Jul 18
2

Mary Nevin & Thomas’ Wedding in France

By | Weddings | 4 Comments


We just returned from our local farmers market. I needed to buy chicken and a few vegetables and we came home with a baguette, almond croissants, fresh cheese, a couple kinds of cured meat, olives, cherrys, rosé, and lillet blanc. My brain (stomach) is really trying to hang on to the high from our perfect french holiday and for that I thank (blame) Miss Mary Nevin and her Frenchman, thomas. :) We first met Mary Nevin and her mom over a quick cup of coffee in Atlanta where they gave us a rundown of the wedding day mixed with a general picture of the small town where Thomas grew up and where the ceremony and reception would take place. They told us just enough to make us realize that we were in for the time of our lives- nothing less! A few months later we met Thomas over dinner and had a great night getting to know him, as well as he and Mary Nevin as a couple. You know how complimentary colors lie opposite one another on the color wheel? Well, not to get too cheesy on you but that is honestly what I thought of hanging out with these two- they are so different that they literally make the other more vibrant and unique just by being together. Mary Nevin is overflowing with energy and passion and love and it is so obvious from the very first second you meet her. Thomas is more reserved and calm and analytical- he listens and supports Mary Nevin and doesn’t seem to ever take his eyes completely off of her. They share a deep respect and love for one another and for those around them- always putting others first and serving others side by side. After spending a couple of days with them I realized that Thomas was the only person with whom Mary Nevin would allow herself to fully relax. It was sweet to catch them in moment of stillness when it seemed like they’d truly forgotten they were surrounded by people. It’s so wonderful to witness and capture such intimate moments. I love these two.

Confession, we’re going to start with an image from our own room- I’m sure their room and view was quite similar as we all stayed together in an old castle that had been converted into the most perfectly relaxing bed & breakfast:


We arrived at Thomas’ parent’s home in time to explore a little- the seemingly endless expanse of vineyards, orchards and gardens truly took our breath away. Here are some of Thomas’ cousins gathering flowers to weave into their hair for the wedding. I can’t believe this is real life:





Many of the guests walked from the house to the church just down the hill in the village. I love this image Matt captured of Thomas and his grandmother:


















After the ceremony, guests changed into comfortable clothes to prepare for their all-night celebration of Mary Nevin & Thomas! Matt found a quiet minute to sneak away and drive back through the town and up the other side of the valley to capture this stunning image of the reception just before sunset. This is one of my favorite images ever:



















Dinner was beautifully prepared French comfort food- whole roasted lamb with crispy skin, nutty couscous and garbanzo beans topped with savory stewed vegetables and so much more- all complemented perfectly with deliciously deep red wine made from their own grapes.



After dinner there was dancing and general celebration of Mary Nevin & Thomas and life in general- the French are good at that. :) Mary Nevin & Thomas removed themselves from the center of attention and took a few moments to soak up the day and enjoy being together. What a perfect way to end the evening.


Jul 09
0

destination wedding photography- our story :)

By | Personal | 2 Comments

five years ago when matt & i were tossing around the idea of shooting weddings together, we kept a pretty extensive mental pro/con list. on one hand, we held steady jobs with guaranteed income and on the other hand…was the complete unknown. one side had us preparing for retirement, saving and investing and the other side was…completely unknown. when we finally just threw out the list and trusted that this is what we were supposed to be doing, we breathed a sigh of relief and dove in head first. :) our first year surprised us by taking us to lots of new cities and introducing us to some seriously amazing friends. after that first year matt & i decided to really focus on weddings in atlanta- our cozy little home is here and as much as we loved the travel, it was wearing on us a little (maybe because my ’93 accord was sans a/c…;))

but then something happened- incredible destination weddings started coming our way and as much as we wanted to be there, we found ourselves booked in atlanta. after turning down several tropical destinations and a particularly painful email to some good friends of ours getting married in their tiny hometown in the alps, we decided it was time to have a little faith and not book ourselves so solidly. (kinda hard when lots of bookings = job security!) needless to say, it wasn’t long before we were back shooting in some other favorite cities like asheville, new orleans and savannah, and when the next opportunity for a wedding in france came our way- we were actually available to shoot! a little celebration took place here at the altmix household and we wrote back with excitement and probably entirely too many exclamation points. ;) when everything was official, we started our planning. we left for our adventure june 14th and 3 weeks, 5 distinctly different french cities and 240957 pounds of pastries later, we’re back home and beyond excited to share it all with you! i havent even seen one image yet but if i just dropped my camera and it accidentally fired anywhere in france it would be the most beautiful picture ever, so i’m not worried. ;) stay tuned!

for now, i want to send a huge THANK YOU! to the delightful and talented jonathan canlas for having us ‘model’ for his recent workshop in atlanta. we were so blessed by all of the photographers we met and we thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for sharing their talent and images with us- we treasure them all. :)

Jul 05
0

amy & donny are married!

By | Weddings | 3 Comments

there is something special about amy and donny- it’s true that they are full of wit, knowledge and adorable quirkiness- but it’s more than that. sometimes i just want to put them on slow motion so i can catch all of what they are saying to one another- so many puns, quick jokes and allusions! after our very first dinner with them we couldn’t help but be really excited about their wedding day! you know how sometimes you meet a couple and it’s just so obvious they are perfect for one another? a couple that exemplifies how incredibly special it is to find a soulmate? that’s amy & donny. to. a. T.

…which makes for a fabulous wedding celebration! matt & i were honored that they asked us to spend their wedding day with them in miami! we arrived a couple of days early to relax by the pool with books and cocktails and ensure that we were fully rested and refreshed for their wedding- you know, it’s important! ;) their wedding day dawned brilliantly sunny and cloudless and amy & donny started right away living fully in every moment. or, in amy’s case, sometimes trying not to embrace it quite so fully to keep back the tears. :) every time i saw either amy or donny, their smiles were the biggest i’d ever seen them- the joy was apparent and the beginning of the rest of their lives started as perfectly as it possibly could!

during the bedeken, amy & donny shared a sweet moment when the rabbi asked them to look into each other’s eyes and confirm this is the person they mean to marry. while everyone else was drying their eyes, donny pulled the veil over amy’s face in preparation for the ceremony.

amy’s sweet parents as we walked to the ceremony:

i love these next few images of amy & donny talking with his parents as they danced, so sweet:

when donny proposed to amy he tied it into one of their favorite movies, back to the future, so it was only right that they head off into their own future in a delorean (SO AWESOME)!

 amy & donny, thank you so much for having us! we really loved capturing your wedding day and spending time with your family and friends. we wish you the very best!