We had a lot of fun in Scotland with the Bardwell’s and Guillory’s. The weekend started with dinner Thursday night as everyone arrived from the US at different times and tried to not look too jet lagged. The festivities and accommodations were at The Wedderburn Castle south of Edinburgh 45 minutes. On Friday, we slept in and then had an assortment of highland games and Scottish heritage with dancing and falconry. The rehearsal followed and then dinner. It rained solid for three days leading up to Saturday so we were all prepared for the worst.

Saturday (wedding day) around noon the clouds broke so Emily Bardwell (the bride) and I rushed out to get a few pictures just in case the weather took another turn. The stars aligned and we got exactly what we were hoping for. For the wedding, everyone hopped on a red double-decker bus and headed to a little chapel about five miles away. The group was small, about 50 of their closest family and friends made the journey to Scotland. It was a really special event for us because rarely does an event last more than a day or even a day and a half. As time goes by and we get to know everyone it becomes very easy to get the candid images we love so much without interrupting life.

Probably my favorite part of the wedding was the castle. We were essentially in someone’s home that was over 300 years old. It had 20 foot ceilings throughout, huge 100 year old paintings of regal family members, a drawing room that was as big as my house; not to mention taller. The lawn is like one big putting green, that really short soft grass from golf courses (it makes sense since golf originated there), that you could sleep on and not expect to see any bugs. I think I will try that in my lawn, don’t worry I’ll do research and figure out how impossible it is before I start.

Every Wedding is different and unique, and some more than others.  Khaki Bedford and Carl Fritscher were married at the Inn at Middleton Place in Charleston, SC.  The location had beautiful organic modern architecture set into the weeping sandy forests or the coastal Carolinas.  Mix that with a bunch of fun loving NYC punk-glam rockers with friends and you have a very unique wedding. Like her sister (Elizabeth Katz), Khaki is very artistic and particular, but laid back. Khaki is an amazing freelance photographer and currently works for Magnum Photos in NYC as a Digital Archivist. Khaki’s husband Carl is the lead singer and guitarist of The Templars (since 1993) along with Matt Katz, her sister’s husband; he also produces records in his spare time..

Don’t let the tatoos and black wedding dress fool you, while Khaki’s style is very non-Nashville, she is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. All of their friends and family are fun, loving and close. We have become very fond of their family and love getting to celebrate together.

I always look for new things and ideas people do that end up creating fun experiences as well as great pictures.  Probably one of my favorite moments was before the wedding kiss, the guests lined up with flowers then the kiss and exit with flowers were all one moment as opposed to broken up events.  It turned out picturesque and memorable.

Taylor was one of the first people I met when I moved to Nashville to go to Belmont University. We lived together sophmore year and had a great time.  Taylor leads a band called The Trigger Code and they are incredible, they are all amazing performers especially Taylor, but the songs are world class. Needless to say, I’m a believer.  Conrad Snyder and I produced a set of live videos that I am very proud of.  The video is bad but the audio is amazing (that was the point.) If you get time feel free to check them out; if you like rock and roll… We’ve been getting to know Whitney better and had I met her before they were together; I would have tried hooking them up, they were meant to be together.  Some people are just perfectly opposite and perfectly the same, at the same time.

Taylor and Whitney were married at Belle Meade Plantation.  The Plantation is the best spot for a sunset wedding in Nashville that I know of.  Every wedding we have done there, the lighting has been perfect.  They are great people to work with and do a tremendous job everytime. The Randy Mclellan Band played at the reception, Randy is  one of the most talented singers in Nashville, if you are thinking of live music you have to meet Randy.  I’ve been to hundreds of weddings and heard good and not so good bands; he is by far the best in Nashville.

Most weddings that take place two days after Christmas would be plauged by rain, cold, snow, no one showing up, stress from managing multiple holidays… The stars aligned for what turned out to be a perfect event.  Also, Shawn and Whitney were probably two of the most in-love looking people ever.  It looks like we hired 2 model/actors to film a wedding scene.  All the “posed” images were not posed, they just had fun and were in love. I love movement and love that it is hard to find a picture of them standing still.

One of my favorite parts of the wedding was the guests blowing bubbles as they danced the last dance.  Bubbles so many times are reserved for the last ten seconds, I want to see people get great photos out of their bubbles.  I want to see some people get really creative with bubbles this year, forget candles, think bubbles.

Elizabeth and Matt were married at her parents home outside of Franklin, TN. There was light rain on and off all day so we were in tents for most of it, but that didn’t slow the party. Elizabeth is a swimsuit designer for Target, and Matt is a rockabilly guitarist in New York. They were so unique and fun and definitely not your typical Nashville wedding. Probably one of my favorite parts of the wedding, besides the rain on the see-through tent during the wedding, was the lighting in the reception tent. Lighting is key always but especially in a tent at night. Some people think that just candle light will make for a romantic experience. Candles won’t help your photos, so think about a really great lighting professional, they will be able to keep a romantic environment while helping the photos be amazing.

Chad and Megan got married on the beach in Destin, FL. Annie and I went down a few days early and also took pictures of the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  They had a small reception in Florida at a rental house and then had a bigger reception a week later at their home church in Nashville, TN.  

A few days prior to the wedding Annie and I were driving north of Destin and I saw these 3 dead trees on a sand dune and called to ask Megan if she would be up to shooting a location right before the reception, because they were getting married a little before sunset so we would have light for the family photos after the wedding. She agreed, and as soon as we were through with photos, the family went to the reception and we drove out to the dune. The sun was gone but the light was still hanging in the sky. We got out of the car, walked about a hundred yards off of the road, Annie set up a light and battery pack and I got in the right place. We were only there 15 minutes at the most, but everything was perfect and the location turned out better than I had expected. I had only seen it from a moving car, and I was guessing at the time of day we would need to get there. There was no crazy photoshopping done, that was the real sky and real location.

Eric and Andrea were married at the University of Illinois in Chicago at a chapel in the middle of campus. It was cold but the light was perfect, most of the time. but the chapel and campus were breathtaking. I typically don’t do a lot of posed photos, but the chapel and campus were breathtaking. The place was perfect and there were so many great opportunities and locations we didn’t want to pass up. Probably my favorite images were the ones after the ceremony when we shot the posed images in front of the stained glass windows with the sun coming in. How often do you see full length stained glass windows past a balcony. I also love the one walking outside and the wind was blowing so hard and cold we couldn’t stand it, times like that all you can do is laugh.