I first met Valerie and Will a few years ago when I covered her sisters wedding in Charlotte, NC — Natalie and Ben. Way back then, Valerie and Will had just had their son Jude and a lot has changed since then. Jude has gotten a lot bigger and Valerie is getting ready to launch Blanqi a maternity fashion apparel company that I’ve produced imagery for and that will launch on Nordstrom.com in a few weeks.
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…
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…
Heather Vreeland has been working hard as of late! She’s the creator of the Atlanta Occasions website and as of last Thursday, she’s the publisher of a brand new magazine for event professionals of all kinds: Atlanta Occasions Magazine. And I must say, the magazine is beautiful!
ASIDE: Oh, and you may have noticed that my site has changed just a bit…everything is bigger, everything better… but I’ll get to that later.
Wow… what a launch! Heather asked us to cover the magazine launch and of course I was excited to help out. Atlanta Occasions took over the Foundry at Puritan Mill, Tony Brewer and Company provided the decor and Doc from Full Circle Lighting provided the lighting. Everything was all wrapped up in a package by Eliana Baucicault at By Your Side Events.
Check out these amazing treats from Mindy over at M Cupcakes!
These bottom-lit tables provided some fantastic ambiance.
The official welcome from Heather.
For event pros who are always behind the scenes, they sure didn’t have any problems on the dance floor!
Joel Rabe from Lethal Rhythms was on hand to keep the music pumping and everybody on the dance floor.
Here’s a plug for my new photographer buddy, Patrick Williams, his wife and his designer. We commiserated a bit after I dropped and broke my precious $1800 Nikon 14-24 lens.
Somebody’s having some fun…
Congratulations Heather!!!
Check out the slideshow below. If you’re looking for ALL the red carpet images CLICK HERE after you watch the slideshow.
I’m going to keep this one short and sweet so that you can get on with watching the slideshow. But I have to show you this one image because it pretty much sums up their reception. Skotti and Tony came out dancing to You’re the First, the Last, My Everything by Barry White, which you’ll hear in the slideshow. CLEARLY Skotti didn’t get the memo about traditional first dance songs.
Check out the slideshow… and don’t forget to watch it full-screen with the icon in the bottom right corner.
Back in the fall of last year when I broke a bunch of toes and was couch-ridden for over a week, all I could do was watch tv and try to get some work done on my 17″ MacBook Pro (which my wife affectionately nicknamed my “precious”, a Lord of the Rings Gollum reference). That’s when Jenny emailed me about her wedding. So we emailed back and forth and 24 hrs later it was pretty much a done deal. Lysa Parker from Twisted Hip (awesome, awesome band, btw, you should HIRE THEM NOW) sent her my way because Jenny had hired them already.
Every step of the way since then. Jenny and Dave have been perhaps the nicest couple I’ve ever met, and THAT’S saying a LOT! I was emailing Lysa after the wedding and here’s what she said: Ben, you are DA MAN! I can’t believe what great shots you get. Thank y… oh wait, wrong part… here it is:
That had to be the nicest couple we’ve ever played for. So incredibly thoughtful from the start to finish.
And that pretty much sums it up.
Here’s a few from their engagement session the week before the wedding.
My associate, Huy Cat, was on hand to second shoot and Brian, who’s always THE MAN, was assisting.
Speaking of …, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. All these photos have something in common. I’ll tell you what that is after you see the images.
Here’s the secret: every single one of those photos was shot by Huy or Brian. After every wedding we get the same two compliments: someone will say “man, you guys were everywhere… working hard”, then somebody else will say, “I can’t believe you get those photos, I hardly saw you the entire night.” My personal opinion is that it’s nearly impossible to do a wedding justice with just one photographer. Sure you can do it, and sure you’ll get “most” of the same images, but you end up sacrificing moments. The moments between the “important” parts. Sometimes it’s those moments that a bride cherishes forever.
That’s why with every wedding collection you book, you’ll get 2 full-time photographers covering your wedding, and during the important parts, probably 3, since my assistants can shoot too. In the end, I shoot 60-70% of the images but I process every single one myself — I don’t farm it out to some worker in a third-world country or a kid on the west coast.
Okay… sorry for the tangent. — back to Jenny and Dave.
Check out the slideshow… and don’t forget to watch it full-screen with the icon in the bottom right corner.
— back to Jenny and Dave.