Here’s my favorite shot of the couple…

I asked them to sit on the bench and just be themselves while I played paparazzi. When I returned, they said they were trying to figure out where I had gone to. This is where I went…

It just so happened that a kite festival was taking place in the park… how cool is that?

We made a little jaunt over to Atlantic Station and snapped a few few cool images at the new monument they built.

By the end of the session Leroy was all loosened up, playing casanova and hamming it up. I had to include this one!

Erika and Leroy, I can’t wait for your wedding in just a few short months!

This was the first time that I had covered a wedding at the Biltmore Ballrooms since their electrical fire the day before the last wedding I shot there. This was also my first time working a wedding with Ashley from Ashley Baber Weddings. We had worked other events together where Bold American had asked me to shoot decor imagery, but never a wedding together. As I suspected she would, she did a stellar job and made everything flow smoothly. [As an aside, I'm going to do a blog post soon about why you absolutely need to hire a wedding planner if you are a bride getting married.]

Check out these shoes that Bryan Scott shot. Do they have attitude or what?

Check out this bouquet by On Occasions of Atlanta…

Food and decor was provided by Affairs to Remember…

Okay, I have to admit that this isn’t the most artistic picture in the world, but wanted to include it because I was so impressed with the job that Celso’s did. This cake was immaculate!

Isn’t Jennifer STUNNING!

Here’s the exit shot that I’ve talked about before and that I’ve grown to really love and appreciate…

Congratulations Jennifer and Jeff!

Facebook readers: CLICK HERE to view the slideshow.

Vendors:

Planning Coordination: Ashley Baber Weddings
Ceremony/Reception Venue: Biltmore Ballrooms
Food and Decor: Affairs to Remember
Florals: On Occasions of Atlanta
Wedding Cake: Celso’s
Limo: Classy Car Limo
DJ: Lou Guzzo, Spectrum Entertainment
Hair: Salon Verde, Andrea Hess
Makeup: Ebony Crawley
Babysitting: Elegant Event Sitters

They were married at the Cathedral of Christ the King and hosted their reception at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta where we shot their engagement session back in December.

As you take a look at their slideshow, you’ll notice that not only does Valerie have the coolest vintage dress ever – there aren’t many women who can pull it off like she did — she changed during the reception into a more modern and fun dress. Take a look and leave a comment below…

Facebook readers: CLICK HERE to view the slideshow.

Last summer Atlanta Occasions approached me about shooting the cover of their second issue. PWP Studio shot the beautiful cover image for the first issue so I had a lot to live up to. As Heather and I were scouting locations for the cover shoot I happened to learn about Ventanas, a beautiful rooftop venue to in the midst of downtown overlooking the Luckie Marietta District and Centennial Olympic Park. The best part was it was brand new event facility that hadn’t even opened yet.

In addition to the amazing patio view (the image on the cover) they also have a helipad on the rooftop for when you want to arrive in style. Once the team had our first meeting there, we were all hooked… here’s an image I took point-n-shoot style during our first walk-thru. I mean, WOW!

Inspiraton Station: Sherbet Chic

There was a dedicated team of professionals to make the shoot happen.

Location: Ventanas Atlanta
Coordination: ellyB Events
Florals & Decor: Amy Osaba
Linens: I Do Linens
Cake/cupcakes: Sugarplum Visions
Tableware: Owen Lawrence / Bloomingdales
Hair & Makeup: Scoobie West, H.S. West Hair & Makeup
Invitations: Sandi Spells Designs
Wedding Dress(es): Priscilla of Boston
Rentals: Event Rentals Unlimited
Venue lighting: Active Production & Design
Photo assistant: John Ellis

Rooftop Venues: Bird’s Eye View

In addition to the cover shoot I photographed the Ventanas Grand Opening for the feature story on Atlanta rooftop venues.

We went back to Ventanas a few times to get the right weather (mother nature wasn’t cooperating!) to shoot the cover image. Between the photo shoot, the Grand Opening, the cover shoot and all our meetings, I felt like I was living at Ventanas for half of November. Of course, I never complained about the view…

** CLICK HERE to view the entire issue online.

Here are a few of the details…

A little glimpse into the preparations before the guests arrived…

I first met Valerie when she was a bridesmaid in her sisters wedding a couple years ago and have looked forward to shooting her wedding ever since. They’ll be getting married soon at the Ritz Carlton, Downtown Atlanta so it provided a great opportunity to grab some interesting portraits of the two of them. I’m saving some of my favorite locations at the Ritz for their wedding images. I can’t wait to see what we come up with at the wedding!

So here we go…

And just fyi, there was no “posing” in the image below…

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.

Here are just a few images from a wedding reception at the Piedmont Driving Club put together by Susan Graham Signature Events. In fact, this first image shows a few of the letter press RSVP’s that Susan put together for the bride and groom…

Joyce and Don were high school sweethearts way back when…

To make a lifetime of stories short, they went on to have their separate lives, get married, and raise kids. As it turns out, half a century later they were both invited to their Huntington East High School 50th Graduation Reunion. Through the high school website they rediscovered each other and found themselves in much the same position, both having spouses that had passed away. So circumstance and providence brought them back together for a second chance, and here we are at St Brigid Catholic Church…

Their wedding day was so joyful and it began for us when we arrived at their home and Huy took this shot of a card that Joyce gave Don on their wedding day.

They had a luncheon at the Country Club of the South, which has always impressed me with their professionalism, decor and attention to details.

Take a look at the slideshow below and just let yourself smile…

One of my commercial clients just put up their teaser site using some of the imagery that I shot earlier this year. They aren’t giving away much on the site, so I’m not going to say anything else except that I can’t wait to show you more! Here’s a screen grab from their web site. Go check it out!