Sophie + Braden
A Joyful, Faith Filled Wedding at Ritz Charles
Sophie and Braden’s love story began long before their wedding day. They first met on a golf course in middle school, and after many years of growing up together, April 24 marked the beginning of getting to spend the rest of their lives continuing to grow together.
From our very first meeting, it was evident that their wedding would be two things: an incredible party and a joyful celebration of their love for Jesus. Their day became exactly that, filled with sentimental details, meaningful traditions, plenty of surprises, and a dance floor that was ready to celebrate.
And because no wedding day is complete without a little unpredictability, Mother Nature decided to add a tornado warning into the mix. Through all of it, Sophie and Braden remained focused on what mattered most: becoming husband and wife and celebrating with the people they love.
The Vision
Sophie and Braden wanted their wedding to feel joyful, personal, faith centered, and true to the story they had already spent so many years building together.
Their love of golf made subtle appearances throughout the day as a nod to where everything began. Braden started his wedding morning hitting golf balls with some of his favorite guys, while a golf cart cake topper later brought their story full circle during the reception.
Their faith was woven into the day in an equally personal way. Instead of a traditional guest book, Sophie and Braden chose a personalized Bible and invited their loved ones to highlight their favorite verses. Just before the ceremony, our team moved the Bible to their unity table. After completing a candle unity ceremony, Sophie and Braden highlighted a verse of their own together.
It created something they can return to throughout their marriage, filled with Scripture selected by the people who love them most and a reminder of the community that surrounded them as they began this new chapter.
They also found a beautiful way to honor their grandmothers by asking them to serve as the witnesses who signed their marriage license.
Bringing It All Together
Sophie and Braden chose to wait until the ceremony to see each other, making that walk down the aisle even more meaningful. Earlier that morning, Sophie surprised Braden with an unexpected sentimental gift that immediately brought him to tears, setting the tone for a day filled with emotion.
Our team completed the full decor setup, placing centerpieces, candles, personal details, and everything in between while the rental vendors handled their respective installations. We also steamed Sophie’s wedding gown to make sure it looked flawless and photo ready before she stepped in front of the camera.
Sophie is incredibly sentimental, and one of the sweetest moments of the morning was a gift she gave her mom. She had a sweatshirt embroidered with her maiden name, but the embroidery itself was created using pieces of a meaningful wedding gown they shared. It was one of those small, personal details that perfectly represented just how much family and history mattered throughout their celebration.
Of course, even with an incredible team of vendors, wedding days can bring unexpected challenges. While overseeing setup, we noticed that the tables and number of chairs did not match the planned floor plan. We immediately alerted catering, worked through the discrepancies, and updated the layout before guests ever knew there had been an issue.
That is one of the parts of coordination we love most. Not every problem needs to become the couple’s problem.
From Ceremony to Celebration
Following the ceremony, guests transitioned into cocktail hour while our team began repurposing details from the chapel for the reception pavilion. Florals and candles were carefully moved into their new locations, with arrangements finding a second life throughout the reception on guest tables, near the audio guestbook, and in other spaces. We also relocated Sophie and Braden’s Bible so guests who had not yet highlighted a verse still had an opportunity to leave something meaningful for the newlyweds.
Then, the weather took a turn none of us could have predicted.
What began as a mild pop up storm quickly developed into a tornado warning that required everyone to evacuate. Our team immediately collaborated with the venue staff to move guests into a safe location and handed out umbrellas to help keep everyone as dry as possible along the way.
While guests were safely sheltered, we checked on the wedding party, who grabbed a cocktail and waited together while the storm passed. Thanks to the venue’s large covered area, wedding party photos were even able to continue while what felt like a monsoon came down around them.
As soon as it was safe, our team worked with the venue and vendor team to get everyone back into the reception space, seated, comfortable, and ready to celebrate. Despite an entire tornado warning and evacuation, wedding party introductions began only about five minutes behind schedule.
It was the perfect example of why we intentionally build buffer time into professional wedding timelines. Sophie and Braden never had to figure out what happened next, and their guests never had to feel the stress of wondering what to do. Everyone stayed safe, enjoyed a cocktail, and then returned to the regularly scheduled celebration.
The Final Result
Once everyone was safely back inside, it was time to PARTY.
The wedding party entered ready to set the tone for the night, complete with bottle service signs in tow. Sophie and Braden followed and moved directly into their first dance, cake cutting, and champagne tower. Intentionally grouping those reception traditions together meant that once dinner began, they had already completed several of the moments that can otherwise pull couples away from their guests throughout the evening. They could finally relax, eat, and enjoy their party.
But Sophie still had one major surprise waiting.
What appeared to be the beginning of a traditional father daughter dance quickly transformed into a choreographed performance filled with humor, personality, and plenty of spunk, a perfect nod to Sophie spending her childhood as a dancer. Our team discreetly sprinted toward the dance floor to get a money gun into her dad’s hands without guests noticing. By the time the money started flying, the surprise was complete.
After a day filled with Scripture, sentimental gifts, family traditions, golf, happy tears, a tornado warning, champagne, dancing, and a whole lot of celebrating, Sophie and Braden ended their wedding night by driving away together in Sophie’s dad’s car.
Somewhere along the way, these two stopped feeling like clients and started feeling like lifelong friends.
Their wedding was joyful, sentimental, faith filled, a little unpredictable, and completely them. And for us, that is always the goal: not just creating a beautiful wedding, but creating a day our couples can actually experience and enjoy.
THE DETAILS
Venue: Ritz Charles
Planning + Coordination: Navi Coordination
Photography: Sarah Elizabeth Photos
Videography: Kalli Co Video
Florals: Honey & Sage Flower
Catering: Ritz Charles Catering
Photobooth Rental: The Blooming Lavender
Marquee Letter Rental: Alpha-Lit
Entertainment: DJ A.I.
Hair: Indie & Iris
Makeup: KT Beauty
Cake/Dessert: Ritz Charles Catering
Audio Guestbook: Nerdy Fox Rentals & Designs
Live Painter: Emily Winslow
