Kim and Andy live in Chicago and came south to get married at the stunning antebellum home of Andy’s Uncle Jerry and his partner Michael in Newnan (most couples should be so lucky!). Family and friends came from all over the country for the big day, including 5 flower girls! They were so cute it was hard not to train a camera on them all day. It was a fun day with lots of happy dancing at the end. But next wedding I remember my coat as the dancing was outside and it was pretty chilly. But I’m guessing not as chilly as it would have been in Chicago…

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Tis the season for engagement photos!  And why not?  When the trees look like they did the day Katie and Michael and I met at Piedmont park for their shoot, it’s hard not to want to shoot an entire year’s worth of engagements in two weeks time.  And while that’s not really humanly possible for me, I have been shooting quite a few.  Katie & Michael moved to Atlanta last year after meeting in Florida while getting their MBA’s.  They’re living happily in Atlantic Station where their wedding will be in May.  Check back then to see what I’m sure will be great wedding shots!

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The first thing people ask me when they learn I’m a wedding photographer is, “Do you work with a lot of bridezillas?” They’re always surprised and a little disappointed (from that voyeuristic point of view) when I tell them the couples I work with have all been pretty wonderful. Valerie and Chris were particularly so. Their wedding at Atlanta Botanical Gardens hit on that day in October when we woke to really cold weather (at least by Atlanta fall standards). I dug out my long sleeve wedding shirt and packed my sweater and Matt (my husband, who is my current assistant for those who don’t know) did the same. The wedding was supposed to be outside in one of the smaller gardens as they had a nicely intimate group of participants (22 people). Unfortunately, the weather just was not cooperating. My lens kept fogging over as I went in and out of the Orchid Conservatory and the violinist was very worried about making dulcet tones on 40 degree strings. As a result, they moved inside to a tropical climate and it was just lovely. The reception was in the lower space at 103 West – a really nice room for a small group. The reception culminated with the announcement, by Chris, of the honeymoon destination. Check out one of the photos below to see his last clue sent to Valerie the morning of the wedding along with a long stem red rose. All the days participants worked at some point on the riddle and Chris – who is way clever – announced Belize to the waiting group over dinner. A couple of people had guessed that, but they hadn’t put all the clues together, which was a big part of the fun.

 

Okay, so I made a bit of a mistake on the advance planning side of this shoot.  I met Katie and Nick for the first time (they booked over email and phone) at Leita Thompson in Roswell for their engagement shoot.  Really nice couple who had been together since high school.  Way cool.  I had shot here once before (with Valerie & Chris whose wedding photos are blogged above) and loved the lake, the little stream and all the bridges.  It’s just really pretty back in there.  But when I met Valerie and Chris here, we parked by a local school and went in the back way – I now know why.  If you park in front you have to walk a mile or so to get to all those nice little photo ops.  They were good sports about it, but I felt bad nonetheless.  In the end, the photos turned out great and I learned a lesson about making sure exercise wasn’t part of my next engagement shoot.  You can check out Katie & Nick’s wedding photos next May.