matt and i didn’t have the pleasure of meeting juli & blake until just two weeks before their wedding! a good friend of ours, kyle, had shot their engagement pictures and as he was already booked for their wedding, he told them about us! we went through the booking process without ever meeting up, so a couple of weeks ago when we finally met up for some coffee we were excited to get to know them! blake is in med school in savannah and juli has just started nursing school so it was on a quick pass through the city that we met them. their story is inspiring, full of patience and love and respect- and the way they interact is full of smiles and laughter. it is easy to see why, when we showed up to shoot, everyone was so excited for them to finally be married!
for me the morning started with the bridal luncheon where i learned about everyone there as juli toasted to each of her FIFTEEN bridesmaids. yes, FIFTEEN! it was awesome! after an impromptu yoga class led by an aunt, it was finally time to start getting ready. juli and her mom explained to me that her beautiful dress was created from the fabric of juli’s grandmother’s wedding dress and even fashioned with the original buttons- it was stunning. i took my time capturing all of the dress details in different ways just so i had an excuse to keep looking at it! :) let’s get started on the images with a couple of my favorite dress shots:
while the ladies were singing and applying makeup the men were already dressed (impressive!!) and matt was taking a few images with them outside in the parking lot. they found this crazy old bus and ran with it as a prop. you really never know what matt’s up to but i always love it in the end!
just before juli and her maids went outside for pictures we stopped in the foyer so she could have a moment with her dad as he saw her for the first time. the tears that immediately flooded to his eyes when he saw her brought tears to my own:
once outside it was time for a few portraits but since it was FREEZING everyone had to keep moving to stay warm! matt took images as i grabbed coats and handed them back between shots. luckily, juli and her ladies LOVE to dance so keeping body temperatures up wasn’t too much of a problem!
once we were back inside, the veil went on and what was about to happen seemed to become more real. glistening eyes and big smiles danced around the room as the girls encouraged and prayed over the life juli and blake were about to start.
then it was time! juli and her flower girl waited for just a few minutes before heading down the aisle.
officially a new family, juli & blake ran off with us for a few portraits at an old vet office down the street. they had made it very clear to us that couple portraits were the most important part of the day for them so we were ready! the location was stunning and even with just 20 minutes, juli & blake were at ease in front of the camera and up for anything. here are a few of our faves!
back at the reception, juli & blake danced their first dance as a married couple. they swayed to bright eyes: first day of my life, and it was perfect.
ok so another one of my favorite things about this wedding- they really embraced the fact that it was january. it was COLD. there were no leaves on the trees and they incorporated twigs into their decor and their portrait locations. they also had a hot tea bar at their reception- i was in love!
when it was finally time for them to leave their guests were the rowdiest we’ve EVER seen! everyone was blowing horns and yelling and waving and dancing- it was like a concert as everyone pressed closer to the getaway car! what a way to go out!
juli & blake, thank you so so much for including us in your wedding day. we had such a great time shooting for you and watching you start your new life! we look forward to keeping in touch and we wish you both the very best together!