They could not have been more relaxed and fun on their wedding day. My associate Huy and I had a great time documenting their wedding day at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It’s nice to have everything taking place in one location so we don’t have to worry about transportation between sites. Gail Johnson and her fabulous team from Wedding Soiree in Atlanta were on hand to keep the entire day stress free!

Enjoy the photo sneak peek!

Here’s Nikki vogue’ing it up like a super model as she puts her dress on.

How sweet is this photo? She’s helping with the long veil as Nikki has it placed.

Congratulations Nikki & David!

The pre-ceremony images you see below were taken at the beautiful Georgian Terrace Hotel. The ceremony was held at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in downtown Atlanta and the reception followed at the Piedmont Driving Club. Many kudos to Lisanne and her team from Watermark Weddings who all did a fantastic job of keeping everything on track.

So without further ado, take a look and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Congratulations Jennifer & Brandon!

Baillie is the very picture of class…

My associate Huy Cat was on hand to 2nd shoot with me. In fact, he shot the image above. Here are a few more images from Baillie & Nick’s beautiful wedding day.

Congratulations to you both!

Hillary and Brian wanted to integrate as much of the Athens college life they shared together into their wedding day. In addition to the festivities surrounding the wedding day being held at some of their favorites haunts, they decided to have the ceremony at Herty Field, the original football and baseball venue for UGA in the early 1900’s.

From start to finish, Hillary and Brian, their wedding party, family and friends were an absolute joy to spend the day with. They could relax and enjoy the day with Susan from Susan Graham Signature Events handling coordination for the day. As a side note, Susan was nominated one of the Top 10 Most Influential Planners in Atlanta by Occasions Magazine in the Spring/Summer 2010 Issue which hits stands on July 1.

After a beautiful ceremony at Herty Field, and a few portraits near the field and famous UGA Arch…

…we all headed back to the Foundry Park Inn & Spa where they held their reception. Everybody had an absolute blast with The Highballs providing some awesome music (check out the slideshow below), and they closed the evening by closing down the Arch Bar with their family and friends. Here’s an image my associate, Huy, captured by putting himself in the right place at the right time.

Congratulations Hillary and Brian!

Facebook readers: CLICK HERE to view the slideshow.

Katie flew in for that wedding and when I met her I was touched by how close she and Christina obviously were. I was absolutely thrilled that she asked me to shoot her wedding in Kings Park, NY on Long Island. You’ll notice below and in the slideshow that they’re Skype’ing with their friends who are still on tour and are just minutes away from going on stage.

This is one of my favorite images that Huy captured on the wedding day. I just love the composition.

I’m quite certain Huy had a great time shooting the guys most of the afternoon. They’re like a walking movie set.

Just a couple more of my favorites from the day…

Facebook readers: CLICK HERE to view the slideshow.

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.

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…

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 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…

Check out the slideshow… and don’t forget to watch it full-screen with the icon in the bottom right corner.

Enjoy!

Ben Vigil — St. Peter Chanel Wedding Photographer