When Dawn, from the Wedding Authority,  asked me to meet with Kristina and Joe for their white room wedding  in St Augustine, she told me in advance I would really enjoy meeting them. Well our “meeting” took over 3 hours, and I swear I could have talked to them for days! When I left, I prayed they would book me, because I loved the two of them that much!  Kristina has this way about her, she smiles and her whole face just beams, and you want to smile and laugh right along with her. And Joe, the excitement he had for being with her, and the things he talked about that they do together, well, my heart melted on the spot. These two had my heart from the moment I met with them!

Kristina and Joe planned their wedding in the Lightner, which was perfect since it was Summer. The room allows for yummy natural light, but also AC…which is a great combo in July! Their reception was at The White Room in the ballroom in downtown St. Augustine. Now if you know Kristina {and Joe} you know how much they LOVE Harry Potter, and hiring St. Johns Illuminations to hang hundreds of candles from the ceiling was the perfect touch for their ballroom wedding. It gave it such a romantic feel, but also incorporated parts of them and their love story!

Joe and Kristina, you two…I was so lucky to find you and have you select us to tell your story of your love! Working with you two was beyond fun anduplifting for my soul. You went along with all these wacky ideas…from the full moon engagement session, to the silhouettes on the wall- you laughed and enjoyed it all! When photographers have clients like you, they know they are truly blessed. You two see the joy in finding each other, and that makes the job of capturing your story so much more poignant! I hope that the joy {and love of dancing} is present in every single day of your beautiful marriage. I adore you both, and am so thankful for the last year we spent together!

Their Amazing vendors:

Getting Ready   The Collector                    Ceremony The Lightner

Reception  The White Room     Coordinating The Wedding Authority

Floral Jade Violet            Cake Sweet Weddings

     Music Wehner Weddings and Beachside Entertainment                Custom Gown Rachel Avila at Avail & Co

Hair and Makeup  Amanda Hopcraft

Kristin and Joe love the movie up {and admittedly Kristina cries EVERY time} so they added these pins, and both wore them during the ceremony.

This smile….this is exactly what I mean! she lights up the room, and when she smiles, you cant help but smile right along with her!

The moment where Kristina saw her girls at the Collector was so special. I love doing a first look with bridesmaids!

My favorite part of any wedding day is the first look. These two were so excited to see each other, and watching them read their love notes to each other was the perfect way to start this moment.

I love the candles St. Johns Illuminations hung from the ceiling for the Harry Potter feel!




Kristina spent days perfecting the calligraphy on these cards! They were the perfect touch by the sign in table!

While it rained in the first half of the day, we were lucky enough to get this sky at sunset!




Kristina shared her wedding day with her best friends birthday- so she made sure she had a surprise at the end of the toast just for her!

Ah yes… one of those crazy moments I refereed to! Luckily these two trust me! Kristina reminds me of Cinderella here!





Next to the first look, my other favorite moment is the private last dance. Not only is it great for photos, I feel like its a moment the couple gets to relax and take the whole day in.

In their own words…

How did you two meet? – We met years ago through mutual friends.

How did he pop the question?- Joe is amazing. As soon as we started dating it was a whirlwind, and he and I did everything together, including visiting my brother in San Francisco. We made it an annual trip, and we had favorite things to do out there.  We went for a hike, like we usually did, and he popped the question there, with a ring, and one of my favorite things – a hoodie – with “Team Merkel: Lifetime Member” written on it.  But what’s really funny is that I knew he was getting something important before we left for our trip because we were packing the car, and just as we were about to leave, he said, “Oh I forgot my phone upstairs,” and he proceeded to run back up to our apartment, WITH a backpack ON. Only I travel with backpacks on as a comfort thing. So I knew it was silly for him to run back up, and I badgered him when he returned about what he really forgot.  I had a feeling 😉 

How did you choose your theme? Flowers? and overall wedding design?- I was hoping for something simple, classic, and beautiful.  Our Wedding Coordinator, Dawn Walker, was fabulous and introduced us to the most amazing vendors, which happened to be the most amazing people.  The flowers were a joint effort with the visions of the vibrantly talented, late Karin Sufalko at 57 Treasury, and the creative eye of Nulita at Jade Violet.  My dress was planned to be pink, so I knew to make it stand out a bit, we’d needs some soft white colors to complement and those two talented ladies, made it happen. Joe and I also bonded over Harry Potter, so we knew we wanted to throw a little bit of that in there too, and we had fun with it!  

What was the best moment{s} of your wedding day? Oh gosh, the whole day was amazing, but the first look was incredible.  You see so many other couples first look, and you don’t want to recreate it, but you want to make sure you are THERE in that moment to soak everything in.  Joe and I take what we call “The Up Challenge,” were we watch Disney/Pixar’s Up, and try not to cry within the first 15 minutes of the movie.  Well, I went on etsy and found a card that said “you are my greatest adventure” and the grape soda pins, and we exchanged those.  We both wrote a message that we could read and keep forever before we saw each other.  I love that moment. Next up, the ceremony.  Again, those incredible people we met? Bill Young, our minister.  His heart is larger than life, same as his wife’s.  We felt like we were standing up there with family, not just someone marrying us.  Bill made every moment of our ceremony meaningful, unforgettable, and threw in a few laughs. It was the perfect balance.  I could keep going, but I’d continue just outlining the day! Everything after the ceremony was smooth sailing, pictures with Kelly are ALWAYS fun, and Joe and I get to spend quality time together, and the dancing, dining, speeches, birthday singing, cake….. the whole day, AWESOME.

How would you describe your overall wedding experience? Please see above: AWESOME. But truly meaningful.  We worked hard to get to that day; from things we’d been through in life, to planning the wedding, we were just able to enjoy each moment and truly realize the significance of the decision we were making together.

What photography related advice would you offer to a couple? – Make sure you go with Kelly if you want to have a GREAT time 🙂 with breathtaking photos. 

Tell me about your dress. Where did you find it, how did you choose it, how did you know it was the one? –Well, Joe helped me with this one.  Yes, I can be picky, and yes I like to clip coupons, but I wanted to make sure that I could do something unique, and stay within a certain budget.  Enter Avail and Company, in Evanston, Illinois.  (http://www.availco.com) Ok, so I emailed Rachel from Avail and Co, and she just got me. Speaking to her on the phone and communicating via email was effortless. She is kind and caring and exciting to work with. She heard my crazy description, saw the pictures of what I was thinking and the best part of all, she made me feel like we truly worked together to create a spectacular dress! Florida, as you know, is a bit hotter than Illinois, and the practical part of me knew that if I wanted to get my dance on, half of my dress would have to go. And Rachel made that happen. She created a dream dress in pink and white – the perfect blend. And yes, Joe takes credit for finding Rachel.  Rachel and I also bonded over pizza, wine, and podcasts.  She is incredible.  

How was your experience taking photos/working with me on your wedding day? – Are you kidding? Is this a question? Kelly, you are fabulous and crazy, hilarious, smart, and insanely talented.  I LOVE watching you LOVE what you’re so very good at.  Joe and I had a GREAT time with you because you make it SO FUN to take pictures.  I mean, we are coming back and I’ll find some other excuse for us to take pictures again. Our engagement photos, which I never really understood the point of engagement photos (sorry I said that!) WERE EPIC. I love these photos. We laughed, got to play on the beach, and Kelly, I’m glad that you didn’t lose your iphone in the sand.  However, I think your apple watch was dead both that time and the time of the wedding…hmmm we need to get you a charger.

Did you see each other before the wedding? If not, did you like waiting or would you have rather done it differently? Tell me why or why not! – First Look – Perfect – wouldn’t change a thing.  I got to live in the moment and prepare for the most incredible moment of our lives, saying YES to each other.

Any tips on how to prepare for the wedding photos? Try to relax and leave it to the professionals, aka Kelly and her awesome assistant Ashley 🙂 

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