Alex & Challoner | Married!
May 25, 2016
We do a quick video chat with all our couples the week before their wedding. Just to check in, and make sure we are all good to go. Alex & Challoner answered our Facetime and I got a lightening fast, merry-go-round style view of their gorgeous property before Alex held up the phone in front of her and said hello. These two were originally going to get married at Celebrations, a wedding venue on a lake in Midlothian, Virginia. But one day Alex messaged me and said their plans may be changing. They bought a property in Ashland. A gorgeous, large property, perfect for a relaxed backyard wedding. They decided to host the wedding at their home!
During our video chat, Alex brought up the impending weather conditions. I asked what the rain plan was, and without skippin’ a beat, Challoner replied, “to get married”. Which is just the absolute most perfect answer. So many things can happen on a wedding day. And sometimes you can forget in all the planning, and stress, and desire for everything to be absolutely perfect, that it’s not going to be perfect. Something will go wrong. Whether it’s forgetting the rings, or a cake being delivered late, or a rip in your dress, or a down pour seconds before the outdoor ceremony… but it’s important to remember that none of that really matters. It’s the MARRIAGE that’s important. It’s standing up, regardless of how dry your feet are, and promising your life to each other. And it was nice to know that these two remembered that.
Possibly our favorite part of the day is that Alex & Challoner decided to stop by their favorite local bakery, Sugar Fix, after their grand exit. This adorable little stop will be on the blog soon, so make sure you come back to see it!
we're Michael & Laura
weddings
hey friends,
a husband and wife photography team based in Richmond, Virginia (though we LOVE to travel!). We hope you enjoy browsing some of our most recent work, reading our tips and tricks for brides, and taking a little peek into our life.
+ More about us
engagements
personal
For Brides
more categories
Lifestyle
For Photographers
Seniors
press
play
Beautiful day and the best photos! Would highly recommend your photographers.
Michael and Laura made our day more special than we could have ever imagined. We asked them to be our photographers because I knew Laura while we were in college together at CNU and I couldn’t imagine anyone but her and her joyous personality capturing our day. And of course their photos are GORGEOUS. They captured these beautiful moments in the POURING rain – literally pouring – and endless amounts of mud and dirt and hay. They worked endlessly the WHOLE day to make sure they captured all our moments. We honestly couldn’t be more happy with how the entire process, from signing the contract to this point has gone. Michael and Laura really are the best 🙂
Beautifully styled wedding and photos! Love the dress and accessory photos of the bride and the groom. And the umbrellas. Love it all.
I definitely would recommend this photographer! They didn’t skip a beat with the rain, flowing through picture taking and very creative! The pictures will bring vivid memories for a lifetime.
Beautiful!!
I am so impressed with these pictures!!! Even with a muddy and rainy day, Michael & Laura made the photos look like a dream!! So lucky to have such a special day captured by such special people!!
Beautiful day and wonderful memories!
These are great! Who ever officiated was particularly handsome!
Lovely photos and a lovely wedding!
A beautiful wedding of an amazing couple – so wonderfully captured!!
This was an absolutely beautiful wedding that was captured so perfectly by the photographers. Having the wedding on their property made the wedding even more special for Alex and Challoner; having such high-quality pictures is one way for them to always be able to relive this day! Even with the rain, their pictures are so vibrant, beautiful, and capture the genuine happiness of everyone celebrating with them!
Gorgeous! Congrats!!
These pictures are amazing!! And the wedding was an absolute blast!
The essence of these two young people is truly captured in every picture! I couldn’t help but smile and laugh, as I could probably figure out what they were saying to each other!
Gorgeous pictures…beautifully staged!!!!
These pictures are beautiful!! So happy for y’all Alex and Challenor!! Great photographers!!
LOVE these!
Alex, her Husband, and the entire wedding party looked so great. These pics are so awesome as well. Congratulations Alex!!
What awesome pictures! You all look stunning and the wedding looked like so much fun. LOVE IT!
The pictures came out so beautifully! I love all the candid ones that capture how much fun everyone had. The rain didn’t dampen the day in the least! You both had such a lovely day! 🙂
This pictures are absolutely beautiful! Each picture captures how much happiness surrounded the lovely couple.
Awesome pictures! Congrats Crawford family!
Awesome pictures! Congrats to the Crawford family!
Beautiful!! Congrats!
These are gorgeous, the fun can definitely be felt through the photos! Congrats on your marriage, these will be wonderful pictures to look back on during all your anniversaries!
Congrats Alex and Rich! Beautiful pictures celebrating a beautiful couple!
So pretty! Congratulations!
Gorgeous photos of a great couple! So happy for y’all!
Great photos, amazing wedding and beautiful bride
The rain just made it more special. Miss all you kids. Beautiful pics
Fantastic pictures of an awesome wedding! Everyone had a fantastic time.
Beautiful pictures!
The wedding pictures are truly beautiful! I particularly loved the pics of Alex, Challoner and wedding party, captured under that magnificent tree, umbrellas above each of them, and pure magic! We never noticed the rain, and the wedding pics absolutely sparkled of sunshine and wedding bliss!
What a dreary wet day, and yet despite Mother Nature the wedding was just wonderful. These pictures are absolutely beautiful and they show just how beautiful a rainy day can be. Great photography and photographer. She sloshed thru mud and rain and got spectacular pics.
Love everything about this post! Congrats!!!!
Looks awesome!!
These photos are absolutely beautiful. If it weren’t for the umbrellas, I never would have guessed that it poured!
Gorgeous photographs of a splendid day! Wow!!!
Alex and Challoner, congratulations on your absolutely gorgeous wedding. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to celebrate your union, but really I’ve seen your relationship through every stage and I’m confident that you two are meant for each other. I wish you all the best ❤
Beautiful pictures of such a gorgeous wedding!! Congratulations you two!
looks like a lovely ceremony and great photos! good luck choosing wish y’all all the best
Fantastic shots of some charismatic people – love it!
These are all so beautiful and so fun! Alex is stunning and as for Challoner…there is just something about a man in uniform. Happy, happy happily ever after, Mr. and Mrs. Crawford!
An excellent wedding with wonderful photographers. Captured each moment perfectly, even ones I don’t recall.
An amazing group of photographers, well done!
Captured the moments so perfectly feel like I was sharing the day with Alex and Challoner. What a perfect capturing of wedding day memories. Wish our photographer had done the same for us.
I’ve always had a couple crush on Alex and Challoner, but now I have one on Michael and Laura too! This day was perfect!
What a special day!! Thanks Michael and Laura for capturing the treasure of that day through all the rain drops! You guys rock!!
Congrats!
OH my goodness these photos are just beautiful and perfect!!! We are so happy for you!!
The wedding day was nothing short of amazing, beautiful, and wonderful! And the photos show the love and happiness Alex and Challoner have for each other as well as how much they are loved by the people who shared that great day.
What a wonderful time in your life! Michael & Laura were able to capture so many special glances and moments. Dad and I love you two very much.
Love love love these pictures Alex!! You are such a beautiful bride, and I’m so glad I got to see all your wedding pictures after many months of counting down through insta haha. My favorite is definitely the whole bridal party laughing with the umbrellas and flowers. Adorable!
Beautiful pictures of beautiful people! Congrats Alex!
Congratulations and beautiful photos!
Congratulations! The photos are lovely and I wish you a lifetime of happiness together!
Love these pictures and this couple even more. I was so sad I couldn’t make the ceremony and these pictures let me feel like I was there, if only for a minute 🙂 Love you Alex & Rich!
Gorgeous pictures — they made me feel like I could have been there! Congrats to the happy couple. Your feelings of joy are clearly shining through. All the best to you both!
Love these pictures, and this couple even more.
So beautiful! What a wonderful day!!
Love them! Congratulations!
So happy for you Alex, and Challoner! And what beautiful photos of your special day!!
Congratulations, you two! Beautiful photos!
Congratulations to the two of you!! These pictures are so beautiful!
Congratulations! Best wishes for a happy marriage 🙂 your photos are gorgeous!
Truly cannot get over how amazing these photographs turned out.
The weather presented so many challenges for Michael and Laura, yet they shot the Crawford wedding effortlessly…all while laughing and making everyone feel comfortable. Thank you both-congratulations Alex and Challoner!
Such a beautiful day! I need the recipe for those speciality drinks 🙂
Michael and Laura were fantastic photographers! I was the DJ for this wedding and got to observe a lot of their behind the scenes work and they were always right where they needed to be. There are very professional and so dedicated to their work. By the end of the wedding they were both soaked with rain because they were dedicated to getting the perfect shots even if it meant getting wet!
these are so wonderful! congrats, guys! so happy for y’all!
these are so wonderful! congrats, guys! so happy for y’all!!
Such a great event full of laughter and good humor. I thought everything seemed to have its place and showed that you will weather through. We wish you years and years of happiness together.
Such beautiful pictures! Congratulations to you both – it looks like a wonderful time was had by all!
beautiful photos!!