I always enjoy photographing the night before a wedding. The excitement is building, everyone you love is beginning to arrive, and there is still a little time to slow down and enjoy it all. Emma and Coleman’s The Hope Farm rehearsal dinner was the perfect start to their Fairhope wedding weekend.

While Emma and Coleman rehearsed their ceremony at St. Francis at the Point, I headed over to The Hope Farm to photograph the dinner space before guests arrived. Photographing the details ahead of time gave me a chance to document the room exactly as it had been designed, from the florals and place settings to the personal touches throughout the space.

A Beautiful Rehearsal Dinner at The Hope Farm

The private room they had reserved at The Hope Farm was beautiful. Shades of blue and green carried through the decor, coordinating perfectly with the colors Emma and Coleman had chosen for their wedding day. Florals filled the tables, and photos of the couple added a personal touch to the evening.

One of my favorite parts of photographing a rehearsal dinner is having time to capture all of these details before the celebration begins. So much thought goes into creating a wedding weekend, and those smaller details deserve to be remembered too.

Cocktails, Family and Friends

Once everyone arrived from the church rehearsal, the evening shifted into cocktail hour. Emma and Coleman mingled with their closest friends and family while guests enjoyed cocktails and wine.

I photographed the candid moments happening throughout the room, conversations between family members, hugs between friends, and plenty of photos of Emma and Coleman together. Rehearsal dinners tend to feel a little more relaxed than the wedding day itself, which makes them such a great opportunity for natural photographs of the people who are most important to the couple.

It was also such a nice way for me to meet more of their family and wedding party before photographing everyone again the following day.

Sweet Speeches Before the Wedding Day

Before dinner, members of the wedding party and Emma and Coleman’s parents shared speeches and toasts. There were plenty of sweet words, stories and laughs as everyone celebrated the couple and the wedding that was finally almost here.

The Hope Farm served a plated dinner in courses, and if you have ever eaten there, you know the food is always something to look forward to! Highly recommend for a Fairhope, AL date night! I photographed the beginning of dinner before quietly slipping out ahead of the entrees so everyone could settle in and enjoy the rest of their evening together.

Photographing the Full Wedding Weekend

Adding rehearsal dinner photography is one of my favorite ways to tell a more complete story of a wedding weekend. It documents the people, relationships and anticipation surrounding the wedding, while giving the couple even more memories of a weekend that passes incredibly quickly.

Emma and Coleman’s Hope Farm rehearsal dinner in Fairhope, Alabama was a beautiful beginning to their celebration and the perfect lead-in to their wedding the following day at St. Francis at the Point and The Hope Farm.