meet ally + alex

High school sweethearts turned husband and wife, Ally and Alex met at Bishop Kenny high school in Jacksonville where they began dating. Their courtship continued through college and post-grad until Alex popped the question, and they started wedding planning! Their wedding Mass took place on Friday, March 8, 2024, at the beautiful Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Jacksonville (one of our favorite churches in town to photograph). Their reception was in St. Augustine at the White Room and included many special elements and ties to Alex's Samoan heritage! We hope you enjoy journeying through their wedding day in photos.

getting ready

Alex got ready with the guys at his apartment in Riverside, while Ally was joined by the ladies at a friend's house near downtown. The getting-ready time was laid back and fun—reflective of the couple's personalities for sure! Ally had her mom and sister help her get dressed and then decided to do a first look with her bridesmaids in the backyard!

the ceremony

Alex and Ally's Nuptial Mass took place at 2:30 in the afternoon at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Jacksonville. This Church was important to Ally because it not only has some of the most gorgeous architecture in the diocese, but her grandparents also got married there! It was really sweet to see some of Alex's Samoan relatives present the priest and couple leis during the presentation of the gifts—We had never seen that before! During their wedding Mass, we were able to capture some gorgeous shots (our favorites are the ones that Jack took from the choir loft), and we were also able to recreate some of Ally's grandparents photos!

portrait time

We quickly took family portraits in the Church after the Mass and then it was portrait time. Ally + Alex's portrait session at the Church was one of our favorites to-date. It just goes to show you how much the architecture of a Church affects your photos. We wanted to highlight the gorgeous stained glass windows and Ally's long train, so we guided the couple with prompts that would highlight her dress. Then, we used our wide lens to shoot portrait (vertical) shots and capture the stained glass and arches of the Basilica in the images. We also wanted to get a really wide shot of the whole church, inside and out, so Jack ran up to the choir loft to grab a few shots during the session inside. Then, when we went outside, I (Josie) ran across the street to capture the entire church and the couple.


After Church portraits, we had an hour drive down to St. Augustine where their reception was at the White Room. We were a little nervous about timing with the long drive, but we left a little buffer time on the timeline in case we hit traffic or we ran late at the Church (we always like to include a little buffer time in our timelines because things ALWAYS come up). Once we got to St. Augustine, we had 30 minutes to take bridal party photos, and 30 more minutes to take more couple portraits by the water and in downtown St. Augustine.

the bridal party

This was a fun bridal party and our only regret is we wish we had more time with them! We had 30 minutes when we got to the White Room in St. Augustine, but by the time we rallied all of the troops and got to the water location, we only had about 20 minutes. We knocked out some of our favorite go-to bridal party prompts, and then Jack and I split up to capture the guys and the girls separately. The couple chose not to take bridesmaids and groomsmen photos before their Nuptial Mass, so we allowed 5-10 minutes for those individual photos during the bridal party time. While wedding days happen so fast, we were pleased with how these bridal party photos turned out!

THE RECEPTION

The reception was most definitely a highlight of Ally and Alex's day. If you've never been to the White Room in St. Augustine, they have a beautiful, cozy space inside that opens up to a large dance floor/space on the rooftop! The couple had their cocktail hour out on the rooftop and that's where the bridal party and couple were announced for the first time. Upon entering the reception, each guest (including us as the photographers) was greeted by one of Alex's family members and given a fresh lei! Alex's dad is Samoan, so their reception highlighted his heritage in several ways. After cocktail hour, Alex and Ally shared their first dance, and then we all went inside for a delicious buffet dinner (the grits bar was a huge hit!). Dinner was followed by toasts and cake cutting. Then, the party started!


The couple had planned a traditional Samoan performance for their guests. The performance lasted about 45 minutes and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. Alex even got out on the dance floor at the end and brought his bride out to open up the dance floor. There didn't seem like there was a dead moment on the dance floor all night, and it was hard to find a time when you didn't see the bride and groom out there with their guests. They had a late night snack of grilled cheese and fries about an hour before their exit to give everyone the energy to make it to their grand exit at 11PM.


Around 10:45PM, the guests left the reception to get ready for a sparkler exit, while Ally and Alex shared a private last dance on the rooftop under twinkling lights (talk about romantic!). They exited in style down the alley outside of the White Room, surrounded by their faithful guests cheering them on!

thank you!!!

This day would not have been possible without all of the couple's amazing vendors:



Please pray for Ally and Alex as they start their married life together! We were honored to have served them and can't wait to see how the Lord blesses their marriage moving forward!