Anne & Jonathan were married at one of my favorite venues, Butterfly Gap Retreat, last year. Anne and the girls got ready in one of the guest houses. Unfortunately, a bit of rain prevented the outdoor ceremony that they had planned, but the couple didn't let it spoil the day. They are both very happy, fun-loving people, and the ceremony was lovely anyway because BGR has an indoor location overlooking the lake. The rain stopped, leaving a light mist hovering over the water. Everything was bathed in a beautiful, blue light which went well with the wedding's color scheme. The bridesmaids wore different shades of blue and carried blue hydrangea bouquets. One of the bridesmaids performed a song during the ceremony, and Anne's brother performed his own song for the couple during the reception.

In an intimate ceremony at Butterfly Gap Retreat, Ashlyn Slone married Ed Mitchell in 2006. After being pronounced, they shared cake and champagne with their best friends. The event was short but meaningful with an understated elegance.

On a sunny day in May 2006, Heather Snell married Jonathan Anderson at Ridge Vallery Farms in Maryville. The weather was beautiful for their outdoor ceremony, and the colors (blue sky, green grass, pink dresses & flowers) were so vibrant and happy.

The girls wore pink and carried gorgeous bouquets with tulips, Gerber daisies, and roses. Heather did the flowers herself, and they couldn't have been more beautiful. She even incorporated peonies, my favorite flower, into her bouquet which was tied off with ribbon and a pretty pink brooch. She also had the most beautiful veil that I have seen.

After some hors'devours, cake, and dancing inside, the guests saw the couple off in a cloud of bubbles.  The sun was finally getting low enough in the sky for some nice outdoor photos so Heather and Jon circled around and came back to do a private photo session. Although it wouldn't work with weddings later in the day, doing photos after the reception worked out perfectly for their afternoon wedding. I'm so glad that we had the extra time as we were able to get some great couple photos and really take advantage of the beautiful weather and venue.

I'm excited because I just received an album in the mail and wanted to share. I'm always looking for new products to offer my customers, and this album is from a new album company that I've been wanting to try. Like other albums I offer, it's a digital album with the photos printed directly on the pages, and the cover has a photo that wraps around from front to back. What I really like about this album is that there isn't a gutter gap between the pages. When you open the book, the spreads lay flat, and the photo is printed across the crease in the center.

Because the bride, Mandy, helps run Butterfly Gap Retreat with her family, I'm giving them a copy of the album to show their clients at BGR. I'll also have a copy to show my prospective clients. Butterfly Gap is a gorgeous venue, perfect for a bridal or couple portrait session, and I designed the album to showcase photos of the couple. Here are the cover and a few of my favorite spreads:

Because I often work with out-of-town couples, I'm not always able to get to know my clients as well as I would like. Fortunately, Lois & Laramy live nearby in Maryville so we have been able to work together several times over the past two years. Their December 2005 wedding day was actually surprisingly warm, but the grass was brown and time was short. In the spring, they got dressed up again for more bridal and couple portraits. As with their engagement photos, they chose to do the session on the Maryville College campus.

Today I'm putting together their book from that session and wanted to share some of the layouts. (Yes it took her a while to pick out which photos to include, but it's difficult not to take a great pictures of these two) It's very appropriate to share this on Valentines Day as they both have such kind souls and make a very sweet couple.

On a side note, Lois is a teacher, and she invited all of her students to her wedding. In lieu of a flower girl, each child in her class carried a rose down the aisle during the processional. I thought that was such a sweet way to include them, and they were all obviously very proud and happy to be there.