{caitlyn & bradley}

Adorable and fun-loving couple Caitlyn and Bradley wed on April 2, 2011.  But before the big day... they had a SUPER cute rehearsal dinner complete with a delicious spread of barbecue and a square dance and tons of toast, laughing and maybe even a few tears. You can tell these folks have no fear of cutting a rug. They were a blast! I hope the multitude of smiles in this post brighten your day. 






We took a little field trip over to West Hills Park to find some GREEN and some doggy-wood trees.  I can't tell you how happy Springtime in Tennessee makes this girl!

Caitlyn and Bradley had QUITE the wedding party!  These guys are all Young Life leaders together, so they are a super tight bunch.  Bradley and Caitlyn are spending their first year of marriage working full-time at a youth camp (and sharing a teeny-tiny little studio apartment) and lots of these guys are graduating and moving on, so this was also a really cool 'Last Hoorah" together for awhile.  Love the goofy one of Bradley.  
These next three crack me up!!  Poor little guy... Kiddos in weddings always have so much to offer in the way of entertainment.
LOVE the pic above of Caitlyn sneaking a giggle at Bradley during the ceremony.  This, my friends, is the luck of being in the right place at the right time.
WHEEEEE!!! We're married!!!


Haha... her face is priceless in this next one... DON'T YOU DARE!!  Did he?  Noooooo...  
The reception at Holston Hills Country Club was one of the most energetic I've ever seen! These ladies were ferocious in their pursuit of the coveted bouquet. 


I always take a picture of myself with the bride and groom... I have self portraits from nearly ALL of my weddings.  Anybody have any ideas on what I should do with them all??  I'm thinking wallpaper for the bedroom.  ;)
LOVE that these guys even danced down the bubble-runway!!   Thanks, Caitlyn and Bradley!

{jessica and chandler}

Well hello there blog world, and happy tuesday!  I know today is phot tuesday, so you should be getting a sneaky peak, but I promise this is better.  (I've got some insane sneak peaks for later in the week, so come back around.)  So, I was looking back through my 2010 weddings and realized somehow in all of the INSANITY of wedding season I forgot to blog this wedding!  WHAT??!??! I KNOW!  I'm such a slacker!!  So, anywho, because I'm ready for SUMMER, I wanted to revisit this oh so lovely summer wedding from good ole Nashville Tennessee.  So, without further ado... Jessica and Chandler everyone.  ;)  

I get soooo darn excited about a new venue I've never shot before!  I had good reason to be excited about this one!!  Belle Meade Plantation is GORGEOUS!!!

These next few shots are from Jes's bridal session at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens...


I am a HUGE fan of peonies... so I LOVED Jessica's bouquets.  

Are they cute, or WHAT?  How many times can I say that the first look is always my fav??


These guys were MAJOR troopers.  It was no less than 102 in the shade and we were outside ALL DAY!!  


Soooooo sweet!  Her mom and daddy during the first dance.  ;)

Thanks Jessica and Chandler!!  

{adam and dakota}

So I was thinking last night how horrible it was of me to not do a wedding post for the oh-so-envious Valentine's Day! What was I thinking? So in that case, I am breaking all the rules! Yup yup! With that being said, here is your semi-tardi (or completely late) Manic Monday.

Back in December, I got home from shooting a super awesome wedding (weather included) and realized I had never blogged this amazing engagement session!! It is so awesome when you meet a couple and you just know that 50 years from now they will be pulling out their wedding albums and gushing over them! I absolutely love Dakota and Adam! So when I was finished with their wedding, and I hadn't had enough of them, I ran home and went back through their engagement session and found some of my fav!! So I now finally get to show you guys some of the awesomeness from their biggo day!!

I absolutely love me some winter weddings!!! White always looks so good!

Dakota was stunning in her dress. Absolutely stunning!

  

I love how serious Adam looks here...because he is such a goof!

Adam and Dakota were all about the first see! I really loved this one because all in all they are very traditional, but we were able to have so much fun running around to a couple of different locations to get the best shots!!! Its fun when photojournalism meets with art. 

I had big plans for Adam and Dakota's pictures! I mean, when I am given free rein of downtown, you bet you booty I am going to run around!! But first, the church they are members of was so beautiful, I thought it would be the perfect backdrop. I didn't realize that it would be a death trap.

This is Dakota cracking up at me when I fell backwards (feet over head I might add) over a light fixture in the middle of the lawn. I mean really? A light fixture? But it got this amazing laugh! 


 

The bridal party met us at a park to do some fun formals (and not so formals). This was a fun bunch! I am loving Adam's groomsmen with the cell phone!! He seriously cracked me up! 

Love how dramatic these two shots are!  We all know how much I love me some solar flare!!  ;)  Can you believe that these pics were taken on DECEMBER 18th???  It was actually green!!  And not TOO cold... although the bridemaids certainly stayed huddled up!

So off to go get Married!! I always love capturing the bride and her father. Especially at the moment when the maid of honor goes down the aisle and the bride and her dad are left there for just a few minutes. Its always the sweetest part of the day!


Adam and Dakota took part in an incredibly beautiful tradition during the ceremony. Feet washing is an amazing way to demonstrate the commitment they are making as husband and wife.  Everytime I am apart of this, I feel like I have seen an amazing couple give the greatest gift they could possibly give to each other. Its beyond beautiful.

After the ceremony, I believe everyone was ready to boogy and eat donuts...yup, donuts! Probably one of the best ideas yet! Who doesn't love Cinnabon and donuts...um, no one!

And as the sign says, it is bad luck. So they didn't waste anytime diggin' in!

 

One of the funniest moments at a wedding! Even though you may have married her daughter, Adam, you still need to watch your back!!!

Mission Accomplished; barely unscathed.

Adam and Dakota, I had such a blast with you two! Your love is one to be reckoned with! You two are the bomb-diggity!

{kristin and daniel}

Disclaimer #2: Last week's was long...this one just might even be longer!! Lets get an espresso this time around!

Kristin and Daniel!! I absolutely love these guys!! Kristin is wonderful; I just couldn't get enough of her all day! Talk about easy going! Nothing went wrong on her day and I think so much of it had to do with her attitude! Ugh...Love this girl! So lets get started. Kristin and Daniel got hitched out at the Museum of Appalachia. LOVE this place in the fall!!

One super awesome part about the Museum is that you can rent cabins that are right up behind it. Therefore, your "getting ready" pictures can completely fall in theme as everything else! Whoo hoo for consistency!

Oh man, oh man...look at those brown beauties!!

Lets show off some more cowboy boots...can't get enough of them!

Now onto the beaus! Kristin and Daniel decided to not see eachother before the ceremony so I took the guys out back! And oh did we have some fun! Daniel restored his grandfather's Scout (oh the year escapes me...bring out the pitchforks) and wanted to make sure it was featured! I was told it wasn't a "car" it was a "Scout"; so I will be sure to refer to it as just that! Yup, thats Daniel's Grandfather sitting in the driver's seat!

Ok, so its wedding time! I love love love the details that Kristin had spread all throughout the ceremony and reception! Especially that bucket of lavender...my fav! Its the smallest things that really add so much! Oh and the peacocks come standard with the Museum! :)

This broom cracks me up! The story behind it is that apparently in the olden days, couples used to jump over a broom in order to seal the marriage. I am not exactly sure of the reason behind this (which I am now going to go look up) but this broom was highly protected all day. It seemed to pop up in the most random places and always wanted to be in pictures! Just cracks me up to think about it!

Oh you bet I did!! I can't resist climbing in the back of a Scout when given the chance!

Boy oh Boy!! Look at this girl! She's beautiful! Makes my job so easy!

Love how old timey this here picture is! 

Heading in for the party! Again, I just love the details! Ball mason jars will always and forever be a hit in my book! They are just so awesome...and I can't get enough burlap! 

Perhaps my favorite first dance pictures ever! And I mean that 100%! 

Kristin was previously in the army, so of course her army buddies were there to dance, perhaps drink, and be merry! However, things took an ugly turn when they could not accurately do the YMCA. Kristin wanted them to drop and give her 20!

Kristin and Daniel, you too are beyond awesome! I had so much fun with you guys and wish we could do it again every year! LOL!

 

{nicole and michael}

Readers beware: This just may have been the hardest/worst blog ever! Why you ask? Because I simply could not narrow down the awesomeness! Seriously, I just kept adding and adding; therefore, grab a cup of coffee, a blanket, some tunes and hunker down for the night. This might take a while! 

Let me start this off with saying that Nicole has fantastic taste!!! She knew what she was doing; her dress and accessories matched not only her and Michael's personality, but also the venue, which is not an easy task! OH and Nicole created a fantastic blog that documented her entire wedding process; the good, the bad and the...well, the creative! It is fantastic! Definitely check it out The Plunge Project. She is still doing awesome give-a-ways!!

I love these next two! Not only are they so much fun...but she didn't move an inch! I just ran on top of the bed and snapped away!! 

These are actually two seperate pictures...but I thought both of them showed the bridesmaids' personalities so well!!! Love how they are holding their flasks differently and how their shoes are so vastly different!!! 

I love getting those shots that the bride and groom want. Now, Nicole and Michael didn't want formal pictures, so here is my spin on formal. We all know that in 20 years, you are probably going to want the formal pictures so we always do them...however, I love throwing in some fun too! 

Now, if I can help it, I try and do as little of running around as I can (but that doesn't always work). Here is a perfect example of it working though! These two pictures were probably taken within 20 ft of eachother...we just ran up the steps in the second one!

Nicole and Michael chose to get married at the amazing L&N Station in downtown Knoxville. Its fantastic for details!!

Now, onto the fellas! Michael was so much fun! He literally put all his trust in me and just wanted to have fun...so of course I could't let him down!

Hahahaha....I still laugh when I see these next ones! Look at that longing look on Michael's face to his groomsman and look a those BARE ankles!!! Scandalous!!

We walked on over to the playground (because what group of boys can't resist a playground). After we met back up with Nicole before the ceremony she said that she actually saw us down there with the guys and was jealous...she wanted a picture like this one too!

But girls in dresses, flying around...probably not the best idea!

Now, I normally never blog family pictures, but I couldn't pass these up. Like I said earlier, Nicole and Michael didn't want super formal pictures and these are some of my favorite of capturing the bonds between their families!

It was so cute to see how adamant Michael was about not seeing Nicole before the wedding; usually its the other way around. So onto the ceremony we went. Now, this is one of my all-time favorite captures. When all eyes are on the bride for the first time, I always try and get the groom...that picture always speaks volumes!

 

Hooray for couples pictures!! These are some of my favorites (if not absolute favorites) all season!

One for me, because I love it so stinking much!

Stunning!

 

Not only was it freezing, but Nicole and Michael were ready to see all their guests and so were we! Everything was kicked off with the toasts, then onto the cake cutting...EPIC! There must be something about the L&N and the cake cutting, its always fantastic!

Michael and Nicole have awesome taste in music...some I have never heard at a wedding which just made it even more them! Their guests (including Grandma) had a trip dancing!!!

Nicole and Michael, I don't know if I have ever had so much fun with a couple on this entire voyage we call a wedding!! Your engagement pictures are some of my favorites and now your wedding pictures are too...that just speaks volumes to how great your guys are and how easy it is to capture your love (soooo cheesy, but so true)! Love you two!

{mandy and hunt}

Hello my friends!!! I hope you guys are getting pumped for Christmas!! I sure am! Anyway, I wanted to share a fantastic wedding that I had earlier this fall out in North Carolina! Lets talk about a picturesque backdrop! It was stunning...and some of the best weather! So, without further adieu, here are Mandy and Hunt...the best smiles ever!!

I love love love taking pictures of the bride getting ready! Sometimes its so hectic and crazy, but every now and then you get a bride like Mandy who just completely goes with the flow!!

So due to crazy traffic, we weren't able to go to the original spot we wanted to for the first see...however, you would be surprised what you can be given instead...a white porch and a beautiful tree always are fantastic!!! This is why we just roll with the wedding day punches!

Mandy might have been having just a little bit too much fun....but thats what I LOVE!!!

Once we got to our location, I had so much to work with...this little stairway just popped out of nowhere and wanted its debut! I would say it complimented Mandy and Hunt perfectly!

Once we got to the church out on Lake Junaluska...I almost had a heart attack when I saw what I got to work with. Lets just say, the quiantest, little church with the best backdrop EvEr!!!

This made me giggle!

So from ceremony...to reception!!

 

Instead of a traditional wedding cake, Mandy and Hunt opted out and went with the most scrumdiddleuptious apple pies from Haney's! Apparently they are famous...and I now know why! I might have maddoff with 2 of them! YUMMY!

Mandy and Hunt, I had such a blast tromping around Lake Junaluska with you two!!! And I now have a favorite apple pie! Send me some! :big smile:

{stephen and devon}

Oh, the wedding season is slowly coming to an end...but don't you dare worry! I have pLeNtY of weddings to keep you guys busy (actually, to keep me busy)!! We are off with Stephen and Devon who got hitched out at the Knoxville Convention Center on a spectacular early October Saturday! The weather was absolutely beautiful as well as the bride!

These next two pictures are two of my favorite! Literally...stunning!!!

Now, Devon found herself the sweetest groom and a Marine at that! So I was expecting a hard core, no emotion-I-don't-want-my-picture-taken-all-day kind of guy. Oh boy was I wrong...lets start by introducing Stephen on one of my most memorable notes of the day! Teeheee!!

Doesn't it just make you giggle to see a Marine get all gushy?!? However, what is up with my Grooms this season...they are a bunch of tear gushers...but I LOVE it!!!

 

Now, this is what I call "Give 'em some Love!!" Well, not the groomsmen. That's "Mafia".

So onto the ceremony! Devon and Stephen said their vows out on the plaza of the Knoxville Convention Center! It was beautiful!!! And the colors were so vibrant! Maybe that is why Stephen got a little misty again...because of the beautiful scenery! He must have forgotten what he and Devon had decided to say to themselves so they don't cry..."Hide yo' Kids, Hide yo' Wives..."

And seriously, have you ever seen two parents who looked so proud?!

This speech has to go down in my book as the best speech of all time! Seriously...just perfect

Now, onto the dancing!! This was a wild bunch!! They were so much fun to shoot...and dance with!

Stephen and Devon...you are a beautiful couple and the love between you two is phenomenal! Thank you so much for having me be there to capture all the fun!

{melissa and kevin}

Oh boy...is this going to be a FuN blog! I am super excited about this one because it was my First Biltmore Estate Wedding!!! If you saw last week's Phot Tuesday post, then you saw how Melissa and Kevin's style complimented The Biltmore so incredibly well! Well, lets just say, they were so much fun! We had limited time to run around the grounds, but that didn't stop us! So, without further adieu, here is Kevin, Melissa and special guest, The Biltmore Estate!

Two of my favorite shots! They compliment eachother so incredibly well!

The absolute sweetest first see!! This is why I love these; you would think it was so the BrIdE could cry, get emotional, what have you and then go reapply makeup so she can look spectacular for the ceremony...but no. Its usually for the GrOoM!

Once the crying stopped and the groom's tears were dried...sorry Kevin...we headed out to the Biltmore!

I couldn't choose between these next two...they both gave me crazy chill bumps! Seriously...ahhhh there they go again! 

Gahhh...you know you got them too!

After tromping around the grounds for a while, we went back up to the Inn on Biltmore Estate for the ceremony and reception! Melissa and Kevin have the sweetest little daughter! Even though her parents were getting married, we now know what was on her mind!

Onto the ceremony! Have I said how much I love Kevin!? (And how incredible Melissa looks?!)

This next series cracks me up! Melissa had the funniest faces the entire time they were cutting the cake! I don't think she liked what one of the groom's men had to say! (Perhaps he wanted to see some cake-in-the-face!?)

But he didn't get it...at least not a messy one!

One thing I will sometimes bring along with me to the weddings is my impromtu "photobooth"! Its so much fun to see what CrAzY things we can get people to do...or sometimes what they do without us having to convince them of anything!

And of course the dancing ensued shortly after! Can you spot the...uh hum...Photographer?!

Melissa and Kevin! Thank you sooo soo sooo much for my first Biltmore experience! I don't think I could have asked for a better couple to share it with! You guys rock my world!

{brad and gresha}

After a week off (in the blog world), I am coming back with full vengeance! With the wedding season coming to a slow down, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m not still crazy busy! If anything, I’m even busier…is that even a word?! Anyway, I started getting stuck in a rut with the photos I was showing you guys from weddings, so I thought I would spice it up a bit! I absolutely love so many aspects of photojournalism! And that is one thing that I like to brag about…you get some posing with me but you also get those incredible moments that sometimes go unnoticed! I love capturing smiles and looks that the bride and groom give each other when they think no one is looking, or the father of the bride getting misty eyed before he walks his baby girl down the aisle. Those are the moments that make weddings! So, here are some of those moments that myself and my camera caught while no one else was looking! Or at least ones that people might have forgotten about! Check out Gresha and Brad!

The first see...you can't get any better than this! One of the sweetest!

Brad wanted a little bit of time by themselves. I snuck a couple of pictures, but wanted to give them some privacy.

Ava was awestruck by her mama...and who could blame her?

I love just letting the bride and groom do their thing for a little bit! It leads into some great poses and plus...you get moments like these!

Ava couldn't have been cuter! She did this all on her own!

But once she was done taking pictures...off she went!

We just might have do to a caption contest for this one! Cracks me up everytime!

Some of the sweetest ceremony pictures! I love when my assistant Kayla and I capture the same shot but in different perspectives. Its like that moment was meant to be captured!

And no blog is complete without some dancing! We have some thriller, some twirling, and some just plain ole fun!

Brad and Gresha...You guys really are fantastic! Thank you for having me follow you around on your wedding day to capture these moments!

{Anissa and David}

Happy Monday everyone! It’s that time again…time to share some awesome moments from Anissa and David’s wedding back in August. I’m jumping around timeline wise, but trust me, you will see pretty much every wedding!

Anissa and David had their Big Day out at Flatwater Grill in Oak Ridge! You might remember a little sneak peak I did a few weeks back. Well, I have brought you the fog I promised!! I do, however, want to start it off with some shots of Anissa at her bridal session. I love how the lush green background just sets off those beautiful eyes and her strawberry blonde hair!!

 The man of the hour, David, didn't look so shabby himself! I love me a groom in seersucker!!

Once the rain subsided and the fog set in, Anissa wanted to see her guy! So we decided to do the first see! Mother Nature decided to cooperate and boy oh boy...did she just make my day! Look at that FOG!!

 

 

 One thing I love to capture are all the details of a wedding. You guys put so much into making this day everything you possibly dreamed so of course you want to remember everything! Its the subtle things in life right?!

 And what wedding isn't complete without some partying?! Anissa and David know how to throw one!

 

 

 Thank you so much Anissa and David! Remember...a little bit (or a lot) of rain on your wedding day is good luck! But you guys don't need it!

{lauren and dane}

Happy Crazy-East-Tennessee-Thunderstorm-Monday morning to everyone!!! The torrential downpour held off long enough for us to have a beautiful Saturday filled with a beautiful wedding! But that will come later! I have been dying to show you all Lauren and Dane’s big day!!! I absolutely love it when I get to shoot at someone’s home! It makes the pictures mean so much more…at least to me, when I know that they can look back one day and know that a place so familiar and comforting played such a big role in making their day so special! Lauren’s parents loving gave up their home one beautiful September Saturday morning for quite a few people to run around in! Here are just a few of some of my favorite moments!

 

  

 

Their first see was so cute and incredibly sweet! Lauren started bawling just before she saw Dane. But once they saw each other, it was all smiles from there on!

 

 

 

Beautiful stone porch, beyond awesome weeping willow, and two people who are insanely in love…of course I got the perfect shots!!

 

 

 

 

Gotta love those Groomsmen!! 

 

Lauren and Dane’s priest was by far my favorite of the year!! He was so exuberant and vivacious and his love was contagious!!! He had the entire congregation cracking up at his stories and and jokes! Definitely a great way to start off a life together!

Adore his face here... just as they are about to kiss...

A little through-the-viewfinder action at the church... shot with a Brownie Hawkeye and my D700.

 

On to the party!!! Lauren and Dane…they know how to dance, well, maybe!

 

 Who says I can't have a little bit of fun?!

These next three series are some of the best!

Lauren’s brother treated the bride and groom (and the rest of the guests) with a beautiful and also hilarious song. Lets just say there wasn’t a dry eye in the place!

Perhaps..the funniest bouquet face catch EVER!

 

And even though I am a huge Vol fan, I have to give it to Dane. Being one of a few Gator fans in a room full of Volunteers takes some guts…and getting them to eat Gator cake…even more!

 

Lauren and Dane…you made my day by asking me to be there for your big one! Congratulations! Ya'll are super dang lucky to have each other!!

Check back tomorrow! I can't wait for you guys to see what I'm working on!

 

 

{holly and michael}

Happy Manic WEEK everyone!! So much has been going on this week (I feel like I say that every week, buts its true) and I didn't want you guys to go a week without a wedding post. I guess thats the good thing about this blog being mine...I get to make all the decisions!! hehe! So here is a wedding I had at the World’s Fair Park and Amphitheatre. Holly and Michael chose not to do a first see, but Holly got a goofy little sneak peak from Michael!!



Holly was absolutely stunning! (Can we say Hillary Swank?) Holly had the cutest (and smartest) dress I have seen! Once she started boogeying, the bottom came off and she had a super sexy little white number! But we’re not there just yet, here are some beauty shots of the bride!

Being downtown offers so many interesting places to take pictures! Holly and her bridesmaid’s didn’t mind walking around to find the perfect spots! The fellas didn’t mind wandering around as well!

Holly and Michael chose not to see eachother before the ceremony, so here is the absolute cutest picture of Holly seeing Michael for the first (or second) time!

After the ceremony we were able to run away for just a bit and take some super fun and lovely shots of the bride and groom.

Holly was a former UT dancer so when Rocky Top came on, you couldn’t expect anything other from a beautiful group of dancing Volunteers!

Now, here is the funniest/uh-oh cake smash EVER!!! They look so sweet and innocent and then WHAM…Michael surprised everyone!

That looks like a pretty good note to end this post on! Holly and Michael, your day was absolutely magical and I couldn't be happier that I was there to be apart of it and capture these moments!!! Congratulations!

Check back on Friday for some FuNkY finds from Etsy!!!