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Posts from the ‘Weddings’ Category

Whitney and Cliff: A Happy, Happy, Happy Wedding {Mobile, Ala.}

To kick off my posts of weddings this season, I get to start with an old friend. Whitney and I grew up together at church in Mobile, Ala. We got to be even closer during high school. As things happen, we kind of went our separate ways during college and with moves and whatnot. But, through the magic of Facebook, we connected again. And, lo and behold, Whitney was engaged soon! As the ultimate honor, she asked me to be her wedding director. Even if we weren’t planning her wedding at the Mobile Museum of Art, the time we got to spend catching up and getting to know each other (again!) was so sweet. I am continually surprised at the experiences that I get through my job.

A little about the wedding: Whitney and Cliff chose the gorgeous Christ Anglican church for their ceremony and the Mobile Museum of Art for their reception. Even though it was St. Patrick’s day, no green was seen at the wedding (except the money dance…). While I could talk about the red tones or the little birds that were used as a motif through out the wedding, it is actually the mood that I was especially hit by. Of all the weddings I have ever done and all the brides that I’ve worked with or just been around, Whitney was the happiest bride I have ever seen. Absolutely ecstatic to be getting married. And, you better believe that it carried through to the rest of the wedding. Cliff, a quiet guy, was clearly taken with his beaming bride. And nothing makes me smile more than my clients being happy.

So, here’s a glimpse into one of the happiest days that I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of (photos by One Fine Day Photography). Whitney and Cliff, it was so great to work with y’all and I couldn’t be happier for you guys! Congratulations!!!

Until next time…. XOXO, Julie

Engagements: Captured

I’m deep into the start of wedding season. I’m actually spending the week in my hometown of Mobile, Ala. getting ready for Whitney and Cliff’s wedding this weekend. Thus, I’m going to play the “I’m really busy” card (read: slacker) and do another photography post (read: low effort).

This time, I’m focused on the engagement photo shoot. Now, I’m a sucker for great wedding photography. But, engagement shoots are especially fun to me. It’s where you can devote the time to calm down, relax and just enjoy being with your fiance while a pro photographer captures your love in a casual, every day life type of setting (if you so choose). Full disclosure: I have had absolutely nothing to do with any of the photos that you are about to enjoy in this post beyond the fact that the folks in them are my super awesome clients having a ball with a few of my favorite photographers that I get to work with and subsequently brag on. I did not style these shoots. I did not even attend these shoots. I am simply admiring them and hopefully encouraging others to have fun with their engagement shoots as well.

I could spend time going into a few points for you to think about when it comes to your engagement shoot. But, that is for another post. Right now, I just want you to sit back and enjoy these lovelies. Until next time… XOXO, Julie

Brittany and Justin – Lucky Photography
These two are so cute! I can’t wait for their Wetumpka, Ala. wedding in May. It is going to be beautiful!

Adding a stop at Toomer’s Drugs for some lemonade during the shoot? Genius. And super cute! War Eagle!

Kristi and Josh – MJ Gillespie Photography
Their wedding here in Auburn, Ala. is just around the corner! It is going to be such a lovely affair. Seriously. Just wait for the photos.

Ellen and Ryan – FlipFlopFoto.com
Oh my goodness. I have been in love with these photos since they first appeared on Facebook (see them here). I have had such a great time working with Ellen and her family. Their rustic chic wedding at Children’s Harbour is coming in June. Get ready!

Rachel and Sean – Chanterelle Photography
These two gorgeous people are already married (remember their awesome wedding in Pike Road, Ala.?). But, I am still in love with their engagement photos. And, yes. They own a gym together. A couple that works out together, stays together. And looks hot together…

Jennifer and Scott: A Bold and Colorful Wedding {Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Ga}

This is another one of those weddings that I’ve loved and, for some reason, I’ve never done a post on the blog about. So, I thought I would start the new year off with a great wedding!

I was honored and really excited when Jennifer asked me to be her wedding planner. She and Scott chose Callaway Gardens as their destination wedding. Jennifer had a great vision for her wedding and wanted to use black and fuchsia as her colors. Very bold. She let me be her editor on the design and we decided that there would be no white in the wedding at all except for her dress. Black chairs, black table cloths, colorful flowers. But, she would be the only white.

It is always a little risky to go bold. But, with a garden setting, I think Jennifer’s vision came together flawlessly. One of the things I liked the best is that all the black that was used in the wedding as a backdrop allowed the flowers and any other accents pop completely. And, it made Jennifer, in her dress, stand out above all.

Beyond the fun and bold design, Jennifer and Scott were very focused on making sure that they and their guests enjoyed the day to its fullest. I have seen a lot of weddings. I can say that they had a BLAST. Their guests had so much fun. Again, that makes me more happy than anything.

So, enjoy the photos taken by the wonderful Delaney Holliman Photography. Another congratulations to Jennifer and Scott! I smile every time I look at your photos!

Until next time… XOXO, Julie

Allison and Chad: A Fun-filled Wedding at RiverMill Event Center {Columbus, Ga.}

It was kind of by accident that I got to work with Allison and Chad. The wedding industry is a relatively small one. A lot of us tend to rub elbows together every so often. Especially in a smaller market where you span various locales. I have been fortunate enough to work with a variety of vendors from Atlanta to Mobile to Birmingham and back. I like to keep those relationships strong and every so often, we call upon each other for a favor or two.

This wedding was no different. Jamie Keating, owner of one of my very favorite venues – RiverMill Event Centre in Columbus, Ga., – and executive chef of JK Culinary (amazing food… seriously), called me to help him out on a wedding day that seemed to have him pulled in too many directions. Of course, I was only too happy to help direct the wedding. I love his building, his staff (hey Beth!), his food, his style of event production. It is all flawless. At any rate, I was gladly pulled into one of the most fun weddings I have been a part of in recent memory.

Allison was one of those brides that had pretty much everything under control, except the actual execution of the day. She wasn’t flustered about anything. She knew exactly what she wanted and knew that it would come out great. She just needed some help keeping people in line that day. Although, it wasn’t that difficult of a job. Her wedding party was so much fun it made the day go together easily.

Beyond the fun of the wedding, I also got the chance to work with Matt Gillespie of MJ Gillespie Photography. I have been watching Matt’s work on Facebook and elsewhere and have been admiring it. So, I was thrilled to see him in action. And, as you will see below, he did not disappoint! I am so excited to show off his work here, the wonderful venue that the RiverMill is and the love and fun nature that Allison and Chad had throughout their entire wedding.

Many thanks and congratulations to Allison and Chad! I loved working with you and if the tone of your wedding is any indication, your future together is sure to be filled with fun and love! Until next time…XOXO, Julie

Karen and David: A Summer Wedding {Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Ga} {Auburn, Ala}

When I first met Karen, it was clear that this wedding would have a different focus than the flowers or the invitations or food or anything else. It would absolutely be completely focused on the happiness of the couple, the blending of families and enjoying their time with their closest friends above all else. I was so excited to be asked to be her wedding planner.

Karen and David’s love story is wonderful. After being widowed with triplet daughters (yes, you read that right – triplets – and they are adorable), Karen was lucky enough to meet David and fall in love. And, it’s not hard to see why David would fall for her. Karen’s personality is infectious. Bubbly, happy, sunny – all words that come to mind about her. I mean, she teaches Zumba and you know that a Zumba instructor has to be high energy. Karen was very focused on simply enjoying the day. So, it was up to me to help pull her vision together while making sure that she was able to enjoy the love and togetherness of her wedding weekend.

They decided that they wanted to have a smaller ceremony and then a larger reception. To do that, they chose the Chapel at Callaway Gardens for their ceremony to get away from things just a little bit and then moved on to the reception at the Moores Mill Country Club in Auburn. It was one of the sweetest summer soirees I’ve ever been a part of.

So, of course, we had to turn to Rob Smith of FlipFlopFoto to photograph the day just perfectly. Always lovely! I’m so glad I can share the photos with you here. Many, many congratulations to Karen and David! Y’all were so great to work with and I wish you nothing but a lifetime of happiness! Until next time….. XOXO, Julie

The girls waiting for the cake to be cut. Classic!

Kelly and Joseph – Married!

Happy blog day! Another wedding to feature! Kelly and Joseph had such a sweet wedding in Auburn. I was so happy to serve as their wedding director. With a July wedding date, Kelly had the good sense to have everything inside. Good thing too. It rained off and on the entire day.

But, it didn’t bother Kelly one bit. She was one of those brides who was just visibly happy about getting married. And, she ate it up. Also lucky for her, she had hired Rob Smith of FlipFlopFoto to take care of capturing her happy day.  Obviously, she was in good hands. So, without further ado, enjoy Kelly and Joseph’s wedding day.

Until next time… XOXO, Julie

Ben and Becca: Backyard Wedding Chic {Columbus, Ga}

I apologize for taking a week off. But, I will more than make up for it with these amazing photos of Ben and Becca’s wedding. First, let me set the scene.

It is hard to explain Ben and Becca’s wedding style. If I said casual, you would get the wrong idea. It wasn’t really. And comfortable doesn’t quite say it right either. Even though it was comfortable. I would definitely say that their personality was all over the wedding and it created a definitive style that immediately told you something about them. As a wedding planner, this makes me happy.

They chose to hold their wedding at Becca’s uncle’s house in Upatoi (just outside Columbus, Ga) which has a pecan grove. The ceremony was perfectly situated in the middle of the grove with the afternoon light just perfect. Becca chose bright flowers and bridesmaids dresses to off-set the burlap tones that they used throughout. Another touch? Collected craft beer bottles (Ben and Becca love craft beers) that were cleaned and used as groupings of vases. It was such a welcoming setting for an outdoor wedding and reception.

I think it was this home-y feel to things that let people really enjoy everything that Ben and Becca added to their wedding. Bocci ball and Cornhole at the cocktail hour? Yes, please. Full tent of desserts? Delicious. An ice cream truck later in the night? Awesome. Photo booth? Epic.

I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed working with Ben and Becca and seeing their wedding come together in such success. It is what makes my job really great. So, I will stop gushing and just let you take in the genius photos by Altmix Photography. It’s no secret that I love photography, but Matt and Katie perfectly captured Ben and Becca’s day, personality and love. All you could ask for in your photography. Thank you so much for sharing your photos!

This is my new favorite wedding photo. Just so great.

The awesome ice cream truck. So great.

Becca had presented Ben with a surprise of a craft beer that she had brewed, bottled and labeled just for Ben. In case you are wondering, that smile on Ben’s face is saying, “My wife totally rocks.”

Congratulations Ben and Becca! Y’all are so great and I smile evey time I look at your photos. Many wonderful wishes to you guys! – XOXO, Julie

About those photo booths…

I’m going to be a bit reflective today. Sometimes, I can get caught up in the wedding-ness that I am a part of day in and day out. And by that, I mean, all the research and blog reading and magazine reading and Facebook stalking and Twitter-ing and general “keeping up” with the wedding industry at large that I have to do. I say have to. I mean want to. Because, I want to see everything there is to see about weddings to be able to give my clients the best in design ideas, direction, etc.

I feel like I have seen it all by now. Seriously. Very few things stand out to me for real anymore. I can look at 10 different wedding blogs a day and find maybe one or two photos that stand out to me – and that’s a good day. I was getting worried that I might have become a bit jaded by my job. If you look at beautiful images all the time, you start to get very picky on what you personally call beautiful or interesting or unique. It’s kind of sad (for me).

But, the redeeming part of all this is separating the design aspect of a wedding from the personal aspect of a wedding. I know that I have already given myself away as a very formal person if I were to sum up my event style. Black tie. Uber fancy. But, when it comes down to it, all I would want from my event is that everyone has a great time. The personal aspect of it. The “who gives a care about what type of paper the program is printed on, I just want to celebrate with my friends” attitude that usually comes at about 2.5 hours before the reception ends at any normal wedding. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a paper snob and if I have the choice, I will definitely care about what type of paper the program is printed on. But, I get a zillion times more pleasure in seeing my clients have a knock-down, crazy-good time at their reception.

That brings me to a little preview of Ben and Becca’s wedding. I had the honor of helping them put together their day and it was so much fun. If I tell you that I am super formal when it comes to my event style, then Ben and Becca would be my nemesis. Not in a bad way at all! Their wedding was beautiful! Disclaimer: I appreciate all good design, formal and informal. Theirs was very crafty and homespun with love and very welcoming.  An outdoor ceremony with burlap on reception tables, cornhole and bocci ball at the cocktail hour, an ice cream truck along with their dessert tent, and a specially brewed craft beer. Just a very comfortable setting. And guess what? Their guests were completely involved in all the special touches that they had going on.

To illustrate, I give you Exhibit A: the photo booth. I share these photos with you before sharing the wedding photos because it illustrates how much fun everyone was having. I have had several photo booths at weddings. Up until this point, I have been slightly indifferent on the photo booth. I sometimes think that it’s just something to add to the hoopla of a wedding. But, Ben and Becca’s just had a different attitude. First off, the “booth” was really just a backdrop with a camera in front of it. Very simple. But, the genius of it was that you could watch what everyone was doing in the booth. All others I’ve had have been actual booths. Kind of closed off. This one, coupled with the amazingly fun props that Becca collected (I mean, who doesn’t love a Viking helmet and red feather boa?), was a recipe for fun! It just begged for you to jump in and be a nut in front of a camera. Which made for a very fun wedding reception elsewhere.

So, I dare you not to smile, and probably laugh out loud, as you look at their photo booth shots (thank you Altmix Photography). And think about how you want your guests to feel at your next wedding/event. I’m not saying that things have to get goofy to have a good time. But, it certainly doesn’t hurt… XOXO, Julie


 

Sean and Rachel: New Orleans Flavor for an Alabama Wedding {Pike Road, Ala}

Meet Sean and Rachel. This gorgeous couple got married in May at Rachel’s aunt and uncle’s house in Pike Road, Ala. Sean and Rachel live in Florida, but it was the beautiful property that her aunt and uncle have that inspired them to hold their wedding in Alabama. The property was chock full of beautiful trees with Spanish Moss hanging from them and it served as the best backdrop for Rachel’s wedding design: a New Orleans flavored wedding – since Rachel grew up in NOLA. I was loving being their wedding planner.

It was such a sweet wedding. Staying true to the NOLA flair, the music in the ceremony was heavy on the Louis Armstrong (i.e. recessional to “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” – how awesome!) and they paraded to Second Line at the reception. So fun! To round it out, cajun food abounded at the cocktail hour. Yum. So, please enjoy the amazing photos from the uber talented Julie Lowry of Chanterelle Photography. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Congratulations, Sean and Rachel! Y’all are awesome and I am so happy for you! – XOXO, Julie

Mary and James: Southern Wedding with Asian Flair {Opelika, Ala}

Today I have a treat for you. Mary and James are about the cutest couple you have ever seen. Totally in love and thrilled to be getting married. It was a total pleasure to work with them as their wedding planner.

They had a sweet ceremony at Mary’s mother’s house and then held a large reception at the new Event Center Downtown in Opelika, Ala. Mary hired Clay Mitchell at Opelika Floral Company to help incorporate James’ Japanese heritage into the floral decor. If I can gush for just a bit, Clay hit it out of the park. The flowers were perfect. Oranges and purples were used to create a gorgeous motif. The Event Center’s exposed brick and warehouse feel let the decor take center stage. Japanese lanterns were hung and specialty lighting added to create the right feel. It was gorgeous.

Please enjoy the photography of the lovely Erika from Kim Box Photography. She did a wonderful job capturing this beautiful couple and wonderful wedding. Congrats to Mary and James!!! I had a blast getting to know you. Your wedding was amazing!

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