I am so excited about the opportunity I have to participate in The NotWedding! It is one of the best ideas I've heard in the wedding industry. It's explained on the website as an event designed to promote small businesses, inspire brides and encourage solid marriages. And I am 100% excited about all three of those things! The NotWedding is a perfectly planned “wedding” where brides-to-be can come and actually see vendors in action. There is a wedding ceremony and reception with a couple who will renew their vows so it's both beautiful and meaningful. And the reception is a real party! Brides-to-be purchase tickets to attend (with friends or family or anyone looking for inspiration!) to see a wedding that has been planned and executed by over 25 talented vendors. After the ceremony guests have the opportunity to meet the vendors in what is called "The Tunnel of Love" to find out more about their businesses. I am one of the three featured photographers (along with the talented O'Studios Photography and Whitney Huynh Photography), so we all get the chance to showcase everyone's work through photographs. Needless to say I am super excited about this!
The NotWedding team enjoyed a rehearsal dinner at Sun in My Belly (an amazing cafe + catering company near Decatur) and I got the chance to photograph many of the vendors. I wanted to show a few images of these vendors and make sure to give a little link love to them for letting me take their picture! Many thanks to Krista from Blue Eyed Yonder for helping organize and provide props and decor for the shoot! And the cute signs some of the vendors used were made by the creative Liz of Liddabits Bridal. Warning: this might be the most link happy I have ever been with a blog post but you just have to check out their work!
As I mentioned before, Krista of Blue Eyed Yonder came and brought unique decor and props, including a modern yellow chair that I was tempted to buy from her! If you've ever wondered where people get all the vintage items they use to decorate their romantic outdoor wedding, wonder no more! One of Krista's recent blog posts was about the 1955 Turquoise Chevrolet Bel Air that Blue Eyed Yonder now has available... wouldn't that be an amazing getaway car for a wedding? yes.
If you are looking for a DJ for your wedding, I highly recommend DJ Josh Whitlock. And that's not because I just took his picture but I've photographed a few weddings where he was the DJ and all of them were super fun. And by super fun I mean the dance floor was full, people were happy, and the songs had young and old dancing (which is a hard blend!). You rock DJ Josh:)
You don't know how important it is to have kind people to work with until a bad experience shows you how valuable good natured service is! That's what I loved about meeting ReShanda, the owner of The Perfect Bartender. ReShanda told me about how important it is to work with a good attitude and be flexible when plans change during an event (which happens almost every time!). I told her she was the right person to know for a good party:)
Jen is the owner of Pastel Makeup and specializes in Temptu Pro airbrush makeup. I've seen her work firsthand and it's amazing! I really do wish she could do my makeup everyday:) As a photographer I know how beautiful images turn out when a bride's makeup is done well so I really appreciate the great work she does.
Speaking of people to know, Ashley of Buzzy Craftery might be the best all-around crafter I have ever met. Her company specializes in custom wedding design and details, but when you check out her work you'll see that she can do anything (including sewing, print-making, & graphic design). She may also have superhero powers, too. I took a bunch of photos of Ashley, but then later I saw her by this window laughing and quickly grabbed my camera because the light was beautiful here. And I kinda wish I had her hair.
One of the newest directors of The NotWedding is Jenna. Jenna loves Athens, so we immediately bonded over our favorite places. She is going to be one of the fabulous people who organizes these events so I look forward to working more with her! And taking her picture reminds me of why short hair can be just as pretty as long locks:)
Sherry Donnelly is the lead floral designer and owner of Gertie Mae's Floral Studio. I visited her website and was blown away by all the different types of bouquets she has designed, and can't recommend her work more. Sherry's work has been featured on about every big wedding blog known to the wedding blogosphere and with good reason!
Nikki's Event Planning and Design is a wedding planning company in Atlanta, and I could tell Nikki was the kind of person you wanted pulling off your big day. I especially appreciate wedding planners knowing how smooth or rough a wedding day can be depending on a great wedding planner. I know so many brides who have taken on all the planning of the day and how stressful it was for them! Thanks Nikki for making photographers lives easier on a wedding day:)
When I asked Hannah Joiner what type of work she did, I was so excited to hear that she is an artist who for this particular event is showcasing her work in painting the wedding vows on canvas (check out her work here). I would love to have a piece of art from significant words spoken at my wedding! I thought that was such a unique idea and am excited to be able to photograph her work in the upcoming wedding- check out the blog for that!
After meeting Anne of Anne Kathleen Cakes I checked out her portfolio and was blown away by her work. She is definitely an artist who uses flour and sugar and magic to create these awesome cakes. Really check out her site- there is a gold cake she made that is to die for! You might just need to plan an event just to have one of her cakes:)
Lindsey Epperly is a travel consultant (her business is Vacations by Lindsey) and might live the life I would LOVE! She has traveled nearly everywhere and become an expert in luxury travel. The best part is when you book a vacation through her, you don't pay a dime more than you would by booking a trip through an impersonal online site!
Letterpress fascinates me- so I loved checking out Studio Four Three and reading about their cast iron presses. There is something incredibly special about getting an invitation in the mail that is done by letterpress- I love the feel of it and actually want to keep these invitations because they feel like a piece of art! The owners, Matt and Lauren, are an adorable couple with a little baby boy on the way. I can't wait to see their work for the NotWedding!
Sarah Elisabeth is another makeup artist chosen for the NotWedding and also has one of the cutest logos I've seen! I loved reading the reviews on her site and seeing how many brides felt like Sarah really listened to their personal preferences and made them look beautiful and natural (which is a big deal when it comes to makeup!). Just another talented person I need to know better!
Jessica of Fine and Fleurie creates beautiful handmade bridal accessories (the kind of details photographers LOVE to photograph!). She seriously has some of the most swoon-worthy accessories- in particular a bridal headband with a mini-veil that I'm kinda obsessed with. These details make such a big difference in completing an overall bridal style and are just plain awesome.
Amanda, owner of Atlanta Event Studio, had me hooked after reading on her website how she loves the way a gift is wrapped just as much as the gift inside because of her passion for details. Someone who values both style and detail is the person you want to help plan and coordinate your wedding day. Again I can't say enough about the value of a good wedding planner- I think it can make the single most difference in creating an enjoyable wedding day!
I have a lot of people ask me if I know of great videographers, and I can confidently say you need to check out the work of White Dress Media. Besides being a super cute husband and wife team (check out the "about" section on their site!), Jon and Kaye are incredibly talented behind the camera and create real cinematic feature films. With such quality work I get nervous that still wedding photographs are on their way out! I got to take a few quick pictures of Jon and Kaye before the sunset and really enjoyed meeting them.
and now the reason I have gotten to meet all these talented vendors- the NotWedding creator genius Callie Murray and director of the Atlanta NotWedding Michal Whitlock! I am so grateful for the work of both of these people and really admire them. On top of being amazing business women both Callie and Michal are mama's who value their marriages and parenting more than anything. I can't wait to work more with them in the upcoming month and know they are making a big impact among so many small business owners. Thank you guys:)
and now only a few weeks until the Atlanta NotWedding!!!
