.. the ceremony

I'm nearing the end of editing Alicia & Justin's wedding and I figured it was time to post some of my favorites from their ceremony.

I haven't been to many wedding ceremonies, but I doubt I'll ever attend another like this one. The format was just different - the second half was the traditional wedding service, but the first half was different: they had a time of worship & singing, then played a video proclaiming the gospel through mime, then Alicia and a few other ladies did a worship dance - and then the "traditional" section of the ceremony started.

I have to admit, when I first heard about their format, I was a little skeptical. This was a wedding and it just sounded strange to me. But - I truly did enjoy it !! It was different but in a good way and it all seemed to blend together beautifully. The gospel message was clearly proclaimed and Jesus was definitely the center of their ceremony.

Glancing over to see Justin for the first time :)

[I think this is one of my new favorites =D]

Toward the end of the ceremony, they asked anyone who felt led, to come forward to pray for Justin & Alicia and their new lives together. I loved how large a group of people got up to pray for them. It was so cool to see !!

MARRIED !

I LOVED this shot I got during the portraits ! This is Justin's Dad & brothers - and Alicia gets major props for trusting me - and them - to be picked up by all these guys !! =D

.. the before =D

SO, let's start at the very beginning :)

I caught Maddy jumping out of the car & running into the church. She was so excited ! Her Mommy was marrying this amazing man named Justin today ! =D

A few more detail shots : the rings

Alicia's gorgeous dress !!

Before putting on her dress, Alicia helped Maddy - such a sweet moment :)

Maddy is a completely gorgeous little girl - definitely her Mommy's girl.

I LOVED Alicia's hair - so gorgeous ! She really didn't get emotional as in crying while putting on her dress - she was so excited ! She kept letting out little screams and then covering her mouth and going "I'm so sorry ! But I'm just so excited !!" =D

A few people got sneak peaks of Alicia in her dress : Larissa & Cheri came up to pray for her

Catching a glimpse in the mirror.

Like I said, she was SO excited the whole time she was getting ready !

Utterly gorgeous too

This is Alicia's Grandma who came up to see her - and complete a special tradition in Alicia's family.

She sewed a piece of red thread into the hem of Alicia's dress

A little more prayer ..

Shoes..

A hug from Mom.. and she was ready to go !

wedding details

.. a few wedding details to keep the folks back home happy =D

Justin & Alicia - sneak peak !

Oh..My..Gosh

I am so tired, but I had to show !! I had so much fun today shooting Justin & Alicia's wedding !! They were AMAZING to work with and I'm so excited - I can't wait to show you all how absolutely INCREDIBLE their wedding was, but, you'll have to wait for the rest :) This is all I have for now, I'm super tired and will work on the rest of the wedding later on this week and blog all about their big day later :)

But for now, feast your eyes on just how adorable they are !!

sarah and thad

awhile back i had the amazing opportunity to go along with a photographer and second-shoot with him at a wedding !! it was definitely an awesome experience and he was so gracious about having me shoot with him.. it gave me the beginning of a knowledge about how to go about shooting a wedding and what to look for and do.. i had an amazing time !!

sarah was absolutely glowing the whole day.. from the moment we showed up at her door until we finally left the reception around 11pm.. you could tell she was thrilled beyond words that she was about to marry her best friend..

her dress was stunning !! all the bead work and embroidery.. and sarah wore the dress like a princess..

her bridesmaids helped her put on her garter and it was so funny :)

i love this shot !! sarah wanted a picture of her and her parents.. and their dog.. well they had the hardest time getting the dog to look toward the camera.. and this was while they were trying to convince him to look the other direction :)

sarah seemed to have a really awesome relationship with her parents as evidenced by the numerous hugs.. tears.. and looks like this one..

sarah's bridesmaids were so attentive to her.. and her matron of honor was pregnant and actually due the day of the wedding.. it was definitely very evident how much these girls loved sarah and were so happy at the opportunity to serve her on this amazing day..

after spending some time with the girls.. it was then over to the church to meet up with the guys..

thad was so relaxed :) he seemed so confident and yet quietly humbled by the fact that it was his wedding day..

at the alter..

her flowers were absolutely gorgeous !!

sarah tried so hard to make it through the ceremony without crying.. it was so sweet :)

details..

haha outside for some portraits.. they were soo happy together..

did i mention that these girls were awesome?

then it was over to the reception.. held at stratigos -- an amazing.. gorgeous place..

when we got there.. the photographer i was with said "okay.. the first thing i like to do upon arriving at the reception is to photograph the cake.." so we walked over.. only to be rushed away by the mother of the bride.. because the cake was the wrong color !! there was someone on the way from the bakery to change it we were told.. and she did too !! i was surprised how quickly she scraped all the flowers off and iced new ones on.. talk about nerve-wracking tho !!

more details..

gotta love a good cake smashing !! i totally can't wait to do this someday :)

first dance.. to "Bless the Broken Road" by rascal flatts..

from then on the real party started.. the DJ was wonderful in getting everyone.. and i mean everyone out on the dance floor !! so much fun !!

love the motion.. the bride is in the middle if you can't tell.. sure you can easily give photos this motion in photoshop with a few clicks of the mouse.. but i'd rather do it straight out of camera -- the hard way =D

haha !! i really really hope that the photographer caught that face because that is simply priceless !!

right before we left.. i caught this moment.. the dance between the mother and daughter.. both were crying and it was so sweet !! it wasn't rehearsed.. or even planned.. i'm not sure if anyone else realized what was going on.. but it was such a sweet moment..

all in all it was an incredible experience !! i feel like i learned so much from the photographer and just being there for all the aspects of the wedding.. its one thing to read about wedding photographers.. but its a completely different thing to actually follow one around for a day and BE one.. i can't wait to do it again !!