I love petal tosses. There's something very jubilant and carefree about them. The wedding day is the one day when a girl can dress up like a princess in a frilly dress complete with a long veil and then act like a child and throw flowers in the air. Why not live it up and take full advantage of the opportunity?

Unfortunately, some brides think that tosses are only done during the couple's exit from the wedding. This just isn't true. When they are having the ceremony and reception in two different locations, couples often do a toss as they leave the first location. Some even do a toss as they leave the church and then sparklers or bubbles after the reception. However, when you are staying at one venue and have a reception that goes into the night, having a petal toss in the dark may not be the best idea. One idea that I really like is to have a toss during the recessional at the end of the ceremony. Everyone's excited, and what better way to celebrate than to shower the newlyweds with colorful petals (or bubbles if you prefer)?

As much as I like this idea, it doesn't always seem to work out as well as I would like because the guests just forget to participate. Jill and Chris addressed the problem at their fall wedding by attaching a cute little note to the petal cones that hung on the chairs.



Even then, guests are sometimes a little shocked by the end of the ceremony and may still forget to pick up the petals and throw them. I've thought that there must be a good way for the officiant to give instructions at the end of the ceremony, and I just read one way to do it on the peonies and polaroids blog. Peonies are my favorite flower so I was curious when I stumbled on this blog. The writer is self described as "a girl collecting ideas and inspirations for a wedding and for life", and if you're planning a wedding or are just inspired by art and beauty then you ought to check it out.

Anyway, Peony (as the writer calls herself) has shared some of her own wedding photos along with parts of her ceremony, and it is really beautiful. At the very end are these words

Now if you would like to throw a little luck and love Peonies and The Boy’s way, please find your little bag of confetti to shower them as they walk back down the aisle...

Perfect!

I snapped a few photographs today of two albums waiting to be picked up. The first is a 9x13 digital storybook with photo paper pages and embossed names on a leather cover. The second is a 10x10 art book with matte pages.

Brrrrr! Saturday was cold! Fortunately, Angie and Aaron had lots of happiness and love to keep them warm. Their wedding at Crescent Bend (aka the Armstrong-Lockett House) was beautiful. I was so happy that it never really rained on us and even happier when I found some beautiful fall color. The lower terrace was flooded, but we still got some great shots in the gardens. Angie was such a beautiful bride, and I always love the portraits. However, I'm going to fight my urge to post them all and actually show more of the important events and details instead.

Check out the bling!



During the prep time...






Seeing her groom for the first time ...



Although the original plan was for a ceremony beside one of the fountains, Crescent Bend has many possible setups. With the threat of rain, they opted to exchange vows under one of the tents instead.



Rex Bradford Jones did the catering and cake, but I never had a chance to stop and try anything. I think it's a great idea to let the bride have her cake first if for no other reason than to give her a chance for pay back if he decides to smash the cake in her face. Aaron restrained himself and only left a dab of icing on her nose. Notice the cute, furry cape that Angie had to keep her shoulders warm(er) during the reception. I think that these are an excellent idea for winter weddings.



and now for a couple of portraits





Everyone had fun (and kept warm) dancing under the tents, and Ogle Entertainment did an excellent job as usual with the music. Jim Ogle came by to set everything up even though he wasn't feeling well, but he didn't need to worry because Jake did a great job.

Ready for some more beautiful photos? I had such a difficult time choosing which ones to share from this session! I even enlisted my husband and sister to help, but we still had trouble narrowing it down.
Although they live in Georgia now, Lindsey and Aaron drove up for this session at Whitestone. They are such an awesome couple, and I really enjoyed seeing them again. Because the wedding was back in May when everything was warm and green, I wanted to show some variety and take advantage of the fall color with this session. The weather was a bit chilly, but we still had fun and came away with gorgeous photographs.

Matt and Sarah are planning an early spring wedding so we did a fall engagement session. It was a beautiful day on Sarah's family farm in New Market. Because they met in high school and plan to build a house and stay in the immediate vicinity, the farm is part of who they are - past and future. It's great when couples choose a session location that is meaningful and familiar to them. It's a charming rural community, and I'm looking forward to returning for their wedding.

We had fun scouting out some different photo spots in the area including this spot above Cherokee Dam.






You can't have a photo shoot on a farm without including the barn. I love that the bull came to check out what we were doing (trust me, I wouldn't even attempt to pose a bull).



We did pose this little guy for a snapshot though. He's just a few months old and is already very attached to his family, wanting to follow them around like a little puppy.



Halloween had just passed, and they were quick to go in and cut down the corn maze. It was actually being cut as we were shooting, and we had to be careful not to get run over (they didn't know we were in there).







This last picture is probably my favorite even though it's just a simple portrait. Sarah's top was such a great color for her, and she just looks so beautiful.