When I first met with Erin and Blake and Erin’s mom, Roxanne, they told me they had two goals for their wedding: have a simple, laid-back ceremony and a really amazing party. At the end of Saturday night, after the couple had driven away, I went inside to give Roxanne a hug and congratulate her, and when she asked me if they had achieved their goals, I answered with a resounding YES.

The entire day at Lincpoint was so relaxed (wedding photographer’s dream come true!), and I loved the way that the romantic black-and-red color scheme was not only a subtle, non-cheesy nod to the upcoming Valentine’s Day, but also a major tribute to Erin and Blake’s love for Alabama football. Though they both claim that they are complete opposites (she’s outgoing, he’s soft-spoken; she’s a self-professed Type A and he keeps her grounded), they are clearly head over heels in love. And because they met at and graduated from the University of Alabama together and have been to almost every single game together since 2005, it made sense for their wedding to be a celebration of their love story. Also, they have two cats named after South Park characters (Butters and Bebe), which automatically makes them awesome. :)

One of my favorite parts of the whole wedding was the FOOD. Going with the keep-it-simple-and-fun theme, they had Jim ‘n Nicks BBQ cater (their mac ‘n cheese is TO. DIE. FOR.) and instead of a cake, they had a huge table full of Dreamcakes cupcakes. Just goes to show that a wedding menu doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy if it’s delicious comfort food. :)

And now…. the photos! Big thanks to Carmen Michael who came along to shoot with me… you’ll see some of her fantastic shots below. :)

Erin specifically asked for an Adele-inspired bouffant, and I couldn’t believe how much it made her look like her. Once she put on that fabulous fur stole, the whole look was just ridiculously gorgeous.

Wouldn’t you know that every other Saturday this winter has been a balmy 60+ degrees, but Birmingham got a cold snap just in time for the wedding? I’m always so thankful for the brave couples and bridal parties who are willing to face bone-chilling temps to get great photos.

If I somehow manage to get through an entire wedding day without getting choked up, the streak is usually ruined once the father-daughter dance starts. As soon as Erin and her dad took the dance floor and I saw the sweet moment below, I lost it.

At the end of the reception, Erin’s dad changed into his Alabama sweats and busted a move on the dance floor. Hands down one of my favorite moments of the day.

Congratulations you guys!

Last May, I had the pleasure of traveling to South Carolina to second shoot Kelsey and Greg’s wedding with Kelly, and I’ve been wanting to share some images from that day ever since. Kelly and I had quite the weekend, between discovering the kid’s clothing store Crazy 8 (where I literally had to stop her from buying clothes for her nonexistent future children), gorging at Outback Steakhouse at 10:00 pm the night before the wedding, oohing and ahhing over the bride’s ridiculously amazing dress, and hanging out with our friends Paul and Courtney at Kinora Films, who documented the day oh-so-perfectly. (Seriously, if you are getting married in Birmingham… or anywhere really…. HIRE THEM.)

When we showed up to the bride’s parents’ home, where all the festivities were held, it was love at first sight. Don’t believe me? They had a see-through dance floor installed over their backyard pool just for the reception. It was super cool but also slightly terrifying to stand on. (I just knew we were going to end up reenacting the scene from It’s a Wonderful Life where the dance floor opens up and people start falling and then jumping into the pool. Which is totally great unless you’ve got thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment strapped to your body. ;) )

Anyway, I can’t believe it’s been 9 months since this wedding. Seems like just yesterday! Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Anne and Steven are just the kind of people who are FUN to be around. They have such enthusiasm for life and for small joys, and it’s super contagious. It only made sense for us to do part of their engagement session at the aquarium in Atlanta, and Anne was so excited about it that I couldn’t help be excited too! Between shooting, we listened to presentations on whale sharks (didn’t even know there was such a thing!), pet the sting rays, and cooed over the sea otters. It’s moments like those that remind me how much I love doing what I do. I mean, it’s hard to feel like you’re working when you’re getting to hang out with new friends at the aquarium. ;)

These two have been together for eight years, so their April wedding is a much-anticipated event. What I love though is how they still are so young at heart and so obviously in love despite how long they’ve been dating. I’m so excited and honored to be apart of it all! As you’ll see, we had a blast together and didn’t stop laughing the whole afternoon. Enjoy!

Love this.

At the very end of our session, Anne spotted the fountain in Olympic Park and suggested they get a little adventurous. This series might be my favorite of the whole day. :)

Thank you Anne and Steven for such a great time! Can’t wait to head down to Pensacola for your wedding!

Oh, January. I can’t believe you’re over today. Back in November I was thinking how much free time I would have to work on all these projects I had been brewing in my mind this month, and now it’s basically over. I mean, I did accomplish quite a bit on the business end of things (don’t even get me started on taxes and how much I owe the government this year), and on the home front (my dining room is nearly done! hooray!), but there’s never as much time as you think there will be. Next thing I know it’ll be full on wedding season! Eek! But for now, I’ll share some stuff I’ve been loving this month. If you’re so inclined, let me know in the comments what YOU can’t get enough of so that I know what I need to be checking out! :)

1. When I flew out to Utah for Sundance a couple of weeks ago, I decided to pick up a couple of novels to entertain myself on my long travel days. (When it was all said and done, I ended buying AND reading four novels during my two days of plane-hopping. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when access to a TV and internet is taken away for long stretches of time!) One of them was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I had seen previews for the Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock movie adaptation, but I wanted to get my hands on the book first. SO glad I did. For subject matter that seems so heavy and depressing (a young boy loses his father in the 9/11 attacks and embarks on a journey around New York City to find closure), the novel is surprisingly full of hope and even a good bit of humor. It is by far one of the most beautifully written, poignant, and earnest books I’ve read, and I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know ever since. Another of the books, An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin, was completely different but just as enjoyable. Because it revolves around the art world in New York in the 90′s, one of my favorite elements of the book was actually the cover, which felt like a canvas. I thought that was just such an interesting nod to the subject matter, and I was extra careful not to smudge or bend it. But the book itself is also quite good. I didn’t realize that on top of being an excellent actor and a fantastic musician, Steve Martin is also a talented writer. I guess some people just get all the breaks. ;)

2. Last fall, Jamie’s parents gave us a Keurig coffee maker, and man…. I am addicted. I was a little skeptical about the quality of the coffee, but then I discovered Green Mountain’s Pumpkin Spice K-cups, and it was love at first taste. I don’t even drink it with cream or sugar. It has the perfect amount of spiciness and flavor while still being a pretty full-bodied coffee. Unfortunately, I found out that it’s a seasonal offering, so I used an Amazon gift card I got for Christmas to buy a huge bulk pack of it. Hopefully it’ll get me through the next couple of months. :)

3. While at the airport, I also picked up a copy of the new HGTV Magazine. I’ve being seeing commercials for it while I’ve had House Hunters on in the background while I work, and I was so surprised that anyone would be putting out a new print magazine when so many are actually shutting down their publications due to the economy and changing technologies. But I think that’s part of the power of their brand, and I have no doubt that the magazine will succeed… especially after I opened it up and started looking through some of the features. They went on set for the show Up All Night (one of my favorites of the year by far!) and showed where everything in their living room came from, which I loved because I always drool over that gorgeous house. They also interviewed the family who owns the Father of the Bride house in Pasadena, which was really cool because really– who doesn’t love that house and wish they lived in it? Plus, the whole issue was filled with lots of neat little tips and ideas and resources. I might just have to buy myself a subscription.

4. Florence. Oh, Florence. How I love you. Earlier this month I declared “Shake it Out” my 2012 anthem, but I’ve been listening to the entire album on repeat for weeks. Her voice is incredible. Her style is magical. I just adore her. Go listen.

5. This week I am especially thankful for my little space heater. Let’s just say, in an attempt to change out our dining room light fixture on my own and not knowing how to work with the really old wires in our really old house, that I managed to blow out the electricity in half our house. Our friend Will, the lifesaver, came over and spent half his weekend fixing all the electrical problems in the house (we owe him BIG time!), but we’re still waiting on a part we had to order for our heater, so my little space heater is my BFF right now. Even when our heat IS working, I like to sit right in front of it while I work, just because I’m so cold-natured. Literally, there have been times when I’ve put it on full blast and cradled it in my lap on the couch, which I’m pretty sure is a safety hazard. I’ll carry it from room to room with me depending on where I’m working or what I’m doing. Even though it feels like spring outside right now, I just can’t give it up. What can I say? I love feeling cozy!

 Is there anything YOU just can’t get enough of? Let me know below!

Back in December I headed down to Auburn with Kelly to help her shoot Jessica and Casey’s wedding. From the custom Heidi Elnora gown that Jessica had made, to the darling DIY paper goods thanks to Casey’s scrapbooking queen of a mom, to the classic navy and coral color scheme, to all the sparkles and twinkle lights everywhere… the whole day was eye candy! And Jessica and Casey are pretty easy on the eyes, too. ;)

These two are also super sweet and were so calm throughout the whole wedding. We really lucked out with the unseasonably warm weather, too. Only in Alabama (ok, and maybe Texas and Florida) could a bride wear a strapless dress outside in December and not freeze to death. Ha.

Big thanks to Kelly for having me along… make sure to go check out her post for even more pretty pictures!