When I met Holly she was beaming with excitement. It was more joy really because she had found Chris. The way she talked about him was so level headed but with a passionate love all at the same time. She told me how they met at work and slowly got to know each other. Once sparks flew, she was taken with his children as well. Her marriage to Chris will be like second nature. Their engagement session was quite the adventure! We ended the session at an older railroad bridge. Holly climbed onto one of the metal sections in heels for a photo! I would have at least gone barefoot. Brave girl. Both her and Chris were such troopers as we footed our way down the embankment to dry area of the creek bed. If your engagement was this fun, I can’t wait until your wedding celebration

I asked Holly to write some words on how she met Chris:

Chris and I met at our workplace, Norton Hospital, down in surgery.  I didn’t really know many people when I started there except for a couple.  I met Chris quickly after being hired because he was one of the assistant nurse managers.  We spoke here and there about work stuff and how the job was going for me, but that was about it.  I do remember sitting in the office working on computer stuff one day and he kept throwing little paper balls at me, although he doesn’t remember doing that   We became friends on facebook a couple of weeks later, and began emailing back and forth talking about our lives outside of work.  A few weeks later, Chris asked me out on our first date on none other than Valentines Day!  I gave him grief about the day he picked, but he picked me up and we had our first date at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse on the river   I wasn’t too sure how it would all work out, and told him I didn’t think we should date because of the management and staff dating rules at work.  I was new to the job, and didn’t want anything to interfere with work, so I told him politely that I didn’t think it would work out.  Well, he was persistent, and now look where we are!

Chris’s daughter, Kelsey, plays on a competitive travel volleyball club.  Each time we were out of town, he always had the nice chair to sit in that reclined back, and I was stuck with a not-so-nice one.  I always told him for valentines day that he could just get me a chair and he could throw in an Arby’s Chocolate turnover too.  Well, our one year anniversary and valentines day fell within 2 days of each other.  I came home from shopping on our anniversary (Feb 12, 2011) and on the counter was an Arby’s bag with a card.  I laughed, and walked past it to take the dog out.  When I came back it, the Arby’s bag was replaced with a bag from Genesis Diamonds.  I just stood there, not sure what to think.  I walked into the living room where he was sitting and just looked at him in shock.  After saying “Is this what I think it is?” about a hundred times, he took the bag from me, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him.  I of course said yes, teared up, and gave him the biggest hug ever.  He then mentioned to me that the chair was on backorder

That’s our story.  We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us!!

Holly dared to climb this trussel in heels! Mad props to her!

Have you ever seen a single guy THIS excited for the garter? He gets the Man of the Year Award. Oh yes he does.

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It’s something you’ll never be able to get back no matter how hard you try. You can’t replicate it. It’s history. I moment in time. It’s a moment, a treasured piece of your life. Hold the moments dear; treasure them, live them, remember them.

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I’m not so sure there has been a sweeter, southern bride or one more excited to be marrying the love of her life. Brandon, her groom had to be one of the nicest gentlemen I’ve run across for awhile too. Emily’s wedding day was filled with smiles, hugs and laughter from the moment I arrived at the hair salon. She was there with all of her maids as they primped for the ceremony at the Carrick House later that afternoon. Once Emily was ready in her dress, garter and veil in place, she met Brandon on the front lawn for a “first look.” After they dazzled each other, and took formals the ceremony commenced on the front lawn, the reception in the grand ballroom. And it was grand! T

After the final touches, it was out to the lawn for the bride to meet her groom.

Part 2 of the Green wedding coming soon!

I’ve known Kent for a couple years now. The first bridal show I had a booth at happened to be his first as well. He’s a talented fellow photographer here in Lexington. His company is Ashley Portraits. How could I be more honored and humbled that he’d ask me to photograph his wedding day? Not only is he good at what he does but he’s a genuinely nice guy. It’s no wonder Stacey, sweet and cute, should fit him so well. I’m eager to spend time with them and see them pledge their lives and love to each other during their wedding celebration. September is awfully soon:)

I asked Stacey and Kent to share about how themselves, how they met/ and or how he proposed. This is what Stacey said:

God-centered, love, laughter, sarcasm, fun, spontaneous, unexpected, sweet … these are all words that come to mind when Kent and I try to describe our relationship.  Kent initially had to put forth some effort to get my attention, but did so in his own, outgoing way.  He had noticed me from a distance at church and was curious about me, so he and a mutual friend planned a New Year’s get together for a group of friends.  He made sure I was invited.    He ended up coming over that night to help me work on a puzzle. (What I didn’t know at the time was that he HATES puzzles!)  We proceeded to text much of the next day.  I realized that evening that Culver’s™s had my favorite flavor of the day so I decided to stop by there on my way home that night.  He  informed me that ice cream is always better with good company so he invited himself!  That turned out to be our first date, and  we hit it off quickly.  I found out later that he was afraid I wouldn’t say anything because I was quiet in group settings we had previously been in, but he was pleasantly surprised to learn the opposite was true!  We have been falling in love more every day since!  We are so blessed to have such a great friendship and faith as the basis of our romance!

I often wonder where HDR has a place or even if it has a place in wedding photography. Wedding world, a woman’s world so soft and delicate…does it have room for something so loud, detailed and dynamic? The answer: yes. But those shots are not many and must be carefully crafted in thought, camera set-up and post process. In the end, Caroline is stunning…don’t you think?

Stacey and Kent’s full story will be up shortly. How about that evening Kentucky sunshine? What a beautiful rim light:)

This is St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Louisville, KY. I find that HDR really opens up a space and adds that extra “WOW!” It turns a photo into a piece of fine art.

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I don’t know too many brides who don’t get their dress as the first piece of their wedding. The dress does make the bride after all. The dress is striking…the bride, well, she is breathtaking:)

I thought I knew what good photography was: even light, smooth skin…then about 3 years ago I happened upon an article in Shutterbug Magazine about one of the world’s top wedding photographers. I didn’t care to read about him because I couldn’t get past the photographs he had taken. They were different; made my eyes “think” and I couldn’t stop staring. His photographs made me…feel. I still have that magazine article today and keep it to be inspired. The man behind the lens was Cliff Mauntner. His work reminds me of the old movies and the Italian painter Caravaggio.

I wanted to create images that lasted, that were like his, that were…different. He offers a three day intensive workshop, Lighting and Skillset Bootcamp. I knew I had to go. In a world saturated with “wedding photographers” with the same style, the same poses I wanted to stand out. A wedding is a powerful event in a person’s life and should be remembered that way. Cliff reminded us that all the wedding magazines are leading us astray with the photos of details and such. Photography is about capturing moments. Special, one-of a kind pieces of history we can never get back but only cherish in a print.

There were 19 of us so teaching was really personal and we all became close. From 9am- about 10pm we learned about technical and artistic skill and business. Cliff was so helpful and open about anything we wanted to know. One afternoon we worked on outdoor shooting, the next was indoors with off camera flash- both in Philedelphia. He’d hired real models to make working and learning that much better. And not to be unsung, breakfast and lunch were provided each day and those had to be the BEST chocolate chip pancakes ever!

Below are some images from my time at the bootcamp. I can’t wait to put these skills into practice in my work.