Tag Archives: Church Weddings

Intimacy: Melissa & Rafael

Coming off the holidays and with all the industry events in the last month I’ve been a little bit slow with updating weddings on the blogging lately.

Here’s a quick peak into Melissa and Rafael’s wedding. They got married at St. Benedict Catholic Church and held their reception at the Alpharetta Athletic Club, which was quite beautiful. Of course, Huy came out to capture some beautiful images for Melissa and Rafael.

Some of my favorites images are sometimes little vignettes, or peaks into a larger world. I particularly love it when they give you a sense of closeness or intimacy. Sometimes that closeness is feeling like you’re close to the subject in the image, like you’re part of their world for a few moments, like you’ve been given a glimpse into a sacred or private moment…

And other times the emotion you’re experiencing is the closeness and intimacy between the bride and groom…

Then sometimes the opposite vantage point of distance and the moment of intimacy that interrupts the grand landscape give you the same sense of awe about the moment you see before you…

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.

Joyce & Donnie – High School Sweethearts

I must say, when Nicole Fantz from Peachtree Wedding & Events contacted me about Joyce & Don’s wedding I don’t think I’ve been looking forward to a wedding as much as this in a while. Here’s the story…

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…

Welcome to the Army!

Just a quick little teaser for Danielle and Mike!

Abigail & Peter in Sewanee, TN

I first met Abigail and Peter last year when she was a bridesmaid at Vicky and Jason’s wedding. As it turns out, they’re getting hitched next April at the All Saints Chapel on the University of the South campus in Sewanee, TN where Abigail went to school. Naturally, the campus seemed like a great place to do their engagement session.

This is the chapel where the wedding will take place. Much of the grounds are just as beautiful so you can imagine that my brain was racing thinking of all the shots we could get on her wedding day. Just amazing!

As it turns out, it was scorching hot and we were all dealing with the heat as best as we could… lots of water and breaks in the shade… they did fantastic!

I loved the light on this one.

In case you’re wondering why they look so relaxed in the image above…

The family has a cabin just around the corner from the school, so we went back there to relax and get a few photos.

Then a quick visit to the lake near the cabin before I headed back home.

Abigail and Peter, I really can’t wait for April to roll around and see what the day has in store for you. And thank you for being such gracious hosts!