Rachel and John's Sowell Farms Wedding

phocusphotographyt8
Jun 11
8 min read

I can not say enough good things about Rachel and John. These two are the definition of what a bride and groom should be like on the wedding day. From the moment I met Rachel and John, I knew their Sowell Farms wedding was going to be something special. And boy was it. These two radiate kindness, joy, and a deep love not just for each other, but for everyone around them. Their day was filled with beauty, laughter, and—yes—even a little rain, which they welcomed with open hearts. Nothing could shake their joy. In fact, the unexpected showers gifted us a rainbow, under which we captured some of the most magical moments. Surrounded by the largest gathering of guests I’ve seen, it was clear: Rachel and John are deeply loved, and their celebration was a reflection of that.

Bride and groom walking in front of barn.

Number One Tip for Future Phocus Couples to Consider About The Wedding Day:

Ohh. Theres so much that goes into planning and prepping for the big day. On the business side of things- we would recommend to consider the timeline of your day from start to finish carefully, and to communicate and work with your vendors on those timelines to make your day go seamlessly. Thanks to coordination with you, Sowell Farms, our DJ Tom, and all of our other vendors, the day went by extremely smoothly. I am also glad I was able to lean on you and Tom both for helping create the perfect timeline. I've had so many friends and family members tell me what a perfect wedding it was and how nothing ever felt too slow or overly rushed. Planning ahead and good communication made our wedding day stress-free, super fun, and most importantly, memorable. Tip for the bride and groom to be, breathe and take in each little moment that you can. The day is a whirlwind, but you're in amazing hands with the Phocus team. They catered to us the entire time they were on site, and made us feel like royalty. They are not only professional, but are super fun and do an incredible job.

What moment were you most looking forward to seeing in the photos/video?

Oh that's tough because there are so many good ones, it truly was a perfect day and each little piece made an impact on the whole. I would say that I am eager to see the bridal portraits, as well as the first looks with family and my girls, and the first "not" look with John. The walk down the aisle of course, and I know the Champagne shower photos will be awesome too. -Rachel

What moment were you most looking forward to seeing in the photos/video?

I would say my favorite moment I would like to see would be between the moment I turned and saw Rachel for the first time or when we were standing outside, looking at the double rainbow. -John

How did you two meet? (Tell us all those little details!)

We met while working at 3rd Planet Brewery. I (Rachel) am a professional brewer, and John was hired on as a bartender. We started off as friends; our conversations were fueled by our shared love of fandoms, traveling, our fur babies, nature, good food and drinks. Over time, our friendship started to turn into something deeper. We were drawn to each other's empathy, kindness, drive, sense of humor, and zest for life. Whether it was a traveling, rooting on our favorite teams, cooking together, playing games, or sharing our interests, we were always discovering similarities and new ways to connect. We decided to finally go for it and start dating. The more we started to learn about each other on a deeper level, the more intense out connection became and the more obvious it felt to both of us that we had found our person. We fell in love hard and fast and have been enjoying getting to spend our lives as partners and best friends. -Rachel

Tell us about THE dress! What made you fall in love?

I'm still obsessed with it. It was exactly what I wanted and more. From the start, I knew that I wanted a more form-fitting lace dress, and I really love the bohemian / ethereal aesthetic, so I had a general idea of the direction I wanted to go in. I scheduled an appointment with Simply Elegant Bridal in Ft Walton Beach, and they were amazing. They had a ton of dresses that lined up with what I was on the hunt for. At my appointment, I tried on maybe one or two dresses, and then as soon as I put this one on it just felt different. My friends knew it too, they lit up as much as I did when we looked at it on together. I went ahead and forced myself to try on several others just to be sure, but in my heart, I already knew. We all wanted me to put it back on, and the second time was even sweeter. The detailing was gorgeous, and the dress had the lace patterened in such a way that it followed the contours of my body giving me a figure, it made me feel just absolutely beautiful. As if that wasn't enough, it also came with arm-band sleeves as an add-on option. When I saw the bell sleeves and fringe, I KNEW I had to have them.

Bride and groom dancing in reception with guests

What was your first dance song, and why did you choose it?

Haha. This was probably one of the biggest things that we were looking forward to on our wedding day, mostly because we kept it a secret from literally everyone but our DJ, Tom, kind of as a joke. Last year, right after we decided on Sowell Farms as our venue, we began to talk extensively about what we wanted our first dance song to be. There were some good contenders, but we couldn't find one that we loved. We wanted something that felt like "us" and that we actually like. We love all different genres of music, local live bands, random artists, and even cover songs. As we were driving in the car one day, one of our favorite covers comes on: Never Gunna Give You Up (Rick Astley) acoustic cover by Hannah Trigwell. It's really beautiful actually, and she slows it down and puts a more mellow acoustic spin on it. Without missing a beat, John jokingly suggests "Should this should be our first dance song?!". We both laughed and talked about how funny we thought it would be to not tell anyone, and then see if people knew they were getting rick rolled by us at our wedding. Then we looked at the lyrics and realized how even though it has become a common joke, the lyrics are actually super sweet, and pretty perfect for a wedding. The more we talked about it the more we started to entertain the idea. We played the song over and over and it felt like it was a great choice. On our wedding day, we giggled and sang to each other through the whole dance, periodically peeking around at our guests faces. It was fun, unique, and perfect, and everything that we hoped it would be.

Describe what you felt when you saw your bride on your wedding day:

As the moment was building up while I was facing the opposite direction, the weight of the moment really hit me all at once. So, when I turned around and saw Rachel for the first time, I couldn't contain my overflowing joy and I just absolutely fell apart. Tears running down my face, I watched Rachel walk towards me for what felt like an eternity. I'll never forget that feeling. -John

Describe what you felt when you saw your groom on your wedding day:

I was super anxious right before getting ready to walk up, but as soon as my dad and I turned the corner, and I saw John, I felt this intense sense of calm. I felt really peaceful, happy, and super excited. It was incredible getting to know I was walking up to my best friend, and that I get to spend every single day with him for the rest of my life. -Rachel

What was the most emotional part of the day for you?

Whew, that could be one of two things. First, my anxiety was at an all time high when I had to fix our beer taps before the ceremony- in my dress no less! But that ended up being really funny, and very on-brand for me, as a brewer. My mom even said the photos of me in a dress working on the kegs have been some of her favorite. In seriousness though, when I was walking with my dad down the aisle. My dad is really good at acting like he doesn't get emotional about things, and I'll admit I've almost never seen him cry. I knew it was going to be super emotional already for John and myself, but when we first rounded the corner and my dad just looses it, it got me. It meant the world to have him walk me down the aisle, and even more to be able to have all four of my parents / step parents give me away. -Rachel

What was the most emotional part of the day for you?

The most emotional part of the day for me would be the moment that I saw Rachel for this time. I mean, as I described how I felt the moment that I saw Rachel it was just such a surreal moment. I would also have to say another extemely emotional moment for myself and I can speak for Rachel as well, was a gift my great friend, Ian, made for us. Ian was with us on our trip to observe the total solar eclipse last April in Texas. He is also a professional photographer and he captured the beautiful moment that I proposed to Rachel as I asked him to do for us. Long story short, Ian secretly video taped the proposal as well. During the reception, Ian shared that video with perfect audio capturing every word during the proposal. It was the PERFECT gift and will cherish that forever. -John

What is ONE moment of your day that you will always remember?

The moment when we were told to go outside to look at the sky, and were greeted with a double rainbow following the rain during the cocktail hour. The weather that day was all over the place, and we couldn't have had better luck and timing with everything. Seeing that was definitely a treat.

Favorite part of the Phocus Experience?

Umm... EVERYTHING! John and I still talk about you guys and our experience with you daily. You have all been absolutely amazing, and have blown me away at every turn. From day one you've been insanely communicative and helpful. You always make us feel incredible, and your work speaks for itself. We are so thankful to have had you as one of our vendors - we know our day went so smoothly mostly thanks to Tim and your team. We are so grateful for all of the coordinating help, and for making the day so insanely easy on us. We felt completely catered to not only on our wedding day but throughout the entire process. You did such a great job of telling our personal story, and seeing the real "us" thorugh photos and we're so grateful for that. You made planning fun and easy, and helped not only with the timeline, but with making sure the whole day went great. We can't thank you all enough.

CONGRATS RACHEL AND JOHN! They say rain on a wedding day is lucky... I guess yall have double the luck!

GALLERY |