Taylor+Jonathan: The Wedding 05.09.09

Following right along with CrazyMay (see description in previous post), we had Taylor and Jonathan's wedding at one of our favorite venues, Butterfly Gap. It's one of our favorites because it's beautiful, Laura and Mandy, the girls that run the show, are awesome and it is literally right down the road from us!

Jonathan and Taylor are a fun couple and we had a great time during their engagement session last December, so we knew their wedding was going to be a blast. Sadly, the South has had it's own monsoon season this year, so the ceremony had to be moved indoors. But they were champs about it, shrugging it off and making the best of the situation. And Butterfly Gap has a cool indoor site in case of rain anyway so all was well (even if the stinking sun did pop back out 30 minutes before the ceremony).

On with the show!


Jonathan is Airman First Class in the Air Force and had a lot of his military buddies with him at the wedding. Hanging out with them took me way back to growing up on Air Force bases all over the country.


Jonathan looking dapper in his Mess Dress uniform.


I love this photo Danielle got of Taylor after she put the dress on.


It had started to rain again so we improvised a few portrait locations indoors. It can be challenging and fun for sure. But there is light all around us, you just have to know how to use it.


Playing with some window light.


Check. Out. Those. COOL shoes!


And a great dress to go with it (not to mention a beautiful bride)!


What's the saying, "eyes are the window to the soul"?


A shared laugh during the ceremony.


The inside of the Pavilion at Butterfly Gap is cool. It's almost futuristic, like the bridge of some big ocean liner (yeah, I'm a dork about stuff like that).


Mr. and Mrs. Hill!


We had to do a few portraits inside, but those blue skies beckoned pretty fast.


How's that Otis Redding song go?


Outside the Pavilion.


Love it!


No, we didn't sneak and put our logo on their cake (very similar though, huh?).


At some point during the reception I like to borrow the couple's rings so I can do an artsy detail shot. Poor Jonathan's ring was a *little* snug.


But I hope it was worth the pain of extraction for these cool photos.


The first dance.


Danielle had a great angle for Cake Wars.


Sometimes I like a photo and I don't know why. Maybe this one is the lines and the juxtaposing looks.


"It's fun to stay at the Y... M... C... A..."


I was able to convince Jonathan to let me do one more quick portrait before they left. You can't have a wedding at Butterfly Gap and not do something in front of the blue wall. And yep, I was singing in my head "Off we go into the wild blue yonder..."


Taylor and her mom have a sweet little moment before the newlyweds took off. Jonathan has just been stationed in Texas so immediately following the honeymoon they were moving away. So some of the "goodbyes" were real goodbyes.


That's how they roll. Or are rolled. :)

Thanks again Taylor and Jonathan! Best of luck with your new lives together and on the road with the Air Force!!

-Wes

Beth+Steve: The Wedding 05.02.09

Beth's May 2nd wedding kicked off what I like to call CrazyMay. Not only do we have a ton of weddings, but also 2 family birthdays (including Danielle's), Mother's Day, and our anniversary (9 years!). But I can't think of a better way to get the chaos started then by photographing some good friends' wedding. Beth has been our assistant for the last 2 years (or so... we've lost count), but we've known her since we started going to the same church years ago. Many of you know Beth as our packmule, er, humble assistant, always willing to lend a hand and go the extra mile for our clients. Well now the tables were turned and Beth got be the bride.

Before I share a few of my favorites, two notes:

First, Beth had the most beautiful flowergirl I've ever seen. Just so happens that she was also our daughter, Maddie. :)

Second, my good friend Steven Bridges, let me borrow one of his toys, I mean, specialty lens for the wedding. A tilt/shift lens, originally designed for architecture work, but fast becoming a favorite on the wedding scene for it's ability to throw parts of the scene way out of focus and thus allowing the eye to be drawn exactly where the photographer wants it.

In other words, a cool way to funk a photo up. So I apologize if this post is a little heavy on the Maddie photos and the tilt/shift coolness. We photographed plenty with other lenses and of other people beside the flowergirl, but I'd be lying if I said they weren't some of my favorites, and that's what we show here.

So shut up Wes, and on with the show!


The dress in one of the Sunday school rooms.


Bridesmaid Kristin doing Beth's make-up.


And Mr. Groom, Steve (center), trying to strangle the best man.


Steve and the boys, all tilt/shifty and funkified.


Alright, I'll admit, I told the little ring bearer to give Maddie a kiss on the cheek. I know I'll probably get my membership to OverProtective Fathers of Pretty Daughters of America (OPFoPDoA) revoked for suggesting such a blatant public display of affection, but this little tike was smart. No contact was made. And look where those hands are. Good boy, young lad. Good boy.


The beautiful bride. :)


A prayer with the girls before the ceremony.


Look at our a little pro go! Her first time being a flowergirl and she rocked it. We were worried because she's going through a bashful phase. But she just locked her stare in, nervously danced her tongue around the inside of her cheek (looked like she was chewing tobacco), and focused on the job at hand; toss the petals, stand up front, be cute.


We've never seen this before... a father of the bride smacking himself back into reality before giving his daughter away. I'm sure I'll be in worse shape.


And no, Beth wasn't smacking Steve. She was wiping a tear during the unity candle.


More tilt/shift fun with the whole crew.


We played for a while on a forgotten side of the church and found this cool old entrance.


Sigh. This is my absolute favorite from the day. Such a classic look.


A little gritty old schoolishness.


I played around with some light at the reception. Who better to experiment on than the assistant? ;)


This was one of the sweetest (literally and figuratively) father-daughter dances I've seen. Beth's dad Rocky, surprised her with a pair of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (want one now. Thanks.) which they ate while dancing. Beth said that sharing a Reese's has always been a tradition of theirs. It was such a nice moment between the two of them. I'll admit it, I teared up a little.


Beth and Steve's reception was at the beautiful Smithview Pavilion and Event Center in Maryville. I snuck them out of the party for a few more portraits.


Beautimus.


Danielle was on car destruction detail and caught the t.p. in mid-toss. What can I say, she was on a roll. *ba-dum-dum* I'll be here all week folks.


CutiePoserGirl!


Don't forget about daughter #2. Little Amelia chowed down on some mystery orange baby goo during the reception (that's Kathy, back-up assistant/babysitter/grandma, on spoon duty).


A fun toss photo.


I did the rings on some flowers, but also found some cool rusty bolts. No symbolism; just liked them.


Kayla and Kaitlyn getting down (and dislocating limbs) at the reception.


I love Steve's expression while being accosted by the ladies. A nice mixture of fear and exhilaration.


Beth swiped Danielle's camera at one point and played a little. Even on her wedding day she worked for us. ;)


The birds ate really well after the reception.

Thanks Beth and Steve! It was great seeing you all on the other side of the camera at a wedding for once!

-Wes

Coming soon: Taylor and Jonathan's Butterfly Gap wedding