(More images below)
What a joy it was to photograph Martha and Brandon’s intimate Omni Homestead wedding. These two were as kind as ever and it was a wonderful experience to spend time with these two as well as their families.
The Omni Homestead was the setting with their brand new multi million dollar renovations. The Omni Homestead was simply stunning!
After the conclusion of their wedding, I asked them a few questions that I thought might be of interest. You may read the interview below:
How did you meet?
Brandon and I met when I started working for Virginia Tech back in January 2019. We worked in the same department for a little over a year before I moved to Roanoke, VA to begin a new job with Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. While I was working in my new position we lost touch for a while. As fate would have it a few months later I had a meeting with his department to discuss the spending of state funds and he was included in the meeting. We had always been friends but after seeing each other in the meeting he reached out and asked me to dinner. We quickly became best friends and Brandon would drive to Roanoke every chance he could so we could spend time together. The rest is history!
How long have you dated?
We were friends for almost two years and dated for about a year and a half before he proposed.
How did he propose?
He truly planned the best proposal. I am a very shy person that doesn’t like a lot of attention focused on me. He proposed on October 29, 2022 at my house. I love decorating my house for all holidays/occasions so all my fall/halloween decor was out. He told me he had errands to run before he came over for lunch. When he finally came over to pick me up he told me he found something at Hobby Lobby that he thought matched my fall decor so he sat it outside on my steps with my pumpkins. I opened the door to see what he added and it was white washed wooden pumpkin (that did match perfectly) with hand painted words “will you marry me?” I turned around confused as to why that was on the steps and he was down on one knee with my dream ring. Happiest moment of my life! Unknown to me that was not the only surprise he had planned. He made lunch reservations at one of our favorite restaurants, The Farmhouse. When we showed up for our reservation all of my immediate family was there to celebrate (I had wondered why no one in my family answered my calls or Facetimes earlier when I called them I was engaged!). After dinner everyone came back to my house and when we walked in my entire house had been transformed into an engagement party. Decorations were everywhere cupcakes, cake, presents, balloons, banners, flowers – you name it! Brandon had been secretly planning this engagement party with my mom and sisters for months and I never had a clue! It was the absolute perfect day!
Tell me the most memorable moments from your wedding day.
Martha – it’s so hard to choose since there were so many special and memorable moments. For me I would say spending time in the morning with my mom and sisters/niece getting ready. I have always been very close with my sisters/mom so having them there to share in my happiness and add to it was perfect. I also have to include the first look with Brandon before our wedding. It was incredibly special to have that moment before everything got crazy to just see each other and realize this was it. This was our time and day to celebrate our love for one another and become husband and wife. I never experienced nerves or anxiety about getting married. I waited to find my person and I knew with everything in me Brandon was my soulmate and best friend. Seeing him for the first time on our wedding day all dressed up in his tux just added more excitement and the love I felt for him grew even more (something I didn’t think was possible). Certainly not the last memorable moment but one I have to include is walking down the aisle and officially becoming husband and wife. It was a surreal moment and everything I had hoped and dreamed it would be.
Brandon – There are a number of moments from our wedding day that were incredibly special to me but the most memorable would be our first look. The pure excitement waiting to see her can only be described as the same anticipation a young child has on Christmas morning running down the stairs to see the presents under the tree. I was so incredibly excited to see how gorgeous she was in her wedding dress. Turning around to see her for the first time that afternoon was truly one of the greatest moments of my entire life as she was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.
What is your favorite photograph/moment from the day and the story behind it?
This is truly a hard question! We have sooo many favorites! Martha – My favorite photo(s) are the ones of Brandon and myself down by the pond with The Homestead in the background. I can’t choose which of these photos in the location is my favorite because they are all magical! These photos were not planned, they were not on the photo list for the day, it was a spontaneous location suggested by our photographer after our wedding during cocktail hour. I am so incredibly thankful and blessed that we took those photos. When I first saw them I was floored by how stunning they were and I couldn’t believe that I was actually in a photo so absolutely perfect and magical. They perfectly showcased my dress/veil and Brandon’s tux. Added to that we also had the reflection from the pond and the Homestead in the background. I cannot think of another word to describe them other than perfect and magical. These photos truly sum up how I felt about the entire day!
Brandon – There are so many pictures that are my favorite and were absolutely perfect! However my favorite (and most special) is the picture in the Great Hall with all of our family. That picture is a continual reminder of the wonderful support and love that we receive from each of them. How every individual in the picture wishes us nothing but love and success as newlyweds. This picture will be one of those that I cherish for a very long time.
What details were special to you?
Martha – To me it turned out to be the small things. The surprise pearl and diamond necklace from my parents which I wore on my wedding. The rocking chairs with my grandmother’s names who had passed away. Seeing how truly special this day was not only for myself but for my entire family. Hearing my two year old niece singing at the top of her lungs during the reception to Trolls Just Want To Have Fun – which I specifically included in the playlist just for her. The flowers and event spaces were decorated beyond what I was expecting, my event planner Rachel and our vendors really went above and beyond to make our wedding truly magical and perfect. I think what I will always remember about our day after some details fade away with time is the love we felt from our family, from Larissa and the Homestead, all of our vendors and Rachel, our event planner.
Brandon – To be honest, there was only one detailed that mattered to me on our wedding day more than anything else, for my beautiful bride to have the wedding day of her dreams. At the end of the day when she told me that it was a perfect wedding and she loved everything about it, that was the special moment for me.
We put together gift bags for all of the children attending our wedding as well as Welcome Bags for all of our guests that traveled to The Homestead to attend our wedding. We were very lucky in that our event planner Rachel handled everything else. I mean literally every single detail she oversaw from the wedding set-up, spa appointments, golf reservations, room reservations for our guests, rehearsal dinner reservations, marriage license procedure, taste testing, you name it she handled it. She walked us through every single step we needed to make to become husband and wife and we didn’t have to do anything other than share with her what our vision was for our day. She kept us on budget, she was present during our rehearsal and all day late into the night on the wedding day. Our wedding was perfect and magical because of Rachel.
The Homestead was a personal choice and chosen for all the memories Martha has at the resort with her grandmother. Martha’s grandmother Lou, brought Martha and her siblings to The Homestead for the first time when she was nine years old. I have memories of eating in the Dining Room and Sams Snead with my grandmother. I remember taking an etiquette class and visiting the spa and shops with her. She bought me clothes, toys, fancy coats and treats in the numerous shops. One of her favorite things about the resort was their homemade doughnuts. We had several trips together visiting The Homestead with the last one being her 80th birthday celebration. During this trip we took family photos in the Library, sat in the Great Hall talking for hours and enjoyed her birthday dinner at The Jefferson. Sadly my grandmother passed away in November of 2020 from COVID. I was blessed to have a very special relationship with my grandmother and losing her so suddenly was very difficult for my entire family. She never got to meet Brandon or see how happy he made me. I know without a doubt she would have loved him and been so happy. When it came time to choose a location for the wedding I knew I wanted it to be The Homestead, I never even looked at any other options. Having my wedding, one of the happiest days of my life, in a place with so many happy memories of my grandmother and being able to take pictures in the exact locations I once took pictures with her, made it feel like she was there celebrating with me. I had several people comment to me that she would have loved it and had the best time celebrating me at The Homestead. While I chose The Homestead for all my happy memories I can honestly say the venue and staff at the resort went above and beyond for our special day. They showed us time and time again that we couldn’t have made a better choice and the renovations are amazing! The resort will always be special to me because of my grandmother but it is now special to me for so many reasons. We can’t wait to go back every year to celebrate our anniversary and are already planning to return for Christmas too.
We chose “You Are The Reason (Duet Version)” by Calum Scott & Leoan Lewis for our first dance. The lyrics in this song really described how we feel about each other and view our relationship. We both fell in love with it the first time we heard it.
Thank you, both, for the wonderful day. You two were such a pleasure! Thank you for the kind review you left for us as well!
There just aren’t enough words to possibly describe how amazing each and every photo Rob captures. We originally reached out to him to photograph our intimate wedding at The Omni Homestead Resort. As soon as we saw his portfolio, we knew we had to see if he was available for our day. After chatting with him and emailing back and forth we quickly realized he was not only an amazing photographer but such a sweet, friendly, and wonderful person! Rob has a magical way of finding the perfect angle, lighting and of course expressions. He was instantly able to put my family at ease and capture some truly stunning photographs. He was incredibly patient with my two- and three-year-old niece and nephew and even let them have turns taking pictures! He captured every moment that mattered in such a remarkable way and all the moments we didn’t even realize made up the little bits of our day. My absolute favorite picture from our wedding was in a location Rob mentioned to us after our ceremony on a whim and I will be forever thankful he took the extra time to walk us down to the location and capture these moments. Not only did Rob go above and beyond on our day (he really is the nicest and kindest man you’ll ever meet!) he delivered our entire wedding portfolio two days after the wedding! Looking back at all the special and sweet moments he captured made us feel like we were reliving the best day of our lives! We have had so many friends and family tell us we have some of the best wedding photos they’ve seen. We will treasure all his photos forever and have wonderful memories captured. I simply cannot recommend Rob enough!!
