Amelia Island Weddings - Spring 2021

Karsen & Joshua

THE BARN AT COTTONWOOD RANCH

By Mandy Haynes Photography by Bespoke Southern Photography

Karsen and Joshua believe in love at first sight. Although they knew of each other for years through mutual friends, it only took two months of dating for Josh to know that Karsen was the one. Josh asked Karsen’s grandmother, Joan Pierce, for her blessing and bought Karsen a ring.

“Josh called his mother to tell her he was going to propose,” Karsen laughes. “She was excited and asked him to wait so she could plan something special, but as soon as I walked in the door, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was perfect.”

Joshua wanted the wedding to take place in December, just three months after he proposed, but Karsen talked him into waiting until May. She wanted enough time to make sure everything was just right.

“My great-grandmother, Mary Hansen, my grandmother, Josh’s mom, and his grandmother helped me pick out my wedding dress,” says Karsen. Mary and Axel Hansen, Karsen’s greatgrandparents, were married for 70 years. “I’ve looked up to them my entire life.”

But with May approaching, it was clear they would have to change their plans due to Covid restrictions. “As the date got closer and more things were closing, we realized May wouldn’t work,” said Karsen. Three weeks before the scheduled date, the couple decided to postpone the wedding until late January this year.

Josh and his groomsmen went on a hunting trip to Apalachicola the weekend before the wedding, and Karsen and her bridesmaids stayed in town. Before the wedding ceremony, Karsen gave Josh a pair of cuff lengths with “I will love you forever” engraved in her writing. Josh gave Karsen a diamond necklace, which she wore with her wedding dress.

The wedding and reception were held at The Barn at Cottonwood Ranch, which is owned by the grooms’ parents, Karen and Larry Brantley. The ceremony was officiated by their pastor, James Conner, from New Life Baptist Church.

Everyone assumed Karsen’s grandmother would walk her down the aisle. “She raised me, so it seemed right, but the more I thought about it, I wanted to include Josh’s father. I asked Larry if he would walk me down the aisle, and he said yes. We kept it a secret from everyone except for the few people we had to tell. It was a fun and emotional surprise. Josh told me later that seeing his dad standing up as a father figure for me and taking me in to the family so quickly was the best wedding gift.”

The reception dinner was catered by Jimbo’s Catering, the wedding cake came from Heavenly Chocolate, cupcakes from Sweets by Holly, and the bar had two signature cocktails in honor of Karsen and Josh’s French bulldogs, Hank and Belle. There was also a Smores bar by the outdoor firepit, and as a special treat for the groom, the wedding director hired someone to cut and hand roll cigars. Deejay Jake Harris kept the party going until one in the morning.

Like their original wedding plans, Karsen and Josh’s honeymoon plans had to change due to Covid. Karsen handled those changes with the same humor and positive attitude as before. “We went to Louisiana instead of Las Vegas. We actually went bow fishing,” Karsen laughs, as she remembers opening the door to their cabin at Southern Style Bow Fishing the first night and finding bunk beds. Josh immediately called The Ritz Carlton in New Orleans, and the newlyweds spent the rest of their honeymoon enjoying amazing food, shopping, and exploring the city.

“If I had the opportunity to go back and change anything, I wouldn’t,” Karsen says happily. “Everything was perfect.”

The new couple just purchased a home on ten acres in Hilliard. Plenty of room for Karsen and Josh to build their new life together and lots of space for Hank and Belle, their two French bulldogs, to run and play.