as with many of our newest friends, we first met erin online through a comment she left on our blog. as is usual for me, i jumped over to her blog to see who she was and what she was all about! i spent a while reading back entries and getting to know the sweet girl behind the blog- a writer, a photographer, a dreamer. so when erin showed up as a bridesmaid and her boyfriend, bryan, showed up as the dj at lauren & joe’s wedding last fall, it was a great surprise!
just a few months later erin emailed us with the good news that bryan proposed! we set up a meeting as soon as we could- which ended up being late on a friday night, after another shoot and just one day after stella’s ‘lady surgery.’ so covered in grass, drugged puppy in tow, we met them for coffee. we fell into friendship with them right away- we have so much in common! we exhausted every subject before finally getting around to talking about their vision for their wedding. we left smiling, knowing that we had new friends and hoping that they would pick us for their wedding!
they did!
when i arrived to start shooting i was immediately struck by the awesomely unique home erin grew up in- she told me that it was a family project- they spent years building it with their own hands, the whole family working together! this gave me just a little glimpse into how loving and energetic and, frankly, DIYtastic this family really is! i began capturing details while the girls reminisced about the rehearsal dinner they held at the house the night before and chatted about how much they were looking forward to specific wedding details that i would see later. i found myself just as excited for the rest of the day as they were! but first, a few details. long ago erin made a newspaper chain to represent the days until she married bryan and i love how she kept the final link in her sight on her wedding day- the perfect reminder of a long beautiful journey ending and the excitement of beginning another!
erin & bryan made the invitations themselves- bryan rocking the letterpress and erin masterminding the rest. they are so personal- a future business venture maybe? we shall see!
while i chilled with the ladies, matt met bryan and his guys at his & erin’s new loft. we were excited to discover that they are living 5 minutes from us! i love this big image matt captured of bryan in the parking deck of their building:
couple portraits were really important to erin & bryan so they planned plenty of time for us to explore the city together! we started at their ceremony site, the beautiful atlanta contemporary art center and explored the surroundings there before jumping in the car to enjoy a few other locations close by. it was great having so much time to be creative and i hope erin & bryan are as happy as we are with their mini portrait session.
when we arrived back at the contemporary, final preparations were almost complete and there was nothing left to do but relax and place erin’s veil to complete her wedding day look (she left the veil off for portraits as a surprise for bryan when she walked down the aisle).
before we dive into the ceremony let’s take a second to pause and oooh and aaah over these beautiful details erin and her family and friends created for her wedding! everything was so beautifully integrated with the surroundings at the contemporary- it was perfect! OH, and the typewriter? erin actually used it to address all of her invitations!
ok, back to the ceremony! erin walked down the aisle with both of her parents, so sweet! it was easy to see the happiness and love in everyone’s faces as this new family was being knitted together:
the sun stayed behind the clouds for most of the ceremony but made a grand appearance at the very end when erin & bryan walked back down the aisle, married and ecstatic! the glow of the setting sun was a stunning way to perfect that moment!
a friend of the family had secured us access to the roof of a nearby building for a few night portraits after the ceremony- it was so peaceful up there!
the reception started with a friend singing their first dance and a crowd of friends and family watching, cheering, and enjoying the personal touches erin & bryan spent months dreaming up!
then came the dancing! erin and her dad impressed everyone with a dramatic ending:
erin & bryan, thank you guys so much for having us! we are so excited for your future and we wish you the best- hope to see you soon!