Tag Archives: Amanda & Ryan

Shelby & Josh in Atlanta

I first met Shelby and Josh in 2008 when Josh was the best man at his brothers wedding — Amanda and Ryan. It was great to see Amanda and Ryan again, and this time Ryan was the best man and Amanda was helping Shelby with coordination duties. Amanda was also sporting quite the baby bump since they’re expecting their first child shortly!

They were married at St Mark United Methodist Church in downtown Atlanta (midtown, technically), and the reception was held less than a block away at the beautiful Biltmore Ballrooms, Georgian Ballroom.

I want to take a moment and give kudos to the Biltmore for this event. On the evening before the wedding there was an electrical malfunction at the Biltmore that caused a small fire and loss of power for most of the city block. The problem continued throughout the weekend but by the time the wedding reception rolled around they had arranged for portable generator power for the entire facility, including the lights, band audio, kitchen, everything. The best part of it was that nobody knew, least of all Shelby, who could’ve had her wedding reception ruined by a less professional venue. In fact, Shelby didn’t find out until the next day. So there’s my hats off to the Biltmore.

It was fun knowing and recognizing so many faces from Amanda and Ryan’s wedding in 2008. There wasn’t TOO much kidding about whether Josh was going to faint at the altar like he did when he was the best man at his brother’s wedding and Shelby was the picture of calmness on her wedding day. The reception was quite the party and everybody had a blast!

Here’s a quick peak at their beautiful wedding!

Can you tell that everybody had a great time at the wedding?!

And last, my usual hats off to my 2nd shooters, the trusty Huy Cat and Cathi Milanes, who delivered as usual for Shelby and Josh.

Amanda & Ryan’s eSession

One of the nice things about shooting engagement sessions is that you really get to know your couple before the wedding. As a photographer I get to see beyond the facts and connect with the couple not as clients but as a bride and a groom in love and on this little mini journey to the wedding day. You get to find out where they met and what they do, or the stories behind the things that brought them together. One of those “things” is the dog they both cherish.

When Amanda asked if they could being her I thought it was an awesome idea.

I wanted this one image because I’ve never had a pair of sunglasses that I REALLY like, so I’m always a little bit envious of people with killer shades.

It’s the guy that usually needs a little convincing by his bride-to-be prior to the shoot. And it’s also the guy that realizes “wow, this isn’t such a bad deal after all. We can shoot THESE kinds of pictures any time you want, Ben.”

I just LOVE the look on her face! She’s like: “are they done yet?”

Ben Vigil, stay tuned for… Monica & Rich