjoy!!!
When and where did you both meet?
Lesli:
Justin and I had our first date on June 1, 2012 after his aunt Linda had pushed us both to date for the past 3 years. Apparently she knew we would be great together before we even had a clue. Justin and I both refused to do blind dates or be set up by anyone. He eventually added me on FB and a year later messaged me about a date. Our first date was on June 1st. Our courtship was interesting it both took us a while to realize what we had.
When did you know he was the one and vice versa?
Lesli:
Neither of us can really identify a specific time period of when we fell in love and knew that we would be together for the long term but all of our friends were pretty certain from the beginning. My matron of honor, Amanda told me as soon as she met him that he was the one I was going to marry because it was the only guy I had dated that she ever liked! I of course thought she was crazy but then again she knew something I didn’t. We both soon learned that we had so much in common and loved spending time with each other whether it was going fishing, spending a day on the boat with friends or going to a wine festival.
What’s the one thing you both love each other the most for?
Lesli:
I would say the one thing I love most about Justin is his ability to make me laugh no matter what. Even when I am so angry he can say something totally ridiculous and put a smile on my face. He has such a warm heart and calm nature that its hard to name just one thing.
Justin:
The one thing that happens to be two is that she is trustworthy and real. The way she looks at me tells him how much I mean to her.
How did he propose?
Lesli:
Now to the good stuff..the proposal. I recently found out that he had plans to propose in September of 2013 which was obviously months before he finally popped the question. Justin and I knew we wanted to get married and be together for the rest of our lives and had discussed it a dew times but never talked about a time or made any serious plans. Because we wanted to live closer to one another and save money, Justin and I moved in together the last weekend of March 2014. He had plans to do it that weekend but things were a little chaotic with him having to move from Richmond to Halifax. The next weekend he called me on the way home from his parents after I had been painting all day and asked me to take Lexi (our dog) for a walk on the tobacco trail. I of course thought nothing of this because this was a fairly regular occurrence for us. Since I didn’t suspect a thing I never changed my clothes, fixed my or hair or my face. So we took Lexi and walked the trail all the way to the pond at which point we stopped to let Lexi rest. Justin was sitting down in front of me and I still had no idea when he started the proposal! I was shocked but beyond excited. There was never a question that I wanted to marry him!
Vendors & Shout Outs:
Venue | The Homeplace Vineyard
Wedding and Bridesmaids Dresses | Patina’s Roanoke, VA
DJ | Shakespeare
Caterer | Alma Shumate Danville, VA
Flowers | Picked from Irvington Flower Farm and the arrangements were made by family members
Hair | Austyn Clayton and Bennie Clayton from Mad Hair Studios Roxboro, NC
Special “THANK YOU” from the Lesli and Justin:
“Our friends and family all pitched in to decorate every inch of the venue and the rehearsal dinner restaurant. It was beyond what I could have ever dreamed for and I owe a huge thank you to my parents and Justin’s parents for such an amazing wedding.”
