S. Carter Studios

I’d been looking forward to their wedding since Kimberly and I first began discussing it in the Fall of 2008! We took their engagement photos over Valentine’s Weekend in 2009 and they were wed in mid January 2010! Their wedding was a true joy to be involved with. It reminded me of mine in many ways which made it that much more fun! And the weather, who could ask for 50 degree weather on January 15th with the bluest skies you’ve ever seen and just snuggled between two of the worst snow storms to ever hit the East Coast! God has been watching out for them over their long engagement and had this day planned especially for them. Enjoy a few of their photos!

PS. Our workflow is different now and there are some who caught a glimpse of these photos RIGHT after the wedding (within three days actually, lol) those lucky people are the Facebook fans of S. Carter Studios. If you’d like to be alerted to the newest content then join up!

I won’t lie, I have a little bit of lash envy!

They opted for a first look after having seen the great photos from Gavin & Kelsey’s and I’m so glad they did!

It gave us lots of time for photos of just the two of them and their really fun bridal party!

I wasn’t kidding about the day!

They were married at a lovely church just a block away from my house!

and after all that waiting, they became husband and wife.

We headed over to the lovely West Manor to celebrate! There were loads of great details, food and dancing.

Kimberly and I joked that she was my first Friday bride, my first red cake and several other firsts. Not too shabby to plan a wedding with such impact!

These were absolutely delicious as were the toppings located just to the left! Gotta love a make your own mashed potatoes bar.

We’ll finish this post with the best garter retrieval of 2010.

Well, go ahead and lean back, because this post is going to be a long one. You’ve seen Gavin & Kelsey before, the infamous paint couple! We took their engagement photos on a warm, beautiful summer day and they were married on 12-12-09 a very VERY cold winter day. They didn’t let the chilly weather keep them from having a perfect celebration! There was joy and excitement and awesome facial expressions from Kelsey without pause from the first few minutes I was with them until they left for their honeymoon. I’ll interject a few happy thoughts throughout the post but for the most part I think they speak for themselves!

Kelsey was the only bride I was able to give her ornament to in person. She had such a fun reaction!

She was an absolutely stunning bride!

Gavin and Kelsey chose to do a first look. This gave us lots of time to take photos of them and their wedding party. This was Gavin’s face as he saw his bride for the first time.

and Kelsey’s as she walked toward her groom. PS. First glimpse as those perfect little blue shoes!

You may remember, it was really, really cold this day in Lynchburg so we let Kelsey defrost a little and took pictures of the guys first. They were great!

West Manor was a great location for the photos and their reception!These ladies were amazing, not complaining one bit and looking good while sticking it out!

I could have taken pictures of  just these two all day long. Really.

My very favorite from the whole day!

Kelsey, wow, just WOW.

BLING, bling.

I may, have had a crush on her shoes, maybe.

Oh, yeah, there was a ceremony too!

I just can’t get enough of brides on the arms of their fathers! So much significance in this one little moment.

Two noteworthy things about this image: these candles are the same ones that Gavin used the night he proposed to Kelsey, there were over a hundred of them that night! The second is explained by the photo below it.

This is how I know i have the best brides. Kelsey was so chill about this! Oops, oh well.

A brief pause to share some of their great details!

It never gets old

seeing my work at receptions!

Alex, Angi and I with the bride, me reaching toward Solomon who had rapid fired a few shots by this point. Thought it would be a funny addition to the post

This mother son dance had the whole room misty-eyed. Gavin and his mother took turns letting tears slip between laughs and hugs. It was absolutely precious.

Love this photo of Gavin’s mom showing Kelsey’s dad the little birthday cake they gave her after the first dance. So sweet of her to share her birthday with the newlyweds.

there was dancing, lots of really, fun, dancing.

The newlyweds left in a flash of sparklers to their honeymoon in the mountains of TN.

The more I learned about Brian and Libby, the more excited I became. She grew up in Thailand and they were incorporating that into the wedding and reception. Yes, my friends we’re talking about parasols and authentic Thai food and even a Thai dancer! They couldn’t have picked a more perfect day and I was so glad to get to spend it with them. They surrounded themselves with great family and friends who braved the cold weather to do whatever was asked of them. She was simply beautiful and the vows they’d written to each other were so sweet. Enjoy a few of the moments from their wedding day!

I couldn’t get enough of these super cute kiddos.

We headed up to the monogram and had some stunning light to work with.

They had their reception at the same place Josh and I did and it was the first time I’d been there since. I just think there is something a little magical about this building. I’m probably biased.

A super cute and original cake topper.

Despite feeling under the weather, she sang a song to him that she’d been singing to the Lord for years about finding her love.

What a beautiful, wonderful night. Thank you for letting me share it with you!

Their wedding makes the top 5 all time S. Carter Studios favorites. We had a good time at their engagement session but their wedding day topped it! The  day was an absolute celebration of the work God has been doing in their lives in and through each other and of the joy to come in their future! I’m really not sure you could ask for a better day for a wedding in November either. We took all their photos outside with minimal shivering! Josh shot with me and did a fantastic job as usual and I was so glad we got to be there to celebrate with them. Their wedding party was filled with an S. Carter Studios all star cast! Jay, Leslie’s brother, did a very moving job with the ceremony. On the bride’s side we had Jackie Parks, Christina Allen and Lynne Lamonte and on the groom’s side we had James Humphrey, and Danny Lamonte. It was awesome to be reunited with so many clients in just the bridal party, not to mention the family and friends who came to celebrate with them! It was quite a celebration as you’ll see below!

Total, they exchanged two gifts a piece as the minutes flew by before their wedding. Josh captured Stephen writing the note that accompanied a Bible for Leslie with her new name on it. The best part, she had bought a Myers Family Bible that he opened only a few minutes later.

Reason # 54690 that I love my husband? Photos like the two below!

The ladies were stunning!

One of my very favorite unity candle shots.

The flower girl couldn’t wait to see Leslie.

neither could Stephen. Later, I asked him what he was thinking as she walked down the aisle. His response, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

I’m glad someone was filming because I’m not sure they heard most of what Jay said. The majority of their time up front was spent just like this.

Just like that, they were married!

And then there was dancing!

Grandma started dancing here and was one of the last ones off the dance floor at the reception!

When we got to the reception site, we were told that we’d be welcome to take a ride on the golf carts to get some shots around the course. HECK YES we did.

Eventually (begrudgingly, lol) we joined back up with the wedding party to take a few more before enjoying a great meal at the Boonsboro Country Club.

One of my all time favorite wedding party photos!

After the formal dances, dinner was served and then the dancing ensued. The shot below is of Leslie’s parents dancing to the song they had their first dance to!

The fan began and didn’t quit!

The guys got really excited and lifted Stephen into the air!

The girls responded by lifting Leslie and then the guys, not to be outdone, picked up and tossed her a few times too. This photo is priceless!

The maid of honor, Holly, snatched the bouquet like a pro! Look at that height!

Even more dancing as the girls responded to the guys dance-off-challenge. I’ll let you decide for yourselves but I’m pretty sure the guys dominated.

and sometime several hours later, they said their goodbyes and went off to the Dominican Republic! You can imagine that we were exhausted and elated at the end of it all but most of all, so very thankful to have been a part of their wedding.

I’m a little behind on blogging but the best thing to do is just move forward! I’m happy to blog about the wonderful wedding of Andrew and Melanie! I did Melanie’s Bridal portraits several months ago and had a hard time holding onto them (haven’t blogged about that yet either!) because she was just natural in front of the camera. It was obvious on this perfect December day that God was smiling on us as the weather was JUST right for outdoor shots without goose bumps. I had a wonderful time celebrating their wedding alongside some very proud family and friends. Congrats!

They watched a slide show during the ceremony from a park bench on the stage. It was a very sweet and touching time.

I loved some of the sweet dance moves I saw exhibited from Melanie’s nursing friends. She had just graduated the week before the wedding!!

Kahlib and Megan Fischer were married June 7th. They kicked off the wedding season for me and were married at the church that Josh and i will be married at in March. The heat topped 108 degrees with the heat index but that didn’t stop this beautiful wedding. I truly enjoyed spending the afternoon with this wonderful couple and their families!