Katie + Jorge | Atlanta Wedding Reception at Hudson’s By The Lake

I rarely do spontaneous things. I’m a stay at home mother of two. My days consist of laundry, cooking and playing with babies. Very routine, very predictable life. But when I heard that Katie and Jorge were looking last minute for a photographer for their Atlanta, GA wedding reception at Hudson’s By the Lake, I looked at Matthew and said “sooo……how hard is it to get to Atlanta?” With less than 48 hours till the reception, we booked my plane ticket and rental car and I packed my bags! I flew down Saturday morning with Grace; it was a little mommy/daughter weekend adventure!

It was SUCH a pleasure seeing both the Gamboas and Hernons again with their family and friends. It felt like a big reunion!! Being able to celebrate AGAIN with these two amazing and fun loving families was such a treat! This was reception 2.0: Mexican Edition!

When I arrived, Jorge gave me the rundown of the various foods, music and traditions that I would see and experience! There was a whole table filled with Mexican candy, which is spicy!! They had a huge pot FILLED with tamales and huge jugs of delicious horchata, agua de jamaica, and watermelon agua fresca! There were churros and chicharonnes too! It was quite the feast!! Their cake was tres leches and absolutely DELICIOUS! All of the decorations were done by Jorge’s mother and they were so colorful, fun and festive! She even changed into a beautiful red dress and did a dance for everyone! It was amazing!!

One tradition that I’ve seen at other weddings was the dollar dance. However this one had a unique twist: during the dance, family and friends pinned money to the bride and groom! This made for some great photos! My personal favorite was the “La Vibora de la Mar” or the Sea Snake Dance. Katie and Jorge held onto fabric between them while standing on chairs. They were surrounded by their friends to help keep them steady as the rest of the girls and guys formed a long chain of people, running around the room and between the couple, bumping into them! It was wild to watch and so so fun to photograph!

Even though I was only there for about 24 hours, it was SO worth the trip. I loved seeing one of our Fire and Gold Couples again, celebrating with their families and we even got to sneak out and do some sunset photos!! (This was a huge blessing because we never got to do sunset photos at their wedding due to a very big rain storm!) It was a weekend I will never ever forget! Mexican wedding receptions are a BLAST! Katie and Jorge, thanks for having me again!! You guys really know how to party! Now, to the photos!

Reception Venue: Hudson’s By The Lake

Katie and Jorge’s Engagement Session: HERE

Katie and Jorge’s Wedding: HERE