Exclusive: Lauren Price and Brandon Chambers' Warehouse Wedding in Atlanta

When Lauren Elyce Price, founder of the blog Lauren Elyce and owner of bah•dee active, married Brandon Marc Chambers, project designer at Niles Bolton Associates, they already felt like family. "Brandon and I met almost 20 years ago," shares Lauren. "We heard about The Chambers family before we even met them! They were basically a carbon copy of our family—loud, a good time, big hearts, loved a party. When Brandon’s dad moved the family to Georgia for work, our parents finally met and the rest was kind of history. Our immediate and extended families have been connected ever since. We attend the same weddings and funerals, make appearances at family reunions and cookouts, travel together, and more."

Over the years, the pair fell in love, and on March 20, 2020, Brandon proposed. However, it didn't go according to his original plan. "We got engaged on my 31st birthday, right at the beginning of quarantine," shares Lauren. "We were actually supposed to be in Jamaica—we even made it to the gate but had to turn around due to travel restrictions. After coming to terms with the fact that his first plan wasn’t going to happen, he worked on a series of other plans. He finally came up with what was, in my opinion, the perfect proposal. When I came home from a walk with my best friend and maid of honor (which I now know was a setup to get me out of the house), I was greeted by rose petals lining the stairs up to a selection of white dresses and a bottle of champagne. I was told to select a dress and get ready before being blindfolded and hopping in the car for a surprise dinner."

"We arrived at the secret location, which ended up being my mother-in-law’s house. He had the entire place decorated like a restaurant," says Lauren, who later shared the video of the proposal on Instagram. "After we finished eating, a man singing a cappella made his way up the stairs—by the way, I still had no idea a proposal was coming. I thought Brandon was doing something extra special for my birthday. As the musician sang his last few lines, I saw my mother-in-law and parents walking up the stairs. All of a sudden, Brandon pulls a box from behind his back and drops down to one knee. The rest is a magical blur—between the tears and the shock and the excitement, I couldn’t even tell you if I said yes or not (Spoiler: I did)."

After almost 20 years, the couple didn't want to wait too long to get married. They eventually settled on a date August 28, 2021, and booked a large warehouse venue Guardian Works in their hometown of Atlanta. "We wanted an industrial space that could serve as a blank canvas for the modern decor we were envisioning," explains Lauren. "One of our priorities was to throw a big party for our friends and family to celebrate our marriage and loved the idea of going in this 'warehouse party' direction. The rustic, abandoned-warehouse look of this venue was the perfect backdrop."

As for the décor? "Our main vision for the wedding was to create a modern, tropical-inspired party," she says. "We didn’t want anything too ‘themed,’ but loved the idea of weaving in our love for traveling to tropical destinations with a modern aesthetic."

To make their wedding a reality, Lauren and Brandon hired planner Courtney Drake of Drake Social Events. "To be honest, I originally decided against hiring a wedding planner. I’m a pretty organized person and had a good handle on my vision for the wedding so I assumed I could do it all myself," says Lauren. "About three months into planning, I realized just how intense the process can be and decided to put some feelers out for a planner. The moment I spoke with Courtney I just knew it was going to be a match. She is a BOSS, amazing at her job, and took my vision to the next level. They kept me organized, provided checklists and timelines, coordinated vendors and logistics, and were always there when I had ideas or changes (There were a lot of both—I blame #weddingtiktok)." 

Well that vision, which included bold outfit changes, beautiful floral installations, and even a bounce house, came to be. Read ahead to get a look into the stunning Atlanta wedding planned by Courtney Drake of Drake Social Events and photographed by Rêver Weddings.

Cutting down the guest list was the couple's first big challenge in wedding planning. "We both have large families and a lot of family friends. We started with a guest list of 400+ and had to make several rounds of cuts over the course of the past year-and-a-half," shares Lauren. "Due to some of the impact of COVID limitations on events, we had to change our venue a few times so with each change, we had to make cuts."

"In the end, we decided to extend a livestream of the wedding to guests that could not join us in person and I am so happy we did this! We also sent our 'virtual' guests invitations in the mail so they could still get at least a part of the experience of attending a wedding," she adds.

"Our color scheme was black, taupe, and accents of white, gold, and brass. As we got closer to the wedding day, we realized that green became an accidental accent color as well," notes Lauren. "Brandon wore an emerald-green tuxedo, the bridesmaids wore emerald green earrings, my engagement ring is an emerald, and, of course, we had lots of beautiful greenery in our decor. I initially didn’t want an accent color. I’m known for my love of all things neutral, but although it wasn’t planned, I love the way the pops of dark green tied everything together."

After finishing hair and makeup, Lauren made sure to let go of her phone and embrace the moment with her bridal party. "This might be an obvious decision for most brides but in case it’s not—put the phone away ALL day and just be in the moment," the bride advises. "To be truly unplugged and disconnected from my phone so I could experience every single moment in real time made the day so much better than I could have expected."

"It really does go by so fast and not having my phone or the pressure to 'capture the moment' and instead experience it was one of the best decisions I could have made that day," she says. "It also made it so much more fun the next day to go through all of the sweet messages and tags from our friends and family so we could relive it all over again!"

Lauren wore two dresses throughout the day, but knew she wanted something "modern, minimalist, and elegant" for her ceremony. "I tried on a few ball gowns and even a few fitted styles, but kept going back to this dress," says Lauren of her ivory satin Anne Barge gown, which she customized with a dramatic slit and buttons down the back. "The moment my mother-in-law started crying on Zoom—she couldn’t make it to the appointment due to travel restrictions—just reinforced how much I loved this dress, and I knew it was the one."

She accessorized the look with Manolo Blahnik crystal mules and dropped pearl earrings from Untamed Pearls.

"My florist also made me the most unique floral ‘tattoo.’ I had never seen anything like this before and I loved having something special to create a different look throughout the evening," says Lauren.

To keep with the color palette, the bridesmaids all wore an elegant black dress from David's Bridal. "I initially wanted all of the bridesmaids dresses to be different," notes Lauren. "After my sister-in-law tried on this black dress from David’s Bridal, I knew this was the one for everyone. It was beautiful, elegant, modern, and very sexy. Everyone looked amazing!

For his look, the groom donned an emerald-green tuxedo jacket and black pants from The Black Tux. Brandon's father passed away a few years before, so he wore his cufflinks and gold watch throughout his wedding day.

The groomsmen also wore tuxedos from The Black Tux for the day. "They went with a classic look that paired really well with the black-tie formality of the wedding," says Lauren.

"We pride ourselves on being connoisseurs of a good margarita, so we went with margaritas for our escort cards display and as one of our signature cocktails," shares Lauren.

"The flower girls wore the most adorable lace dresses from David’s Bridal. The heart cut-out detail in the back was the selling point for all of us," explains Lauren. "Our florist made them tiaras with everlasting, dried florals and textural elements so they could play dress up in them after the wedding. I loved this special touch!"

She adds, "Our ring bearer stole the show in his tuxedo from Men’s Warehouse." A very cute sign announcing the bride's arrival didn't hurt, either.

"My favorite memory from the entire day was the moment I laid my eyes on Brandon at the end of the aisle," shares Lauren. "I wasn’t expecting to get emotional but as soon as they pulled the curtains back, I lost it completely. Ugly cry and all. There was something so special and magical in that split second—seeing my future husband waiting for me in a room surrounded by ALL of the people that love us. I will never forget that feeling and that moment in time."

Lauren and Brandon came together at the altar with the man who helped them meet. "Fun fact: My Uncle Stan is the one that connected our families and he officiated our wedding," says Lauren.

"We wrote our own vows. We wanted our promises to each other to be authentic, genuine, and truly meaningful to us as a couple," says Lauren. "There were a few laughs and definitely a few happy tears."

"We also jumped the broom before being pronounced as husband and wife," shares Lauren. "We loved the idea of including this tradition in the ceremony because it held a little extra special. The broom has been passed down from Brandon’s grandmother to several members of this family and we’re honored to have been able to include this special sentiment in our wedding."

The couple processed to a rendition of "Despacito" by Justin Bieber and Luis Fonsey. "We had a string quartet for our ceremony and they played all contemporary music which sounded SO great," adds Lauren.

Both the bride and her bridesmaids carried beautiful green and white bouquets full of blooms and greenery. Lauren's bouquet included protea and orchids accented by roses, dahlias, amaranthus, dried palms, and an abundance of textural elements.

"Brandon wore a one-of-a-kind floral pocket square made of all white blooms and textures," says Lauren. This detail paired perfectly with her floral tattoo.

"Height, depth of color, and texture were the defining elements of the reception décor," shares Lauren. "We went with black and taupe linens with gold accents to really highlight the beautiful blooms Pearl and Sky set for the space."

"Brandon’s dad passed away a few years ago, so we wanted to honor and celebrate him at the wedding in a way that he would have wanted—by bringing people together and having fun. Our signature cocktail 'The Headley' was his go-to drink order, a Tito’s and grapefruit," says Lauren.

"At the fizzy drink truck, we had The Headley and two other signature cocktails: a margarita (of course) and Brandon’s favorite cocktail, an Old Fashioned," she adds.

"The dance floor featured a black-and-white checkered dance floor and hanging statement pieces suspended at different heights above the dancing area," explains Lauren. "These pieces featured the full spectrum of the color palette with fresh florals, dried textures, and sculptural elements like preserved bird of paradise leaves and robellini palms."

"We were SO excited about our DJ. We loved the unique pairing of a DJ and a saxophone player and thought this duo added such a fun vibe to the party," shares Lauren. The bride and groom took their first spin around the dance floor to the tune of "Why I Love You" by Major cut into "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Lauryn Hill.

"Kat from Lush Cakery did an AMAZING job with the cake," shares Lauren. "We paired Brandon’s flair for architecture with my love for all things modern to come up with this unique design. Our cake had two different flavors: funfetti with salted caramel icing in between layers and triple-chocolate hazelnut. We love the way it turned out!"

Later in the evening, Lauren changed into this bold number by Kim Kassas Couture. "I saw this dress hanging up but didn’t think it could work," says the bride. "I tried on a few other dresses and just didn’t feel that ‘oomph.’ Rawan, the owner of Elite Pour La Vie, brought the dress into the dressing room and just suggested I give it a try. The moment I slid into it, I knew it was the one. The stylist didn’t even have a chance to zip me up before I got emotional. It was perfect. I wanted something sexy and fun for the reception, something I could truly party in—and this was the one."

Once the new dress was on, the party really got started. One highly frequented spot was the stylish bar setup inspired by Brandon's father. "Over the bar, we had a custom neon sign that read Chambers Landing. This is a famous bar in Lake Tahoe that the family always went to when visiting for the Fourth of July," explains Lauren. "We thought this was a really fun and unique element that would not only surprise our guests that knew him well, but would also make for a great and sentimental piece to add to our bar at home after the wedding. 

"At the end of the day, we knew we wanted the wedding to be a party and a fun experience for our family and friends," shares Lauren. "This helped us make decisions on everything from our fun bites and signature cocktails to the personalized decor and fun activations like the bounce house and cigar roller."

Lauren's advice for fellow brides? "It’s easy to get wrapped up in all of the things that you could do. Unless you have unlimited resources or funds, it’s not always possible to everything that you see on Pinterest and TikTok," she says. "Once you lock in on the things that are most important, it’s a lot easier to make the tough decisions."

"I loved all of the special and unique touches throughout the evening. From my custom floral tattoo to the Chambers Landing neon sign and our surprise sax player and bounce house, it was so much fun to see all of these personalized ideas come to life," shares Lauren. "They made the night truly ours."