I know I say this on an almost daily basis but I have the coolest job ever\u2026.and I am pretty positive, I have the best clients too. But there are some people that when you meet them, you get that confirmation about your job, and who you are. When I first met Liz, I fell in love. Ok, I know it sounds crazy, but she was seriously one of the mostest fabulousest woman I had ever met\u2026I left that wedding meeting, and called my sister in law {who had referred Liz to me} and promptly told her that if Liz did not hire me, I would quit\u2026wedding photography, and I meant EVERY\u2026WORD!\u00a0 Luckily for me, this crazy, fabulous, amazing woman decided to hire my team, and her wedding day was everything I expected, fun, romantic, and the best way to spend a Saturday.<\/p>\n

Oh\u2026Todd. I did not meet this man until the day of the wedding. I wondered what kind of man would hold this girls heart- I knew he had to be something pretty amazing. Luckily for me, and I suppose Liz, Todd did not disappoint- he was as fabulous as she was. He went along with every crazy idea that Liz and I had, and then some, and did it all with a smile! But more than that, was the love these two shared. Its not just love, its a fun love- you could see that what they did together they totally enjoyed, and that to me is what a good marriage is all about!<\/p>\n

Cra Cra and Todd, what can I say to you two- I LOVE you! Having the opportunity to work with your friends and family was well- amazing! I cant thank you enough for allowing me to be part of your love story, I know this is just the beginning of a fabulous life for the two of you! Remember you let those balloons go\u2026enjoy only these moments you make as husband and wife! Congratulations to two of the most special people I have had the honor of photographing!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And their amazing vendors:<\/p>\n

Church \u00a0Riverside Methodist Church<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Venue Cummer Museum<\/a><\/p>\n

Bridal Gown Maggie Sotero<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 Makeup and Hair \u00a0Paulina Perez<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0Bridesmaids bella Bridesmaid<\/a><\/p>\n

Floral + Design \u00a0 Petals and Bows \u00a0 Lighting Mark Grandin<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Invitations \u00a0Blue Eye Brown Eye<\/p>\n

Music HipShack<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Cakes Sweet \u2018n Flour Pastries<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Catering Chef\u2019s Garden<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

How did you two meet?
\nWe first met in Ft Worth at a combo bachelor\/bachelorette party for our two dear friends \u2013 my girlfriend from college, and his longtime buddy. We had a lively conversation about the upcoming UF\/OU National Championship Game, and that was that. About two weeks later at our friends\u2019 wedding in Anna Maria Island, we spent the whole weekend flirting,\u00a0 talking football smack, and flirting some more. When the weekend was over,\u00a0 we stayed in touch via phone and email. By the end of April we knew we had to see each other to see of this flirtation and friendship could be what we hoped it could be. He visited me in Jacksonville at the end of April,\u00a0 and by the end of the weekend, we were done for. Many back-and-forth weekends later,\u00a0 we decided we could cut down severely on all the teary airport drives and loneliness if I left Jacksonville and moved to Fort Worth. Late that September I did,\u00a0 and the rest is history!<\/p>\n

How did he propose?
\nWe were leaving for a family vacation to La Jolla,\u00a0 Califoria on Monday, so that meant I would be spending all weekend packing, making lists, and repacking. After work on Saturday,\u00a0 I got a mani\/pedi juuuust in case Todd was planning on popping the question during the trip. When I got home, Todd had his suitcase out on the couch and began telling me how he remembered packing that bag for that first trip to visit me in Jacksonville. He was being very sweet and sentimental, and all I was thinking was \u2018boy,\u00a0 you better get that suitcase out of the way so I can set mine there and start packing! \u2018 He told me how much he loved me and a whole host of sweet things, then pointed to the other side of the room.I looked that way,\u00a0 as usually that means our cat Smitty is doing something adorable or ridiculous, but nothing was there. When I turned back around,\u00a0 Todd was on one knee. From there it\u2019s a blur! I said yes,\u00a0 and finally took a look at the ring. It was so gorgeous,\u00a0 and he picked it out all on his own!\u00a0 Packing had to wait until the next day,\u00a0 as I spent an hour or so making my calls before we showered up and had a champagne-filled night out!<\/p>\n

How did you choose your theme? Flowers? and overall wedding design?
\nBringing our friends and family to my hometown \u2013 many visiting Jacksonville for the first time \u2013 put a lot of pressure on me to show our guests the best Jacksonville had to offer. Being a Riverside\/Avondale gal,\u00a0 the Cummer was an easy choice. I liked having an indoor and outdoor space,\u00a0 so guests could see the beautiful gardens and St Johns River,\u00a0 while tearing it up on the dancefloor inside.
\nChoice and freedom was big for us. We didn\u2019t want to overdictate anyone\u2019s experience. Food stations,\u00a0 multiple cakes,\u00a0 and seating allowed for guests to spend their evening however they wanted; relaxing outside under the Italian globe lights,standing at a table along the dancefloor, etc..
\nI didn\u2019t want a theme-more of a feel-and I wanted it relaxed,\u00a0 unpretentious, and allowing for the natural beauty surrounding not to go unnoticed. I love the North Florida landscape so much, especially my favorite vibrant Azalea bushes. I chose the Bridesmaids\u2019 dress color to reflect this beautiful shade of pink. The pink lights,\u00a0 green and white linens, and green\/white\/pink flowers all felt very \u2018gardeny\u2019 and were meant to give a Springtime feel to our Winter wedding.<\/p>\n

What was the best part of your wedding day?
\nNot to sound cliche, but seeing so many of our friends and family in one space was overwhelmingly amazing.\u00a0 Todd and I are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives,\u00a0 and we were so excited to celebrate with everyone.\u00a0 We made a point of truly being part of the festivities, not letting it all go by in a blur like so many had warned us about. We feel like we were able to speak with,\u00a0 share a laugh with,\u00a0 or dance with almost everyone, and that meant so much.
\nSeeing my handsome groom for the first time wasn\u2019t half bad either!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

What do you want to always remember from your wedding day?
\nThe love and laughter all around us!<\/p>\n

\u201cIF I only I knew!\u201d what is one piece of advise you would give to brides planning their wedding day?
\nI can\u2019t say I was always the most easy going bride (Todd\u2019s nodding his head furiously! ). There was a lot of crying,\u00a0 sleepless nights,\u00a0 squabbles,\u00a0 and \u2018we should\u2019ve just eloped\u2019 moments over our 17 month engagement, but that week of, i tried to let all of that go so I could really be present. When Todd arrived on Thursday morning and I was getting ready to pick him up,\u00a0 I took a deep breath, and let all of the stress, expectations, anxiety, self consciousness, and worry out. I was resolute that from that moment on, I was going to roll with it, whatever came my way. Brides deserve to enjoy their special time \u2013 for yourself, for the groom, and for the guests. The best compliment I received all day was from a Bridesmaid,\u00a0 who told me how \u2018cool\u2019 I was all day. Enjoy it, ladies!
\nOn the planning front \u2013 trust your gut. Hire people you like dealing with in addition to doing awesome work. Creating a positive relationship with your team will make the day so much better and will help you achieve the Bridal Zen feeling I mentioned earlier.
\nAlso,\u00a0 TAKE THE PICTURES BEFOREHAND! For a million reasons,\u00a0 but one of them being that it allows the Bride and Groom to spend that much more time enjoying the fruits of their labor, and allows your amazing photographer to take shots of all the great people who showed up to celebrate!<\/p>\n

And where are you going on your honeymoon?<\/p>\n

Cheeca Lodge, Islamorada (Florida Keys)<\/p>\n

any extra notes or details \u2026<\/p>\n

Be true to you. I\u2019m not shabby chic,\u00a0 I\u2019m not modern. Todd and I love to dance,\u00a0 laugh,\u00a0 eat, enjoy a cocktail, and laugh some more. We weren\u2019t worried about following trends,\u00a0 or making a statement, we just wanted to create a weekend that felt like us, and we feel confident that we did just that, and that\u2019s an amazing feeling that won\u2019t go out of style!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know I say this on an almost daily basis but I have the coolest job ever\u2026.and I am pretty positive, I have the best clients too. But there are some people that when you meet them, you get that confirmation about your job, and who you are. When I first met Liz, I fell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[167,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fun","category-wedding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9774\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puresugarstudios.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}