welcome back, folks! it’s been a while, but eileen and i have finally returned home from our annual trip to clearwater, florida — our first vacation with baby jasmine! and, boy, did we need it — although i’m pretty sure jasmine got more r&r than we did. you should have seen her sprawled out on the beach, chillin’ like a villain under her little pinwheel umbrella. the sea breeze and fresh air absolutely knocked her out. i, on the other hand, made the mistake of bringing the laptop to the beach house — you know, just in case. needless to say, my workoholism got the better of me and the first two days were lost to photo editing. the good news is eileen whipped me back into shape, and the rest of the week was fantastic — just relaxing, eating, and hangin’ out with family; i’m already looking forward to next year’s trip. in the meantime, i’ll throw some photos on the blog soon to let you see what we were up to…

and yet more good news:  you get to see some of our favorites from susan and craig’s wedding (at least a day or two earlier than you would have otherwise).

i said that clearwater, florida was jasmine’s first vacation. but not her first road trip. that honor goes to scottsboro, alabama, where jasmine (still too little to be apart from momma for very long) and her sweet aunt, my sister mary elizabeth, tagged along on our way to see the one and only national airport unclaimed baggage center! yeah, baby! oh, and susan and craig’s wedding of course. we went for that, too.

we had the best time spending another weekend with this sweet couple. (craig was one of robby’s groomsman down in st. simons.) the wedding was in susan’s family’s home church, and we had a great time visiting some of her old haunts around town during the couple’s encore session the following day. (more of that to come, although i’m posting just a couple shots now to whet your appetite.)

yes, indeed, that is robby eating the “see” food. good eye!

don’t see many of these around anymore. only in scottsboro, alabama, right?

we piled on this statue of jackson in honor of craig’s love for history. (although i’m afraid this could be seen as desecrating history.) all in good fun — making certain the wedding day would make a little history, too.

we were very impressed by susan’s high degree of preparedness. she even had a portable fan to keep cool during pictures! brides, take note!

you would never know if i didn’t tell you — so i probably should keep my mouth shut. but the story is too good to leave untold. for the first time in his many years (so he claimed) — and certainly the first time i’ve seen it — the pastor forgot to direct the exchange of rings. so susan and craig left the ceremony married, yes… but ringless. happily, we took a break from family portraits afterward in order that susan and craig could exchange rings properly. a couple of these shots come from that “ancillary” ceremony. if you ask me, a lot more fun than the normal way of doing things.

congratulations, you two! hope you like the photos. we’ll be back with more from your encore session next.

All images © 2010 Blume Photography. It’s unlawful to copy or reproduce our work in any form without our express written permission. It just ain’t right! Thanks for respecting us and our art. If in doubt about federal copyright law, please ask us. We’re happy to answer your questions.

want to find out why  ” verything lasts forever?”  let stephanie and cliff show you the way.

if you’re like eileen and me, you can’t get enough of brittany and eric. after you see their engagement and wedding blog to get to know them, check out the slideshow for more of their beautiful wedding! (also, a big thanks to our friend alyssa alig for assist-shooting with us on this one. couldn’t have done it without ya.)

dangerous. delightful. delicious. and, err.. darn colorful. many cultures believe these four d’s are the vital elements of a successful engagement session. conveniently, stephanie and cliff’s session was chock-full of ‘em! check it out…

1 – dangerous.  any dark tunnel in a neighborhood with this much graffiti has to be at least slightly on the risky side, right? well, stephanie and cliff were up to some risky business, anyway.

the krog street tunnel was actually the perfect set for this west-side story. (if krog street is not actually on atlanta’s west side, i apologize to any homies i’ve offended.)

2 – delightful.  this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. spontaneous attraction! no posing instructions necessary for these two. their playful antics had us all in stitches — and simply enjoying each surprising moment.

3 – delicious.  can you say gelato? well done! now, can you say it while experiencing a massive ice-cream headache, courtesy or paolo’s? good luck…

4 – darn colorful.  oh great! i would have to save that one for a black-and-white photo, wouldn’t i? oh well. i think you get the impression. from chromatics to personality, they don’t come more colorful than these two! eileen and i can’t say enough good things about this couple. we were immediately and totally at ease with them; and what a great evening! we especially enjoyed finishing it all off with a little more “delicious”: everybody’s pizza in virginia highland. mmmm!

thanks for the terrific day, you two! can’t wait for the next one we spend together!

All images © 2010 Blume Photography. It’s unlawful to copy or reproduce our work in any form without our express written permission. It just ain’t right! Thanks for respecting us and our art. If in doubt about federal copyright law, please ask us. We’re happy to answer your questions.

although i can’t imagine forgetting any one of the amazing weddings eileen and i have been privileged to photograph, there’s no doubt brittany and eric’s big day will stand out in our memories. what a celebration! i mean, i’m usually a little giddy on wedding days anyway — all the excitement, the nerves, the positive energy from family and friends who’ve come in support! how could you not be giddy? but this day, i was experiencing a heightened sense of emotion, and i was even more keenly aware of how much happiness brittany and eric have to look forward to as a newly married couple.

that’s because i arrived at brittany and eric’s rehearsal dinner having just driven eileen and our newborn baby, jasmine, home from the hospital. i mean just. we got our doctor to release us early; i had time to get us home, take a shower, and then bolt out the door. i was three days without sleep and never felt better in my life! (thankfully, with the help of eileen’s parents, i got a full night’s sleep before the wedding. probably more than most brides or grooms can say.)

so i spent the day basking in all the moments and details that make a wedding such a beautiful celebration of life! it was truly good for the soul, if you know what i mean. then, to top it all off, eileen showed up at the wedding reception with baby jasmine. i guess she couldn’t pass up the chance to celebrate with the newlyweds, either. especially when they are a couple like brittany and eric. along with their families, especially brittany’s mother barbara, these two have been such a blessing to us. we met randomly at a trade show, and now our daughter sleeps with the cute rag doll that these new friends sent for her first (err.. zero’th) birthday. wonderful how God occasionally allows you to cross paths with people like that in life, isn’t it?

also, many thanks to our pal alyssa alig for stepping into eileen’s shoes for this wedding. i love the shot she snagged of a dragonfly (damselfly? maybe you can tell…) on brittany’s bouquet. all the best to you, brittany and eric! oh, and about what i said before — about all you have to look forward to (partly alluding to “babies,” perhaps). NO pressure! don’t rush it!

…but i should add, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. and your parents do really deserve to enjoy some grandchildren, don’t they?? (that one’s for you, barbara. i’ll collect from you when we see you next.)

very fun tradition. and the first time i actually saw it done: the bridesmaids sign the bottom of the bride’s (incredibly awesome, superman-colored) shoes. the name left least worn off at day’s end is the next bride. hmmm…

i think eric has already found his niche as a great brother-in-law. i had a great time getting to know brittany’s little brother, too. what a cool kid! he probably didn’t deserve this headlock. but what are brothers for?

the cake was delicious! but you have to see the groom’s cake. (keep an eye open. it’ll definitely be in the slideshow!) a nearly perfect facsimile of brittany and eric’s dog, molly. she couldn’t be at the wedding; but she was there in..err, cake. i did feel a little guilty eating that one, though.

All images © 2010 Blume Photography. It’s unlawful to copy or reproduce our work in any form without our express written permission. It just ain’t right! Thanks for respecting us and our art. If in doubt about federal copyright law, please ask us. We’re happy to answer your questions.