mandywhitleyphotography.com

My little cousin is married!

As I edited through Erin & Shawn’s photos I found myself reliving all those moment not just as their photographer, but as their family member and someone who cares very much about their happiness. It is always such a great experience to get to witness and document someone’s wedding day, but when that day includes your entire family, and many friends you’ve known your entire life, it becomes even more important.

And yes, I was even tearing up a little while editing these images watching the day go by again. Wondering how in the world my little cousin is old enough to be married. She’s exactly 10 years younger than me (so, there’s no way she could be old enough to be married, right? My sister & I used to dress her up in all sorts of crazy outfits and I would take pictures her using my very first camera (a little 110 film LeClick-bright purple and yellow, oh yeah).

I obviously do not know Shawn as well as Erin, but I will tell you what I do know. He is a kind, good hearted person and will treat Erin as she deserves to be treated and love her as she deserves to be loved. So what else do you need to know, right? I have actually known some of his family members for a very long time too, which makes everything I was saying before continue to be true.

The ceremony was held at the Lutheran Church in Altenburg, Missouri and Saxon Lutheran Memorial was the beautiful fall backdrop for their wedding photos.

So, let’s talk details, as there were so many wonderful ones to talk about. First, the bride did all her own flowers. Her mom (my aunt) Janet is a wonderful florist and altogether crafty genius and together they did all the gorgeous decorations for the hall, the church and the flowers. You can find her at Garden Gate in Cape Girardeau, Missouri if you are in the need of a great florist!

I was also happy to have been able to go wedding dress shopping with Erin – yay for The White Room here in Nashville where Erin got her dress! And that veil she’s wearing, it’s her mom’s, from her own wedding in 1975. Totally unaltered and looking perfect with the dress Erin chose.

Music and DJ services by Mike Engert.
Beautiful and tasty wedding cakes from Hoeckle’s Bakery. (and seriously, if you are reading this and have never had a Hoeckele’s donut I just feel sad for you, they are wonderful, and you must immediately go to Perryville, Missouri and get one)
Wedding party formal attire from Andrew Jackson’s.
Catering provided by Tractor’s Classic American Restaurant.
Reception site was the lovely Bavarian Hall in Jackson, Missouri.

All the vendors were great and did an amazing job!

What a great day and what a joy to be the one capturing it for you. I wish you the best marriage and life together, and look forward to watching your relationship grow.

Love,

Mandy

Before heading off to Australia I wanted to put up a little sneak peak for my beautiful cousin Erin & her handsome husband Shawn. They were married last week in Missouri and the fall leaves were gorgeous for them! These are two of my favorites so far….and there are so many more. It was so great to get to spend their big day with them!

Enjoy the preview,
Mandy

Crystal & Robert are both engineers living in Pennsylvania, planning a wedding in Nashville, which is no easy task.  Their engagement session was preempted by the May flooding, as well as their choice for where to do wedding day photos (Opryland Hotel).  Despite these hurdles their wedding day went beautifully, with the help of their wonderful friends and family as well as the wedding planning services of Creations by Debbie.  Debbie, her husband Don with Events Plus Nashville, & their team did a wonderful job keeping the day running smoothly.

The venue of the wedding and reception was the Marriott Hotel & Resorts which has a fantastic new area built right off the hotel just for special events.  Lindsey, the event coordinator there was great to work with, and the food provided by the hotel was very yummy  

The couple opted to not see each other before the ceremony and to see Robert’s face as his bride walked down the aisle was priceless – just full of happiness & excitement.  The ceremony was tailored to fit the couple and included the couple jumping the broom as they came back down the aisle after they were married.

The toasts at the reception were so emotional & heartfelt, given by their parents and siblings who were all so very happy to see Robert & Crystal so in love & now married.  They certainly made me tear up too   The dance floor was a hoppin’ place helped greatly by the couple’s favorite DJ from Memphis, Rodney “HotRod” Jones.  The cakes were so amazing (both the wedding cake & the groom’s cake), done by The French Confection in the couple’s wedding colors.

A beautiful wedding & a beautiful couple,  thank you Crystal & Robert for letting me share your day with you.    And a big thank you to Anna for second shooting!

Enjoy the preview,

Mandy

I was so excited to hear from Melissa, who is the sister of a groom whose wedding I photographed last year, it was really fun to see the family again!  Melissa & Joel have an exotic animal farm and their wedding and reception was decked out in wonderful details surrounding that theme.   From emu eggs, to peacock feathers to fun safari hats, it was definitely well thought out and looked great!  The wedding itself took place at the Cowboy Church  in Oak Ridge, MO (which just happens to be the town where I went to high school).  So, as the name would have you believe, it is themed in cowboy style, including a general store set up which made for some fun photos!

The cakes were made by Nancy Halbrooke, a friend of the couple.  The groom’s cake was a snake (to continue the exotic animal theme).   The bride got her dress from David’s Bridal and it was beautiful on her!   The entertainment for the evening was brought by The Rescue Band!  They also had a bus that drove the entire wedding party to and from the church and reception site from Amore Limos, what a great idea!

Melissa & Joel, you and your friends and family were wonderful to work with!  Enjoy the preview.

Mandy

When Rose first contacted me she was studying abroad in Berlin, trying to plan a wedding here in Nashville from VERY far away.  Fortunately, this gal is a very organized bride (which is wonderful) and all the planning went off without a hitch!  Rose and Marshall were married in an intimate ceremony at Top O’ Woodland Historic Inn & Wedding Chapel.  The B&B fit in so well with their quirky style and great sense of humor.  A big thank you to Sue Davies-Rephan (coordinator for Top O’ Woodland) for making the day go seamlessly!  This location is so fun to photograph-so many details and so many great places to shoot.

I really loved working with this couple!  They were very excited to tell me about the super fun glass cake toppers they had made just for the occasion purchased on etsy.  Just to give you a clue into the sense of humor we are talking about here, these little guys are named “Bride & Doom” (see photo below).  Love it! 

Rose and Marshall opted to do a first look moment before the ceremony, which allowed us to get tons of great shots of them as a couple!  (All you soon to be marrieds out there, this is definitely something to consider doing.  Also, you get to actually talk to you soon to be spouse, which can’t really happen once the two of you arrive at the altar.) This day was filled with great friends and family to support the couple.  And for a grandmother who couldn’t travel to be there, Rose’s dad set up a webcam so she could view the ceremony in real time.  How great is that?

So many wonderful vendors helped to make this day a success!  Check them out!

Venue:  Top O’ Woodland Historic Inn & Wedding Chapel

Food:  A Dream Come True Catering - Okay, they had these feta stuffed artichokes there….WOW!  That’s all I can really say.

Cupcake Tree:  Dulce Desserts - Yum!  Strawberry filled giant cupcake anyone?

Gluten-free cupcakes for a few of the guests from:  Fiddlecakes (a great idea for any of your guests who need gluten-free items!)

Flowers:  The East Garden- and they were beautiful!

Dress & Tuxes:  Glitz Bridal (I think we can all agree that Rose looked gorgeous in her gown, and Marshall looked great too!)

Ceremony Music:  David Dorn

Thanks to all the vendors, the family & friends present, my wonderful second shooter Rebecca and, of course, the happy couple for a great day!

Enjoy the preview,

Mandy

Did I mention I love photographing weddings?  Elizabeth & Brett’s big day was no exception!  They were married at New Hope Free Will Baptist Church in Joelton, TN, followed by a reception at the same location.  Everyone was absolutely wonderful to work with, Elizabeth looked gorgeous and her groom looked great as well.  Their friend Kelly did an excellent job keeping everything organized and on schedule during the big day.  It was very apparent that these two have a wonderful and strong support system with their family, friends and fellow church members.

The other fab vendors involved in their big day included:  Norma Pettus who made their lovely cake; Joey Clay with Changes Salon who not only did hair and makeup for the bride and bridesmaids, he also did the flowers as well!  The bride’s gorgeous dress came from Bridal Warehouse.

Their wedding day was actually on my birthday (as well as the birthday of one of their bridesmaides, whose name is also Amanda….weird   and I really enjoyed spending part of it with them.  A big thank you to my second shooter Heather for all her hard work!  She took this great shot of their cake.

Elizabeth & Brett honeymooned in Playa Del Carmen (don’t be jealous).  Hope you guys had a wonderful time! 

Enjoy the preview!

Mandy