Jennifer and Richard :: Downtown Birmingham
Once again my reputation as a celebrity look-a-like finder has preceded me. When I showed up for Jennifer’s makeup appointment at the MAC counter almost immediately she admitted to seeing my various posts about my obsession with comparing my brides to celebrities and wanted to know who I thought she looked like. No pressure or anything. I saw a little bit of Jennifer Love Hewitt right away but Jennifer wrinkled her nose. Morgan later claimed to see Joy Williams of The Civil Wars (which I can see a little bit, too, and which Jennifer was much happier with). Flipping through a magazine later I realized that the closest match to me is Nicole Ritchie. The whole idea of celebrity look-a-likes is admittedly silly, of course there are people that will look similar to you in the world and those of us obsessed with fame hope it’s someone famous. Maybe my lack of a suitable celebrity look-a-like is what feeds my constant quest. The MAC makeup artist actually reminded me quite a bit of Sarah Chalke (you’d know her from scrubs), I spent weeks trying to figure out that one of the bridesmaid’s look-a-likes was Sheryl Crow (granted largely in part to her wavy long hair), and Richard (the Groom) is a dead ringer for Drew Lachey from 98˚in some photos.
Of course, as always, the important part is that Jennifer and Richard, two real people in Birmingham, found each other, fell in love. They chose to marry in a gorgeous church in downtown Birmingham and the celebration continued into the night with a reception in the castle-like Gabrella Manor. The rich colors of the stained glass in the church with the red floor and dark wood along with the long black bridesmaid dresses, deep fall colors in the flowers and the lanterns and old books for reception decor created a mysterious romance for the evening, I love all of the jeweltone accents that come through in the details.
It was so great to see how excited both Richard and Jennifer were to be getting married, that was the main reason for the day, and their hearts were so big for one another and for God. The best part of the job is witnessing couples in love first hand. I’m glad these two gorgeous folks found each other.
Enjoy.
Leigh and Taylor :: Downtown Birmingham :: Engaged
The day before Leigh and Taylor’s engagement session I had a bridal session at Alabama Theater (which of course I can’t share until the bride, Stephanie, gets married in January but oh how I want to!), and it just so happened I left my amazing sale price nine west boots that make me feel like horseback riding betty draper there by mistake. I was a little worried they wouldn’t be there the next day, but I also very much wanted to figure out a way to get Leigh and Taylor in for a few minutes for a quick photo since one of their favorite activities to do together is watch movies and the Alabama Theater is perfect vintage charm when it comes to old red movie seats. I called in the morning and the man in the office said I could come look for my boots and take a few quick photos, adding in that they closed at 4. When we got there at 2:30 the door was locked but I called and there was one person still there, they’d closed early since it was the day before Thanksgiving, and even though I’m pretty sure the man hated me I was so grateful he let us in. The theater was pitch black, however, so I had Leigh hold a little flashlight to help me focus in the dark. We got about 2 minutes total inside and the rest of the day was spent roaming the less traveled parking lots and rooftops of downtown Birmingham, and I’m in love with the results. I am also pretty crazy about how much in love with the session Leigh was, she had so much fun which makes my job so much easier! And I love Taylor’s willingness to do whatever we asked. They are such a warm, loving couple. Here’s to a decade of dating!
Christy & Jeremy :: Downtown Birmingham :: Engaged
For their first date Jeremy took Christy to a Stephen Kellog and The Sixers show at Workplay. Christy had no idea who they were. Now they are her favorite band. And Jeremy is her favorite man. [I'm sorry, that was terrible.]The daylight takings in early November is seriously depressing for a photographer, especially practically on the line for the time zone change, which equals the earliest possible sunsets. I anxiously start engagement sessions around 2:30 now and go go go while we have light left. It’s an exciting chase. This time I feel like I won.
It was my first chance to meet Jeremy and I was a bit anxious; the questions that he’d sent along for Christy to ask at our initial meeting were very art-related, which always raises the pressure for the finished product, how to make art for an artist. I really do love these images, and they were one of my first opportunities to play with Visual Supply Co’s film packs, which had a hand in almost every image on the page. Enjoy.
