farm wedding - ALTMIX Photography

Nov 18

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adrienne & ric are married!

By Kate Altmix | Weddings | 2 Comments

adrienne & ric make an impression on you the minute you meet them- their love and passion for life and one another is inspiring and so obvious to those around them. they also happen to share a passion for photography, so maybe we’re a bit biased when it comes to how obviously awesome they are… ;) in case you need one more reason to fall for these two let me just give you a peek into their epic engagement story: a blind fold, a web of complex half-truths, a huge yellow hot air balloon and lightly-veiled near-hysteria. it’s a day they look back on with the greatest fondness but also with laughter at ric’s attempts to keep his plan on track as it slowly derailed. if you ever happen to see them around town, definitely stop them and ask for the story- be less creepy by first mentioning this blog post. anyway, no doubt you’re now convinced of their love and perfection as a couple; let us move on to their wedding day! they were married at neverland farms on a crisp fall day under a warm sun- simply lovely! matt spent most of his day laughing with ric and his hilarious older brothers who enjoyed alternating between giving sage advice and sidesplitting laughter:

meanwhile the girls were beautifully calm and serene as they sipped wine and chatted about their many good times with adrienne. they were so sweet to be around and the time slipped by quickly so that before we knew it, it was time for adrienne to meet up with her dad and jump onto the carriage that was to take them to the ceremony.

it was an emotional meeting, adrienne being his baby girl, but both of their excitement was evident through the tears:

the ceremony took place in a sweet garden near their reception site. the guests sipped on mulled wine and turned, smiling, as adrienne & her dad pulled up in the carriage and began to walk down the aisle toward ric:

as adrienne & ric are photographers, they knew ahead of time that they wanted to set aside a good amount of time for couple portraits around the grounds after the ceremony. we traipsed through fields and picked our way along narrow trails capturing the beauty of fall and love together. here are just a few of our faves:

the sun began to set and we headed back for the reception where guests were excited to find the celebration start with a unique twist: a love story. guests gathered around as adrienne & ric put all of the pieces of their relationship together for their closest friends and family. there were many exclamations and cheers and it was a really sweet way to bring everyone together before the dancing broke out:

i love this next set of images of adrienne’s parents breaking it down- they had as much fun celebrating as anyone else!

ric and his brothers surprised the ladies with some serenading:

adrienne & ric, thank you both so much for choosing us to capture this day. everything was as perfect as it could have been and, yet, still so relaxed and celebratory! we wish you the best!

Nov 19

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lauren & matt are married!

By Kate Altmix | Weddings | 8 Comments

since first meeting lauren we’ve been excited for her wedding to arrive- she was one of the first people to book us when we started the biz and she trusted us completely to capture the biggest day of her life- WOW! if not for amazing couples like lauren & matt we would not be where we are today- and that is just a tiny part of why we were so pumped when their wedding finally arrived! since lauren started her wedding planning so far in advance we had lots of time to become great friends; although once you meet her for the first time you feel like you’ve known her forever! when we met up with them at lauren’s family farm for their engagement pics– of course we were going to grab dinner with them afterward- and that only gave us more time to fall in love with this incredible couple. we are blessed to know them!

their wedding day dawned rainy and unseasonably cold so starting at 5am lauren and her family began instituting the rain plan they never dreamed would be put into action. they had landscaped and pruned their beautiful farm to perfection but when the rain hit it was time to move everything inside their home. can you even imagine a huge reception inside your own home!? i absolutely cannot. the stress must have been crazy as they pushed furniture into bedrooms and cleared surfaces for flowers. this should just give you a little taste of how magical lauren and her family are- they made it happen in no time and with big smiles and only a few quick glistening tears. what an amazing family!

while lauren and her mom finished up the last bit of decor in the house and katie completed their hair and makeup, i took her stunning bouquet outside for a few shots. twigs did a beautiful job with the flowers and they complimented the existing design elements perfectly- including this cat? ;)

meanwhile, matt spent his morning at lauren & matt’s new (old) house before heading to a little downtown close by for some portraits with the gents:

even though it was freezing with hints of mist in the air, lauren and her ladies were up for a few shots outside at the farm. yeay! we ignored the way our heels dug into the soft wet ground- we did stay pretty close to the house to shoot but it was awesome that we were able to capture the natural environment even if just for a few portraits!

lauren & matt were not about to let the cold get in the way of their pictures together so we parked on the side of the long driveway leading to lauren’s house and took these next few images. how amazing must it be to wake up in such a beautiful place every day? just, wow:

lauren’s details and personal touches made me really excited- i love her clean, natural, casual style and we weren’t about to let her post go by without sharing a few of our favorite elements!

the foyer became the dance floor when the wedding was moved indoors and it worked out perfectly! all of the guests were able to surround them as they enjoyed their first dance as a new, complete, little family!:

the cake was based on lauren’s dress and i love how perfectly they translated the design, classic:

lauren & matt, we love you guys! congratulations on an amazing wedding; we were so blessed to be there capturing the awesomeness as it happened. we wish you both the very best in marriage and we hope to see you guys again!

Jun 18

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chane’ & tom are married!

By Kate Altmix | Weddings | 12 Comments

when i was younger there was a house that we passed every day on the way to school with a front yard FULL of wildflowers. as we drove by i dreamed of one day planting my own yard full of flowers instead of grass. life went on and i learned about neighborhood regulations- that dream was put on the back burner…until we showed up at chane’ & tom’s wedding! there were wildflowers EVERYWHERE! they stopped only for the occasional unpaved road and their color and vibrancy set the stage for their dream wedding. there were tall fields of sunflowers all around us and small bright poppies, daises and what looked like blue flax adorned every inch of natural space around the ceremony and reception sites. it was tom’s family’s property and chane’ was given free reign with the seeds- the sight could not have been more beautiful!

really everything about this wedding was a dream- the weather, the colors, the setting but most of all, the people. huge grins accompanied every event of the day, which was actually very helpful for me as chane’ and her family are from south africa and all day wove in an out of speaking english and the exotic sounding, afrikaans. the vibrant culture that accompanies this language was evident in chane’s wedding, and blended seamlessly with the southern hospitality of tom’s upbringing.

i could really talk all day about the unique and loving families who came together at this wedding, but really, i think the pictures can say much more. we’ll start with the beginning of the day, with the girls chatting in the kitchen lazily munching watermelon- while the dress was hanging quietly in a bedroom down the hall.

while i hung out with the ladies and watch chane’s little sister work absolute MAGIC on her hair, matt met the guys at tom’s grandparent’s old home. tom’s aunt lives there now and was so kind to allow us to wander the property and take portraits in the very same places tom used to play in as a kid! the nostalgia of the barn, especially, worked wonderfully for images- it was just so rich with old tools and dusty light!

probably one of my favorite images we’ve ever taken- the light is just so brilliant and dramatic and emphasizes the details on chane’s dress perfectly!

because i was so in love with the decor there was no way around us making a detail board for this wedding! chane’- your brilliance and creativity came together so perfectly! this is just amazing:

the sun came and went during the ceremony so we have a huge variety of images! i love that matt grabbed this one as the sun was just about to break through. he actually grabbed two shots so he could do a little composite- we rarely do anything HDR but the sky was too stunning not to!

just as matt grabbed the previous shot and started walking back to the ceremony, the sun peeked out and shined straight into my lens. usually i’d immediately angle the lens for a more balanced shot but the moment when it came out was so beautiful i wanted to capture exactly what their guests were seeing- the resulting capture brings a little thrill to my heart:

as does this look:

the sunflowers i mentioned before were tipped with golden light as we strolled down this little road for portraits. the next few moments are some of the best i’ve experienced as a photographer. the light was beyond words, the sunflowers were brilliantly golden and the green was glowing with the sunset- and chane’ & tom were celebrating being married, totally ignoring us, grinning and laughing and embracing and kissing- we couldn’t shoot quickly enough.

when the sun finally dropped it happened quickly- replacing the striking gold with a cool blue hue. i love how matt captured the reception, the dusky sky and the wildflowers in the foreground all in this shot:

chane’ & tom had their guests cheering and tearing up the dance floor from the moment they were introduced! tom even grabbed the mic and shocked us all (well, at least me! i guess his friends knew) by belting out mustang sally in a way i’m sure i’ll never hear again! the energy level stayed at rave status most of the evening and i’m sure matt and i had as much fun as the guests! seriously, i could go to their wedding again every weekend and enjoy it each time!

this next shot was taken as tom was reaching for the garter to toss it. chane’s mom’s expression cracks me up- it seems to be a mixture of disbelief and joy- really, all of the expressions are priceless- it’s a winner:

a robust cover of don’t stop believin’ brought down the house as the last song and we’ve never had a harder time picking out just one image of a series to share with you!

chane’ & tom, you guys, i don’t have words for you! everything about your wedding was as enjoyable for the guests as it was for you, and i don’t think i’ve ever smiled as much as i did (and laughed!) at your reception. thank you so so much for including us in your wedding, best wishes to you! oh and THANK YOU for introducing me to boiled peanuts, now everytime we pass a sign for them on the road i get all excited and make matt stop! ;)