A Fall-Inspired Glam Wedding in Ellijay, GA

Joshua and Ariel’s love story began online back in August of 2015 when Joshua sent Ariel a message on Facebook. While Ariel wasn’t ready to date officially, they exchanged numbers, talked often, and even went out on a date once. While they both really liked each other, this ended up being a classic case of “right person, wrong time.”

Four years later, in July of 2019, Ariel was having a conversation with one of her closest friends who strongly encouraged her to reach out to Joshua. Nervous and reluctant, she texted Joshua which led to a phone conversation that lasted all night long. The two decided to make their relationship official with Joshua asking Ariel to be his girlfriend on Christmas day, December 25, 2019.

Over the next three years, Joshua and Ariel experienced so much happiness, love, and growth together. However, the two also endured hardship, loss, and grief as a result of the pandemic. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2022, Joshua decided to take the next step in their relationship by asking Ariel to be his wife, in a restaurant on the eve of their anniversary surrounded by their loved ones.

After nearly two years of wedding planning, on September 21, 2024, Joshua and Ariel became husband and wife in a stunning wedding ceremony in Ellijay, Georgia captured by our Bridal Suite member PD Photography.

Bride: Ariel Burney, 32, Entrepreneur

Groom: Joshua Burney, 34, Private Chef/Entrepreneur

Photography By: PD Photography

Planning and Design: Russell Wendell Events

Place of Residence: Royal Palm Beach, Florida

Wedding Date: September 21, 2024

Wedding Location: The Falls at Blue Ridge, Ellijay, Georgia

Wedding Theme/Motif/Inspiration: Our wedding theme was inspired by two things: (1) our desire to achieve the luxurious look and feel of a black-tie event, and (2) our love for the fall season. We were able to achieve both by incorporating fall colors and/or warm metal tones into the attire of the groom, bridal party, and guests of honor, as well as by choosing black, white, and gold for our décor colors and assigning an all-black formal dress code to wedding guests.

Briefly tell us about your wedding experience and how the both of you felt on your big day.

For the most part, wedding planning was fairly easy considering we secured most of our vendors very early on in the process. I am very much a Type A personality while my groom is a Type B personality; so while I tend to be more organized, perfectionistic, and high stress, he is more relaxed, patient, and even-tempered.

The wedding day started out very different for the two of us. As the bride, I spent most of the morning nervous, trying to keep myself calm, and praying nothing would go wrong. My groom, on the other hand, was calm, cool, and collected as per usual. Once we had our first look together, prior to the ceremony, everything changed! We both immediately felt calm, excited, and ready to vow to forever. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful and after the “I Do” we were just ready to party with our loved ones for the first time as husband and wife. All in all, our wedding day was the best day of our lives and a day we will NEVER forget.

Wedding song, and the significance of the song:

We chose “For You” by Kenny Lattimore partly because it perfectly expresses the love we share and how deep our connection is. It also served as a promise to be intentional in how we express that love for one another in our marriage moving forward and for the rest of our lives.

What are you most looking forward to as a married couple?

We look forward to endless growth, love, laughter, and adventure together; and, when the time is right, we look forward to growing our family.