well, the big annoucment is, i am opening a studio/meeting place!  

kinda of crazy and i still can't believe that it is actually happening but it is indeed.  it all started a few months ago when my dad bought an old building in downtown maryville to renovate.  a few months after that my dad approached me about the possibility of having an open office space there if i would be interested in using it....well, at first, i was hesitant.  one reason being, the office is in maryville.  i live in west knoxville and most of my clients tend to live around this area as well.  i wasn't sure if it was going to be worth it to make the drive.  second reason, i hadn't seen the space and had always had something specific in mind and wasn't sure if it would meet what i was looking for.  well, after going out there i realized i could totally see this space as my new home for my business.  i felt that this was an opportunity i simply could not pass up.  i am hoping to use this space for lots of fun things.  one will be a place for me to meet my clients.  i know that it might be a drive for some of you, but i promise, i am going to make it worth your trip.  this space is going to be awesome!  i feel it is going to give me the opportunity to serve my clients in a way that i just haven't been able to do thus far.  second, this space has some awesome natural light, so i am hoping to use it for some photo sessions.  it is going to be decked out in some beautiful furniture that i think is just screaming to have its' picture taken.  then, this kind of sealed the deal for me, it is going to look out to our own private garden/courtyard.  right now it is a pile of dirt and rocks, but my good friend, mitch stewart, is a landscape designer who is going to make this place awesome come spring!  PLUS, we are located right behind tomato head, so good food is just a few steps away.  and if you haven't been to downtown maryville before, this will be a great excuse to make the trip.  it is so cute and full of antique shops and some really cute boutiques!

i don't have any photos of the space to share with you yet, it is still being finished, but no blog post is complete with at least one photo so i snapped a few of some totally awesome things that are going to be going in my new place.  i just got a lensbaby a couple weeks ago so i thought i would play around with it a little bit and shot these photos with it!!  more updates to come soon!!!

lane and bill are such a sweet couple!  i didn't get to spend a ton of time with them before the wedding but just felt so priviledged to be able to capture the sweet love that they have for one another.  bill is in the military and is being deployed in june so it was just so fun to be around all their friends and family before he leaves.  here are just some of my favorites from their wedding!

i mean seriously, how cute is she!!

lane, reading a note from bill

LOVE these next three.  lane's mom had made a garter out of her maid of honor's bridesmaid dress, and a charm from the first piece of jewelry lane's father had ever given her.  i'll admit it, i cried too.  it's ok, i'm pretty sure my sister did too!

and here is the garter.

this was pretty awesome too.  kimball's jewelers had given this to lane's mom to wear on her wedding day.  so lane wore this in her shoe.  lane's mom still had the box!

lane.  you are just so beautiful.  

loved this, of lane's mom putting on her veil.

you know how sometimes, there is just a random image that gets you.  this is one of those for me.  I LOVE IT.  just do. 

ooooooo...i LOVE this too!!!

so cute, so wintery!

some fun reception details

lane and bill, thank you thank you thank you for letting me capture the sweet moments of your day!  it was a blessing!

and HERE IS THE SLIDESHOW I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO MAKE EVER SINCE I HEARD THE SONG!!! :)  thanks avett brothers 

one thing i have been thinking a lot about for the past few months is sharing some of the things that i have learned in the wedding world with you.  i have been surrounded by all things wedding for a really long time.  i worked at a bridal gown store in high school (david's bridal with like 4 of my best friends! so fun!) and my mom worked at a bridal store while i was in college (a joyous occasion).  not to mention, i think i started buying wedding magazines at the age of, ohhhhh 12.  now, after being in the industry for a couple of years and after planning my own wedding a little over a year ago, i feel like i have picked up on a few things that might be of a little help.  especially from a photography perspective.

this year is going to be crazy busy between following my rock star husband around and shooting tons of awesome weddings, but i am going to try to offer some tips every other week or so.  now, don't get me wrong.  i am by no means saying that i know everything that there is to know about planning a wedding, but these are just some things that i think will allow you to have the most amazing wedding photos around.  as well as a stress free, beautiful day.

so, wedding tip number 1.

it's all in the details!!

shoes. you do not have to have a huge budget to have an awesomely beautiful and unique wedding.  for instance, you have to wear shoes on your wedding day.  so why not wear something fun.  don't be afraid to wear some pink pumps, or some sweet flats, or even cowboy boots or converse tennis shoes.  make it fun!  make it you!  not only will it make you feel great on your wedding day, but it makes for some great photos!  

accessories.  and i don't just mean jewelry.  i mean all the little things.  lighting, centerpieces,flowers, etc....  this is one thing that i wish i would have paid more attention to in my own wedding.  not that i didn't pay attention to detail, i did, but i could have done even more.  weddings are all the rage right now and the internet is full of awesome wedding blogs such as, style me pretty,once wed,snippet and inkthese are all such great resources for planning a wedding.  and they always feature amazing photography by amazing photographers from real weddings so you can invision what these things look like and how they translate into photos.  one great place to purchase awesome, unique things is etsy

i'm sure most of you already know about this site, but if you don't, oh just get ready.  this highly addictive, crafty, totally awesome site is going to rock your world.  another great place is antique shops or thrift stores.  you can get awesome things for dirt cheap and you can almost always get them to give you an even better deal if you are buying something in bulk. 

one of my favorite people, dane sanders, is an awesome photographer out of california who has started a series of videos on his blog called, Make Your Day You.  from the moment i saw this line, it has just been on repeat in my head.  i just could not agree more.  this is YOUR day.  make it YOU!  have your wedding day reflect your personality.  if you love things that are vintage, earthy, and different, you don't HAVE to get married in a church and have your reception ballroom.  get married at someone's house, or a field, or a barn.  if you are more of a traditionalist, get married in a church and an awesome ballroom, but embrace those things!  make those things exude your personality.

last little thing for today is, utilize your vendors.  if you have something strong in mind for your flowers, bring those ideas to the table and see what they can do.  ask your venue if you can see past weddings to get an idea of what things will look like at your own wedding in that space.  if you have a wedding planner, let her go to town!  it will only make your day that much more amazing and your photos will absolutely reflect that.  whatever money you do spend on little details, will pay off ten fold.  i can promise you!

most of you have probably already seen these photos from my blog post about this back in september, but when talking about details, i couldn't help but think about this amazing set up.  at jessica claire's workshop she had an amazing event design company, grey likes weddings, come out and design our mock wedding and reception.  almost everything they had here was from an antique store or thift shop.  it doesn't have to cost an arm and and leg to look amazing, just go for it!  don't be afraid to really make your day YOU!

laahhhuuuvvveee this.  if you want to have a little lounge area, jazz it up with some cute pillows.  target makes awesome, cute pillows for really inexpensive.  great way to tie in any color scheme that you have.

make some thing cute.  this could not have cost very much but looked sooo cute hanging above the cake cutting table.

one of my favorite details for this was the awesome use of old books.  and even just some old pages tied with a little twine.  you use these to add hight changes to your center pieces.  if you can't afford tons of flowers, get some cool candles and candle holders!

amazing vases and use of glass bottles

 

great thrift store find.  would make a great center piece on it's own!

so, i realize if you are having a large wedding this isn't really feazable, but maybe do this for just the wedding party table, or just the bride and groom's table.  what they did was, they used all different chairs for the entire table.  again, all came from either antique stores or thrift shops

look at that cute suitcase!  who would have thought to do that???  don't be afraid to think outside of the box!

different flowers than your traditional flowers but look AMAZING.

loved their use of dishes and silver ware.

one of my favorite things is, if you can't afford an open bar, or don't want to have one, think about maybe doing a signature drink.  if you have a yellow color scheme and a really summery wedding, have a lemon drop signature drink!  so cute!

again, love the use of books.

oh, and i just thought of one more thing!  bring a copy of your invitation and save the dates to the wedding!!!  i know so many of you value your invitations as a huge priority in your wedding budget, so why not get some awesome photos taken of them!  just another way to add great details to your wedding photography!!

ok, so i know that this is a very distinct style that is not for everyone, (personally, i'm obsessed :)  but just wanted to give you some ideas of how you can really give your own little personally touch and it doesn't have to empty your bank account!  

hope you have a great weekend and i'll be posting a beautiful and sweet winter wedding next week!!

happy new year from both of us!  so excited for 2010

yesterday we hung out in woodstock for most of the day and i pretty much became obsessed.  this place is amazing.  but what was even more amazing was the ramble last night.  the dirty guv'nahs opened up for levon and his band at the ramble and it was truly incredible.  levon was just so happy.  i am sitting here trying to come up with the right words and there really aren't any that do it justice.  it was just awesome.

 tomorrow is justin's and what a better way to celebrate it than recording at levon's.  they will be here through the end of the week and i ask that you pray for them as they try to finish their album.  they had a pretty rough week last week battling sicknesses, people losing their voices, and tons of snow.  they are feeling really encouraged going into their second week but they still have a long way to go.  i can't wait to hear the final product.  i know this, it is going to be amazing.  so get ready :)

here are some photos from the awesome city of woodstock

boys working hard in the studio

taking a little time to watch some youtube.  never too busy for youtube.

i never have any pictures of justin and i together!  i wish i could have taken the whole day to shoot around this little town.

what we woke up to this morning.......more snow