Juliette Chapel Dahlonega, Georgia Wedding: McKinley + Tim

It was a Friday night, 9:30pm to be exact, Brandon and I were cuddled up on the couch watching the first episode of This Is Us on Netflix with a box of tissues… of corse. The ding of an email came in on my phone and for some reason the urge to read it kept overwhelming me (which is not typical for me). I finally gave in. As I read McKinley’s email tears of humility, love and joy streamed down my face – the flood gates opened. Brandon looked over an said, “Oh my goodness are you ok, what can I do, is it bad news?! Did something happen?!”.

It took me a few mins to muster up the ability to read the email out loud and with a trembling voice + tissue in hand I got the words out. This is what it read…

“Hello. My name is McKinley Shunn. I wanted to email and ask about your pricing and packages for engagement and wedding photography. My fiance, Tim, and I booked our wedding at the Juliette Chapel for September 30th, 2017.

As for my story, life has definitely been a roller coaster. I was diagnosed with a life threatening heart condition at the age of 10. I was very angry with God because I felt like everything had been taken from me. About a year later I realized that God was going to do something with me and my story. I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior and have never given up on Him since. When I was 16 I was being evaluated for a heart transplant, and at the age of 17 we decided against a heart transplant but instead to have a septal myectomy, where they would remove the enlarged area of my heart to try and create more blood flow. About a week after having surgery I went into severe heart failure. And for eleven days I laid on my death bed. No one could find out what was wrong with me. Thankfully God placed the right doctors in place in our lives and led us to a blood test that confirmed the severe heart failure and at that time we were able to hospitalize me and I was on the road to recovery. Ever since diagnosis I have tried to share my testimony in hope that I can bring others to the Lord.

Also because of all of my medical issues and knowing that I will need a heart transplant at some point we do not want to put ourselves in a bad situation by over spending on our wedding. At the same time, I know how important it is to me that we capture this day perfectly so that if something does happen, my family and friends can remember it well.

I hope to hear from you soon and I hope that you enjoy my story and what a blessing it is to have faith in the Lord. I know God places the right people in our lives and I definitely love that your business is not afraid to share that.

Thank you for your time,

McKinley Shunn”

BE STILL MY HEART! This is why we document moments of God’s Glory, this is why we are photographers and this is why we love and serve others.

Before viewing McKinley Shunn’s photos we wanted to share with you her testimony of God’s unending love.

McKinley + Tim Wedding Film from Horn Photography & Design on Vimeo.

Sisters… I adore how they have their own secret looks and language. There is no-one in your life that will ever compare to your sister.

Dad’s first look was so endearing.

We also did a fist look with McKinley’s bridesmaids… these ladies were so awesome to hang out with he day of the wedding!

Grandma’s cross hidden in her dress, the something old, LOVELOVELOVE!

I can’t even get enough of the hand-crafted bouquet ties that had each of the bridesmaids names on them – the perfect personal ouch.

McKinley + Tim’s first look took place inside of Juliette Chapel. The lighting was incredible, love was in the air and Tim’s reaction was priceless.

Seriously, the pinecone ties with pine branches on the pews looked so sweet with a dash of boho + rustic chic.

McKinley + Tim chose to do something unique, they braided three ropes into one during their ceremony. One rope represented McKinley, one Tim and the third represented God and as they braided them together it created an everlasting bond.