Rachel & Adam : Hitched Sneak Peek!

Saturday was such an awesome day! Not only did I have an opportunity to witness the marriage of Brett's cousin, but I was also fortunate to give them the gift of photography! Admittedly, it was very weird being the photographer at a wedding where I knew almost everyone there... and more so when I couldn't just sit down at a table and be a regular guest.

I'm in the beginning stages of proofing images, but had to begin by sharing a few details from the day. More images to come soon, along with Rachel and Adam's amazing love story!

Desiree & Stephen : Hitched, Part Duex

Desiree and Stephen are surely back from their honeymoon, and I told myself I get all of the sneak peak images up before they returned. The other day I showed off the before pictures, and here are the during pictures from their wedding!

Desiree looked so beautiful!


Stephen wasn't so bad himself!


The Guys


The Girls


The Ceremony



A quick portrait at the Thomas Center before being announced at the reception


First dance (choreographed, no less) as husband and wife!


Stephen and Desiree were so nice to one another during the cake cutting


Then, the real party got started... on the dance floor. The DJ was awesome, and really encouraged everyone to get up and dance. These images really don't need any titles, they speak for themselves!






This last image, I love! It's of Desiree and Stephen's grandmother.

Stephanie and Jim : Engaged

I may be getting a little ahead of myself by posting this session out of order since I haven't finished posting about Desiree and Stephen's images, but I just had to share the experience I had on Wednesday evening, and show the images that resulted.
Once in a blue moon, I get a client who is really up for anything. Sure, there are others that might say they are... but I'm talking about NO holding back. Jim and Stephanie were that couple, and I'm so glad that Stephanie saw the images I took of Rachel & Jason (here and here), and e-mailed to schedule her engagement session!
We originally planned to meet at Grand Bay, where I've done a few shoots before, since Jim loves nature. I haven't ever done them in the evening, however... so I never realized that it closed at 7:00. As in... the gate automatically closes at 7:00 and you're in violation of nature policy 65498732 if you stay there. Our session was at 6:30.
We hung out for about 15 minutes, but then left just in case our clocks weren't syncronized with the gate's. :) After that, everything was up in the air, and we drove around until we found something that we liked. An old railroad line and a vacant field were calling our names down the road from Grand Bay, so we spent the remainder of our session there.







I don't know which version I like best (color or black & white, so here's both!)







Stephanie and Jim, thanks so much for the great time. I wish you guys the best of luck in the future! I'm sure your wedding in North Carolina will be gorgeous!

Desiree & Stephen : Hitched!

Saturday morning I drove down to Gainesville, Florida to photograph Desiree and Stephen's wedding. In April we met up for their engagement session and it was then that I knew their wedding would be awesome! They have an adorable chemisty, and are such fun people to be around.
Though rain threatened to bring our spirits down in the afternoon, it finished before the ceremony. Besides, even if it did sprinkle... rain is good luck, right? I've got so many images to sort through of their wedding, so I'll break it up into a few posts over the next few days. Here we'll start with the beginning of the day... with the location, hair and make-up, and a few details.

Desiree and Stephen's wedding ceremony was held at the First United Methodist Church in Gainesville


The reception was held at the Thomas Center, right down the street from the church (you might remember this location from their engagement pictures)


When I got into town, I met Desiree and her bridesmaids at the JCPenney Salon in Oaks Mall where they got their hair done. Roland and the girls took great care of everyone, and their hair looked beautiful! (You can click on this image to see it larger)


Desiree's flowers were beautiful... and I even heard that Stephen picked everything out. I was so impressed that Stephen took an active role in wedding planning... I'm sure it make the process much more smooth and special doing things together




And finally, a few details of the bride's and groom's attire




Remember to check back in the next few days for more images from Desiree and Stephen's wedding. Desiree and Stephen, thank you so much for allowing me to capture the magic of your special day. You have so many wonderful family and friends supporting your marriage!

Madison's Family

I decided to give Madison her own post the other day, since the session was technically just for her. However, I couldn't help but capture her two sisters and mom during the time I had with them too! The Spivey girls rocked the alleyways on Saturday. I love the images below:

Madison is Three!

You may remember Madison from my blog over the past two years. It has been so much fun getting to know Madison and her family, and being able to capture her growth and beauty through my camera. Saturday was no exception, as I was taking pictures representative of her third birthday which just passed. We decided to meet in downtown Valdosta, a location we've never used for her portraits, and had a lot of fun exploring the different alleyways on our path.









This image is so funny to me... but the jury is still out as to whether it's Madison's expression, or the fact that I can see myself in her sunglasses! :)

Gray's Run Hunting Lodge: Pennsylvania

In June, my husband and I took his grandmother to her family reunion near Williamsport, Pennsylvania. I blogged about our trip a little bit HERE when I posted about the Georgia Aquarium, but never gave any informaiton after that.
Pennsylvania is such a gorgeous state, and these pictures barely given justice to the beautiful surroundings we experienced during our trip. Gray's Run is a hunting lodge in the middle of a mountain, a little out from Williamsport. Brett's grandmother's family rented it out for the weekend and I can guarantee that everyone had a good time.



One of the best things for me was that there was no distraction of the internet, phone calls (there wasn't any cell service) and practically no television. It was just us and nature. Here's what I captured during the vacation. If you're a blog reader from the South Georgia area, you'll notice that it looks completely different from our environment. I could hardly believe that parts of this world actually have cold temperatures in June. :)

I'm so Excited...

I want to sing from the rooftops like the Pointer Sisters did in 1982!

Today the FedEx guy became my best friend, and I made sure to let him know that when he delivered my rented 70-200mm 2.8L IS lens to my doorstep. And it's all mine for the next 30 days!
I have two weddings coming up in July: Desiree and Stephen's wedding in Gainesville, Florida and Rachel and Adam's wedding in the Atlanta area. In order to make sure I'm prepared for all situations, I decided to rent a lens I've had my eye on for a while. I've heard this lens can have magical stealth modes and because of the focal distance I'll be able to snap images without the person even knowing! Wedding guests... watch out! Renting was much more friendly to my wallet, as the real deal is over $1k.
The one thing I have to work on before these weddings though are my arm muscles. Take a look at this bad boy: