Stephanie & Dave's Wedding! Sun. November 30, 2008 i do
Stephanie and Dave were married on a Monday at the Montage in a gorgeous afternoon ceremony. As if there weren't already plenty of good things in that sentence, they had the ever fabulous Brooke of Details Details coordinating, and Square Root on florals. What I mean by all of this is that before I ever even showed up, the wedding was already perfect!
Stephanie and Dave didn't care about having a big wedding, or even a wedding at all--mostly, they just wanted to be married to each other. Well, between them and their families, it was decided that there would in fact be a wedding, but it would be low-key and unfussy, which, if you know Stephanie and Dave, suits them perfectly. This couple has a quiet peace about them. It's all in a subtle look, a simple dress, a stolen moment among a crowd. I had the best time being around them this day--it was so relaxed and wonderful!
To top it off, I had my good friend, the legendary Michael Norwood shooting with me that day, and he's already posted photos of this wedding! We decided to trade of shooting with each other for a few weddings, and I got my turn first. He is one of my most favorite photographers and people, so you should go check out his blog and bookmark it immediately. Hopefully if you all go there and leave him lots of glowing praise, he will be encouraged to post more eye-candy more often!
Anyway, on to the photos:
Ah, the boquet was SO gorgeous!! Square Root rocks.
So does Kate Spade:
So does Stephanie:
I love this shot:
There were just so many cool things to shoot! As you can see, it was kind of overcast. Not to worry, the sun came out right in time for the ceremony!
Preparation:
The lace on this Mantilla style veil was to die for:
Stephanie says she doesn't like photos of herself. Hopefully she will like this one:
Or this one:
I know, too many photos of the bouquet, but it was REALLY cool!
On to Dave. Dave ignored me, which was perfect for this photo:
There is something so rock star cool about this one:
Dave:
Two of my favorite groom portraits all year:
One more:
The ceremony site was not the main lawn, it was the side lawn in front of Studio. I think it's only available on weekdays, and it is DIVINE!
Look at these cuties!
Dave, getting ready to go:
Stephanie watches the kiddos walking down and gets ready for her turn:
There they go...
They are just so sweet with each other:
Look at the perfect little gust of wind in Stephanie's hair:
Married!
Then it was down to the beach for a few photos. It was completely deserted that day, lucky us!!
My fave of the day:
The decor was orchids everywhere! I loved it so much!
You know I can't resist a good detail:
Not even close to in focus, but i love the feeling of it:
Cheers!
Last one:
Stephanie & Dave, congratulations!! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your day!
Vivien & Ian's Wedding! Thu. November 20, 2008 i do
**there is a slideshow at the end of this post, so don't forget to scroll down and watch!**
I absolutely love photographing destination weddings! I love that I get to go to amazing places and shoot in gorgeous scenery. I love that I get to know the couple, as well as their family and friends over a whole week or weekend, instead of just a day!
One of my favorite places to shoot is The Four Seasons on Maui in Wailea, so I was super excited when Ian and Vivien booked me to shoot their wedding at the Four Seasons in Kona! I'd never been to Kona before, and I'd heard such amazing things about this property for the longest time, so I waited with anticipation for months leading up to this one!
I started off the morning of the wedding with the boys on the golf course. The course was absolutely beautiful--pristine and picturesque all the way. I recruited Candice Brooke to come with me to this wedding, so we were given a golf cart and some loose directions and set free to roam around with the boys! They were good golfers, and so good looking in their golf shirts that Ian and Vivien had picked out for them that morning:
A few hours later, I made my way with the golf cart to another part of the property to the villa where Vivien was getting ready. She had a beautiful dress just waiting for me to shoot:
Not to mention a gorgeous pair of shoes!
Vivien is a beautiful girl with or without makeup, but she was looking spectacular as the makeup artist transformed her:
A little help with her earrings from Ian's mom on the left and her mom on the right:
You know what they say, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!
Vivien beamed in an ear to ear grin all day:
This site could not have been more perfect:
Mr. and Mrs.!
The light was really blue and cool after the sun went down--I love the mood of this shot:
The reception was held in a little isolated grove on the other side of the resort--it was a little nook, and such a gem!
My new favorite location:
Ian is a spectacular story teller. He has the ability to captivate an audience and to always have something interesting and informative to say. He's also just such a cool guy, I could have listened to him all night!
First dance:
A little motion in this shot, but I love it anyway:
How Could I Have Forgotten Crystal?? Tue. November 18, 2008 my life
I can't believe that I forgot to thank someone super important in my last Anna & Chris post! My very good friend, Crystal Goss drove all the way down from Arkansas on back to back weekends to shoot first Fiona & Ian's wedding with me, and then Anna and Chris. Not to mention that she has a baby at home, and another one on the way! Crystal seriously has the best attitude of pretty much anyone I know--I don't know a single person who doesn't love her. I'm so lucky that she was willing to shoot these weddings with me--she's so incredibly talented, and such a kindhearted person. Crystal, THANK YOU!!
If you are in the Arkansas/Tennessee/Louisiana area and getting married late next year (late spring, summer, or fall), you should check out Crystal's work, she's incredible! Watch the beautiful promo she had done below--it gives a very good sense of her demeanor and personality!
The Mammoth Men Are So Freaking Hot Sun. November 16, 2008 gossip
If you don't know who the Mammoth Men are, get ready for some awesome overload over the next week! The whole "Mammoth Men" phenomenon came about a year or two ago when a group of friends went up to Mammoth to go snowboarding together. They just so happened to be all unbelievably amazing photographers and rad people in general, so when you get that many cool brains in one place, great ideas are bound to be born.
Earlier this year, they took an RV up to San Francisco, getting into all kinds of shenanigans and trouble along the way. They're like James Bond--women want them, and men want to BE them!
Well, as of RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND,they are at it again, taking the RV,a couple of new friends, and their crazy personalities and attitudes on a route from the OC all around Route 66 and back, stopping in places like Vegas, Roswell, and Phoenix to cause trouble and take names. The coolest part about their adventure--there is TONS of audience participation, and we even get to vote to choose what they do each day!
SHOOTSAC is one of the big sponsors of the trip this year, and we've got a crazy cool promotion going on with them. I asked each of the 12 men to fill a shootsac with their favorite things, ranging all the way from bourbon, to books, to mix CD's to surf wax, depending on the guy. Each sac's items are individually selected by they guys themselves,and we're GIVING AWAY each Mammoth Man's Sac over the next week.
Here's the catch--you must **FOLLOW THEM ON TWITTER** and check **THEIR BLOG** (and this blog) every day for the next week. Or else, these things will go so fast you'll miss out! You'll also have to participate--there's no telling what you might have to do for your chance to win the shootsacs! There are 12 to give away, one for each guy, so there's lots of chances to win,but lots of people competing!
Let's leave them lots of comments to wish them well (because you all know you wish you were there with them--I do, big time!!!) These guys are seriously some of my favorite people, and by the end of this trip, you're going to love them as much as I do!
Fine, so this didn't come "tomorrow"--it's here now, and that's the important thing :)
Julie Hill and I made the 4.5 hour drive from New Orleans to Monroe Louisiana with a half excited, half fascinated attitude, marveling at the different sights we saw, from this little restaurant shaped like a dress to the ancient officer who pulled Julie over and threatened to lock her up next time she "came through them parts". We arrived and changed, and decided to head over right away to the pre-wedding party that some friends of Anna's family were throwing.
No sooner than we had walked up the driveway were we hugged tightly by at least two of Anna's sisters, Anna, some neighbors, and both of Anna's parents. It was seriously the most welcoming moment of my life--I felt enclosed by the Rockett family immediately and knew that it was going to be an amazing weekend! That night, I got a chance to speak fairly in-depth to quite a few members of the family, and absolutely could not wait to shoot the wedding the next day!
I've gotten quite a few emails and speculation about WHY I choose to do a free wedding each year, and the general consensus seems to be that it is a business maneuver. This isn't the case--I've never once booked any kind of paying job for shooting one of these weddings. It just seems like there are some genuinely nice people out there in the world who deserve to have something nice done for them. Wedding photography isn't a "need" by any standards--it's just something I happen to do as my career that once in awhile I choose to do solely for fun for a nice person, and Anna & Chris certainly qualify!
Anyway, the next morning, I walked over to the restaurant next to our hotel to grab a bite to eat before heading out to shoot, where I ran into Chris and 6 or 7 of his friends, brothers, and brothers-in-law and was immediately invited to join them! Never one to turn down hanging out with a big group of gentlemen, I accepted and was introduced to some Monroe cuisine (I didn't order this floating cheeseburger but I did taste it). It maybe wasn't the best idea for me as a pre-wedding meal, though!
I spent the rest of the day joining Anna and Chris as they did what any couple does--get ready, pledge their lives to one another, and enjoy their friends and family! The overwhelming feeling of love that I saw and experienced that day, I will never forget. I would have been more than happy to stay in Monroe for another couple of weeks, living at a more relaxed pace, becoming a local at the restaurant, and having my official adoption ceremony with the Rockett family--they already have 8 kids, they wouldn't mind one more, right?!
Rockett and Pryor families--thank you for a weekend I will never forget. I appreciate all the thought you put in to every single thing you did, and will never forget any of you!
Now, on to the rest of the photos:
Anna's family church:
These little girls were so cute:
Daddy and Anna walking down the aisle:
I love how the sun filtered in through the windows:
Anna's mom actually made her netted veil!
I love this one:
And this one:
Woo hoo, Mr. & Mrs.!
We headed back to the lake house for a few more photos:
My favorite shot of the day:
Through my blog, I was contacted by Wendee Robbins, who offered to drive in from Texas to coordinate the wedding! She did such a beautiful job pulling in the details!
First dance:
Just the girls:
This might be my favorite moment of the day:
Outta here!
You have to watch this video that Julie did that day--it's so beautiful:
Anna & Chris--it is my honor to know you! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your day, and including me in your lives!!
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