Ann & Stephen | Blacksburg, VA Wedding Photographer

Posted on July 12, 2010

Please welcome back to our little corner of the world – Ann & Stephen. Their engagement session was only a few short weeks ago.  You can see it here. Since we are in the business of photographing people in love it might be a bit trite to say the what we love about these two is that they are soooooooooo in love. Maybe it is their infectious personalities. I think the photo below is Stephen at his best.

Sweet Ann. How gorgeous is her makeup! They airbrushed her makeup on. Little aside: I am very intrigued by the concept of airbrush makeup and wanted to jump in the chair and try. I resisted though. All the hair and makeup was done by Amanda and Company.

Hot Mama alert! I just adore Ann’s mom and she was just stunning in her one shoulder blue dress.

Notice the yellow rose in Ann’s bouquet? This was in remembrance of Ann’s grandfather who recently passed away.

One of my many favorite moments of any wedding is the moment right before the Dad (or whoever!) walks his daughter down the aisle. It is an emotional time and the last few moments of being just a Daddy’s girl to a being a wife.

Stephen’s dad couldn’t find a bartender anywhere so he just went behind the bar and poured himself a drink. A 4 finger scotch.

First, the band, Sunset Drive, was just amazing. Their rendition of Shout! was toe-tapping! I just wanted to jump up and down in the middle of the dance floor with everyone else.
Now for the photo on the left. Ann & Stephen had a special Polish ceremony at the reception that transitioned Ann from girl to wife. This was represented by removing Ann’s veil and replacing it with the cap that you see on her.  Her veil was folded up and Stephen gave it to Ann’s parents to thank them for raising her well and pure.  Then he was presented with a hat that lightened the mood. It was adorned with suggestive items as well as items that represent his hobbies and responsibilities. It was quite funny as well as emotional.

Hello Gentlemen. I love guys in tuxes. It should be a requirement to wear one every day. Well either that or suits. Suits I like as well. I should also note how versatile The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center is to shoot in. Between all the Hokie Stone outside and the cleanly decorated inside there are so many places to shoot in and out of the IVTSCC.

What’s a party without a little dance off?

In love and married.

Congratulations Ann & Stephen. We wish you all the best and hope to work with you all again soon.

Shannon & Wes | Blacksburg, VA Wedding Photographer

Posted on June 2, 2010

Just looking around at the wedding guests you can tell how Shannon & Wes have touched each life. Guests came from all over including all the way from Germany. Photos of the family filled the hallway of the reception and scrapbooks of Shannon & Wes’ travels were laid out for all to look at. The scrapbooks told the stories of their years together – lots of cruises with adventures such as scuba diving and snorkeling. These two met swing dancing so it is no surprise that their travels would be as unique and special as how they met. Even their honeymoon has them traveling to Costa Rica for some sightseeing and R&R. Each detail of their wedding was planned to make their wedding stand apart from others. Instead of the traditional clicking of the glasses and the bride & groom kiss, they set up instruction cards at each table advising their guests that if they want the bride & groom to kiss the entire table would have to stand up and sing a song with the word love in it. There was a lot of talent in that room!

Notice Wes’s cuff links? They are the Guinness Bird.

A little airplane bottle to calm the nerves? The men had a bunch of little bottles in the room while they were getting ready. Not sure how many were leftover when they left for the church.
The flowers were from Best Wishes in Blacksburg. They did an amazing job, as always, and they smelled so good!! I was holding Shannon’s bouquet for her at one point and almost didn’t give it back because it smelled so good.

The flower girls are Shannon’s 8 year old twin cousins and were so excited to be in their first wedding. Charlotte, on the left, was asked to hold Shannon’s bouquet and this was her reaction. I don’t blame her – see my comment from above!

Natasha was a mini photographer and made a great assistant for the day. Here she is taking a photo of me taking a photo of her. I was a bit jealous of her orange camera!

Their ceremony was held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. It was just built last year and is such a beautiful location. After the ceremony we headed over to The Inn at Virginia Tech for their reception and some fun photos! Gotta love all the Hokie stone.

We posted another version of this photo over on Facebook. We couldn’t decide which one we liked best, so you can hop on over to our fan page and judge for yourself.

We love people in love!!!

Both Dad’s gave such fantastic toasts. Shannon’s dad is on the left. I think he had 4 pages worth of notes but it was sweet, funny and touching all at the same time. I am such a sap at weddings. Thank goodness there is a camera in front of my face because I definitely teared up a couple of times during the night.  Wes’ dad enjoyed some laughs at Wes’ expense – the look on both of their faces is priceless!

Shannon & Wes tore up the floor most of the night along with many of the guests. I think the kids take the cake for most time spent on the dance floor, though. They barely left the floor the entire time. They even requested some of their favorite songs to be played including the Macarena.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this ring shot. They had a candy bar set up for their guest with bags for everyone to take with them. It was such a huge hit that when the DJ was announcing the happy couple he couldn’t get people to leave the table and sit down. I did manage to work my way through the crowd to get this shot though. And, no worries, I only put the rings on wrapped candy.

Ben & I had such a blast with Shannon & Wes & their family. They were such a fun bunch and made us feel like part of the crowd. They love to joke and have fun as you can see through the photos. Thanks so much for allowing us to be a part of your day!

Christie & Jayson | Claytor Lake, VA Wedding Photographer

Posted on May 28, 2010

This past weekend we were off to Claytor Lake State Park for the wedding of Christie & Jayson. You may remember these two from their engagement session a few months back. They are so cute together and you can tell that they have a lot of fun with each other. They met at Radford University and thier wedding was a big reunion with a lot of the bridal party made up of RU alums. There was a threat of really bad weather the entire day and it poured in the early afternoon but as soon as we got to their house for their getting ready shots the sun came out and it didn’t rain a drop the rest of the day. For future brides – you can sign up for the sunshine option with your package. Ok, don’t hold us to that though we would LOVE to be able to offer that option to all brides!

How great are these shoes! I am in love with the bows.

Hello gorgeous bride!! Christie’s mom accidentally pricked her finger on a pin in Christie’s dress while she was getting zipped up. Nothing a little Shout didn’t get out!

Look at that beautiful sky. Ben & I were worried about the rain the entire week so I can only imagine how Christie & Jayson were feeling. I am so happy that it all worked out!

Work it ladies! The bridesmaid were so much fun to work with. I love awesome bridal parties. It makes our job that much more fun.  These ladies knew how to work the camera. I said sassy and then knew immediately what to do. I think they hit it spot on.

Doesn’t Jayson look like he should be on the cover of GQ or something?!

Watch out ladies – hot men alert!!! These guys were a riot the entire day.

Sam’s favorite!!!! The sky, the lake, the bride. Working it out Christie!

We got a new lens for shooting ring shots. I am in LOOOOOOOOOOOVE with it. There is another fabulous ring shot on our Facebook page. You’ll have to go over there to see it.

Later in the evening they broke out the limbo stick. How low can you go?

Ben’s favorite on the left! Christie & Jayson – thanks so much for letting us be a part of your special day. Hope you are having an awesome time on your honeymoon.

Amy & Andy Part 2

Posted on June 28, 2009

After the ceremony and a few photos at the gardens we headed over to one of our favorite Tech spots, the Eggleston Tunnel. Between the Hokie stone and the arches, the small tunnel is always a great place for interesting lines, great light and some fantastic photos.

Back to the reception at the Garden.

This one is both of our favorites. 

A little ring action by the cake. The cake table was covered with daisies (as you can see in the background) and the toss bouquet – which is what the rings are on. I love the details on both of their rings. Pretty awesome.

The cake!!

Amy & Andy’s yorkie, Oliver is adorable. He was enjoying all the attention he was getting.

Everyone blew bubbles as they left the reception. We LOVE bubbles!

Congrats Amy & Andy!!! Thanks for letting us be a part of your day.

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