Some Must Have Shots…

We just love creative couples who like to have fun with their engagement photos, and Alvina and Edwin definitely did! Along with Laura Leslie Photography, the two headed to The Gwinnett County Fair, north of Atlanta in Lawrenceville, Georgia, early one morning to beat the crowds. Then they spent a few hours just having a total blast together, and it shows brilliantly in these images. The spirit of this entire shoot is playful, bright, and wonderful—enjoy!

Alan had us when he snuck frosting from the mixer, and Yasmin could not be any more gorgeous than she is in this amazing engagement shoot by Anne Almasy! This stunning couple donned fabulous retro-inspired outfits while they made cake and cocktails (how on earth did they stay so clean with all that flour and icing?). And because it’s no surprise we’re an animal-loving team here at EAD, it goes without saying that we absolutely LOVE Yasmin and Alan’s kitty! Thanks to Anne Almasy for sharing such a fun shoot today!

Get ready for the sweetest fall engagement shoot! Andrea and Josh wanted a fall look for their photos, so they went just outside of Atlanta to Serenbe, a rustic backdrop that gave them the most beautiful shots! These two are cute as a button. Combine their cuteness with the photos of talented Melissa Schollaert Photography and the scenery of Serenbe, and we’ve got one fantastic engagement session to share with you today!

Kelly from Spindle Photography is an up and coming photographer who is no stranger to EAD (you can read her about her 2009 nuptials here). She sent over a sweet engagement session in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. Cassi and Matt are planning a 2011 wedding ceremony.

Laurel and Brayden married in a winter ceremony in Las Vegas. Several months later, they came to Laura at Art Star Photography in Atlanta for a “day after session.” They brought adorable props of vintage bikes, picnic blankets, and vintage radios, and their puppy came along for the ride!

Sam and Jessica are college sweethearts marrying in Atlanta next May. My favorite part? The shot of the couple holding signs up. I know it’s becoming standard, but I still love seeing the unique ways couples use this as part of their pre-wedding preparations. They chose Our Labor of Love as their photographer.

I’ve posted a lot about my planning process, so I figure it’s about time I stop my rambling and give up the goods. Here’s a look at how our wedding day went as seen through the lenses of Our Labor of Love:

Engagement sessions are so much fun! It’s a wonderful chance for the bride and groom to get comfortable in front of the camera, as well as to really show off their personalities in a unique and interesting way. Leah and Todd’s Atlanta engagement session, photographed by Hollie of Lytle{foto}, was a wonderful collaboration between the couple and their photographer. Hollie suggested a tea party theme, and Leah was inspired by this shoot from Simply Bloom Photography; put the two together and you have this magical shoot, full of lovely vignettes and captivating images!

While planning our wedding-etsy is one of the first sites I would visit when looking for a particular item.  I searched etsy for someone to make my dress before I found the ONE.  I spent hours on etsy looking for just the right birdcage veil and fascinator-before I found Kasia Fink.  

When looking for our invitations, I knew a few things for sure.  

One of my favorite elements of our wedding so far is definitely our popcorn bar.  Vince and I are HUGE popcorn eaters, and I love the idea of having different flavors for our guests to chose from.  I found this picture here after doing a google image search:

Wedding planning can be so overwhelming.  I knew so much of what I already wanted, but planning is hard even for someone who read and wrote wedding blogs regularly like myself.  So I did what most brides out there in blogland did…I went to Snippet and Ink.  I wanted an inspiration board and this is before I knew how to create my own..here’s what I found…

Now that my wedding recap is over, I just want to say a huge thank you to all of the people who went through it with me, all of you who followed along this week, and to Ami and Rebekah for having me!  I can’t believe that the wedding is actually over, and I appreciate you allowing me to relive it and now close this chapter of my life.  I am enjoying beginning the next and finding out what life has in store!

So to end, I spent quite awhile choosing some of my favorite moments and photos to share.

Now that I have walked you through the planning process to the day of the wedding, I know what most of you are thinking: Can we get to the details already?!  I will start with the vendors who made it possible:

Throughout the planning process, I mentioned before that I wanted to stay sane and delegate where I could.  That included finding a florist who I trusted to do just about whatever she wanted, letting my parents be in charge of the catering and the alcohol, and letting my bridesmaids choose much of their own outfits.  However there was one thing I couldn’t let go of – I wanted to make the invitations and other stationery myself.  Naturally, that began with Save the Dates.

My planning process continued in accordance with my first two priorities.  After relatively painlessly hammering out the guest list, I moved on to the huge task of finding a photographer.  I spent hours and hours looking through every Atlanta photographer’s website I could find, searching for a photojournalistic style that would fit into our budget.  One of these nights I was randomly looking through Knot message boards and stumbled upon a link to Blue World Studios.

In an effort to take you through my planning process, I will attempt to narrate in the order in which things actually occurred.  After getting engaged and determining that the wedding would take place in Atlanta, we knew we had to start by choosing the ceremony and reception locations.  Neither Ryan nor I was currently a member of any church, but we knew that we wanted a Catholic ceremony.  Therefore we did what other lazy couples do on Saturday night – map out the closest Catholic church!  And the first church in our search, amazingly enough, was the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Hey everyone!  I am honored and excited to be guest blogging this week for Elizabeth Anne Designs.  After finding this website more than a year ago, EAD has been a fantastic resource and incredible inspiration to me as I moved through the engagement process.  And as I have watched it grow over the past year, I am happy to say that it continues to inspire me as I adjust to married life!

It was beautiful in Atlanta on New Years Eve – we really lucked out with the weather.  A bit chilly, for sure, but not unbearable for portraits!  Here are some of the portraits I’ve gotten so far – I cannot wait to get the full set of photos to see the rest.