Natalia & Derek || Georgia Aquarium || Atlanta-GA Wedding Photographer

What a magical Day! Natalia and Derek’s wedding was a fairytale! They shared with us so many of their thoughts and ideas that they put into the planning process and wedding day.

I know you will fall in love with this wedding as much as we did!! <3

Vendors:

Photography: Aline & Mihai - Aline Marin Photography

Wedding Officiant: Father Peeter Pedroza
Event Planner, Flowers & Coordinator : Cathy Taylor: Your Event Solutions

Stationary Print Company: NA
Music - DJ: Espuete Productions
Videographer : Justin Porter Media
Wedding Dress: Suite Bridal
Bridal Shoes: Jinny Choo

Hairstylist: Candice - Bliss Formal Hair
Makeup Artist: Milena Margaryan - Elite Makeup Artistry
Caterer: Wolfgang Puck Catering
Cake: Carlton's Cakes
Bridal Party Outfits: Azazie

Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day? 

My wedding inspiration was the ocean. My father was in the military, so I grew up around the world and never felt like I had a home. While I loved growing up like this the only place that felt like home was the beach. My family would take annual trips to Key West or South Florida to go fishing and visit family, so the water has always been my constant. We specifically chose the Atlanta aquarium because my aunt has worked with them in the past and I have been going every year (sometimes multiple times each year) since it opened. I have been lucky enough to celebrate several birthdays and major milestones there. The colors were an Air Force blue, which was an homage to my husband who is active duty, my father who is retired, and my brother who is at the Air Force Academy. We incorporated my family's Colombian tradition within the entire event. The ceremony was both in English and in Spanish and the priest was from the same city my mother is from in Colombia. Additionally, we added El Lazo within the Catholic Ceremony. In the wedding reception we hosted a La Hora Loca which translates to "The Crazy Hour" where we had Colombian dancers, special props, and intense reggaton music. It was my favorite part of the entire event. I put on a special hair piece and skirt and danced the traditional Chumbias dance. 

Let's talk wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY? 

Our reception was held in the Georgia Aquarium ballroom where we have views to the whale shark and beluga whale exhibits. We chose silver, sparkly, or see-through furniture to illuminate the evening and mimic the surroundings. Our accent colors were navy, white, and silver. These were chosen to continue to illusion that the event was all underwater. For example, the cake was placed on a see through box to mimic it floating. 

What were the florals like in your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding? 

For the ceremony we chose to utilize the churches available flowers, which included roses, peonies, baby's breath, etc. The reception utilized multiple arrangements including peonies, orchids, and olive branches. We utilized only white florals so they could reflect the blue lighting of the reception. 

Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding? 

We personalized the ceremony by providing a pamphlet of what to expect in a Catholic ceremony and ensured our guests that non-Catholics were more than welcomed in the church and were invited to receive a blessing. We also incorporated El Lazo into the ceremony to pay homage to both Mother Mary and to my hispanic culture. The cocktail hour allowed our guests to enjoy all of the exhibits of the aquarium. Our cocktail hour was actually around 2.5 hours to allow guests the opportunity to explore the beautiful exhibits the GA aquarium has to offer. Prior to the reception truly kicking off we played the U.S. Air Force Song, to pay our respects to the service members in the room and celebrate my husband's commitment to the country. The reception was later filled with Colombian traditional dance music called Chumbias. We had special Colombian dancers enter the middle of the reception for La Hora Loca (The Crazy Hour) for a special dance, in which I later participated in with a special hair piece and skirt. During this time we handed out props such as glow sticks, glasses, hats, fans, and flower hair pieces to truly get the Colombian fiesta rolling. 

Let's talk fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail. 

My husband's wedding look was easy: mess dress (uniform). My wedding look, I wanted to incorporate one word: sparkly. I wanted to look like Kate Middleton in the front and Kim Kardashian in the back. My shoes were Jimmy Choo and they were covered in sparkles. I wore my great-grandmothers jewelry which was traditional pearls, which went perfectly with the underwater theme.  My hair and makeup, I wanted to feel comfortable to dance in and still look like myself. 

How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal. 

We actually met on Tinder! I was home on holiday break, and was swiping on Tinder, Derek happened to be in the surrounding area because he was stationed to Tyndall Air Force Base. Derek super-liked my profile and I was like "hmm okay he's cute!" From there we went out on our first date and we actually spent the evening just talking. By the time the first date was done we had spent 6 hours just talking!!! We both knew we had something special. It was over the holidays so we weren't able to see each other much since his family lived in Kentucky and mine lived in Florida. Following the holidays, he began visiting me in Tallahassee as I was finishing up my Bachelors Degree in Exercise Physiology. We were long distance as Tyndall Air Force Base is around 2 hours from Florida State University. It became more serious when I moved from Florida to Atlanta, Georgia to begin my Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy at Emory University. I was beyond stressed out with school and the six hour long distance was very difficult. As we moved along in our relationship we got word that Derek would be deploying to Okinawa, Japan for Christmas. This was his first deployment, and we decided it would be a great time for me to help him through being away from home for the holidays  and an opportunity to explore Japan together. One day, we drove out to the northern most point of the island called Camp Hedo, where the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea met. I decided to use a view finder to see the surrounding landscape, as I stepped away from the view finder lo and behold Derek was on his knee. Unfortunately, he was too caught up in the moment to remember his speech so he simply said "marry me?!?!?" We later went out for tacos to celebrate. 

What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day? 

I believe we both agree that our special moment was El Lazo. It was a time for us to reflect on our union with both ourselves and with the church. The Lazo was also presented by his mother and my mother so it was a beautiful moment of peace, love, and unity. 

Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you'd like to share with other couples planning their day? 

My biggest advice is to understand that it goes by so quickly and to as much as you can take mental pictures of the day. Allow yourself to enjoy the day, even if you are type A like myself. Things will not go exactly as planned, so give yourself a break and enjoy the ride.

- Natalia & Derek