As we spent the next 20 minutes talking, we discussed her and Lamar’s wedding but probably spent more time talking about our shared passion of raising awareness about human trafficking. It was then I knew that I would love working with Lamar and Jennifer.

Jennifer has this infectious personality where she just makes you smile and want to enjoy the moment. She is so chill and I felt so inspired creatively because of her trust in me. Plus, the fact that Lamar loves Jennifer so well and makes her laugh so much made documenting their story such an honor and a joy. They are also super cool for not freaking out when I called to inform them that I had ruptured my achilles tendon and would be shooting their wedding in a walking boot.

Thanks Jennifer and Lamar for an incredible day and even more for leveraging your day to fight trafficking in Atlanta as a Love Gives Way couple. Best of luck in everything!

To learn more about the Love Gives Way campaign, you can visit our site as well as check out the video included in this post!

Love Gives Way from Stuart Atkins on Vimeo.

Emilee is a long time friend of my wife, Jenica. They grew up together and she stood up in our wedding. While interning in Germany back in college, I remember making a phone call to Jenica while she and Emilee were working their summer landscaping jobs and I asked to talk with Emilee for a second. I said something like this, “So you think you will be cool with standing up in Jenica and I’s wedding?” This was only a little more than 3 months after Jenica and I had started dating. Thankfully, Emilee seemed cool with it and loved the idea of us two together.

Every time Jenica and I would go back home to visit family, Emilee was one of our friends we would meet up with and it was during one of these times that we were able to meet Zach. We went to the local fair and got to hang out with them for the night – it’s then that I saw the joy and love that Emilee and Zach had for each other. Zach and I also just got to hang and talk about the Bears and Cubs – it’s always good talking with someone who suffers along with you as fans of these teams – ha.

Thanks so much Zach and Emilee for having me be part of your day – congrats and wish you guys nothing but the best!

Also, huge thanks to Kaia Calhoun for helping me out – she is based out of the Elgin, IL area so definitely check her out if you are in that area! Here is some of her work from the wedding: http://asunshinemoment.com/emilee-zachs-wedding/

Nikki had an incredible vision for her wedding day and it was one of the most unique weddings I’ve ever shot or attended. From a wedding bell piñata, to making announcements out of a megaphone, and guests wishing them well on match books – this wedding matched Matt and Nikki’s personalities so well.

Matt and Nikki were also one of our Love Gives Way couples. They leveraged their day for the hope and restoration of exploited girls that are in the care of Wellspring Living. For more info on Love Gives Way, check out this blog post here.

Matt and Nikki – thanks so much for an incredible day. It was an honor to be part of your day and wish you all the best!

Venue: Birmingham United Methodist Church
Food and Beverage: Original Pancake House and Mocha My Day
Flowers: Blushing Bouquets
Wedding Coordinator: Daria from Circle of Love Weddings

Jill and Scott will also go down as some of my favorite clients and the type of clients I enjoy working with the most. Knowing that the photographs were one of the most important details from their day, they set aside time before the ceremony where they could do a first look and then have plenty of time for portraits without that rushed feeling of getting back to a reception with waiting guests.

Jill and Scott were also 100% on board with the Love Gives Way campaign as soon as they heard about it. They had actually already booked me before launching the campaign, but they were so passionate about leveraging their day to raise awareness about human trafficking in Atlanta and offer hope to victims that they immediately wanted to switch over to be a Love Gives Way couple.

Thanks so much Jill and Scott for letting me be part of your day as well as using your wedding day as a platform for hope!

There’s one thing that I love about this family though, and it’s that they know how to throw a great reception! They have the best live musicians who have come in and turn the wedding day in to a true celebration and it was no different for Mary Olivia and Turner.

It was a great way to end the 2011 wedding year I wish nothing but the best for Mary Olivia and Turner. Thanks so much much for letting me be part of your big day! Also, thank you SO much for being a Love Gives Way couple – you helped leverage your day to bring restoration and healing to girls in Atlanta that have been victimized by sex trafficking and there is nothing more beautiful than taking a day meant to celebrate love to highlight an issue where love is being stolen.

Thanks on behalf of myself and Wellspring Living who is bringing this tangible restoration and healing to these girls!

I first met Cindy back in 2009 when I took the head shots of the Star 94 DJ’s. After that experience, Cindy would always say that I would one day shoot her wedding – I had no idea she was actually serious!
At around the same time that Cindy asked me to shoot her wedding, my wife and I had been dreaming up a way in which I could use wedding photography to help bring restoration and awareness to an issue that is heavy on our hearts and currently gripping Atlanta, and that’s the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Atlanta is one of the top cities for sexual trafficking of adolescent girls, and we believe that couples who are celebrating their love to each other have a huge platform to impact lives from whom love has been stolen and distorted.

So, as we began to think up this idea that’s now Love Gives Way, I called up Cindy to see if she would be on board and if she thought it was a good idea. She and Eric were shocked to learn that this was true of Atlanta, and they immediately wanted to do their part.

In a brief summary, Love Gives Way is this: metro Atlanta brides and grooms choosing that their Love Gives Way to the recovery and restoration of girls who have been exploited as a result of CSEC (commercial sexual exploitation of children). Through this campaign, I am partnering with Wellspring Living who works directly with the girls and women. I can’t thank Cindy and Eric enough for being the very first couple to go for this idea and become a Love Gives Way couple. Their wedding day will impact these girls’ everyday as a result of their efforts. Thank you both so much!

Cindy and Eric shared a small, intimate ceremony at the Log Cabin Community Church and then it was off to the The Pace House for the reception. Every detail, from wearing her mother’s wedding dress to the polaroid picture wall and the creative dinner setup consisting of miniature sized portions of hamburgers, tater tots and chicken wings, made for a wedding that was unique and reflective of Cindy and Eric’s personality. The sweetest moment of the day though came when Eric not only presented his vows to Cindy, but also to her daughter, Lily, as the three of them begin this new chapter together.

I’m beyond excited for these three and can’t wait to see how they continue to grow together and impact the lives of those they come across.
Thanks Cindy and Eric for everything – love that you are in my life and I was able to capture your special day!

Well, my Love Gives Way campaign has officially kicked off and I can’t wait to see what happens over the next year. If you are unfamiliar with what I am talking about, click here to read the full post. But in a brief statement, it’s metro Atlanta brides and grooms choosing that their Love Gives Way to the recovery and restoration of girls who have been exploited as a result of CSEC (commercial sexual exploitation of children). It is couples all over the city leveraging their day of celebration and love to bring hope to those where love has been perverted, distorted, and taken. I can’t say how excited I am already about the response people have had towards this campaign and their eagerness to be involved. It’s going to be an exciting year as weddings taking place every weekend become not just days of celebration, but also of restoration. I can’t think of anything more beautiful.

As I talked through Caitlin’s wedding day with her, she wanted to make sure we were able to get plenty of bridal portraits and knowing that the day would be shorter, we decided to meet up 2 weeks before her wedding to shoot a bridal session at The Carl House where the wedding would take place. This was the first bridal session I have ever done and I loved it! It was great having 2 hours for just her portraits and knowing that she fully trusted me to do whatever creatively. Many of them are probably not your typical bridal shots, but I love that we were able to get so many different looks in that short amount of time.

Caitlin was not only making a commitment to Jack on that day, but also to his beautiful little daughter, Malaya. It was a joy to capture this day for all 3 of them.

Congrats Caitlin, Jack, and Malaya. Thanks so much for allowing me to shoot and for all you did to bring restoration and awareness to the people of Atlanta with your wedding day!
Also, thanks to Bobby Russell for helping 2nd shoot.

With a life of drug abuse in their past and then realizing they were expecting a baby, Emily and Hayden have totally changed the direction of their lives and now have all of their attention set on making things right and becoming incredible parents to this beautiful little girl they are about to welcome. But what was even more amazing was the support, love, and encouragement that was so evident the day of their wedding.

All of their family and friends have come along to support these two, soon to be three, in every way possible and it made for a beautiful celebration.

I’m so excited for what’s in store for them and hopefully getting our kids together to play!
Thanks so much Emily and Hayden for sharing your story and lives with me.

We headed down to Cabbagetown and shot in and around The Stacks.

Thanks Micah and Gretchen for your friendship and also for enduring the cold, fall morning weather!

These two are one of those couples where you are in love with every picture you take of them – they love each other so well and that expresses itself in how they treat each other. But what I find most often with my clients is that the better they love each other, the bigger the impact it seems they have on those around them. Chelsea and Jesse are so great at loving each other in every moment because it’s all they know – a selfless approach to caring for others. I was blown away by the support and care that their whole wedding party showed that day, and you will find out why that was so important as the day went on.

The first example came at the rehearsal dinner when a special handkerchief she would have at the wedding went missing – but here is the story directly from Chelsea so I don’t mess it up:
“The handkerchief was a gift from my Grandma Duttweiler (my Dad’s mom). She sewed it into a bonnet that I wore home from the hospital, and then we undid the stitching and I used it when I was baptized.
When we noticed it was missing after the rehearsal dinner, we sent the kitchen staff to look for it for about half an hour. When they couldn’t find it, we (me, some bridesmaids, and Mr. Edwards – who is Jesse’s dad) all gloved up and searched through the trash for about another half hour. We took all the trash out to the parking lot/loading zone in the back and spilled them out all over the ground and sifted through everything. Mr. Edwards was the one who finally found it.”

You will see a picture taken right before the girls would dive in to the dumpster to search for the handkerchief It’s right above the photo of Chelsea holding it in her lap.

Then, came the wedding day. It was an incredibly beautiful that day, as well as hot. However, that didn’t really seem to matter as the whole day was just one big celebration. Chelsea and Jesse decided to do a first look which we had at the Pinebloom Mansion which was an unbelievable place, especially because not just anyone is allowed to shoot there so it was an honor. After finishing up there, we headed over to The Frazer Center where the ceremony and reception would be held. As family and wedding party put the finishing touches on all the decorations, we took the time to fit in a few more portraits on the property. Shortly after this is when the day would take a slightly different course then planned.

The loom of dark clouds had pretty much been around us all day but thankfully it looked as though everything would hold off. But as guests arrived and we were 10 minutes out from starting the ceremony outside, the wind began gusting and the skies opened up. The only great part about this was the timing – thankfully this had not happened in the middle of the ceremony! During this time, guests all hunkered down under the reception tent while the wedding party, family, and Chelsea and Jesse hid out in another building as it all blew over. It was during these moments that I came to realize that Chelsea and Jesse were already living out the commitment that they were moments away from verbalizing to each other and in front of all those closest to them.

As I was standing outside the building under the small canopy and trying to communicate through the storm to my assistant who was 30 yards away with all the wedding guests under the tent, I was tapped on the shoulder by one of the bridesmaids to come back inside quickly. As I came in and turned the corner, I found what was one of the most intimate moments I have seen during a wedding day – Chelsea and Jesse were dancing. And yeah while every couple dances on their wedding day, this was different.
This was a moment.
This was a moment that no one would forget.
This was a moment that would turn what some would call a ruined ceremony in to a beautiful delay.

That moment was a picture that Chelsea and Jesse were already living the commitments they would soon verbalize to each other. They were already standing by each other through the good and the bad, the planned and the unplanned, the “as we desired it to be” and the “as it came to actually be.” Yeah there were tears and heartbreak as we sat there waiting for over an hour for it to stop raining so we could make our way up to backup indoor facility, but it’s a moment that will never be forgotten and will always be part of their story.

Finally the rain stopped, the clouds rolled by, and another moment would happen. Rather than complaining and being annoyed for waiting this whole time, all of the wedding guests sprang in to action and became joyful servants. There was a line of cars ready to transport everyone up the large hill to the indoor facility, people with umbrellas shielding the slight drizzle and dripping trees as people went from the tent to the cars, and others waiting at the top to direct traffic and get everyone inside. In no time, we were finally ready for what would be my favorite ceremony ever.
This day had changed from guests being the witnesses of the marriage between Chelsea and Jesse to a phenomenal celebration of what it looks like for people to commit to one another in marriage and the large community it takes for that marriage to flourish. And in my honest opinion, that was way more beautiful than any outdoor wedding on a bright, sunny day could ever offer.

Chelsea and Jesse – You two and your surrounding community are incredible! I loved every moment of your day and even though it may not have gone as planned, it sort of did. In my honest opinion, your day was perfect in a way that only it could be. Thank you so much for inviting me in to your lives and to capture a glimpse of your story that I know will be a representation of your entire life together. Thanks!