Kaitlyn & Jacob were one of those rare couples I didn’t meet until the engagement shoot. I was busy, they were busy, so it just worked out that way. They wanted a small town feel to their photos, so we
met in downtown Decatur. Fortunately, they spotted me first, so I didn’t have to figure out which couple strolling around the square they were. I was easy to spot – two cameras hanging around my neck.

Of course, I’m a hopeless romantic (how could you go to wedding after wedding and not be?), so I was quite taken with their story. Because of their respective parents’ occupations, they grew up in Germany. Jacob was smitten by Kaitlyn from the moment he laid eyes on her (and let’s face it, she looks like a model, so it’s not surprising). He says it took her awhile to notice him, but clearly times have changed – they’re pretty taken with each other.

We had a great time walking around Decatur. They’re both elementary school teachers, so they told me fun stories about dealing with 1st and 3rd graders all day long (eeks!).

I had to get a shot in at Leon’s Full Service, the great new gastro pub brought to you by the Brick Store guys. If you haven’t been, definitely check it out. Go early, or go during the week, cause it’s way popular. This is their cool window. And no, that wasn’t a paid advertisement. We just like it a lot.

We finished up at one of the Olmstead parks on Ponce. If I was a better Atlantan, I could tell you which one, but alas I don’t know Parkview from…well, whatever the other three are called.

Watch for their wedding in late July!

My first experience with Elizabeth was an email inquiry with loads of questions! I dutifully answered them all and got another email response with loads more! This went on for at least two weeks. But her questions were really good ones and I truly appreciated her commitment to getting exactly what she wanted for her wedding day. And she was soooo totally nice about it. (For the record, I like the approach of asking as much as you want to know up front.)

When we finally met, she brought her mom, Elaine, and we had a delightful meeting. She and Elaine are one of those great mother/daughter teams – they really are one another’s best friends, now that Liz is grown. Working with both of them on the planning was actually a lot of fun. Here they are on the wedding day:

I met Tim, Liz’s then fiance and now husband, on the day of the engagement shoot. He gave me that, “I hate having my photo taken,” look that I often get from grooms, but by the end was charming and quite photogenic. He was also, obviously, smitten with Liz (and she him!). They are big Brave’s fans and, as luck would have it, one of Liz’s bridesmaids works in event planning at Turner Field, so we got to shoot some of the engagement shots there.

Then we finished up over at the cut-through to one of the Ponce parks behind the Chandler Park golf course – after a quick change out of their fan gear.

On the day of their wedding, like many this spring, we were sweating out the threat of rain. Their wedding and reception was being held at Flint Hill in Norcross, which can accommodate both indoor and outdoor ceremonies, but they really had their heart set on the ceremony being outside on the patio. No problem for the reception, as it was indoors anyway. We met at Van Michael’s in Norcross for hair and make-up.

Liz has the most amazing blue eyes, so she really looked stunning even before she got dressed.

When we got to Flint Hill, we went straight to the bride’s room where she got laced into her dress by Elaine and her bridesmaids (including her two sisters). The dress was perfect for her and everyone saw it the minute she looked in the mirror.

We shot a lot of family and bridal party shots with the two of them separately before the wedding.

Then on to the wedding – with very ominous looking clouds in the sky.

But we made it through the whole ceremony and family shoot without a drop!

Just as we finished, the sky opened up and it poured down rain. The timing was wonderful!

The crowd was a fun one and after their first dance, everyone seemed to join them on the dance floor.

All of Liz’s planning paid off and it was a lovely day and went off without a hitch. They left with huge smiles on their faces through a hail of bubbles.

Best of luck to you both!

Finally, the day of Julie and Corey’s wedding, Julie and I could stop pretending we didn’t know each other (see Julie & Corey engagement post). She left her boudoir album as a gift on Corey’s pillow the night before the wedding. How romantic is that???

Their wedding was at The Vining’s Club – a totally cool venue (with wonderful coordinators!) overlooking Vinings with a great skyline view in the background. The wedding was held at noon in the outdoor garden and the reception was in the club with floor to ceiling windows facing Atlanta.

They’re both so delightful, with distinct but complementary personalities. Julie is playful and full of energy. She can look so unbelieveably elegant one minute and then the next she’s making a funny face that gives you a very strong sense of what she looked like when she was 5. A total joy to be around.

Corey is an imp – always looking like he’s up to something! He’s also way cute and charming, so I’m guessing he’s gotten by with a lot during his life. But he’s smitten with Julie! No one in attendance at that wedding could take their eyes off the two of them.

It was a great day, beautiful and full of life! Just the way I like them.