Just as we completed a few moments of bride & groom photos the sky opened up…. so they made an earlier-than-expected arrival at their reception. I love these of Hunter carrying the umbrella… These first dance photos are some of my favorite! Congratulations J & H!!!!!

Back in February Jessica called me about photographing their surprise wedding in May. She explained everyone thought they were marrying in Italy and then coming home to celebrate with a reception. That actually was the original plan…. but once they learned of all the paperwork & logistics of getting married in Italy, they scrapped the idea and decided to get married just before the majority of the guests arrived. Having only their immediate family & friends present at the ceremony…. then honeymooning in Italy! Jeremy and I arrived about 45 minuets before the ceremony began…. just in time to photograph Jessica doing some final touches to her makeup & getting into her beautiful Nicole Miller gown and Stewart Weitzman shoes I truly live for this kind of wedding. Small, sweet, simple, meaningful. No muss, no fuss. Just love. I often have people ask if I was to do my wedding day over, would I do it the same? Yes & no. If I was going to have a “big” wedding again, yes. I’d do it exactly the same, everything was just how I wanted it. But…. honestly, I’d do exactly what Jessica & Hunter did…. celebrate with immediate friends and family in an intimate setting. At the end of the day you’re still married and the people you wanted there, were. Enough chatter…. on to the photos….. The AWESOME Magnolia Manor in Warrenton….. Jessica’s brother walked her down the steps of the house to meet Hunter…. ….. Stay tuned for their reception!

For MONTHS now we’ve been planning this shoot. Something always pushed us back….. this time tornados threatened… but we rolled with it. This shoot was supposed to be at sunrise in a completely different location…. but we thought with the rain, this barn would be a dryer option. Thankfully, the rain cleared out earlier than expected and we had a dry, sunny afternoon. However, it was WINDY! I didn’t get as many table shots as I’d hoped for simply because the wind was knocking everything over. Everyone helping was holding something still until the wind settled long enough for me to snap a shot or two… then they’d run back to the table to keep all the glass from being distroyed! A special thank you to the following vendors for assisting us! Hayden Olivia Bridal for the Carol Hannah Water Street Dress & sash Harrisburg Florist for the BEAUTIFUL quicksand roses and yellow billy balls Sunflour Bakery for the amazing cakes. Julia with Stella & Dot for the stunning jewelry Please make a visit to any of these places for your wedding day/party needs…. they were all super nice & I’m happy to recommend them to anyone! Other goodies pictured: Table: MineYellow Chairs: Jeremy’s ParentsLemon Pie: ChickfilaLemon Cupcakes: Sweetcakes BakeryVases: MineYellow & Gray Yarn Balls: DIYYellow Shoes: BHLDN Stay tuned for part 2 in uptown!

We left the rustic barn, and headed for Uptown Charlotte with a different dress and cake to photograph! I was excited to shoot in Uptown, because despite living in this town almost 3 years, I’d never shot there!! We’d made plans to shoot in specific spots because it was supposed to be raining…. well, even though the rain had stopped & sun come out… we stuck with one of our original locations…. the railroad overpass on 6th Street near Gateway. I am so in love with this spot, and could shoot here over & over! Dress: Hayden Olivia Bridal, Priscilla of Boston’s Vineyard Collection Karalyn Cake: Sunflour Bakery Bouquet: Quicksand Roses from Harrisburg Florist Julia with Stella & Dot for the stunning jewelry Shoes: Guess from Marshalls Then we headed over to Tryon…… I remembered these beautiful church doors from our shoot with The Beautiful Mess…. and just had to use them…. I’m pretty sure their was an actual wedding going on there that day!