Welcome back! Let’s dive right into the gorgeous vintage details, ceremony, and reception of this fun and colorful wedding : ) Michelle and Steven employed the help of their friends to pull together a super adorable detail oriented wedding. There were fresh colorful flowers, loads of cupcakes and other baked goods, and lots of cute finishing touches.

I love this moment when Steven and Michelle saw each other when Michelle made her way down the aisle. These next two shots are testaments to the fact that doing a first look before the wedding only adds to that special moment coming down the aisle. : )

This ceremony was full of heartfelt prayer, honest words, and lots of family and support. Words are not going to do justice to how powerful this ceremony was. Just to add some context, Michelle walked down the aisle to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and… yes… there WAS a rainbow. And no, I’m not joking. It was awesome.

On to the reception!

Michelle & Steven, thank you so much for trusting me to be a part of your big day. It means more to me than you know. : )

Michelle & Steven run a wedding photography business based in Georgia, Michelle Marie Photography, so I was truly honored when they even thought of me for their wedding day, but when I got the call that they wanted to book me I was pretty pumped and a little bit intimidated. But as the day began I quickly realized how lucky I was to be a part of their day.

Steven and Michelle, and their family, had gone through a couple of rough patches to get to this day, and there was so much emotion and love in the room as they said their vows, this quickly became the only wedding ceremony I’ve ever cried during – but luckily for me, I had a big giant black box in front of my face so Michelle and Steven are probably reading this right now and first learning of my teary moments. Anyway, I was so blessed to be a part of their big day, and the experience is something I will treasure always.

Being wedding photographers they, naturally, had a well thought out, cohesive, photo-ready, wedding full of adorable vintage details and personal touches. Picture perfect, if you will. So without further ado I’m going to get right on to sharing the gorgeousness that was their big day.

First let’s take a moment to marvel at just how absolutely beautiful Michelle is:

And fittingly, Steven makes a very handsome and well dressed groom:

They also have loads of really loving and fun family & friends who took part in their wedding party:

Steven & Michelle opted to do a first look before the ceremony, which is my personal favorite itinerary choice for a couple to choose on their wedding day. So we shot their first look and then their bride & groom portraits, and boy oh boy do these two look great together..

We walked down to the beach for the tail end of their portraits:

FAVORITE shot of the day, perhaps of the year:

The bottle they are holding has a lot of meaning for them. For fear of butchering the story, I will tell you all that it was once filled with their love letters and buried under a rock in the earlier years of their relationship, was dug up many years later during Steven’s proposal, and was now thrown into the ocean on the day of their wedding. If you are a young bachelor, please take notes. Steven has got the ‘romance’ department cornered. The two of them together care for each other, take care of each other, and spoil each other in the most loving ways and it is definitely awesome to witness.

Steven throwing the bottle into the ocean:

Come back on Monday for the details, the tear-jerking ceremony, and reception of this stunning wedding : )

Look how adorable and sweet she is! I just love her cute little cheeks and button nose.

Ahhhh she is sooooooooooo cute:

So tiny!

Faith was blessed to be born into such a loving and warm and kind family:

Brad & Karen: thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you two and your darling Faith. You guys are awesome and Faith is such a blessing. Can’t wait to watch her grow!

Don’t you love Addison’s nursery?! So girly and pink and fun. : )

Addison snoozed almost the entire session and was a dream to work with. (See what I did there?)

Please look at this adorable smooshie-little face! I love babies, the more smooshed their cheeks are the cuter they look.

Addison is a fancy little lady, and I love love love the shots of her with this huge flower on her head.

Addison, Chandler, & Adam: you guys are so wonderful and your baby girl is just darling. Thanks so much for letting me play a role in this special time in your lives. : )

But times, they are a changing, my friends. And this year I find myself wholeheartedly embracing summertime. The fresh redness of watermelons in contrast with their black seeds, the appropriateness of blue gingham shirts and belted floral sundresses, the summer hair do’s (by which I mean… I generally stopped brushing my hair and started misleadingly claiming ‘beach hair’), the warmth that surrounds you like a blanket when you step outside, the rainy afternoon showers like clockwork, the lazy unhurried feel of daily tasks, the buzz of bumblebees and fireworks. Ah, yes, summer.

For some reason I haven’t really ever noticed summer in its full glory. Perhaps it’s because, for me, summer has always been just the precursor to fall – to books, to classes, to an exciting new school year. But this summer… this summer is distinctly different. I’m graduating college this summer. And this fall doesn’t symbolize a new school year, better still, this summer symbolizes new life and adventure and recreation in my life. So I have decided to meet this time of year with an unmatched enthusiasm for all things quintessentially summer. To put it simply: I am eager to sip tart lemonade on my front porch in my cut-off jean shorts with my hair in braids and watch the world go by. Yeah, I said it. I am so down with summer, and I am so ready for what this summer has begun to symbolize in my life.

Just to kind of reward you for reading all that ^ shannon-related rambling, I threw together a really quick video from this Fourth of July. Go forth and relish in the warmth of summertime, drink lemonade, commit a few minutes of your day to sitting lazily in the warm summer heat, and maybe a light a few sparklers if you dare : )

Okay okay, now that I’ve got you laughing, let’s take a few minutes and look at how adorable sweet Lillian is.

Lillian makes the cutest little inquisitive faces:

Haha awwwwwww look at her cute little faces:

To Lillian’s wonderful parents and grandparents, you were all so sweet and you are such a beautiful and lovely family! It was really great meeting you and I’m really excited to see sweet Lillian grow and grow.

Hello all! This is actually just a personal blog post, something you see not often enough on my blog, I’m afraid. So, I’m delighted to share that I will be traveling to London and to Limerick, Ireland this September. I thought I’d post it on the blog and see if any of you readers had suggestions on what to see, where to go, etc while I’m there! I’ve never been to either places before and I’m quite excited about this trip. Also, I am accepting a very limited number of sessions while there. If interested, inquire immediately as I really will be limited on session time. So yes, if you have any must eat here, must see this, must go there type suggestions for London and LImerick and surrounding areas, do tell!!  Oh and ps, that post war new world map is pretty legit right? You won’t believe what a gift Google Image search can be at times.

Christian and Michael were married this May at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Sanford and held their reception at the Winter Park Farmers Market. Their wedding day was full of love and family and a whole lot of dancing. Every wedding has a unique element to it, and for Christian and Michael’s it was laughter. This couple has such an awesome sense of humor, and they are surrounded by people who laugh with them and love them immensely and it warms my heart just being around them. Now, let’s get on with the pictures, I can’t wait to share them with you!

I’m going to just go ahead and start off with my favorite image of the day. How stunning is Christian?! Ps, her tattoo says “Beloved” and it is awesome.

I stole a few shots of Christian while the girls helped button her dress. PS, this girl has a winning sense of humor that steals my heart every time I’m around her:

Meanwhile, the boys were getting ready for the big day in their own way:

Isn’t Michael such a handsome groom?!

Okay and now back to the gorgeous ladies…

Gotta love the pockets : )

Michael and Christian chose to go the traditional route and didn’t see each other before the wedding, however, they did almost see each other and it was exciting enough for me : )

and then they went and got married:

Don’t they make such a handsome couple?

Ahhh love this shot:

No wait.. I love THIS shot:

The wedding party on their best behavior:

and in their natural state:

The reception at the Winter Park Farmers Market had loads of adorable details:

So happy to be married:

Oh and ps, there was A LOT of dancing:

And then they left and went to Ireland for their honeymoon!! I’m jealous!

Christian and Michael and friends and family: You were all so wonderful to be around and it was truly my privilege to be there on such a special day.  : )

Also, check out the awesome slideshow I made for them!

Click to view slideshow

No seriously, this engagement session is something like a fairytale except better because it’s real life! : ) Liz and Jon are an awesome couple and we had so much fun with this session. Liz loves butterflies and is planning to incorporate them in their wedding, so it was only fitting that we also incorporated them here for their engagement session. The final result was a timeless fairytale-esque engagement session that definitely screams romance and whimsy!

This is their pup, Juicy! She is a little lady and was very well behaved during the session. : )

Liz is the master of super fierce looks. Isn’t she stunning?!

And just as the sun was fading we took the last shot of the day: