Wade and Tracey's Small Intimate Tennessee Wedding at the Crown Winery

Wade and Tracey first contacted me a few months ago about having their wedding in March. We chatted through email and booked the date, and I was so excited to work with them! Then over the holidays, I got an email saying they just didn't want to wait that long, and they wanted to simplify and just have immediate family present. Of course, I was on board, so last weekend, I met them at the Crown Winery to document their super sweet ceremony! I thought it was adorable that they were so anxious to be married. I remember when I was engaged, 6 months seemed like FOREVER, so I think a short engagement makes total sense.  Anyway, it was a beautiful afternoon, and I enjoyed getting to document this special time for them and their new family.

I got a couple of photos of Tracey getting ready, then it was on to the ceremony. Tracey walked down the stairs to the patio where Wade proposed. Her two sons escorted her down the steps. They were perfect gentlemen! After meeting Wade on the patio, everyone went inside the Queens Pavilion for the ceremony. It was lovely and included a sweet sand ceremony involving all four kids. The sun was streaming in the window giving them the most beautiful glow.

After the ceremony, everyone toasted champagne (or cider for the kids), and we took some family portraits. I also got a few dancing photos and cake cutting before I left them to spend time with their family. It was such a low-key shoot, and I loved getting to meet these folks! I wish them so much happiness with their new family of six.

So, obviously, this was the first wedding of 2015 for me, and it was a great one to start on! My goal for the year is to shoot 20 weddings, and I'm already up to 13 booked with 2 more meetings this week. Things are going so well, and I couldn't thank you guys enough for supporting me and spreading the work about my business. I have the best friends and clients!

Loren & Stacey: Stunning Winter Wilderness Wedding in Little Rock

I fancy myself a decent enough writer, especially when it comes to blog posts, but I always have trouble with my wedding posts. I think one of the reasons is because so much goes into the actual wedding, that I don't feel that I can accurately put the experience into words. I mean, how do you sum up the biggest day in someone's life with a blog post?! Loren & Stacey's wedding is just stumping me on the word front. It was so perfect! Despite the chilly temperature and desolate landscape, this was one of the warmest, most beautiful weddings I've ever been to. The warmth came straight from the bride & groom every time they looked at each other and from their friends and family showering them with love all day. I KNOW that is the cheesiest thing you've read today.

Stacey, her mom and her bridesmaids started the day at Ooh La La Salon in Little Rock. They had the whole place to themselves, complete with some delicious pizza from across the street. I had fun being a fly on the wall with this entertaining group of women. They were all having so much fun and making me laugh constantly. They also got me addicted to Trivia Crack that day...so thanks for that, ladies.

Stacey obviously poured a ton of time into the details of her big day, and it turned out wonderfully, from the lovely coffee mug favors right down to the strings of pinecones. I think my favorite part was the hot chocolate! It was the perfect way to warm my little fingers (ok actually, my stubby and chubby fingers) after shooting some outdoor portraits. I could seriously write a small book about this wedding, especially about Loren & Stacey and how dang cute they are. Hopefully the photos speak for themselves, and you can get a feel for how fantastic the day was.

After everyone got ready, Loren went down to the deck overlooking the beautiful view of Pinnacle Mountain to wait for Stacey. This was one situation where I was really glad they chose to have a "first look" before the ceremony. It meant that I had time to take photos of them in the daylight! They had such a sweet moment together, and as you can see, Loren's face LIT UP when he saw his beautiful bride. Stacey would look amazing in sweats, so put an elegant white dress on her and she'll knock your socks right off.

See what I mean? They're both so adorable, it's unreal. We spent some time doing portraits outside and then everyone retreated inside to warm up before the ceremony.

Mr. & Mrs. Kolb! It was a beautiful ceremony inside the main lodge at An Enchanting Evening, with a view overlooking the mountain. We stepped back outside after the ceremony for a quick few photos as the sun popped out for the first time all day. I had given up on my bff Mr. Sun coming out, so I was thrilled!

Since we did all the portraits before the wedding, it was time to party! The reception was pretty relaxed, with people flowing between the hot chocolate/cozy fireplace area upstairs, the tables with food inside, and the dance floor with home brewed beer in the tent. Yes, you read that right, they had home brewed beer at their wedding! It was an amazingly thoughtful gift from one of Stacey's professors.

After a lovely evening, they exited under the spray of sparklers. It was a great end to a perfect day! Congratulations, Loren & Stacey. I can't imagine a better wedding with which to end my 2014 season.

Shout out to my friends TK & Angela Spencer for allowing me to stay with them while I was in town, and to Angela for assisting me at the wedding. She was awesome!!