Mr. + Mrs. Boyd//Cotton Warehouse Wedding

Brent and Rachael's day was LOVELY in every way.  Rachael's friend and bridesmaid Britney Ray offered to style the wedding and do the flower bouquets (with Britney's super talented mom) and they did an AMAZING job.  Britney made everything for her wedding and it was incredible so I knew Rachael's wedding would be quality style, too.  Brent and Rachael are avid readers and as a couple they read together, so books played a unique role in the decor.  Along with their love for reading both Brent and Rachael love music, so guests were given sheet music to write notes on for the couple.  One of my favorite unique elements of the wedding was the table numbers- each table in the reception was given a number that had special significance to Brent and Rachael.  One table had the number of days they would spend in Jamaica for their honeymoon, another had #88 for the number of keys on a piano (one of the favorite instruments), and other significant numbers like their birthdays and their first date.  Each table also had a list of conversation questions for guests to ask each other during dinner.  I LOVE these types of questions and thought that it was such a good idea to do! I know I've been at weddings where we awkwardly sit at tables and don't know what to talk about so I thought this was such a creative and fun little help for guests to enjoy each other more.  The wedding was at the Cotton Warehouse in Monroe, GA (about 30 minutes outside of Athens), and this venue had so much charm.  It is located in a long series of warehouses that are now mostly vintage stores selling all sort of treasures, so we made sure to get some quick pictures in one of the stores with some of their old cameras and lovely decor (if you are looking for some awesome finds you definitely need to check this place out! it's right next to the Cotton Warehouse).  The wedding ceremony was especially beautiful since Rachael's dad officiated it along with a close pastor friend of Brent's from UNC.  I was thinking about this on Saturday- that no matter how many weddings I photograph I still cry at ALL of them!  At the risk of sounding totally sappy (which is ok because I am) I think I find it even more emotional because I'm a mom and I am always thinking what it must be like to watch your child get married.  The mother-son dance makes me ugly cry sometimes because I just think that would be so sweet and surreal to love a child from birth, help them eat and grow and play and then see them grow up and fall in love- I think it must be one of the greatest joys of being a parent.  My dad has always been so sweet with us kids and can tear up pretty quickly when he hugs us, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... I just think that (God willing) if my boys get married some day I will ugly cry all day with tears of joy.  That being said you can imagine how special it must have been for Rachael's dad to officiate his daughter's wedding.  Usually I post some pictures of all the details of the wedding, including the bride's shoes but you won't see any shoes pictures here because Rachael went barefoot, which is her preferred mode at all times if she could!  The reception was a huge party with lots of dancing and some awesome dance off's (I almost thought a flash mob was forming a few times). I feel it almost necessary to talk about the mad skills of one guest- Kay Mallet.  One of Brent's groomsmen (Bernard) was tearing the floor up until Kay walked up and busted some moves that made the ground smoke.  I'll have to post a picture so you can see how everyone's faces were just in awe of Kay!  It really was such a good time for all.  I think I may need to hire Kay to teach me some of her moves for future weddings.  When Brent and Rachael left the wedding there were still soooo many guests which is a good sign that everyone had a blast.  Brent and Rachael, I can't wait to see how God uses you guys as a couple and know that you both are people of such quality character-  I wish I could do follow up pictures on a 30th anniversary to tell the rest of your story!   Thanks also to my friend Alyssa Alig for second shooting the wedding with me- she is uber talented and about to go to Africa to document the lives of children with AIDS to help raise support and awareness back in the states (and is still raising support through kickstarter so definitely check out her site here and know that even a $5 donation makes a difference!) .  Alyssa you are awesome my friend.  So many cool people in one place- I love my job!!

a few funny notes about the following pictures... the first one was a total photo bomb by John and Anna kissing in the background of this "quick smile!" picture (love it)... the next is the series of the dance off between Kay and Bernard.  You'll see the picture of the crowds' reaction to Kay's killa moves.  I thought those expressions were pretty priceless!

Mr. + Mrs. Peacock//Athens Wedding

Scott and Emily's wedding was a total deja vu experience for me, and the first of its kind in the last 45 weddings that I've photographed! Their ceremony was at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Athens, the church where husband and I got married 8 years ago.  Their florist was European Floral Designs, the same florist I had chosen for our wedding (and she is AMAZING, ps).  And the bridal party included 10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen, only 2 short of our 12 bridesmaids and 12 groomsmen.  I know- that is crazy that I had 12 but I just had special people in my life that I wanted to be a part of the wedding day! It was kinda like a bridal army instead of bridal party.  No shame.  So anyways, all this to say that it was crazy for me to back in that church for a wedding for the first time since I said my vows and to watch the day unfold being on a completely different side of it.  Enough of my story, though... Scott and Emily met at Ole Miss, but with Emily from Athens they decided to have their wedding here.  Their wedding was incredibly classy, from the beautiful color of the bridesmaid dresses and awesome gold bracelets they wore to the reception at the Athens Country Club with all its oh so green golf courses and gorgeous chandeliers.  My favorite part of the whole day was Scott and Emily's grand getaway- Emily's dad had arranged for a friend to bring his classic Andy Griffith police car (straight out of Mayberry) and have an Athens police officer handcuff them and drive off with the newlyweds, siren and all.  It was so fun to watch and photograph- especially since Emily and Scott had no idea it was coming!  Thanks so much Scott and Emily for asking me to photograph your wedding day- and thanks Christina Schuman for second shooting with me-- fun times in Athens, GA!!!this next picture is when Scott was passing by the windows of the garden area and the bridesmaids rushed to cover Emily so that he didn't see her... it was priceless and even better to see Emily's face in the middle of the crowd of body guards!gold bracelet that the bridesmaids wore (below).  I LOVE that. great job, Emily!!!

Mr. + Mrs. Hollingsworth//Beautiful Things

Last summer I photographed Kelly and Caroline Jackson's wedding in Athens, and soon after the wedding Caroline's sister, Victoria, got engaged to Chase Hollingsworth.  I loved meeting Victoria and her family so I was excited for the opportunity for another Wicker-filled wedding:)  But the wedding turned out to be so much more than beautiful dresses, a yummy cupcake tower, and vintage convertible getaway car.  Victoria gave me permission to share her and Chase's story on this blog since it was a part of their wedding day- and I think it was the most beautiful part of the day.  Victoria and Chase realized they were going to become parents last April and in November little Sawyer was born.  Victoria and Chase didn't plan on having a baby and in the face of this surprise there was a lot of hard conversations.  This will most likely sound really crazy to people who don't consider themselves followers of Jesus but Victoria and Chase, as a Christian couple, lived with the understanding that sex is created for marriage and blessed by God in that context.  This is a beautiful teaching of the Bible because it values sex in such a way that makes it the ultimate expression of devotion and commitment and enjoyment of intimacy.  But the reality is that even those of us who desire to follow Jesus' teaching find ourselves constantly falling short of them, in big and small ways.  But when Victoria became pregnant it was such an obvious indication of falling short of wanting to save sex for marriage in the face of her church, her Christian friends, and her family.  I think this kind of situation reveals the real heart of those around you and their understanding of the gospel.  I know teenage girls would rather go into hiding or abort a child before they showed up a church pregnant without being married.  I have always thought that was the saddest ironies of Christian communities, that is, having such a strong stand against abortion and yet handing out scarlet letters to young girls who become pregnant outside of marriage.  But this is far from what Victoria and Chase experienced among their family and friends.  I got to hear at the rehearsal dinner how difficult it was for them to tell people and to even show up at church together, not married and Victoria's baby belly growing by the day.  But what I heard was family members and friends through tears expressing how much they loved them, how amazed they were at the work God was doing in their lives through all of this, and what great parents Chase and Victoria are to their precious son Sawyer.  What really hit me the hardest was the pastor who officiated their ceremony.  Little Sawyer came down the aisle before Victoria in a wagon, and was prayed for by the pastor.  This pastor was Victoria's childhood pastor, the one who baptized her and helped her understand the gospel from an early age.  And this pastor shared during the ceremony how special it was for him to officiate this wedding because of his relationship to Victoria and her family, and because of his connection to Sawyer.  Pastor Rick explained how 50 years ago a teenage girl who just graduated high school found out she was pregnant and quickly got married in the months to follow.  That little boy born to these teenage parents was none other than the pastor himself, and he explained how grateful he was that abortion was not an option for his mom and that God took a broken situation and made something beautiful out of it.  He stood there, holding precious Sawyer, and with tears he prayed and thanked God for life and for all the Lord does in redeeming us.   He prayed for Chase and Victoria that Sawyer would always be a reminder of the unfailing love and grace of God through Jesus dying for us.  I was so struck by the candor and honesty of the ceremony, by the courage it must have taken for Chase and Victoria to tell their story and accept correction and counsel from those around them.  Clearly most people in our culture don't share the same view of sex- and I certainly know how puritanical it seems to think people would wait for sex until marriage.  So even more so do I respect Chase and Victoria in their desire to keep following Jesus and coming to church and going through counseling instead of throwing in the towel and avoiding all the difficult interactions.  At another point in the ceremony Pastor Rick had the couple turn around and look at all those there that loved them and came to support them- and as they did you could see tears pouring out of their eyes.  They saw how loved they are and how nothing can change that.  And they could see their precious son who would forever be a reminder of their God who has unfailing love for them and make beautiful things out of dust.  This is totally a picture of the gospel if I have ever seen one- Jesus living and dying for people who are in need of God's help and forgiveness.  It was a beautiful story of how God takes our brokenness and creates beauty from it- something only He can do and ultimately so that we might praise his grace and character.  Thank you Chase and Victoria for being such an example of what it looks like to follow Jesus even when you fall, even what its hard, and to not be afraid to tell others all the good things the Lord has done in your midst.  That baby is a precious gift that I will forever remember as God's way of communicating to a broken world that we are never too far from redemption.  Your marriage is surely blessed by God.