Martha and Bennie's Wedding

Details. It was all about the lovely, well planned details on Martha and Bennie's wedding day. From the table decorations in the reception hall to the gorgeous fall themed flower arrangements, it was very apparent that every little thing was carefully thought out with a lot of TLC.




Martha is BIG into shoes and her bridal shoe selection did not disappoint. The pearls-on-the-shoe idea was hers---very elegant! And how cute is it that each of the bridesmaids wore a different style shoe?




One of the most important things I try to do as a wedding photographer is to capture the special moments, as they happen. The expressions and the body language tell the story so much better than words ever could. Martha and Bennie's day was full of these special moments. Here are a few of my favorites:







And of course, my favorite part, the fun formals




I love , LOVE the way the colors in the leaves and bouquet bring out Martha's beautiful eyes!


After working with Martha on her engagements portraits, her bridal session and her wedding, I have to say that she is one of the sweetest, easiest to work with brides I have ever had the pleasure of photographing. That's just a fact. And I have really enjoyed her adventurous spirit, too! I will be writing a separate blog post to tell the story of her bridal and engagement sessions--we had a blast and created some pretty amazing images, there, too. So stay tuned, folks!

Thanks, Martha and Bennie for giving me the pleasure of capturing the special moments of your wedding day. All of my best wishes for a long, happy life together!

Robin and Robert's Wedding

Casual. As in, slippers and flip-flops instead of heels. Laid back. As in pizza and beer at the reception instead of froofy hors d'oeuvres. Robin and Robert's wedding day was the exact opposite of uptight and formal. Don't get me wrong, now...it was absolutely beautiful. Robin's attention to detail was apparent in every aspect of the event: the pretty dresses, the flowers, the amazing cake. Everything was gorgeous and well thought-out. But it was also really FUN for everyone involved! That's not always the case, at weddings, I assure you :-)

Robin and Robert were married at the beautiful college chapel on the grounds of Robin's Alma mater. The white columned brick building with it's towering steeple was situated among giant oak trees and lovely manicured lawns. We took advantage of all of these unique features to create some great images of their special day.

Here is Robin putting on the finishing touches for herself and her gals

Speaking of gals, how cute is this little one?

Dad whispers something in the bride's ear just before giving her away

I love capturing these unplanned, special moments of emotion. They are so beautiful!

Lovely venue for a wedding

Robin's friends were a riot.

I told them to give me a "candid moment" and this is what I got...bwahahahaha!

The bride and Groom were very sweet and very much in love. Here are a few that I especially liked of just the two of them

No sore feet for the B&G at the end of this wedding day!Aaaah!

The newlyweds make their grand entrance in to the reception

The cake, the flowers, the dresses: everything came together so prettily!

The dance floor was rockin' and the B&G were having a ball with their friends

And WHO doesn't love a conga line??

Robin and Robert were so very pleasant to work with throughout the whole day. Their friends and family were fun and welcoming. I was so happy to have been there to capture these special moments for them. Best wishes for a long, happy life together, Robin and Robert! :-)

Senior Session with Arianna

  Seniors sessions are always fun but Saturday's session was exceptionally great! Arianna is a high energy, upbeat gal with a very sweet disposition. It was a great shoot and I think we captured some of her awesome personality in the images. From studio to mountains to waterfalls, Arianna was ready and willing to go that extra mile to get the shot. She was a terrific model to work with! I have lots more of her pictures still to edit, but I thought I would just share a few that I especially liked.

You have to love the Glam look. This lighting really brought out her crystal blue eyes.

Arianna is a serious volleyball player. She is a hard core Setter!

We did a fun combination of studio and outdoor shots. I LOVE the B&W on the left with the Hollywood lighting---if I had to choose a name for that shot it would be "10 Feet Tall and Bulletproof"!   And how about the hair-moving spin with the fall colors in the background? Is she runway material or what? :-)

This snazzy blue dress was a perfect contrast with  the grungy brick background.

All in all it was a fun, productive afternoon. I am happy that I got to play a small part in making the Senior year special for such a sweet gal!  

A Quick Bit of Silliness!

SENIOR ROCK STAR VIDEOS!!!!!

Whitney and Brian (WB)

Faith and laughter. Those are the two words that pop into my mind when I think of Whitney and Brian. Strong faith in God and an always-at-the-ready sense of humor. The WB, as I came to refer to them in my head, were a pleasure to work with, from engagement portraits, to the bridal session, all the way through to the wedding day. Whitney was sweet and well organized--she was a bride who knew what she wanted but was very pleasant about getting it. That makes my job as the photographer SOOO much easier!!

WB's engagement session was fun and relaxed. It was beautiful day for outdoor portraits and we took advantage of the sunshine and mountain views:

I thought it was cute how the wind caught Whitney's hair and blew it across her face just as she was going in for the smooch

Whitney's bridal portrait session was fraught with challenges, including biting gnats, cars speeding by and a recurrent "hair issue". But Whitney was stalwart and patient and as a result, the pictures were beautiful. Here are a couple of pretty ones from the studio and the bridge over the James River:

I especially love her eyes in this picture

One of my favorite bridal sessions moments of all time occurred as Whitney was poised on the railing of the bridge, and we were taking a break to let a car go by. The car slowed down and rolled down the window. This fella stuck his head out and asked Whitney "where's the groom?" she smiled and replied "I don't know, I can't find him!" The guy, never missing a beat, said "Hang on, I'll be right back!" and made as if to turn his car around and join her. It was straight out of a comedy skit!! I still get a chuckle out of that story.

When the wedding day finally arrived, it was beautifully organized, and the atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed and calm. Trust me, folks, this is not a standard mood on wedding days. The usual gnashing of teeth and sweating of bullets was noticeably absent. Things flowed together like a well oiled machine!

Pate chapel is beautifully equipped to accommodate the bride and her girls, with a private suite to serve as dressing/staging area.

The gals had me chuckling with their very practical approach for preventing any wardrobe problems: duct tape! And it worked! Everyone looked beautifully flawless coming down the aisle!

Speaking of coming down the aisle shots, this is not an easy one to get. But when you CAN get it? Well, just look. The Groom sees his Bride for the first time on their wedding day. A moment of pure, honest emotion captured forever. *Sigh* I love my job.

The service was lovely and included communion for the new couple and a praise song in which all of the guests participated. This was a first for me and I really liked the way it brought the crowd together in celebration of the joyous event taking place. Very touching.

After the service, we had a long list of formal family pictures to get through, but my lighting set up was spot-on and the pics turned out great. Recreating studio lighting on location is a specialty of mine :-)

We ran around to the outside of the chapel with just the bridal party to grab a few fun, romantic shots

WB's reception was joyful and happy; filled with many hugs and much laughter. The newlyweds share a great sense of humor and have a fun group of friends who kept the party upbeat and lively. And yet another first, for me: The bouquet was tossed THREE times and was caught by the same lucky (and very determined) young lady each time. There were rumors of it being "rigged", but I chose not to believe such loose talk (LOL!!)

The expressions in these pics are priceless!!

There are about zillion more gorgeous pictures from this special day that I would love to share here, but I have to stop blogging and get back to editing them all. I am happy that WB's Big Day came off so beautifully well. And I am happy that they allowed me to play a part in such a very meaningful time in their lives. May the Lord richly bless the union of these two special people.