Starting off this blog post with a disclaimer:  I’m absolutely terrible at keeping up with my blog.  And at 2am I remembered why:  It’s a lot of work!  I LOOOVE showcasing each couple and hope to keep doing it this season but I am absolutely terrible at deciding what images to post..I want to share them all.  Ok.back to the good stuff….

When you get an email inquiry from a groom that reads, “Would you be available to photograph our wedding next spring? If so, I would like to lock up your skills, asap! My fiancee and I love your work,” you just know it’s going to be a good fit :)  There are things about each wedding and couple that always stay with me.  For Sam and Michael, I will always remember how easy they were to work with; how GORGEOUS Sam is  no matter what the occasion; how classic black tuxes with bow ties will always be in style; how fun it was to have their dog Giz as the ring bearer…and how that gave us a good chuckle during the ceremony.  Their wedding was also a first for their venue, Willows of Winchester, a Bed and Breakfast in rural Decatur that is owned by a dear family friend.  It was the perfect location for their intimate ceremony.

Michael is the most thoughtful groom I have ever met..he put together a gift basket filled with amazing goodies along with a hand written card and placed it in Sam’s getting ready room before she arrived.

Gusy, meet Giz!  He’s the sweetest!  He was a constant professional all day ;)

The entire day flowed perfectly and without a hitch.  Everyone was so kind and we were having a ball…during the ceremony, the homeowner tapped me on the back and asked me, “Do you think these are the real things?”  She held two rings in her hand and Giz in the other.  I wasn’t sure if they had attached the ACTUAL rings to Giz’s collar or not so we just sat back and waited…and sure enough….

I could have photographed these two all night-STUNNING!!!

Sam and Michael, THANK YOU for trusting me with capture your day and allowing me to be a part of it!  I seriously cannot stop staring at your images-I hope you love them too :)

It’s no secret I’m not the ‘best’ at keeping my blog up to date.  I swore, with the launch of my new site and brand, that I would be more diligent at it. THEEEEN comes busy season and my priority is always to shoot and edit sessions as quickly as possible for all of my clients.  And this has been one of my busiest summers ever.  So, with that said, I vow to at least try and make up for my slacker ways over the winter when it’s miserably cold and I’m sitting here eating bon bons all day…..

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know that a week ago today was Jenna and Joel’s wedding.  I’ve worried a little that I’ve seemed especially excited about her wedding and how that might appear to my other brides who are just as important to me.  But the thing is, Jenna and her family are far  more than clients.  Jenna is my daughter’s dance teacher.  And by that, I mean we take trips and spend long weekends together in hotels (and on beaches) hanging out.  That has turned into doing things on the weekends back home too.  And her family feels like family.

So at their wedding, the four of us Hoffmans were invited guests and we were there with all of our friends.  My daughter didn’t leave the dance floor all night…I don’t think I did either!  I was also the photographer.  And as it happened I played a part in the planning too.  That’s what friends do-we get involved and we get excited.  And we were ALL VERY EXCITED!!!

Which brings me to these images.  During Nationals dance competition in SC this year, I literally begged Jenna to bring her bridal gown. I mean Charleston is my happy place after all-I would move here tomorrow if I could.  And seriously, having an opportunity to photograph a bride there had me squealing with joy.  It’s true.  Tim can testify.

So, at the crack of dawn (the humidity down there after 10 am is NO JOKE), I met Jenna and her mom, Karen, in the historic district for one of my favorite sessions of all time.  Jenna would look stunning next to a dumpster…but pair her with the city as a backdrop and ohholynightthelight…..Let’s just say it took every ounce of strength I had to wait until NOW to share these!!!

This is the one Jenna chose for her gallery wrap-it looked so amazing displayed at the reception!!!

Jenna and Karen…thanks for making room for one more thing during our week..and for making room in the van too!!!  Your friendship means the world!

Stacey and Brandon celebrated their first wedding anniversary over the weekend…at home with their brand new baby girl!  I was so thrilled to see the newest addition arrived just a few weeks earlier (one of the reasons I still love facebook…sometimes).  What a difference a year can make!  Now is where I show my age and warn how quickly these years pass by….but the older I get, the more I feel like everything is moving at warp speed!

I photographed Stacey’s sister’s wedding in the fall of 2012 and I was honored to be asked to come back and be part of another family milestone.  Their April wedding was perfection, as was the glorious sunshine and (thankfully) warm temperatures.  We started the day with their first look in the window filled lobby of their church (YAY for windows!!!!)

SO thankful for the trees in one little corner of their church grounds!  The sun felt SO good and with the ground a little damp, we didn’t want to take much of a chance of getting Stacey’s dress dirty or wet before the ceremony.  More on getting dirty in JUST a minute…

Just down the road from the church was this little barn that set on the back of a couples property that I had scoped out a few days earlier.  I literally just knocked on the door to see if we could use their barn and I ended up going inside and having a nice little chat with the owners about their family and the history of their property.  We were all pretty excited to have a second location to go to.

We carefully maneuvered around the wet areas in the yard and ended up very close to the barn where the ground was leaf covered.  That’s when it happened.  Stacey had stepped in something.  NOT something you want to step in.  I think the comment heard was, “That doesn’t smell like mud!”  I swear, what are the ODDS?!!!!  Here’s a great pic of the clean up crew with Stacey’s sister (Ashley) and brother in law (Eric)…after all that all anyone could do was laugh (thanks, Eric for the pic I stole off your FB page)!

Stacey and Brandon, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your day!  And congrats on your new blessing-I’m sure everyone (especially Grandma) is already spoiling her like crazy!