Taylor & Josh {Downtown Minden Wedding, Easley Studios Courtyard}
"Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." - Matthew 5:9
It takes a strong man to be an officer, but an even stronger woman to stand by his side.
Nothing thrills me more than to be able to photograph a friend's wedding. It's such a joy to be able to see someone you've watched grow up commit themselves to another in the joy of love.
I graduated with Taylor's older sister, and living in in a small town, you definitely know everyone! The excitement is 1,000 times stronger when you know all those faces and truly see the glow behind each of them.
We had way too much fun getting ready!! Taylor had to show off her self-tanned feet! LOL!
When the only thing the groom asks for is to wait until the ceremony to see his bride, a good woman knows to not let him see her ;) But, when you're so overwhelmingly in love with someone, the excitement is just unbearable!! So I arranged for them to have a few minutes together, but still not be able to see each other... They both wrote letters to each other, and the electricity from just passing a note made it feel like grade school!
I could have watched these two dance all night... they were in their own little world!
It literally rained right up to about 10 minutes before the ceremony, and I can't lie, I know everyone was on max stress level because we all were winging it! But God heard all of our prayers and it stopped long enough for the ceremony and started raining again as soon as we all got out onto the street! But that passed quickly as well and this gorgeous rainbow came out and then the sun decided to tease us just for a second!! God is so good!!
Livin' On Love | Keith & Brandy's Small Country Wedding
One thing I struggle with as a wedding photographer is tears ;) As a hopeless romantic, I've always been a lover of weddings... So, when I decided to start photographing them, I was pumped! Little did I know that even the gap of not being personally close to either the bride or groom would keep me from being emotionally touched by their public profession of love for one another. Apparently a struggle of a hopeless romantic wedding photographer is making sure you your camera stays focused on the bride and groom when your eyes glass over ;) LOL!! Want to make it worse? How about being asked to capture the day your best friends start something they've been waiting all their lives for? Personal Note: wear a dress with pockets so you can have your tissues handy!!
Thankfully, we are all silly and keep things light, no matter what! This is one of my favorite - before they got ready, they signed their marriage license with our preacher, Bro. Phillip Casper (who is also very silly and struggles with being serious like the rest of us), and had me rolling cause they didn't want to change. They said, "This is us." They're right ;)
With Brandy all beautimous, we decided to do a first look. Even though it was just going to be family, there's something about having a few moments for just you two.
I love the excitement on her face!
We took advantage of Mr Bill's recent handiwork and grabbed a few shots under his arbor. Nothing more Louisiana in October than cotton :)
How much more perfect can it get than a screened-in front porch for Brandy and all the girls to hang out in until time to shine?
Backstory - on a typical night of hanging out, we got to skimming through some songs to decide how the procession would go, and when "Rockin' Years" came on, Keith said that was it... he was meeting her halfway, what more could you ask for? Swoon!!!
Family is not an important thing. It's everything. - Michael J. Fox
"You're one of those people that make my life better just by being in it."
There's nothing like being able to witness some of your best friends join together and create a family. Here's to many years of happiness, laughter and tons of memories! Love you two!
"And if you'll hold me tight when you love me, that's all I'll ask of you.
And I'll stand by you through our rockin' years."