okay… here we go… words stop. photos start.

this is where i would link you to the amazing bakery that made the wedding cake. but instead, i am just going to remind you of the bride’s name. andrea. yep. she made their wedding cake. brilliant!

their wedding date: july 30. also known as: 7.30.

her sister has a gorgeous house as it is… but they really pushed it over into another realm for the wedding.

just one shot from the guys’ portion because, well, do you need more than this?

andrea’s daughters are such beautiful and all-around fantastic girls. they did not fall far from the family tree at all…

i joked a bit ago that weddings’ receptions i have been at have been seemingly one-upping the last one with their celebrations. andrea laughingly said her smaller wedding would break that trend. possibly true, but i did get to lay witness to some of the most amazing dancing ever. andrea’s brother-in-law may have heard there were scouts present for ‘solid gold’.

andrea’s youngest workin’ a little bit of the robot on the dancefloor:

and andrea’s brother-in-law was only to be outdone by his daughter:

again, a gorgeous day, a beautiful and perfectly emotion-filled ceremony and a total honor and blessing to be a part of this wedding.

to the newlyweds: i wish you both all the best of everything you seek after.

this is the shot straight out of camera:

and the edited version with the action:

while the couple “worked the room”, you could tell how deeply loved they were. i love this first moment of a ring display  :)

this friend of the happy couple was cutting a mean rug all afternoon. he and karen had everyone entranced while they shared a dance…

with the enormous windows, i could not help but take some silhouette photos of karen and nick together. this is one of my favorites:

as i said before, thanks again to the happy couple for trusting me with documenting your day with you. it was a pleasure to meet you both and your families. i wish you both the an amazing life together.

stephanie came to me through my good friend ryan (thanks, ryan!). she had been the nanny of ryan’s little girl for a while, and it was easy to see why ryan and his wife were so sad to see stephanie stop being their nanny after this wedding. stephanie’s love for family and children (that is reflected in david, as well) was so completely evident within the first minutes i was with her.

stephanie’s hair and make-up all courtesy of her sister:

one of the three adorable bridesmaids:

a couple of ring shots before we move along…

while we waited for the walk down the aisle on the beach, the bridesmaids practiced some dancing. i loved these with the shadows and all:

sometimes, if you look my way while i’m shooting, you may see an enormous grin on my face behind the mask my camera creates. i was smiling immensely during this beautiful moment. everyone was lined up to walk down the aisle… waiting for music… people to sit… the usual. and the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride just kind of smiled at each other genuinely, both equally excited for what was about to happen. they had not met before this and then it hit them who they were. in that moment, they became like old high school friends that had not seen each other for years and years: smiling these tremendous smiles and laughing and hugging. it was incredibly touching.

just look how gorgeous this set up is! right on the beach and they could not have personally written a letter to God to ask for better weather. it was just perfect (after having been very gloomy right up until that afternoon).

i never pass up a good “picture in picture”

and, i know… i say “i love” this and “i love” that… but it’s true. i love weddings. sorry. i admit it. i am a sappy so and so. but i really do love hearing the vows and seeing how some couples make it their own. at one point drawing tears out of you, and making you laugh at the next:

and their two youngest, standing next to them, were cracking me up:

and i now pronounce you… halfway through my blog of this wedding. part two will come shortly.

alexis is building her portfolio right now and i jumped at the chance to work with her. we started out in my magic tree spot and quickly raced to the beach to catch some last daylight before sunset. i just wanted to edit a few of these immediately and give her and her family a little taste of what we created together. oh, and a shout out to her stylist for the day, also… riane (pronounced “ryan”), who works at salon platinum too.

i had a great time working with you, alexis! we will have to put our heads together for another different shoot in a couple of months, if you want to.

much more to come… i hope y’all love these. don’t forget to comment. it’s friendly!   :)