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!

So, in the meantime, here are a couple of my favorites from the day. Can’t wait to share their whole wedding day story soon!

Jerome and Deborah have been married for 6 years now and there was one thing that they never received from their wedding – the photographs. Did they have a photographer? Yup. Did the photographer show up and take pics? Yup. So what happened? Well after 2.5 years of nothing, they thought they would google her name but with no real expectations. As it turned out they found a phone number and decided to call – voicemail, of course. But to much surprise they received a call back!

Here is what happened. Days after their wedding, this lady was in a car accident and had been in a coma for 2 years! Can you believe this? Their phone call refreshed her memory that she had photographed their wedding, but it was the only wedding she could remember capturing within the 6 month window before her accident. Obviously, the images were gone and she had no idea where they were or what had happened. So, Jerome and Deborah never had ANY wedding photos.

With that in mind, it was always their goal to someday be able to have a small ceremony where they would renew their vows and finally have some images that tell the story of their marriage to one another. Well, with Deborah leaving to work in India for 10 months, there was no better time than the week before she would leave for them to celebrate, reflect on the first 6 years they have shared and recommit to one another everything they had promised that first day. I was so honored when they said they wanted me to capture this moment for them. Since our pre-ceremony session was cut short due to rain (and some lightening that came way too close), we decided to get together for a photoshoot later in the week to make sure they received an adequate amount of portraits together.

Thanks so much Jerome and Deborah for allowing me to be part of such an intimate, special moment in your marriage! May these 10 months go quickly for both of you and look forward to celebrating with you guys when Deborah returns!

Cara and Cory have such a tight community of friends who make them who they are, and you can tell that this couple have left lasting impacts on each of them as well.

Their wedding ceremony was at Morningside Baptist Church and then it was off to the reception at The Fox Theatre in their Egyptian Ballroom which was stunning!

Since Cara and Cory are so incredibly tight with everyone, they made sure that they didn’t want to miss a moment of the day celebrating with them. So, they scheduled a day after shoot where we met back up at The Fox Theatre who graciously gave us about 45 minutes to shoot a few extra portraits and then we headed out to Piedmont Park. Thankfully we caught a break from the heat when the ice cream truck came driving up 10th street.

Cara and Cory – thanks so much for everything! It was such an honor to capture the day for you guys.