When I made Jessi and Brad’s engagement photos a year ago, Jessi told us, “I really like trees.” Seriously. Those were her words. Which is awesome because *I* really like trees! And not in a silly, tree-hugging way. I just think trees are beautiful.

So anyway.

When Dan started creating a cover for Jessi and Brad’s book, he remembered what Jessi had said, and he went with a warm fall color and (what I think is) an awesome tree form. I think this flows so well with the overall fall-ish-ness of their wedding celebration in October, and with their personalities.

And how fitting that I photographed Jessi’s ring on this picture of a tree!

Here are a few more spreads from Jessi and Brad’s 80-page book… Enjoy!

Their decor was AWESOME! This page is almost like a little Inspiration Board — great ideas for anyone planning a fall wedding.

And you might remember the first dance shot below… it was a winner in the latest WPJA contest!

***CLICK to see the slideshow!

Sarah and Keith’s wedding spanned two days — not because it was such a long event, but because they held their family-only ceremony on Friday evening, then their reception on Saturday evening with ALL their friends and family! This seems to be becoming a trend in Atlanta, and we think it’s a pretty cool idea!

It was fun to work on a slightly different schedule than usual, but what was MOST fun was just working with Sarah and Keith. They’re really wonderful people, and their friends and family celebrated and honored the newlyweds with such joy! It was a wonderful way to spend the weekend!

Ceremony: The chapel at Peachtree United Methodist Church. (They DO allow photography in the chapel, but not in the sanctuary, so keep this in mind if you’re debating between their chapel or the bigger sanctuary!)

Reception: The Vinings Club, where the event managers took INCREDIBLE care of us, and everyone else! They were fabulous!

Sarah’s Hair + Makeup: Salon De La Vie

Florist: Dan Martin

Videography: Mike Henry with Wedding Storytellers — SUCH a nice guy!

Cake: The Little European Bakery

This was Sarah, rushing to see Keith for the first time…

…and Keith sees Sarah for the first time!

There are more serious portraits, but we LOVE *this* shot of Keith with his sons! The father-sons goofiness is just too awesome.

Because it was a family-only ceremony, Sarah wanted to try to get portraits of nearly all the family in attendance. Because it was raining outside, we felt lucky to find some nice indoor space for the groupings — and that we knew how to use our lights!

The boys again, pre-ceremony. They were really fun to observe!

This one little man stayed in the foyer with his dad, since he was a bit on the noisy side! It was so cute to see them trying to peek through the doors! The b&w shot was taken through the crack in the doors as well.

The rings!

Both of Keith’s sons have diabetes, so Sarah and Keith chose to contribute to diabetes research in lieu of giving their guests favors. Their friends and family DID, however, get one of these cool “CURE diabetes” bracelets!

These munchkins were the first to take the dance floor. Kids are funny.

Usually it’s the groom who slathers cake all over the bride. But this time it was Sarah who smashed cake all in Keith’s face!

Sarah dancing with her grandmother… the longest-married woman in attendance!

The Sarah with her mom…

We’re not exactly sure who this guest was, but he kicked up some crazy moves at one point! This is one of SEVERAL photos we got of him with both feet in the air!

During their last dance, Sarah started crying… it was so sweet! You can see her tears in both of the shots below!

The big exit! It was FREEZING outside that night, so no one had to encourage them to run to the car!

Sarah and Keith, THANK YOU for sharing your wedding weekend with us!

We met with a bride on Sunday whose wedding will be taking place at Magnolia Hall at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park.

Why?

(This is the good part!)

BECAUSE, non-profits like Piedmont Park benefit from the revenues brought in by their commercial ventures, such as renting their facilities out for weddings.

And THAT benefits the whole community!

(Great thinking, Kris!)

So keep that in mind, newlyweds-to-be, when you’re looking for the perfect wedding venue. By selecting a non-profit, you can have the celebration of a lifetime AND give back to a cause that is close to your heart!

Any of you who have been watching the news probably know that a tornado (two of them, actually) passed right through the middle of Atlanta on Friday, then again on Saturday afternoon.

We still can’t believe it actually happened. “Tornadoes don’t come to Atlanta,” were my words when we got the warning Friday night. Little did I know…!

Dan is actually registered with a company called First Alert Text who sends him a text message whenever there is an emergency or weather alert. So first we got a text message, then in about 20 seconds an alert popped up on TV. Dan, in his great manly wisdom decided that was the perfect time to step out for a smoke, only to rush right back in to announce that the sky was falling (quite literally) and we should probably take cover.

We hid in the only window-less room in our loft — a little bathroom on the first level — until the noise passed and our electricity flickered back on. Dan was genius enough to have grabbed our archival hard drives before we took cover.

We are VERY happy to say that our building wasn’t damaged at all. We feel very lucky, very fortunate, very very blessed. Just 1 block from our loft most of the trees were uprooted in Oakland Cemetery, the windows were blown out at the King Memorial MARTA station, and buildings lost roofs at several nearby factories and in Cabbagetown (which is about 1/4 mile from us). It’s truly amazing how these storms work. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it.

Long story short, we’re all well, but in-and-out power and internet has restricted our ability to work!

If you’re waiting on an e-mail, or a package, or online proofs, PLEASE know that we haven’t forgotten you! We’re just getting everything back in order.

We promise to be back on track within a couple of days!

We’re SO excited to help launch Southern Wedding Style Magazine with THREE fabulous events that will be taking place throughout the southeast over the next few months!

WHAT:
The Southern Wedding Style Magazine Premiere Event & Bridal Showcase

WHEN:
April 1, 2008
7pm – 10pm

WHERE:
Myspayce the Event Place
12 East Garden Street
Pensacola, FL

WHO SHOULD GO?
*Brides and Grooms
*Photographers
*Florists
*Videographers
*Event Planners
*Caterers
*…and anyone else who loves, lives, and breathes all things wedding and wants to PARTY!

Visit Southern Wedding Style Magazine online for drawing, tickets, and event information.

And if you can’t make the Florida debut party, stay tuned for the ATLANTA launch party, to be announced soon! We hope to see you there!

I think this portrait stands out to me because it’s NOT the typical bride and groom portrait in any way.

I like the tilt of Reggie’s head and the bada$$ gleam in his eyes.

I like the coy sexy glance Megan’s giving the camera.

I like seeing glimpses of the little details, like Reggie’s suspenders hanging off his shoulders, and Megan’s pearl bracelet.

I even like the off-kilter lines in the background.

This shot just jumped out at me; that’s why it’s our 1st Pick!

This was our first opportunity to meet Kate and Steve face-to-face, and we always have to assume it’s a little scary for a couple to meet us then immediately have cameras shoved in their faces! But like we tell everyone: if you can survive an E-Shoot, the wedding day will be a BREEZE! Your E-Shoot is really the only time we will be all up in yo’ business, posing you, telling you look here, look there, stop making those silly faces… *wink

Anyway, Kate and Steve were awesome. They’re gorgeous, laid-back, funny, and MIGHT be our Grant Park neighbors soon! They also were very nice to us, considering we were a bit on the rough side after a long day of shooting on Saturday!

These are a few of our faves from Sunday…

The fun thing about our neighborhood is if we ever get bored with a background, we can just walk down a different street and we’ll find a whole new scene to shoot it!

I like this photo. I just think the look on Kate’s face is cute.

This old pickup was parked/abandoned in a parking lot. I like the way the scratched, dirty window and the rugged interior creates a natural texture to this image.

Belly!

Kate and Steve, you guys are wonderful! We’re really excited to work with you in May!

I feel SO lucky tonight to have placed FOUR times in the Wedding Photojournalist Association’s 4th Quarter international competition for 2007!

Each year, the WPJA holds four contests, open to WPJA members worldwide. Photographers are eligible to enter photographs taken during THAT calendar year ONLY, so we we have a limited amount of time to submit our favorite shots and see them recognized.

This contest’s judges included prestigious photojournalists Al Bello, Renee C. Byer, Mary Calvert, Gina Ferazzi, Bill Frakes, Massimo Mastrorillo, Joe McNally, Pete Souza, and Yonathan Weitzman, along with WHNPA President Dennis Brack, and NPPA Ethics & Standards Chairman John Long. A truly impressive list! I am BEYOND thrilled to have received recognition from these folks!

(Now Dan will be jealous because he never ENTERED any contests when he was a member so I took his membership away from him. Maybe now he will get off his fanny and participate! *wink )

So anyway.

Here are my photos!!!

CATEGORY: Musicians & DJs
7th Place

JUDGES COMMENTS: “I liked the energy in this photo. Good visual connection between the musicians and the kids. You can feel the beat in this one.”

CATEGORY: First Dance
6th Place

JUDGES COMMENTS: “This photo worked so well for me because of the intimacy that comes through, like the couple feels that they are the only ones in the room. The balloons, spectators and color added more layers to make this a strong image.”

CATEGORY: Departure
3rd Place

JUDGES COMMENTS: “The available light and low angle gave this one a more intimate feel than others. A little noise in the file but not enough to knock it down.

Great backlit glow, literally. This is a bit different, and the noise in the frame (grain) works well as muted shades of gray work to make the background bright, but soft, and again, glowing.”

CATEGORY: Departure
7th Place

JUDGES COMMENTS: “The light makes this photo but the hand really makes it sing. It has energy and the photographer obviously knows how to handle the camera.

Beautiful light, beautiful car, a clear message but what is really intriguing is that we don’t see their faces. They are just leaving.”

Thank you to all our BEAUTIFUL couples who made these images possible!
Sara + Jacob
Jessi + Brad
Laura + Matt
and
Emmeline + Bobby

As always, we’d love to give you guys a big print of the winning image from your wedding, so shoot us an e-mail!