Mr. + Mrs. McNaron//John's Creek Wedding

      I have been wanting to blog about this wedding but had some gliches (i.e. my macbook freezing up and now being repaired! ahh!! but all pictures are safe on external harddrives). I love this couple.  Lauren and Alan have been dating since they were in high school (earlier even?) and finally they are husband and wife.  I've said before but I'm a huge fan of high school sweethearts because my parents have been together since 9th grade (and actually were voted "most motherly and fatherly" for their senior superlatives!).  I think the time they have waited for marriage made this day all the more sweet.  I was actually talking to one of Lauren's bridesmaids (either Katie or Callie) about another photographer who blogs a top 5 from the wedding, and I thought I needed to try it out for Lauren and Alan's wedding.  So here's a top 5:

#5: The details of the wedding- from the flowers (which Alan's supertalented mom did- she owns Holland Daze Expressions in Bloom in John's Creek) to the shoes Lauren wore (her mother's wedding shoes).  Alan let his groomsmen choose ties that they liked to wear, so each guy had a different tie.  Oh, and the cake.  It was perfection (see picture).

#4: The dancing at the reception- it was incredible.  I want to especially note how awesome Lauren's mom was at doing the wop (you were amazing!)

#3:How much Lauren laughs and how happy pictures of her are (I should do a whole series of pictures of Lauren happy and laughing, with her sisters, friends, Alan, by herself!)

#2: The grandmothers photobooth pictures.  Wait until you see it- these grandmas are my inspiration.  Part of the reason I love these pictures is because they are wearing nose and glasses, which is what my grandma made us wear for pictures growing up.  She died at the young age of 64, and what I wouldn't do to have a picture of her on my wall in nose and glasses.  I hope to not age and become a grumpy old lady but to be sillier than ever and full of love.  just a thought.

#1: The moment when Alan (blindfolded) prayed with Lauren before the ceremony.  They held hands and prayed while I took some pictures of them (I know, way to ruin the moment).  Let's just say that I was definitely crying as I heard the words they spoke to each other and God.  It was a prayer begging God that they would cherish each other, serve each other, love each other to the end.  It made me want to go home and love my husband better.  You guys have an incredible love for each other and it made my whole day. Number 1 for sure. 

 

The picture above of is of Alan and Lauren leaving the sanctuary... and me excited! I've never actually seen what I look like when the bride and groom walk down the aisle, but thanks to my talented second shooter Christina Schuman I have a picture of me clearly happy.  And check out my crazy alien flash attachment (Gary Fong light diffuser).  Thanks 'tina for the crazy shot.

  

 

Mr. + Mrs. Gurley//North Georgia Wedding

The last time I was in Cleveland, Georgia was on a trip to Babyland General, aka the birthplace of the Cabbage Patch doll, when I was eight years old.  Not too many people know that up in the North Georgia mountains Cabbage Patch dolls are born from cabbage and sold all over the world.  So when Brooke and I met to talk about her wedding it was exciting to hear that Cleveland not only is awesome because of my favorite childhood doll but also because of Kellum Valley Farm.  This wedding venue is amazing... a huge house on a hill with a view of the mountains surrounded by rustic barns, farmhouses, and every kind of farm antique you could imagine.  Ryan and Brooke began dating at North Georgia College so it's fitting that their wedding was in a mountain setting.  Brooke did a great job adding personal details to the wedding and giving really special gifts to the bridal party and her family- she made every bridesmaid a hanger with their names on it (meaning she actually figured out how to twist wire to spell out each girl's name and then fix it into the wooden hanger- insert craft admiration here).  I'll have to post a picture of one of them.  If you are a Pinterest lover like me, you will definitely recognize some of these details from wedding inspiration boards! Brooke and Ryan are an incredibly sincere and loving couple not only with each other but also with family and friends.  I love being a part of weddings to see not only the love between 2 people but among all the people who come to the wedding to support them.  Ryan was really thoughtful in wanting people to feel included whether in pictures or having fun at the reception, and Brooke had thought through every aspect of how to make sure her mom and dad knew how much she loved and appreciated them.  I love that.  I can't get enough of kind people.  Earlier that day it had rained, no, POURED at the farm and Brooke told me she had rain boots ready and that they would just go with it.  I love that, too (not the rain part but her attitude).  It didn't rain and even after the ceremony when we thought the sky was going to open up, it didn't and we got all the pictures in.  (Just a side note about outdoor weddings: I have never seen rain totally ruin a wedding day. ever.)  So much thanks to Ryan and Brooke for asking me to be a part of their day and for having such a beautiful wedding ceremony and fun reception- I had a blast and learned some Wobble dance moves... you guys are great. And if you haven't seen the stop motion video I made, check it out here here is one of the hangers that Brooke made (this one was for her sister, Kaydee)... that's craft magic right there. this is an awesome "something old, something borrowed, something blue" - It is Brooke's mother's garter worn at her wedding with her grandparents wedding bands sewn on to it.  Brooke lost her grandmother just months before the wedding date so it was especially meaningful to have this on her. apparently Ryan had some videographer duties on his wedding day, too:) man of many talents

Mr. + Mrs. Gurley//Stop Motion Wedding Fun

So my awesome photographer intern (Kathryn Torbett aka K Torb) has been so fun to shoot with this past year.  Kathryn is part of the photography program in the art school at UGA and has technically been "interning" with me, but really I have learned so much from her.  She is getting married in August (and her wedding is going to be killer, i.e. amazing details, awesome lighting because she arranged the day around it, and the whole feel of the day is straight out of Style Me Pretty) so she also has awesome ideas for wedding photography.  K Torb recently shared a stop motion wedding video that was made by a photographer in Savannah, and thought it was a pretty fun concept.  Stop motion is an animation technique used to create the appearance of motion by taking incremental photographs and then you play those frames as a continuous sequence to create a movie.  Actually, fun fact, my brother Dan (the cinematographer in LA) is working on a stop motion music video for a rapper out in LA (it's a big project and his is obviously the real deal- not so much like my iMovie creation).  So this past weekend at Ryan and Brooke Gurley's wedding, Kathryn did the continuous shooting of stills so that we could make this stop motion video of their wedding day.  I came home, went through the pictures and had so much fun in iMovie (I know, so standard but I'm not a video person so this was all new for me!) and figured out how to make the stop motion video.  I really had fun thinking through the music selection, and since I think the Wobble is the most fun part of the wedding day I had to include that song! So here it is... it might make some people a little motion sick with all quick movements from one photograph to the next but just remember the days of Gumby, how everything was stop motion. Thanks to Kathryn for the awesome inspiration and thanks to Ryan and Brooke for such a beautiful wedding day!