i hope everyone knows a couple as fun and happy as stephanie & josh- a couple who cares deeply about one another and everyone around them and realizes the beauty in every moment.  getting to know the two of them (and their families) was such a blessing for us and capturing their wedding day was such a joy. matt and i are used to observing conversations and hugs and celebration through our lenses but photographing stephanie & josh as they shared such a beautiful day with their friends and family held an extra something that really drew us to them. i think it could be described as intentionality- but it was more than that. no matter what was going on, no matter what they were in the middle of, stephanie & josh always took the time and energy to make every encounter with a guest (or even a vendor!) important and meaningful. stephanie & josh are two people very much in love who also make room to embrace and love others. and life! their adventures in their little village in germany (and europe beyond) are so full of happiness and inspiration as they embrace a variety of cultures different from what they knew stateside. what an inspiration! and what a blessing it was for us to capture their wedding celebration. :)

josh’s mom created this stunning chuppah using the lace from stephanie’s mom’s wedding dress- what a beautiful family heirloom!

early spring weddings in atlanta have the potential to be some of the most beautiful of the year- stephanie & josh’s day was just perfect. the air was cool but the sun added a touch of warmth- so refreshing and rejuvenating!

after the ceremony, stephanie & josh set aside a little time for some twilight portraits in the park. to me, these images are just so peaceful and sweet. just looking at them i can remember how quiet it was in the park and how stephanie & josh sweetly whispered to one another while we photographed them and how the tips of my fingers were tingling with numbness when we entered their warm and inviting reception. what an excellent night. :)

***please click here to see stephanie & josh’s slideshow***

stephanie & josh, thank you so much for sharing such a beautiful day with us- it was a joy to capture it all! we wish you both the very best- please have a delicious german beer for us in the very near future. :)

there are lots and lots of things matt & i love about our job. we meet so many amazing people, capture the sweetest moments in the world and attend lovely celebrations full of rich emotion and lots of fun. but it’s just one night. we really do enjoy getting to know all of our couples and their families and, though our feet may be tired after a long day of shooting, it’s always a little sad when it’s all over. but with mary nevin and thomas, when we left their dreamy french celebration, we left with a smile- knowing we’d have the chance to do it all over again in the US! what fun!

mary nevin & thomas followed their warm june wedding with a chilly december wedding in decatur, one of our favorite little downtowns in all of atlanta. i love how these two planned a uniquely southern yet uniquely them celebration- including serving breakfast for dinner at their reception! you guys, there was a pancake bar! why have i never seen this before!? i immediately wanted to host a dinner party at my own house with a pancake bar- i’ve never met anyone who wouldn’t love that. anyway, back to mary nevin & thomas, it was so great to see them again and catch up on their lives- they always have so many awesome things going on! in fact, the day after these images were taken they were skiing in utah- and then a couple of days later they were swimming in a steaming crater. that’s their real life. these two are my heros!

mary nevin is so incredible with kids- we noticed it in france but when we finally got to meet naomi (the precious little one mary nevin used to nanny for) and saw her and mary nevin together it was just the sweetest. these two have such a beautiful bond.

it may have been chilly outside but inside the old decatur courthouse everything was warm and glow-y, i really do love what flickering candlelight can do to a room. so cozy. :)

***please click here to see mary nevin & thomas’s slideshow***

we hope you have a beautiful holiday season and a happy new year!

what a beautiful thing- to get married during a season of thankfulness. it’s the perfect time to gather friends and family and celebrate so many wonderful relationships and connections. weddings are always a perfect time for that but weddings the weekend before thanksgiving- so much more so! and, bonus! the weather in atlanta is just so perfect in november- the chilly breeze and the golden, warming sun. so all of this to say, before we even showed up for jacqueline & david’s wedding we really had a good feeling that it would be an amazing day!

jacqueline & david are ‘sunny’ people. they’re joyous, excited and overflowing with happiness. their love for their families and friends was so evident throughout every moment of their wedding day- from their interactive guestbook to the time that jacqueline & david took to speak to each and every one of their guests and thank them for coming. and all this with the most radiant, genuine grins two people have ever had. seriously, as i was working on these images i saw several where the emotion in the image had me laughing or smiling- even a month later! spending the day with two such beautiful people was such a blessing. please enjoy a few of our favorite images from their day:

my favorites, these two images make me smile just remembering the moment we took them!

***please click here to see jacqueline & david’s slideshow***

jacqueline & david, thank you so much for including us in your beautiful wedding celebration! we wish you the very best and we hope you’re loving your first christmas as a family!

there are a few more posted on facebook if you’re interested!

***please click here to see the dixon’s slideshow***

staci & michael’s ceremony was held at the seney stovall chapel in athens- we were happy to have their first look nearby before exploring the grounds and then heading downtown to shoot around some of staci & michael’s (and our!) favorite spots. :)

it’s best when these little moments just happen, love this set:

their reception was held at the stunning rialto room in the hotel indigo, i’m in love with these ceilings:

this next little series  makes me smile- staci twirling before heading back to the reception in her dancing dress:

staci & michael’s parents had so much fun at the wedding- tearing up the dance floor just like their kids! what fun families!

probably my favorite image from their wedding day:

***please click here to see staci & michael’s slideshow***

we just got back a couple of weeks ago and while we’re still waiting for our film, we wanted to go ahead and share a few of our faves from the x100. we do kinda regret not taking a big fancy camera but we’re still really happy with these shots. can’t wait to share some film soon!

we left the dublin airport around 8 am and drove straight for the adorable town of kilkenny- such quaint streets filled with shops and pubs and skinny side lanes waiting to be explored! we stopped in the coziest, most welcoming little pub ever while we planned our next move. travel doesn’t have to be super stressful and planned out! (i’m saying this to myself…i love how this trip just came together day by day!)

i lost the battle on not putting this next picture up… ;)

now that i think about it, i’m not going to be able to tell you the play by play of this trip- it would take all afternoon! we did explore lots of beautiful, overgrown, crumbling castles and churches and enjoyed many stunning hikes. if we saw something that peaked our interest, we’d just pull over and start hiking- through sheep pastures, over rocks and fences, stopping often to soak in the incredible beauty around us. ireland never stopped surprising us.

tourist season in ireland officially ends the last week in october- we traveled there the first week in november. the countryside was almost eerily quiet and we felt like we were discovering the country all on our own- perfect.

the irish are the kindest people i’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. your fellow patrons want to talk to you at pubs, waiters and waitresses can’t wait to tell you stories about their country and share what could be their best kept secrets. random strangers on the street see you lost and pull out their phones to figure out how to help you get where you’re going. they call over other people they don’t know who are walking past to help them help you. it’s incredible how welcomed we felt the whole trip.

we booked our lodging through our favorite site, airbnb. everywhere we stayed made beautiful, big irish breakfasts for us every morning- irish bacon, pudding, sausage, eggs, toast, brown bread, beans, mushrooms and tomatoes. and that was after our yogurt with granola and fruit. lunch was never necessary. :)

it rained every day. not for too long and not too hard but enough to give us an excellent excuse to stop in for a pint. ;) but most of the time we just ignored it and went on exploring. there were a few times along the coast when i experienced the strongest wind i’ve ever been in- pushing my body even as i leaned into it. it was pretty exhilarating. and freezing. after the first day emily and i never ventured out in less than two pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, three shirts and a vest, jackets and scarfs- so please excuse our michelin men appearances. :)

it became evident early on that my fear of edges would need to be conquered in order to enjoy this trip. and while i cannot say that i’m cured for good, i did push myself closer to the edges of sheer cliffs than ever before. and by close i mean i remained at least ten feet away at all times. :)

actually, i’m going to give myself a bit of credit, i think i’m more like 5 feet away in these images, go me!

matt. my fearless leader. love him.

i love love love this next image:

captured from the front door of our b&b in galway, stunning to wake up to this in the morning. completely silent and still and beautiful:

matt and i couldn’t quite get over the centuries old stacked stone fences that divided most properties. i really want to find a way to incorporate some stacked stone into our little yard here in atlanta! but i’ll leave that project for january. :)

oh the cliffs of moher, it makes my chest tight just looking at these images. 650 foot cliffs. the rolling green countryside just suddenly falls into dark, slate grey water. we walked for miles along the edge- it really is the most extraordinary landscape i’ve ever seen. took my breath away- almost completely a few times… ;)

traveling with friends is the best. lots of laughter, lots of silliness and an abundance of great conversation.

and you can take pictures of each other without having to explain to someone how to use the camera every time! (thanks joel!)

galway bay oysters, the best end to a day of hiking, ever.

so that was just a little taste of our trip! i’m sure we’ll throw up a few more once we get the film back. overall, what an incredible, incredible trip. the vastness of the landscape just blew me away and the beauty is simply indescribable. i think you can consider us officially bitten by the travel bug- what a blessing it is to see the world and experience different cultures! who knows what’s next- we’re working hard to save up. we live in such a magnificent world. :)

vera is just stunning, i LOVE this image:

her delicate white lace dress didn’t stop vera from climbing down onto the bank and lounging with her love:

vera & chris hike together often (they actually got engaged right by a waterfall) so they wanted to have their engagement photos in a beautiful, natural spot- preferably with a waterfall. :) this was just right:

***please click here to see vera & chris’s slideshow***

vera & chris, thank you both so much for such a lovely afternoon! you are wonderful and we hope you love these images as much as we do!