A short and sweet microwedding at First Unitarian Church in Louisville

A bride and bride hold hands at the altar for their wedding ceremony

I’m so excited to share one of my favorite microweddings at First Unitarian Church on the blog. Intimate weddings, microweddings and elopements are some of my favorite occasions to photograph! They tend to be relaxed and full of emotion, without the stress of a full day affair. The focus of this type of ceremony is the love the couple has for each other, and the intentional choice to have only the closest people in their lives to witness it. Whether your reason for planning a short and sweet ceremony is to save money for a house, because you’re introverted, or you made a romantic and spontaneous decision, I’m here for it!

The happy couple

Calley and Lillian live in New York City, but came to Louisville to get married because of family ties. They chose the historic First Unitarian Church for their ceremony spot, and wanted to keep things short and sweet. They had already seen each other before the ceremony, which some couples worry will take the “surprise” or emotion out of the wedding – but this was not the case.

Calley stood at the front of the altar as Lillian was escorted in by her mother and brother. Almost instantly, there were audible sighs as everyone got emotional and teary-eyed. It doesn’t take a dramatic procession and not seeing each other an entire day to create this moment – the specialness of the occasion and the palpable love you share is enough.

The minister at First Unitarian Church glances down at her notes before the ceremony begins
Bride Calley walks in to the ceremony space escorted by her two parents
Bride Lillian enters the ceremony space accompanied by her brother and mother
Lillian and her mother share a warm embrace at the altar
Bride Calley waits anxiously at the altar with the officiant
Calley escorts Lillian to a small table, where they will pour different colored sand into a glass container
Lillian's mother pours sand into the glass container as Lillian and her brother watch
Lillian closes the glass container with combined sand from both of their families
Calley and Lillian hold the glass jar engraved with their initials, now filled with sand in shades of blue, turquoise, gold and white

The couple had chosen beautiful readings as part of their ceremony, then with their families, poured different colored sands into one beautiful glass container.

They sealed their commitment with a kiss, and everyone took a few minutes to congratulate and hug the newlyweds.

Calley and Lillian share a kiss to seal their commitment

Calley's mother wipes joyful tears from her eyes with a tissue
Lillian's mom holds the couple's hands to look at their wedding bands
Calley and Lillian smush their faces together and hug

After the ceremony

Afterwards, we spent some time taking a few portraits around the beautiful grounds of First Unitarian, which is located in Old Louisville and has stunning architecture to match. 

The newlyweds face each other and hold hands in front of tall stained glass windwos
A top down image of the bride's hands with their wedding rings set gently on their laps
Lillian hugs her bride from behind outside the church for a sweet moment
The newlyweds sit on the outer church steps and smile at each other
The newlyweds share a kiss in front of a tall green door
The newlyweds sit on the patio steps outside the church for a harsh light photo with some dramatic shadows

I highly recommend First Unitarian Church if you’d like to plan a low stress microwedding ceremony or elopement in Louisville – and I’d love to be your photographer! I’ve helped several couples each year choose locations for their intimate elopements and can put together a custom wedding photography package to fit your celebration.

If you loved this blog post, check these out!

Louisville’s Best Venues for Intimate and Small Weddings

An Intimate Florida Destination Wedding

A photo of Johanna (owner of Frames and Letters Photography)

Johanna Hribal is a wedding photographer based in Louisville, Kentucky. She enjoys traveling to other states and countries for weddings and elopements whenever possible! People love her colorful and vibrant edits and the way she captures their love in a natural and non-intrusive way. Click here to visit her website to learn more about current wedding collections. Follow me on Instagram to see more engagement sessions, weddings I’ve been photographing!

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