{stacey and taylor}

• I'm finally getting around to posting some blogs and wanted to start with this sweet winter wedding from way back in December.  I'm in love with these two and how much fun they have together... I had such a BLAST shooting this wedding!! Carrie Jo of Texture Photographics and Alli Rader of AlliBphotography joined me as second shooters and having their awesome energy and eyes there was so inspiring and fun!  The Standard was a perfect backdrop for this art-filled wedding.  Stacey is a painter and Taylor built the gorgeous wooden backdrops and Stacey painted them in her awesome abstract style.  They also gave original paintings as favors!  LOVE!  Anyhow... on to the good stuff...

{kayla and matt: the wedding}

Ooooooh, yes!  This is a good one, y'all.  SO. MUCH. JOY.  So if you are feeling cold and dreary today (like I am!!), grab a hot beverage and a cozy quilt and take a second to let this wedding warm you right up.  If the joy on your faces doesn't do it, the amazing light we had for shooting certainly will. I adore this couple, who made me laugh, made me cry and made me sooo happy to be a part of their day.  You can't find two more in love or genuine people than these two.  And they aren't too bad lookin' either!  ;) 

{lauren and michael}

Okokok!  So I have to warn you... this is a BIG POST with a LOT of images!  Probably too many for most attention spans... but just bear with me, because this is one magical wedding... it just got better and better.  I did something a little different for this one and I'm starting off with the rehearsal dinner (because it was just too cool to skip!).  We didn't get to do an engagement session because Lauren and Michael live way up in Minnesota, so I "crashed" their rehearsal dinner and stole them away for a few short minutes to get some casual shots of just the two of them.  Super sweet and I think they were grateful for the quiet minutes. ;) But, the wedding itself was the magical part.  Held at the DeBarge Vineyard in northern Georgia, not only was the bride absolutely gorgeous and the ceremony amazing, over-looking the valley and hills below, but we majorly lucked out with the best sunset light I think I've ever shot... EVER.  So cuddle up, stay awhile and tuck into this sweet love story...

Thanks to my second shooter for the day, Matt Brock, who totally rocked it and HUGE thanks to Lauren and Michael, who trusted me to come along on their journey.  :) j

{kayla and michael}

Pretty excited about this one Y'all!!  One of my favorite gals in the WORLD got married out at the beautiful Castleton Farms and was kind enough to share it all with me.  I'm going to do a much more intense post about this one when I get a chance, but just had a share a little sneak peek!  I am pretty much in love with everything about this Carnival-themed bash executed by the uber talented Jennifer Laria.  And to top it off, Kayla was just nominated for the cover of Pink Bride Magazine.  You can vote for her HERE

{rachel & chad}

Holy cow, I love so much about these two.  From their laid-back personalities to Rachel's uber-classic style (and beauty).  I am also pretty much in love with their venue.  They got married at Bluebird Hill and instead of the normal garden area, they chose to have the ceremony up on top of the hill.  Just perfect in every way.  Chad made the awesome, rustic wooden cross and I lovelovelove her flowers by Sassafras.  Enjoy and Happy Tuesday!  

{contest winners}

OMG!!  I'm sitting here in my office watching it snow and so, so excited to post the winners of this give-a-way!  I'm also excited to share some of the super sweet writings and poems that you guys shared!

Lets start with the haikus and poems.

Here are a few of my favorites:

**By Bennett Giles:

Light that is my wife.

What is this world we made here–

What now? you whisper.

**And from Kayla Hyder:  

I LOVE THIS ONE!!

Pictures, Pictures 4×6.  

They're nice to look at while you sit.

Pictures, Pictures 5×7.                        

Will be something to cherish when we're gone to Heaven.                       

Pictures, Pictures 8×10.

Love sharing them with friends.       

Pictures, Pictures 16×24.                   

My fav thing to see when I walk through my front door.                      

Pictures, Pictures I love them if you can't tell, please pick me for your mini sesh

because what I really love is having them taken from the BEST!!! 

I have to say that some of my very favorites were ones people wrote to win a session for someone else!!

**One of my awesome brides wrote this super cute one for her Stepson who is starting college soon...

University of Tennessee

Congratulations Taylor!

College here we come!

**And Heather wrote this super cute haiku for her sister:

One two three smile cheese, 

baby nephew needs captured, 

great gift for sister.

**I also thought this one was funny from Andi:

This actress is poor,

and I'm not too proud to beg,

oh please shoot my head.

**This one from Chrissy Eastridge took some serious work:

Congrats on ten years!

Must really be nice—

To look back with love

At still frames of life.

You’ve captured the moments

That people hold dear—

The smiles, the hugs, 

And sometimes, the tears.

Our story is special

Give us a chance, you’ll see—

Why Wesley and I’d

Like a session, for free :)

We’re starting out married life

Next Saturday—

A covenant, a promise

To love, always.

Let’s document our first year

Of married bliss—

To miss out on your art 

Would be truly remiss.

We need you, Jennie

To record these memories—

Can you help with our story?

Pretty, pretty, please?

**and one more before I announce the winners from Lisa Smith:

Photos are neat-o, 

Jennie and Nikon really

have so much swag-o.       

So... obviously, I had to choose the winners randomly, because how in the world else would I narrow it down?!??!?  The 3 winners of mini-sessions are.......

Shana Sparks-Beckett

Heather Wolfe 

aaand....

Amanda McNulty

YAY!!  So... if you are a winner, it is up to YOU to get with me to schedule your session!  You can do it any time this year, but I'd LOVE for you to wait until we have some flowers on the ground and leaves on the trees.  ;)  ENOUGH of this dreary winter weather!!  

Check back tomorrow for the canvas winners and some favorites from the last 10 years.

;)

j

Jessie & Craig {got hitched}

In honor of the blazin' hot weather... I thought I'd take this opportunity to cool down a bit with a couple of sweet winter weddings.  In all honesty, I waited and waited this "winter" for a chance to blog them while it was still cool outside, but it the crazy weather just jumped straight into spring in oh, February.  So... anyhow, Meet Jessie and Craig.  I think this was the only cold day we had all season long... but everything about their wedding was perfect... from her INSANELY beautiful dress to the flowers by the fabulous Sam Franklin.  And I love, love, love Maple Grove as always.  

jessa & jim {headed to the chapel}

I'm pretty darn excited about this post because it involves an old friend.  Jessa and I went to high school together back in the "day."  I was stoked to get to shoot their engagement party at the Sunsphere and they wanted a few quintessential Knoxville photos since they met here, but neither live here anymore.

nancy & matt {hitched}

i LOVE this gal.  A few of you reading this probably know her too.  She's my colleague and (more importantly) friend Nancy from Hunter Valley and I was so honored when she asked me to shoot her wedding last fall.  

They had a way cool wedding that was both laid back (only about 15 guests at the actual ceremony) and a BLAST (family and friends showed up for the rockin' afterparty!!

The day started off with a tea for all of the ladies in the group...

So, not only did I have an amazing time shooting this wedding, but so did Kayla.  Her dream in life came true when I said... Ok... you have all the time you want to just walk around and get some great property/detail shots.  She came back with these beauties (including the stunning pics of the horses).

Nancy's design company Swank did all of the design... including these rad tables as well as her bouquet...

{Anna & Garrett Sneak Peek}

I promised Anna and Garrett and little sneak peek before I left town on Wednesday, but just like EVERY other time I go out of town, I didn't manage to quite finish up everything.  So, here I am from the great state of New York... I brought a harddrive with me just so I could upload a few of my favorite pics for them!  I'm going to expand this post to the full wedding blog in the next week or so, but until then, here are just a couple of my favorites. {Don't worry Anna, no crying pics yet... those'll come with the next round - hehe}  

{erin & brad}

Soooo, I'm trying something new here with this blog post!  Ya know how I've been a HUGE slacker this summer when it comes to blogging?  Its mostly cause I'm a BUSY girl and blogging takes, well, darn near forever!!  However...  I am hoping that I have come up with a much easier, less time consuming way to give you a great wedding story.  Instead of storyboarding then uploading a picture at a time, I used photoshop to make one huge long storyboard, then I only have to upload ONE thing!!  OMG.  Why did I not think of this sooner!  The only big downfall is that I'm not going to be able to give my commentary in between pics... so I'll have to just tell the story at the beginning and let you guys sort it all out yourselves.  I think perhaps this is gonna be harder for me than it is for you.  Oh, how I love giving commentary.  ;) Hopefully, if you have the time you can let me know how this works and if you like having it all in one big story... 

So... meet Erin and Brad.  You might recogize them if you've been to the website lately... they are one of the couples on the homepage slideshow.  They hired me last year JUST for an engagement session.  Lucky for me, we hit it off and they called me back and invited me to shoot their wedding too!!  I honestly think I jumped up and down when we were able to nail it down, because not only are they like, the nicest people ever, they are also BEAUTIFUL and have amazing style and taste (Erin is actually the one who got me hooked on pinterest)!! I knew their wedding would be nothing short of amazing, and I was soooo right.  Plus they had the help of a fabulous planner, Meris Gantt with The Whole Shebang.

Among my favorite things for you to look for in the pics:  The invites! Brad is an uber-talented graphic designer, so he did these himself with their silhouettes.

The BEST candy table EVER!!  I LOVE how they did 'Erin's Favorite' and 'Brad's Favorite' cookies.

The DOGGIE!!!!

Their crazy-big wedding party!!  OMG!  15 groomsmen and 10 bridesmaids!  Luckily, they were seriously the most LAID-BACK folks in the world, so they were awesome to work with! And I totally loved the guy's hats and suspenders!!

I also loved the venue!  Girls in the Tri-cities area looking for a fabulous place for a wedding... the Allendale in Kingsport is not only super lovely, but also super affordable!  I almost passed out when they told me what they rented it for!  

Anywho... on to the pics!  

Thanks SOOO much Erin and Brad!  I loved being a part of it!!  ;)

{jenna and bradley}

Jenna and Bradley tied the knot back on May 8 at Dara's Garden.  My favorite ladies at One Enchanted Evening were responsible for all the lovely pink and grey details...  

I am because you are.  Big grin!

 The shoes! I couldn't resist. The bridesmaids' shoes were so sweet and precious compared to Jenna's studded pumps. So many brides hide tennis shoes, flip-flops or cowboy boots under their dresses, but not Jenna.. this girl was ALL about designer bling!

Is this girl gorgeous or WHAT???  Those EYES!  And her heart is just as big as her beauty!  Bradley's one lucky groom I have to say...

Love that little touch of Robin's egg blue on the barn wall.  

But Bradley isn't so bad himself!!  :)

Since the bride and groom didn't want to see each other before the ceremony, I used the old "reach around the door trick". It definitely got Jenna all teared up... hehe! I love the sense of mystery and anticipation captured in this moment.

 

Jenna and her dad are super close, and had the SWEETEST moment when they first saw each other...  NO TEARS!!!

'walking back down the aisle' pics have ALWAYS been some of my favorites!  This one is  right up there.  ;)

 You know how much I love solar flare. THIS is pure magic. It looks like a movie set.

Notice anything different??  Jenna changed dresses for the reception - a trend I've seen more and more lately.  Jenna's second dress was handmade locally and pattered off of the gown Portia De Rossi wore when she married Ellen Degeneres.  It was so beautiful on Jenna!!

I love how the colors in the barn wall play off of his grey suit and her pink dress.

 

and finally... On to the good stuff!!!  Dancin', cake eatin', bouquet tossin', laughin', cryin', sparklin' and just having a grand old time!

Thanks sooooo much Jenna and Bradley for sharing it with me.  xoxoxo