Rae Leytham Photo

New Blog Soon

2008-04-24T00:38:00.004-05:00

Well, after trying to move our blog to a new server since the big crash back in March, I realized I was doing things the hard way, trying to make a square into a circle so to speak. So we decided to spice things up a bit and just get a whole new blog! We will hopefully have raeleytham.net back online in the next few days, but in the meantime, you will be able to find this blog through our main website. You will also notice that all of the broken links prior to March have now been fixed and updated for our previous clients trying to find their event. Thanks for your patience. It will be worth the wait!!!

Allyson and Kethan at the Hilton

2008-04-20T20:31:00.007-05:00

What do you get when you combine the Pensacola Beach Hilton, Bliss Event Group, and a full moon? Well, one heck of a party you'll have to scroll down to see. We also saw one of our 2006 couples there....Hey Julia & Greg! The weather was perfect and it was a nice day for a wedding.

Nothing says beach wedding like a little COLOR!

Steel drums anyone?

There's nothing like a moon rising on the beach...

Did I mention there was a chocolate fountain?

There was even a father/daughter slideshow during their dance...

And finally some Betty Weber cake!

Rachel & Jason Got Married!

2008-04-16T01:52:00.006-05:00

Most local clients book us after coming in for a consultation and looking through our albums and goodies. Not Rachel. She knew what kind of photographer she wanted and when she saw our website, she knew we were the ones for her! She chose her wedding date based on our availability. How awesome is that?! Can you believe that Rachel booked us over the phone and email and she worked only 2 miles from us?! She just loved what she saw and we are glad she chose us. Jason is in the Coast Guard and stationed in West Virginia, so we didn't get to meet him until the week of the wedding. We were happy to see that he was as sweet and kind as Rachel!! They got married at a church in the small community of Wallace, north of Pace, FL. Their reception followed at the historic Imogene Theater in Milton. It was a wonderfully relaxed day and both families were amazing. We are so lucky to meet such wonderful people!

The beautiful bride...

We actually found this field with an old abandoned house across the street from the church. IT made for a stunning backdrop....

Nothing like a man in uniform!

The girls were so cute that we had to include them....great dresses!

A little Bling....

Here we go....

Jason's dad performed the ceremony so his mom and two sisters got to admire two men that day...

This was actually a field down the road that we saw driving to the church. I made sure we stopped for some photos on the way to the reception. I think these next two are my favorites of the day.

Gorgeous sky near sunset

Rachel's Bridals at Eden

2008-04-14T20:41:00.004-05:00

This past weekend was the wedding of this cutie, Rachel and Jason. Here are some images from her bridal session at Eden State Gardens in South Walton County from back in February. This is a great location for portraits and weddings if anyone is looking for a venue. Look for their blog posting in a couple of days!

Jennifer and Nathan in Mobile Updated

2008-04-10T01:31:00.007-05:00

Jennifer and Nathan had a beautiful wedding in Mobile last week with the ceremony at Dauphin Way United Methodist followed by the reception at the classy Bragg Mitchell Mansion. The morning weather was a total washout, but the rain stopped in time for outside photos which was a welcome sight...... You will notice these two in our new ad campaign featured in Southern Wedding Style Magazine and Emerald Coast Weddings found in a bookstore near you.

I caught the maid of honor (Jennifer's sister) getting ready.

Such a beautiful setting at the Bragg Mitchell

Mobile's churchs are VERY traditional, so we had to stay in the balcony..

But we made up for it afterward ;-)

Now that's a spread!

Pink cake anyone?

This little girl could not wait to get the first slice!

Jennifer's dad took it upon himself to help with the garter!

You can see the rest on the slideshow below!

Bliss Girls Rock

2008-04-08T21:53:00.003-05:00

We had a great time with the uber talented Bliss ladies last week doing some press photos for them. These ladies are doing an unbelievable job bringing some New York and LA wedding style to our area. Be sure to see their websites for Bliss Event Group and their Brand new magazine, Southern Wedding Style.

From the left are Lara, Danielle, Erica, and Leah

Bonnie and Roger on the Beach

2008-04-07T23:51:00.003-05:00

Bonnie and Roger had an intimate ceremony on Pensacola Beach recently and we were glad to be there with them. Roger's dad performed the ceremony and did a fantastic job. The khaki suits on the beach were perfect!

What girl doesn't like a little pink?!

Wes got a killer shot for the ring exchange.

These girls (now step-sisters) were dying to get their feet wet....but kept their dresses high and dry.

You gotta love that last bit of sunlight.

Jennifer's Bridals in Mobile

2008-04-06T21:58:00.006-05:00

This weekend was the wedding of Jennifer and Nathan. Some of you will recognize her in our new ad campaign featured in SWS Magazine and Emerald Coast Brides hitting the shelves this month. Their wedding will be posted later in the week, but here are some of her bridals from February in the meantime.... Mobile has some great photo locations!

A sad time for Wesley's family...

2008-04-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

We would like to apologize for being MIA for the past few days. We have been in Mobile attending funeral services for Wesley's aunt, Lisa Gibson. Sadly, Lisa lost her battle with Breast Cancer on March 30, 2008. Lisa was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer about 4 years ago and she definitely put up a good fight! IBC is called the "Silent Killer" because it is the lesser known type of breast cancer and it doesn't present like the other types. IBC is often misdiagnosed at mastitis (inflamed mammary glands) which gives the cancer more time to take over. Please look at the link so you can learn more about IBC and tell everyone you know about it.

That last paragraph was by Rae, this one is by Wesley. I debated for 3 days now whether to get this personal on our blog, but my aunt was a blog stalker and this tribute is only fitting as a memorial to her. She spent many years in the photography industry back in the 70's and 80's when my uncle was a well known photographer, and she was extremely proud of our achievements. As a cancer survivor myself, unfortunately this is my third family member to die of cancer including two grandparents. Please take care of yourselves and always take preventative measures. We appreciate all of the support many of you have given....

The top photo is Wes with his aunt at his 2nd birthday party.... Wasn't he cute? The bottom is with Avery in August 2007. Ironically, Lisa could not wait to be a Great Aunt and she passed the day of Avery's baptism and 1st birthday party last Sunday.

Tammy & Jared's E-session

2008-04-03T20:31:00.004-05:00

We are a little behind in posting this and we should be ashamed! But, look how cute these two are. Tammy and Jared are getting married in October in Milton and it will be so much fun. How do I know? Well, we have already seen how Tammy's family parties. Her brother, Len, married Valerie a little over a year ago and we were the lucky photogs! Anyway, we had a good time photographing in a different location and Jared secretly loved it...I just know he did! Enjoy these few and I think the wait was worth it!

Sws Magazine Premiere

2008-04-02T01:37:00.006-05:00

April Fools was the big premiere for Southern Wedding Style Magazine at MySpayce here in Pensacola. It was quite the event with many of the contributing vendors attending as well as many brides and grooms sampling some of the great food from local caterers. Here is just a small sample of the event....

Blissful details were everywhere....

This is Brittany and Jarrod, one of our September wedding couples we met for the first time. We are going to have so much fun at their wedding if you couldn't tell.... And thanks to our other brides and couples who came too. Hi Rachel, Susanna & Tim, Lauren & Craig. Past couples Danielle (from Bliss) & Kenneth and Jim & Cynthia were there too!!

Danielle and Lara served each other some Betty Weber cake....

The one and only Betty Weber between Patsy Brown and Rae....a trio of hotties!!

E-session with Lauren & Craig

2008-04-02T01:21:00.004-05:00

We planned to meet Lauren & Craig in the afternoon, but we had to make rain plans. We met them in the morning and it worked out great. It was a pleasant morning and we walked all around to find some interesting backdrops. These two are way too cute together and they are both really sweet. Craig is going to school in Miami so they don't get to see each other much. We did not have a hard time getting them to kiss. I guess they were making up for lost time! Look for some great Bliss details for their wedding in May!

A nice portrait....Those shoes are great aren't they?

Jeannie and Stephan

2008-03-31T21:28:00.006-05:00

Jeannie and Stephan had a beautiful, intimate, destination wedding in Pensacola recently. Stephan and his family came in from Germany while Jeannie made the trip from Houston. The ceremony was at Little Flower Catholic Church with reception following at their awesome beach house they called home for the week. Here's a little look into their big day!

Ms Gabby is almost 1

2008-03-30T23:22:00.003-05:00

Little Ms Gabby is about to turn one, and what better time for a Spring portrait session. She is the cutest isn't she?

Sometimes the unhappy ones are just as cute as the smiley ones....

Hilary and Evan on the beach!

2008-03-30T23:16:00.004-05:00

This is Hilary and Evan!! They live in Virginia, but are getting married in Pensacola during the summer. Hilary is the cousin of one of my BEST clients....Carnley you know who you are! Their family is so awesome. They always make us feel like part of the family. We are excited to see what details their wedding will feature. I see some kicking shoes in Hilary's future!

Beautiful Las Vegas

2008-03-28T00:44:00.007-05:00

I have finally processed a few images from Las Vegas last week. I love Vegas.... not for the gambling, the great shows, not even the food (because we all know how much I love good food). I love to just look and photograph. Rae and I would go out at night just visiting different casinos and photographing colorful or interesting sights. Here are a few....

This is a chandelier in a mall... Each one of those crystals are strung individually from the ceiling to form a ball. It's 10x as amazing in person.

The lobby to Caesar's Palace Casino....

Looking down the strip. That Eiffel Tower is the Paris Hotel and Casino where we stayed...

The beautiful Bellagio water show most famous from the closing scene of Ocean's Eleven....

Our last day, while everyone else was headed for the airport, we decided to catch a midnight flight so we could spend the day at Zion National Park in Utah. Just to get a perspective for these giant rock formations, all of the little green specs you see on the side of these mountains are pretty large trees.

Look at the peak on the right, and on the top you'll see trees dotting the surface.

We're Back (Sort of)

2008-03-26T13:40:00.004-05:00

Okay! If you're here you've found us. 5 days after our blog crash we are finally making some headway. A new hosting company has been hired and some kinks are being tweaked. I have to transfer all of the images from the previous blog and reset the html codes which is why only the first 5 or so posts are showing photos. The rest will be finished as time permits. So.... to sum it up if you visit over the next week and the site is down, it may just be temporary to make some adjustments. You can always try going through our main website at www.raeleytham.com and click on the main blog link. If I have to use any temporary addresses, I will link to this blog from that!

Someone drop me a comment if this post showed up on your RSS feed!

Abby & Josh

2008-03-25T13:49:00.003-05:00

We have known this family for years and we were so excited when we found out Abby was getting married. They had a beautiful wedding at the Mobile Botanical Gardens which is probably our favorite place to photograph in Mobile. Abby, you were absolutely stunning.....

Finishing up some last minute details....

How about a couple of group shots this time......

This veil was just unbelievably beautiful......

The veil was hung around the cake after the first dance....

The best topper for a groom's cake I have seen.....

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry

2008-03-24T22:31:00.002-05:00

We are extrememly upset about the blog being down for so long. I have been on the phone with our hosting company for 4 days now begging, crying, yelling, bribing, and doing everything possible to get things back to normal. If you found us through our main website, you will notice the temporary link at the top instead of www.raeleytham.net. We are still working on this issue and have been promised it will be fixed within two days. In the meantime, only the most recent photos below will be seen. Thanks to our brides and everyone for your patience!

Heather and Billy get hitched!

2008-03-24T20:31:00.004-05:00

This is my good friend, Heather, and her wonderful new husband, Billy. Heather and I have known each other since 6th grade and we have some wonderful memories. Playing clarinet in band, cheesy skits in German class, playing cards ALL day during a hurricane. We laugh so much when we are together. Heather met a wonderful guy and he was lucky enough to steal her heart. Billy loves Heather and her daughter, Haley, so much!! They are so cute together.

Here's the beautiful bride - I love this shot.....

Heather can work it...

Billy laughs ALL the time!

Heather tears up when she gets happy nervous and her dad loved it... Heather's dad has not changed a bit. He's so funny too!

Billy gave Heather's daughter Haley a necklace matching their wedding bands....

Their reception was at the hip Soiree in downtown Pensacola..

Sharon Tobin did a great job on the cake...

Heather really is a great dancer. But, this is probably not her best dance move. :o)

They finished the night with some karaoke.... This was serious karaoke. I cannot even begin to tell you how amazingly talented Billy is. He does those really fast songs. I don't remember the name of them, but one was the "chickity china, the chinese chicken" one. What's the name of that song??

But we found a nice red curtain for one more shot...

Client Inquiry

2008-03-19T18:36:00.002-05:00

We had a wedding inquiry from Tampa this week and the return e-mail address was mistyped after @ symbol which shows up as jumble... If you inquired from Tampa, please contact us again as we would love to talk more with you.

On a second note, we are having a BLAST in Vegas. I was going to blog some weddings this week, but there is just not enough time. My goal is to catch up this upcoming weekend with some highlights of our trip. Tomorrow we are going to Zion National park in Utah which should be an awesome photographic opportunity. Stay tuned......

What does Seaside and Las Vegas have in common?

2008-03-13T23:47:00.006-05:00

US! That's right. It's that time of year again and we're off to Las Vegas for the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) conference. That is what what the little logo on the left side of the page is for. We have a couple of weddings this weekend I will be blogging while we are gone.

On another note, we are now on the preferred vendor list for the wonderful community of Seaside, FL. For those of you not familiar, Seaside is the town where the famous movie" The Truman Show" with Jim Carey was filmed. It has become quite the exclusive wedding destination, and we are thrilled to soon be a part of it all. Here a few quick shots between rain showers from our visit last week.

The Seaside Chapel.....Very quaint

One of the many colorful rental homes.....

One of the smallest US Post offices......

The rest are just some of the sights and colors around Seaside.....

Mark & Amanda say I DO!

2008-03-12T20:46:00.004-05:00

We had the pleasure of photographing an amazing wedding this weekend. Mark & Amanda met at a friendly game of poker and she thought he was a bit arrogant. I am so glad she gave him a chance! They got married at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pensacola and their reception was in the Family Life Center at the church. They really chose some fabulous vendors!!! Faith Pendo of Southern Floral Traditions made everything look so magical. There were lanterns everywhere...hanging from the trees and rafters and the flowers were absolutely perfect. Katie and Classic City Catering served some really yummy food as usual. And, of course we had some absolutely scrumptious Betty Weber cake. It really was a wonderful day. It was really hard to narrow down the blog entries this week. I could have easily posted 50!

Wes hung out with Mark for a while....

Mark gave the coolest gifts to his guys.... I thought the slogan was pretty fitting for the day as well

Amanda was glowing....

The sun was just perfect all afternoon....

I have never seen a more amazing sunset at a wedding....

They wanted a candelight ceremony with lots of mood....

Pictures anyone?

The recpeption hall was amazing....

A nice moment between Mark and his mom....

We got one last moment with them....

And then sent them on their way!

DON'T MISS THIS!!!!!!

2008-03-10T22:33:00.004-05:00

This is going to be so awesome....I can't even explain it. The Bliss Event Group is hosting a Premiere Party for the Southern Wedding Style Magazine and a Bridal Showcase too!! I can't tell you how excited I am!! It will be from 7-10pm on April 1st at MySpayce The Event Place in Downtown Pensacola. There will be dinner, dancing, amazing vendors, a HOT new magazine, and so much more. Oh....there will be raffles too. Can you say Rock Hard Designs Diamond Ring??? I wonder how many tickets my fabulously amazing husband will buy? This will be a great night! I hope to see all of you there.

Click on this image to see more details!!!!

OK....who's going??

Chistina and Bobby took a leap! Year that is...

2008-03-03T01:04:00.004-06:00

Wedding season 2008 has officially arrived and these two kicked it off with a leap day ceremony at Old Christ Church with reception at Heritage Hall in Seville Quarter. Bobby is so lucky only having to remember that anniversary every four years.....

It was a beautiful afternoon!

Christina has great taste in shoes with the red!

This is Christina's son Nathan who just went with the flow....

I LOVE the ambience of Old Christ Church at night.....

They performed a well rehearsed first dance...

These two were actually their dance instructors and kept the dance floor alive....

A very nice toast...

Followed by some games by the awesome DJ Ron Ralph... (we know who really won Bobby)

And it ended way too soon......

Our Big Sexy Valentine....

2008-02-28T01:05:00.006-06:00

This weekend kicks off our busy wedding season, and we hope to be seeing these guys more often. We attended Big Sexy Food's Valentine's dinner and wine pairing last week at their own venue. What a sexy dinner it was! With appetizers like goat cheese bruschetta followed with a main course of duck confit with guava cola bar-b-que, what's not to love?

Great atmosphere......

The "5" course menu....

Some Cumin seared scallops made an appearance....

Everyone got to participate in the wine pairing...

We snuck into the kitchen for some behind the scenes action...

Now that's a pork chop!

And how about a chocolate brownie with chocolatte mousse and a piece of dark chocolate for dessert?

The moderator of the evening and owner of the California vineyard and winery was happy to sign some bottles.....

The always sexy owners from left to right John, Jack, and Chris....

We did for "I DO" Alabama Edition

2008-02-24T22:20:00.007-06:00

We are pleased this week that our photos of the very talented Danielle Flowers Atkinson of Bliss Event Group was featured in I Do for Brides magazine. It's always great to see your photos in print, and this is definitely no exception. We are extremely happy for Danielle that her wedding was chosen. You can pick this magazine up in Barnes and Nobles and probably a few other places if you are a border state with Alabama. Congrats Danielle! See her original blog post from August HERE

I tried to get them to use this for the main photo, but they kept insisting on using one of Danielle by herself.... go figure!

Before and After

2008-02-21T23:57:00.009-06:00

Now that we are giving image discs with many of our packages, I have been wanting to give an example of what we mean when we say color corrected, but not enhanced. Digital photography is a lot different than the old days of film. Digital cameras have to use their brain or sensor to interpret all of the colors it sees. It is not a perfect system, which is why most say it is actually a lot more time consuming than film. In the old days, print labs would develop and color correct the proofs at the time of processing. All of the proofs would come back pretty and ready for delivery to the customer. With digital, it's up to us to make sure there are no strange tints or mis-intepretation of colors by the camera. Now, with all that being said, when we deliver to you CD of images, they are color corrected, but not enhanced proofs. We take them out of the camera, get the colors close to how the eye actually saw them, and that's it. When we design an album or process an order, this is when we actually go in and digitally enhance those photos. While you can take your disc and run yourself or grandma prints at Wal-Mart all day long, we still encourage you to order through us if you want the highest quality for your re-prints.

Our first example is the very cute couple of Jim and Mary. This was a gloomy afternoon and while the photo looks pretty good, it could use some zest.....

This is the photo straight out of the camera....

This is straight out of the camera with a little bit of color correction like you would see on your image disc... we made it look a little less blue and that beautiful dress a little more white.....

This is after enhancement....we popped the colors a bit and lightened the couple to really make them stand out from the background. We also took out the condo on the right which was a tad distracting......

This is the beautiful Mary again.... a typical black and white portrait that looks pretty good straight out of camera.

But I like this better.... We touched up the area under her eyes, popped the contrast, and gave it a warm sepia tone.

What a gorgeous church right?! This is strictly preference, but it is a tad bit yellow for me.

Here it is with a little of that yellow tint removed and the guests lightenend a little to make them stand out. We also burned the edges to draw your attention to the center of the photo....

Before - Notice the skin is a little red

After - A nice skin tone and the brighter colors slightly muted to make our couple stand out more...

Proof:

Enhanced:

Proof:

Enhanced:

A nice shot of Melissa and her ladies.....

A little pop of the colors again really adds a nice look to this photo...

A nice bouquet shot that could use a little sprucing up...

Now that's better!

This one looks pretty good as is....

But it can always be cleaned up and sharpened a little...

And finally the beautiful Christine trying to stay modest with Joe....

But we can brighten her and polish the skin a little for the ultimate album photo....

Chelsea & Todd E-Session

2008-02-19T00:52:00.004-06:00

We did an e-session recently with this cute couple.... Chelsea was in town from Colorado for a couple of days to visit Todd who is stationed here for flight training school. We knew when we drove up they were going to make it easy for us and we just let them be themsleves. These were all made walking the streets of Pensacola.

Chelsea loved this creepy old house so we had to use it.....

Jenna & Jared on the Beach

2008-02-15T22:51:00.006-06:00

We met Jenna and Jared on the beach today for their E-session. The weather was perfect and the water & sky were absolutely gorgeous. We had a great time and I think they did too after they warmed up! Jenna's "big" sister, Lindsay, was on our blog a few months back for her E-session. Yep. That's right. 2 sisters...2 fiances...2 weddings...2 months apart. You would think their mom would be going crazy. She is totally loving it and having a great time. Wes and I are so excited to see all the great details for these weddings! Maybe Jenna & Jared will meet us back at the beach for a wet session when it warms up a bit...you'll just have to wait and see.

A nice, sweet portrait.

Can anyone guess what colors the wedding will be??!?!

They only had to jump 4 or 5 times to get the good one!!

I told you the sky and water were gorgeous! Jenna and Jared aren't so bad either!

Rae and Wesley's Big Sexy Valentine

2008-02-15T01:34:00.004-06:00

And a whole lot more to come soon!

Happy V-day Everyone!! !

2008-02-14T00:58:00.004-06:00

Today is Valentine's Day and I just wanted to share an old photo of me and my Valentine. This was taken in October 1999 and is one of our Engagement photos!! Yep...that's right...I am sharing one of our very own engagement photos. This photo was taken by the fabulous Jason Odom of Renaissance Portrait Studio in Fairhope, AL. Weren't we cute?? I still had naturally blond hair with NO grays and Wes had a head full of thick hair. Even though we weren't photographers back then, Jason was the first vendor we booked. We knew a good photo when we saw one!

That beautiful puppy with us is Macie. She was our first child together and she was loved so much. She was about 8 months old in this photo and she was our baby. Sadly, she died of kidney failure at 7 years old. We thought we could never love another dog again and now we have our sweet Baxter! We still love our Macie though. So, no...I don't think you people are crazy when you want your dog in your engagement photos! Anyway, I just thought you all would enjoy seeing us in our younger days! Our Anniversary is coming up in a few months (woohoo Tax Day!) and maybe you will get to see us as a bride and groom!

PS - this is a scanned image of our photo since our wedding was shot on film. I am giving Renaissance their credit so don't you people think I am stealing!! We actually bought our negatives a few years ago too.

Who wants an Avery fix??

2008-02-11T01:38:00.000-06:00

Look at Avery's blog for MORE!!!!

What are you doing for Valentine's Day??

2008-02-05T14:05:00.000-06:00

Big Sexy Food is having a special Valentine dinner! It will be 5 courses along with wine pairing. The menu looks fabulous...the words triple and chocolate are on the dessert section! The cost is $150.00 per couple and they are taking reservations online and I am sure you could call them too.

850.438.7399
www.bigsexyfood.com

Sweet baby

2008-02-04T23:08:00.001-06:00

I had a lot of fun with this cutie recently. I was so excited to get to hold a new baby again. Avery is already 10 months old and getting so big. But, she was never as small as Victoria is. She is less than 6 pounds and just a little peanut. Her preemie diapers were falling off as were all of her clothes. She wasn't too excited about her photo session...it really interfered with her eating!! But, what a blessing she is to her parents and such a perfect miracle too.

Sws Magazine Premiere

2008-01-31T02:31:00.001-06:00

The ladies at Bliss Event Group have been working extremely hard on a brand new magazine named "Southern Wedding Style". We are proud to be an advertiser and contributing photographer for this new magazine, and we are looking forward to its upcoming release in April. There is going to be a premiere party and bridal showcase at the always hip MySpayce here in Pensacola on April 1st. Check out the details below and tell your friends about this great event! For those of you out of town, this magazine will be distributed all over the southeast from Birmingham to Savannah. Be sure to pick up a copy!

Avery at 9 months...plus two weeks

2008-01-27T22:37:00.001-06:00

Okay, boy do we have a newly found respect for children's photographers. We were worn out after this shoot. It sure is nice not have to actually chase a bride and groom around this much on weekends.

Someone doesn't care for shoes yet so Rae had to get involved a little. You would think the shoes bite!

Look at the smile like daddy's.... okay, maybe a little of mommy's too.

I crack myself up!

Hey, what's with this stupid hat in Florida?

You two are funny.....

This was her Christmas dress Wesley's mom hand made....

Of course everything goes in the mouth these days!

But hey, she's getting around just fine!

May 31, 2008 Cancellation

2008-01-24T19:51:00.000-06:00

We are now open for May 31, 2008. If you or anyone you know is interested in getting married on May 31, 2008....CALL US! We would love to be your photographers!

Avery Update

2008-01-23T22:16:00.001-06:00

I was prepping the studio sofa for an AWESOME boudoir session recently and caught a couple shots of the munchkin goofing off. She's getting harder to keep in focus as much as she moves around these days. I can't publish the boudoir photos until the groom sees them, but here are a couple for you Avery fans.....

FYI....She is NOT ever going to do her own boudoir session!

Valerie and Terry

2008-01-21T00:27:00.001-06:00

This weekend was the wedding of Valerie and Terry here in Pensacola. They had a small intimate wedding in the chapel of Olive Baptist Church with reception following at the always beautiful Skopelos overlooking Pensacola Bay. We met at Skopelos before the ceremony for outside photos and it was miserably cold and cloudy. The ladies sucked it up though and we got some great shots before they turned blue....

The dashing Terry

Valerie was just beautifully glowing and such a sweetheart...

Their girls were using Terry as a warmer between photos....

A quick examination of the cake from The Cake Shop.

The officiant stood out in front and spoke to the audience for the ceremony which was very touching....

The guests had their own candles...

We headed over to Skopelos.... Doesn't that just look warm inside?

There were icicles appropriately hanging outside the window by the cake...

A little toast....

and finally some cake!

We're Back

2008-01-18T11:23:00.000-06:00

Somehow a couple of the blog posts below got jacked up while were were gone, but I think it's back on track now. We have a wedding tomorrow that will be posted along with some other cool stuff next week. Maybe even a few more pics from Disney. Have a really great weekend and we'll update soon!

Wes

Scott and Lael's Disney Engagement

2008-01-15T22:26:00.001-06:00

Greetings from Walt Disney World. This is why some of you have been getting e-mails from us on the Blackberry this week. Wesley's best friend popped the big question in front of Cinderella's Castle yesterday, and we wanted to be here to photograph the big event. Needless to say it was quite entertaining. We prepared for days on how we were going to do this. Wesley was going to have Scott take our "family" picture in front of the castle, and then we were going to return the favor so pointing the camera at them would not tip Lael off in any way. One thing Scott did not practice was taking the ring out of his back pocket and Lael sort of figured out what was happening before he got the darn thing free. Needless to say she said yes and it was a first for us to photograph the "Will you?" part of the marriage process. I'm glad they will have these photos for the rest of their life.

Here's that stuck ring moment....

But then she said yes.....

Avery has been having a great time with the characters!

Mickey got a big kiss on the nose right after this one.....

and someone realy loves her Mickey ears....

Why two photographers?

2008-01-10T01:11:00.000-06:00

The blogging is a little slow this week as we play catch up from the holidays. January and February are usually the months where the wedding season slows down and we use the extra time to design some albums, update our marketing materials, and just do all the little things we seem to never have time to do in the busy seasons. Our main goal for 2008 is to show how we work together as a team to produce the images we achieve from our weddings and events. You can hire a photographer with an "assistant" all day long. However, photographing weddings together for five years consistently now has given us the ability to work in a way where we are always inspiring each other for better shots. It also allows us to cover twice as much of your event in half the time. I'm going to be doing a little show and tell on the blog here soon with examples of why it's an advantage to hire a photography team with two photographers who are equally qualified for your wedding. Stay tuned!

On a side note, we have had some inquiries lately in more of a technical nature asking how we make our photographs look the way we do. Answer? It's the 33.333% rule.

33% technical knowledge of working a camera and knowing which lens for the shot you want
33% knowledge of digital enhancement of the photo after getting it perfect with the camera first (photoshop is not for helping a bad image, it's for making a perfect one even better)
And finally, 33% of having the "eye" and experience of knowing and capturing a good photograph. A photo will never look 100% if any of these are missing....

A great bridal fair and price increases.....

2008-01-07T18:41:00.001-06:00

Wow, what a great bridal show this weekend! Our booth was very busy this year and I think the time went by faster than years past because we were talking so much. We appreciate everyone who stopped by our booth to say hi and the nice comments we received.

We want to give everyone a heads up that this is the last week of our current prices. We constantly invest a lot in our business from our equipment to seminars for new techniques in order to provide the images we produce. For these reasons along with the fact that darnit, we're just worth it, we will have a substantial price increase beginning Sunday January 13th. If you have been sitting on the fence and just not gotten around to booking yet, please get in touch with us this week.

A little recap of just one of the beautiful gowns from the runway show.....

Is this a cool table cover or what? Give North Hill Chair Covers a call if this looks interesting for your upcoming wedding. I have a feeling we will see at least one of these this upcoming wedding season!

Mary & Jim in Foley, Alabama

2008-01-05T21:07:00.001-06:00

Wes and I took a short road trip to Foley, AL to photograph the wedding of Mary & Jim. It's always a mystery when we go to shoot a wedding for people that we haven't met....but, we were definitely pleased when we saw such a sweet, cute couple. They have such a sweet story too! They have known each other since grade school and their families have been waiting a long time for this wedding. Jim works at a camera shop and is very interested in photography so we were honored that they chose us.

Meet the groom Jim! He is so handsome and is a sweet as he looks!

These shoes belonged to Jim's grandfather.....how cool?

They saw each other before the wedding which gave us time for some great shots....

It was really windy so we played with Mary's beautiful veil...

Wesley caught a shot of her through a palm....I like to call him the paparazzi!

I LOVE the moments just before that walk down the aisle....

Her mom and dad walked with her.... sweet The candle to the right was lit in honor of Jim's best friend who was deployed to Iraq.

This cake was absolutely happening.... It was made for photos!

After the reception we headed to Gulf Shores for some beach shots...

I think the next 15 minutes were the highlight of the day. What a gorgeous yet dreary sunset we had.....

They drove away with their own stick figure likeness on the window thanks to their friends ;-)

Bridal Fair this weekend!

2008-01-04T01:31:00.000-06:00

If you are in the area, we will be at the Bridal Fair this Sunday January 6, at the Pensacola Civic center. Be sure to stop by our booth and say hi if you are going to be there. We would really like to meet some of you!

Suzanne & Rob

2008-01-01T14:20:00.001-06:00

Suzanne and Rob were married New Years Eve at NAS Pensacola with ceremony in the HUGE chapel and reception following at the Mustin Beach Officers Club. Rob does not like photos, but I think we tamed him pretty well at their e-session a couple weeks ago. We all owe these two a lot since they are spending the next year apart. Suzanne is leaving in two days for training before being deployed to Iraq while Rob is finishing up flight school. That is a true commitment!

We had a beautiful sunset when we arrived. I'll be glad when the days get longer again though for outside photos....

The lovely Suzanne....

Sometimes people ask us if we do formal shots since we don't put many on our website.....Here's a sample of what we do at every wedding!

Suzanne got tickled during the ceremony....

Some patriotic details.....

This New Years crowd knew how to party in the Congo line....

I think this was the highest bouquet toss we've seen yet....

I love capturing these shots that appear different than what they are...This nice lady was really straightening his hat, but it looks like she was about to smack the poor gentlemen......

Ringing in the new year at midnight.....

Best of luck to both of you..... Keep in touch Suzanne!

Happy New Year!

2007-12-30T22:18:00.000-06:00

Well, it's hard to believe 2007 has come and gone so quickly.... What a year it has been! If you had told us 5 years ago that we would both become self-employed in 2007 and working together every day, we probably would have laughed. We want everyone to know how grateful we are for the success we have had this year. From the vendors who graciously refer us, to the clients who believe in us, we sincerely thank you. 2008 is looking brighter than 2007 for us with 22 weddings already on our schedule before the year has even begun.

This blog has become extremely successful this year as well with over 35,000 hits. That motivates us every day to produce a quality product we are proud to share on here time after time. We appreciate all of you who have sent e-mails telling us how great this blog is and how much you enjoy following our life and our work. It's hard to believe we can have that effect on someone just doing what we love every week. Do yourself a favor this year..... If you're stuck in some corporate job, you know, with a boss that is more interested in demeaning you than appreciating you, find a way to make money by doing something you love. Even if it's something that will not completely support you financially, there is nothing more thrilling and personally rewarding than having others love something you can provide them. It will change your life.....

God Bless, Wes & Rae

Lori and Mark by Candlelight

2007-12-30T01:09:00.001-06:00

Lori and Mark were married this weekend in another absolutely Fab wedding by Danielle Flowers and The Bliss Event Group. Mark's parents own a fairly large estate on the west side of Pensacola, so they arranged for a clear top ceremony tent on their property with lights in the trees surrounding it. The mood of the event was tingling to say the least. After the ceremony we moved into a larger tent next door for the grand reception with catering by the new owners of MySpayce. Really, really good food if anyone is looking for another very qualified caterer in town.

This is the very pretty Lori....

What a gorgeous bouquet!

And Mark..... That boutonniere was Rockin!

Doesn't this just look romantic?

Let's check out some Blissful details!

Why yes, that is another Betty Weber cake you see....

Their first dance was quite classy....

There were some teens who loved to swing dance!

A nice shot in front of the house...

Melissa & Dustin

2007-12-28T11:39:00.001-06:00

Melissa and Dustin were married this Thursday here in Pensacola at Old Christ Church. Dustin and his dad are Marines (hoo-rah) and Melissa grew up with an army dad. Let's just say there was a lot of testosterone at this wedding! Melissa is a teacher and they are moving to Virginia in a couple of weeks. I sure her students are really going to miss her.

Very pretty dress......

Shoe details were gorgeous.....

One of my favorite dressing shots...

I just love this shot Wes took of her sister fiddling with the dress while mom looks from behind.

Melissa is a really smiley person, but she did serious so well that she was absolutely stunning in that dress!

Just to show how we work together, while Rae was taking the shot above, Wesley took this shot below and wala! Instant beautiful...

Sorry ladies....he's taken!

Sabre arches are the coolest....

After the wedding, we headed over to Apple Annie's at Seville for the reception...

Another fab Betty Weber cake....love the detail!

Melissa and her dad are very close....

On their way to Disney World!

Rae's Christmas Gift

2007-12-27T00:55:00.001-06:00

Let's just say I won on the Christmas gift this year! I bought Rae the new iPod nano with video this year for Christmas, and with the birth of Avery being such a milestone for us in 2007, I wanted to do something special for her. Solution? I made Rae a slideshow to go on her iPod with some of our photos from way back in 1993 leading all the way to the present. We met 17 years ago this year, although we figured out we were two classrooms apart in 3rd and 4th grade in 1984. So..... if you want a little look into Wes and Rae of the past, click on this quick slideshow and have a peek. This barely even begins to tell our story, but it does touch on some of the best and worst times in our life. Some of the photos you will have absolutely no idea of the meaning behind them.

Like this one....where "we" were delivering a sailboat from Pensacola to Mobile on a cold, cloudy day, and she stayed below and made pics of me freezing! Mutiny......

Or this one where I took her on a maternity clothes shopping spree in New York City....

There are others like the halloween costume that I have no comment on. So have a laugh on us when I had hair and and Rae had really big hair hehe.....

Merry Christmas

2007-12-22T02:13:00.001-06:00

Here is the family Christmas Card for those of you not on our mailing list. We hope the holidays bring you as much happiness as Avery and all of you have brought us this year. We are going to try and step away from the Blackberry and e-mails for a few days, so please be patient if we do not return them as quickly as usual. We are very busy this holiday season with three weddings between Christmas and New Years coming up. We'll be updating the blog as time permits......

With Love,
Wesley, Rae, Avery, and Baxter!

Suzanne and Rob

2007-12-20T01:56:00.001-06:00

This cute pair was originally one of our April couples, but Suzanne is being deployed next month for a year in Iraq as a military policeman. She looks too cute for that doesn't she? I told her she has that Tina Fey factor happening and she said she gets that all the time. Rob is in flight school as well, so the best solution was to bump the wedding up to December 31, in a couple of weeks. We were finally able to match our schedules this week and got together for a little e-session.

Rob was a little bashful about PDA, so we knew had to warm him up before the wedding. We made him do a little kiss here.....

And a little kiss there.....

And finally a little kiss together.....

There's that smile we were looking for!

They are a fantastic couple!

Mindy & Brent Wedding

2007-12-17T00:29:00.001-06:00

This past weekend took us to the country, way out in the country to the peanut and cotton fields of Jay, Florida. Mindy and Brent planned a spectacular wedding with a beautiful outdoor ceremony. Only one problem...... It rained. We are in a 3 year drought, with rains far and few between. But this weekend, it rained! No worries though..... they picked up and moved the wedding inside for a nice quaint ceremony in the midst of family and close friends.

Notice the storm clouds brewing....I told you it was the country!

This was just lovely...

They were working out the details on the phone until the last minute...

A little shoe detail

They gave each other cards....

Mindy was absolutely stunning.....

That's a fireplace behind them where they said their vows....nice touch

The DJ made the guests sing a song at their table with the word "love" in it before they could eat. This guy decided on the Love Boat theme. Those of you in your twenties may be clueless on this one! We aren't sure if his wife was proud or embarrassed!

Anyone wanna guess what song this was?

Mindy was flashing some gang signs right before the bouquet toss!

We took them outside after it stopped raining for some brick wall romance.. A nice way to end the night!

Amanda & Mark E-Session

2007-12-14T09:41:00.001-06:00

Amanda & Mark are one of our March 08' couples referred by one of our former brides. Thanks Carla! We wanted to do an e-session with them before it got too cold, but little did we know it would be a balmy 78 degrees on December 13! I had to mention that for those of you up north ;-) Anyway, it was a little dreary, but the Fall colors here are beautiful right now and the overcast fit the mood of the season. I think this is one of my favorite e-sessions!

We'll start with a nice portrait......

I thought this little touch of green and yellow was perfect!

Steamy!

We found this big pile of leaves under a Ginkgo tree and took advantage! That's a LOT of yellow....

Restaurant Announcement

2007-12-11T13:53:00.001-06:00

For those in the area who like new dining experiences, P.F. Chang's is now open in Sandestin. Rae and I have had the chance to eat here a few times in our travels to other larger cities, so it's nice to finally get one within driving distance. We met a friend for dinner here last week who is a good source of inside information. He told us that Destin should be getting a Cheesecake Factory soon also. We'll keep our fingers crossed!!!

Heather & Billy E-Session

2007-12-09T21:48:00.001-06:00

I am going to be in so much trouble for this post..... Heather went to high school with Rae and I back in a former life. She is engaged to a great guy and we are so proud of her! She is currently living in Tampa, but will be getting married here in Pensacola in the Spring. They were in town this weekend and Rae did an awesome session with them and Heather's daughter Haley.

A little flashback to somewhere around 1992.....Does anyone think Rae's hair has changed?

They are really cute....

Heather's eyes are gorgeous....

This is the one and only Haley!

Did I mention she is a state finalist in gymnastics?

She can talk them into anything!

2007-12-06T20:29:00.000-06:00

WOW are we in a giving mood this holiday season.......Here's our gift to all of our clients. You can purchase your digital wedding proofs for $350 until January 1, 2008. This includes all of our 2007 wedding clients. These are not enhanced photos! They are the out of camera proofs that look just like the ones in your proof magazines. Please contact us if you are interested as we will start shipping high resolution cd's in January (you will not receive them in time for Christmas).

What the #*&%?

2007-12-06T01:03:00.000-06:00

Okay, I get out from behind the camera for once and post a photo of myself with my child below, and everyone is screaming they want to see Rae. Well guess what? You'll have to wait for the official Christmas card. So you better be sure to email us and let us know if you want to be on our mailing list! For those of you who got a card from us last year, don't worry! You are covered.........

Sincerely, Wesley
(AKA Mr. Rae)

EDITED TO ADD:
OK OK OK!! I will add a photo of myself with my little bug. You people should know by now that I am trying to hide from the camera. How old does Avery have to be before I stop claiming that I still have "baby weight?" But anyway, since there was so much demand to see me, I will post one. And, Kerry...his feelings weren't hurt. He's just jealous of my immense popularity. LOLLLL!!!!

Our Christmas photos.....

2007-12-04T22:32:00.001-06:00

We don't want to be these parents who are always forcing our kid's photos on everyone, but how could you not love these? We are in the process of doing some family Christmas portraits ("holiday" portraits for the PC police) and thought we'd share a couple. We'll be posting more on Avery's blog soon if anyone is interested.

The cute socks are courtesy of aunt Sara! Thanks aunt Sara

We borrowed the hat from our good friend Jenni. Doesn't she look a little British?

One last one with Wes..... She is in the bubble blowing stage as you can see in this one.

Take the poll......

2007-12-03T02:08:00.000-06:00

We are always delighted when we see our blog stats rising. We are currently getting nearly 3500 hits per month and steadily climbing. Some of you are from as far away as France, Iran, Australia, even India. The 3 largest hitting states are Florida (the highest), with Alabama pulling a strong second place, and New York State a close 3rd thanks mostly to New York City. So we are curious to know who you are. Please take a quick second and hit the poll on the left side of the page and let us know a little more about you......

PS - to all you lurkers...feel free to post a comment and tell us who you are and how you found us!

Tampa Lighting Class (posted by wesley)

2007-12-03T01:33:00.001-06:00

I didn't have a chance to highlight my trip to Tampa a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I would touch on that since we did not have a wedding this weekend. Since we are always looking to expand our techniques, I took a class on professional lighting. We shoot as much as possible without artificial flash, but there are times when there is no way around it in dark situations, and these courses always bring a fresh approach to it. The whole point was to take the flash off the camera and use it to make photos that were only achievable with off camera lighting. We did some cool tricks and even had our very own Elvis impersonator to model for us. This guy was no cheap weekend Elvis either, he was the real deal.....

Imagine being in a room like this during the middle of the day...

and pulling off a shot like this! Looks like a stage in a nightclub doesn't it?

We headed outside at dusk and took some shots of Elvis in an Alley...

This is another one of our aspiring young models.

I actually made this shot in a parking lot behind the young lady in the photo above...

We convinced her mom to model for us in this old elevator shaft... Not pretty surroundings in person, but made for really nice photos.

We actually put Elvis in front of a white wall and arranged the lighting to make it look like a gray background....pretty cool.

He had some serious bling....

On the way home I took a break and stopped at beautiful Fanning Springs State Park. I wanted to stretch my legs and check out the crystal clear swimming hole. In the bottom of the pic is the actual spring which is 20'-30' deep, and then it flows out to the historic Suwanee River you can see in the distance.

Fall is in full swing here in Florida....

This was a surprise to me.... There were 3 manatees swimming around the spring to my delight. You can see boat propeller scars on the one in the middle.

This was the baby in the bunch....

This is an underwater photo I made diving about 3 years ago for a little better view. Manatees are really cute creatures.

Christmas photos for cuties.....

2007-11-26T20:09:00.001-06:00

We had the pleasure of doing a Christmas card shoot for these 5 young ladies again this year. This family is actually good friends of ours and it has been fun watching these girls grow over the last 10 years......

PS - If you look 2 posts down, you will see Gabby who is their cousin!

Christine & Joe

2007-11-25T22:04:00.001-06:00

You might remember Christine and Joe from their E-Session we did in Atlanta a couple of months ago. They had their big day this weekend at the Portofino Resort on Pensacola Beach. Joe is originally from New York and many of their guests made the long trip down for the wedding. It was quite blustery with heavy overcast, gusty winds, and 58 degree temps, but it all turned out beautifully with the help of Danielle Atkinson and the ladies at Bliss Event Group.

We'll start with a nice getting ready shot......

Christine's bouquet was very pretty with Rosary attached...

The flower girls were the cutest....

Portofino kept the champagne flowing for warmth while we did group photos....

The pool area made for really nice scenery!

How could you not love that smile? This guy can dance too!

The beautiful Christine.....

We headed out to the beach for a few... This is where Joe proposed!

This photo cracks me up because a friend of theirs was the official "cheauffer". He was really a fun guy all day, but he took this duty so seriously that we called him the bodyguard.

Beautiful decor' by Bliss....

Another awesome Betty Weber cake!

They are really good at ballroom dancing and it showed!

It turned into quite the party!

Nice shot of the happy couple getting down....

Hope you two have a great time on Captiva!

Gabby Is getting BIG!

2007-11-23T21:31:00.001-06:00

Little Gabby is growing like a weed and is already seven months old. She is ridiculously cute and had a great time at her photo shoot today. We went to her nursery and just let her be herself. It was difficult to choose the blog photos since we loved all of them......

Someone is ready for Santa.....

Our Thanksgiving Recap......

2007-11-22T22:29:00.001-06:00

Happy turkey day! We had a nice day off this year in Mobile where for the first time ever, Wesley and Rae's family had Thanksgiving Dinner together. It was warm in the morning, but quickly turned cold here in the deep south by mid-afternoon.

After a hefty lunch, Wesley's dad entertained Avery with her book...

Unfortunately she is teething, so she spent most of the day sleeping...

Now this is a sneak preview of Rae's dad's pride and joy.....

Let's just say Chevy Chase in the movie Christmas Vacation has nothing on him with the official Thanksgiving yard lighting....

This is just one of many blow up lawn ornaments....more of these in a future holiday post.

Rae's mom tried to get Avery interested in Santa, but I think the cold was more than she wanted to deal with.

So we came home and built a nice fire before bed....brrrrrrrr

Samantha & Josh (and Max)

2007-11-19T01:00:00.001-06:00

Samantha and Josh are both students at the University of Mississippi and had a beautiful wedding and reception at the historic Bragg Mitchell Mansion in Mobile, AL. Rae and I are both originally from Mobile for those of you who do not know, so it's always a treat when we get to go back home for a good ol' southern wedding with class! The florals were amazing and the bride arriving in a horse drawn carriage really added to the whole experience. This couple is full of personality as you will see and the day was so smooth and relaxed we almost didn't know what to do with ourselves. We are so glad they chose us to photograph their big day!

This is Max, the couple's first born. He had a part in the wedding!

The guys were all happy!

Josh being all cute....

What would a Mobile wedding be without this shot?

Samantha was GLOWING! Notice the killer red suede shoes!

A fine way to arrive.....

Beautiful setting for a wedding eh?

They were such sports to let us stand them on this bench!

You can watch their slideshow for all the fun! This one takes a couple minutes to load, but well worth the wait!

Courtney & Chip in Biloxi

2007-11-18T23:01:00.001-06:00

Courtney and Chip got married in Biloxi, MS last weekend and it was quite the event. They are the third couple to get married in a large group of friends we have photographed over the last couple of years. The large Cathedral you'll see below is one of the few structures that did not substain major damage or flooding when Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi coast two years ago. It could have been quite a loss, but was fortunately spared the worst of the storm.

Awesome florals.....

The beautiful bride.....

We borrowed the lobby of the Beau Rivage Casino and Hotel where Courtney stayed for this pumpkin patch shot.

Can you believe this gorgeous room is a fellowship hall at the church? What a party palace!

The first dance....

The cake cutting got just a little sticky....

The band was rockin' and even joined in with the crowd....

Courtney has a little John Travolta hiding in there somewhere....

Slacking....

2007-11-16T09:43:00.001-06:00

I know, I know, the blog is lacking this week. I've been in Tampa all week and Avery has been really sick and now Rae is sick. Geesh! I have so much to share that I will get around to after I try to post two weddings today for my very patient clients.....stay tuned

Jo & Justin E-Session in Tampa

2007-11-12T21:00:00.001-06:00

I am in Tampa this week working on my continuing education by taking a class on lighting techniques for professional photographers. Since I am in the area, I called up this cute couple and scheduled an e-session in the beautiful Hyde Park area of Tampa. You might remember Jo as the one who took the picture of me dancing with the bride last month at Danielle and Len's wedding in Pensacola. These ladies are all good friends and I could not wait to get Jo in front of the camera since she is the only one we have not photographed yet. They were naturals in front of the camera and we had a blast. They will be getting married in Bradenton, FL next April....

Imagine my delight when I found this red wall first thing!!!

This neighborhood is absolutely beautiful!

We headed over to Bayshore Ave so we could include downtown Tampa......

One of my favorites.....

They really were running for their life in this one at rush hour.....I think I only made them do it 3 times though LOL....

Thanks guys! I had a blast..... Wesley

Amy & Lem's E-session

2007-11-08T21:12:00.001-06:00

We went back to the beach today for a fun session with Amy & Lem. The first thing they they told us was how unphotogenic they were and we were like, "okay, whatever". Hopefully these will change their mind! We are so lucky to live so close to such a beautiful beach. Anyway, they are getting married in Mobile in May and we hear it's gonna be a FAT party. We'll be the judge of that!

Happy Birthday Gran

2007-11-08T12:25:00.001-06:00

Wesley's grandmother is turning 75 in a couple weeks and since she is going to be out of town, we decided to throw her a little surprise party at the Fish House before she left. She was quite surprised to say the least since this was her first special birthday according to her. She has alsways been the best grandmother whose love has never gone unnoticed, and it was so nice to be able to see her reach this milestone in her life. We have to give props to "The Cake Shop" for making this beautiful cake which was filled with a heavenly Bavarian cream and cream cheese filling. Our thanks also to Faith at Southern Floral Traditions for the matching sunflower arrangements on the table. I'm convinced we have some of the best wedding vendors in the southeast right here in Pensacola for those of you with upcoming weddings......

Wesley's mom and grandmother.....

Our last dinner with Wesley's sister and her husband for a while...they moved to Texas this week!

All the girls....

So hot, yet so cold!

2007-11-07T21:28:00.002-06:00

Jennifer and Nathan drove over from Mobile to enjoy the beautiful beaches of Pensacola for their E-session. They knew they wanted to get wet and we were game! We planned this session originally a few weeks ago when it was still warm. Unfortunately it rained that day, so we rescheduled for today and we got a little cold front this week. They still wanted to get wet! They might look hot, but they were really REALLY cold....shivering cold!! Anyway, these two lovebirds are getting married in Mobile in April. Maybe it will be a bit warmer that day!

Our favorite new RED wall!

Love this one!

These eyes are to die for!

Doesn't this scream magazine ad? The afternoon sun glow was rockin'.

We had a great time guys....hot chocolate on us next time ;-)

Michele & JohnJay

2007-11-03T22:30:00.001-05:00

Michele & JohnJay said their do's at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart here in Pensacola with their reception following at New World Landing. Michele was absolutely stunning in her dress. I wish I could blog twice as many photos because these just do not do it justice. Their ceremony was a traditional Catholic Mass with Filipino traditions, and was quite beautiful as well.

Simple and sophisticated....

Wow!

The groom not looking too bad himself!

We threatened to steal this flower girl....

One of my favorites!

Here we go....

Michele can work the tude.....

Arriving at the party!

A little toast for the bride and groom...

I like the shadow of Michele's profile from the videographer light.....

We'll finish with a well rehearsed first dance!

Coming Soon!

2007-11-02T03:17:00.000-05:00

Awesome new changes coming this month....stay tuned

Swimming with clothes on! (VERY HOT)

2007-11-01T23:18:00.002-05:00

We met Lindsay and Mark out on the beach for another E-session. They wanted to get wet and sandy this time so we were definitely game! We had a great time and the sunset was beautiful as always. These are so sexy that we cannot decide which is our favorite. We really love doing these sessions which are getting more popular....

Caleb & Mekenzie

2007-11-01T23:02:00.001-05:00

I was so honored to take some pics of a special family. I used to work with Caleb & Mekenzie's mom at FDLE. She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and people are drawn to her. Since the kids and 4 and 3 years old, they really weren't interested in pictures. The shells were much more interesting than me. Caleb was especially interested in a fish victim of Red Tide. But, I managed to get a few cute ones of them. I especially like this one of both kids. Sibling love!!

Happy Halloween from us!

2007-10-30T22:52:00.000-05:00

We want to wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN from our little pumpkin to yours!

Colette & Jake E-Session

2007-10-30T22:36:00.001-05:00

Collette and Rae used to work together at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, so we were really thrilled when she contacted us to photograph their wedding. They will be having an awesome wedding at the Pensacola Yacht Club in May of 2008. We were planning on our standard beach photos, but we decided to try something a little different with the scenery this time to spice things up a bit. Enjoy!

My favorite of the day.....

Jenny & Chris E-Session

2007-10-30T00:26:00.001-05:00

We had a gorgeous day for an E-session with Jenny & Chris. They are so easy to photograph!! We had a nice relaxed session and we got some fabulous shots. I am sure their wedding in May will be just as perfect!

Stacey and Matt's Wedding

2007-10-29T21:52:00.001-05:00

Stacey and Matt had a beautiful wedding at Old Christ Church with a reception following at Heritage Hall in Seville. They opted to see each other before the wedding to ease their nerves and I am glad they did. Stacey was SO ready to see Matt, I think she was about to explode! It was an absolutely perfect day and we could not have asked for better weather.

A couple of getting ready shots....beautiful dress detail!

I love this type of flower girl bouquet.... This and all the beautiful flowers were done by Heavenly Creations Florist in Pace.

We cleared the church so they could meet before the wedding.... These are the best moments of the day.

Matt's emotion was priceless.....

Then we headed outside for some gorgeous afternoon sunlight....

Not sure if Matt was anxious to get started or planning his escape LOL.....

Beautiful Betty Weber cake....

Unfortunately, they both ended up wearing it....

I love the look of determination here. I think they were competing to get their picture made with the cute girl on the right....

Avery and the cousins.....

2007-10-28T00:02:00.001-05:00

Avery's cousins (Andrew and Abby) came to visit from Mobile this weekend, so we rounded them up for a little family portrait. Aren't they adorable? It's hard to believe she will be 7 months old next week....

Do you know...

2007-10-25T16:59:00.001-05:00

...anyone who does on-site hair styling?? Look at this request for info!!

HERE!

What's with the tornadoes?

2007-10-23T16:28:00.000-05:00

We are having such weird weather!! Wes told you a few posts back about his near run-in with the Pensacola tornado on Thursday. Well, yesterday (Monday), there was a tornado warning in south Mobile County in Alabama. For those of you who don't know, Wes and I from Mobile. Wes has been in Pensacola since 1995 and I moved in 2000. Anyway, in 2000 my parents built a house on an acre in Irvington and several years later, my sister and her husband bought a house with 4 acres (and a pond) down the street from my parents. Well....enough about my family history. Their neighbor, Cindy, took photos of the tornado from her house. You see that house in the picture??? Well, that's my sister's house!!!! Those trees are at the property line for my sister's yard!! OMG!! She and the kids were home too!!! It didn't go over their house, but it's pretty darn close! My parents yard is in between Cindy's and my sister.

Claudia & Bobby

2007-10-22T18:14:00.001-05:00

Claudia and Bobby were married Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Milton, FL with reception following. It was an absolutely beautiful Fall day and Claudia was no exception to that either. They booked us so long ago that it's hard to believe their wedding has finally come and gone. Bobby is a pitcher in minor league baseball for the Mesa Angels in Arizona, so remember you saw him here first when he is famous one day soon!

We'll start with a couple of Claudia's Bridals on the beach from earlier this year.... she was beautiful! Rae was VERY pregnant and trying to walk through sand!

What a cute couple!

Claudia's favorite color is pink which was the main color of the day....

Their silhouette was also the theme of the day on their cake and programs. Aren't they cute?

The grand arrival at the reception.....

They had quite the messy departure! Those are soft baseballs on the ground that were being thrown also!

Ian and April's British/American Wedding!

2007-10-20T00:58:00.001-05:00

Words cannot describe this wedding...... It was glam, it was fun, it was amazing. Ian is from England and brought over many of his friends and family for this grand event. The wedding took place at the bride's parents house on the beautiful Blackwater River near Bagdad, FL. The weather dried up beautifully just hours before the start, and you will see in some of the photos how beautiful the dusk sky was. These two are amazingly in love and just "cool" enough that they are going to have a wonderful life. I think we'll definitely be hanging out with them in the future.

Absolutely Stunning!

Wesley's attempt at some British humor...too much Benny Hill as a kid!

Is this not the most gorgeous setting for a wedding?

There were subtle hints of heritage around the yard.....

The water here is reflecting that sky I was talking about...

The cake was very cool....

You'll have to watch the slideshow for the rest of the fun...

Rain, Lightning, and tornadoes oh my!

2007-10-19T02:04:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a day here in the FL Panhandle. I think that this has been the worst weather day in my 13 years of living in Pensacola except for hurricanes. We had a true to life tornado move through the area along with massive rainfall Thursday. As I type this now, it has been raining at our house for well over 24 hours. We have a wedding on Friday (OUTSIDE). so hopefully this will move on through soon. The following images are courtesy of the Pensacola News Journal......

This is the marina where my dad keeps the family sailboat "Avery Rae". Nice name huh? This boat was picked up out of the water and set on the pier. Many other boats and docks were damaged, but the Avery Rae was sitting pretty without a scratch!

This is the Pensacola Yacht Club and these are $100k boats tossed like toys. Ouch! I have a special place in my heart since I used to race sailboats like these competitively.

This is the tornado heading through town right after it hit the marinas.

The Target parking lot near the mall where several vehicles were overturned and tossed around. I was driving down the road only about a half mile away when this happened. Mrs. Schlosser (one of our favorite blogstalkers) will be glad to know I was out mailing her wedding album in all of this!

A little photo I made with the point and shoot out the front door as darkness approached. Let's hope Friday is a much better day!

Noelle & Eric Updated!

2007-10-17T00:39:00.001-05:00

Eric & Noelle are really good people if you know what I mean. Noelle is originally from Montana, so a lot of her family flew in for some beach time around the wedding. They were married at Old Christ Church in downtown Pensacola with reception following at one of our favorite places, Big Sexy Food. This is the first time we have shot at their new venue, and this is a great intimate spot for those of you looking for a place that will hold 150 or so guests. Poor Noelle scratched her eye the night before the wedding, but she was a trooper and didn't let it spoil the fun.

The beautiful bride....

This is an Essence of Australia dress from the Bridal Loft that was absolutely stunning!

Sir Eric......

A little "just married" shot....

I love this matron of honor detail....

Good times!

Ahhhhh.... Big Sexy Food

Only the best for this party.....

I love all the action going on around them as they cut the cake!

It ended with a rockin' party....

Our thanks to all their family.... We had a blast!

Lori and Neil E-Session

2007-10-16T00:42:00.001-05:00

We finally got to do an E-Session with this cute couple. Lori was an intern in Wesley's Engineering firm (whew! glad that job is in the past) a couple of years ago and she called us as soon as she was engaged. It's nice to have clients that started out as friends. They are getting married at Pensacola Yacht Club next July and should be quite the event with Lori's style!

We even had some fun......

Lindsay & Mark on the beach

2007-10-12T00:04:00.001-05:00

We met Lindsay and Mark at the beach for a little E-session. The atmosphere was absolutely crystal clear. The sky was beautiful and the beach was so peaceful. It really felt like Fall. Wes & I decided that we really need to enjoy more sunsets in the future. Anyway, these two are getting married next Spring and they are so cute! They are also recent graduates of Physician Assistant school and are both looking for jobs in the area...anyone need a PA (or two)??

Avery Turns 6 Months

2007-10-11T22:40:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe the greatest thing that has ever happened to us is already 6 months old. We are in the process of getting some good shots of her at this milestone. Here are a few for our Avery fans......

This is a casual photo of her wearing her "My Hairy Big Brother" t-shirt with Baxter's picture on the front. Avery thanks Uncle Patsy for this one. His days of peace and quiet are just about over......Notice the 2 hands full of Baxter fur and the ridiculously joyful look on her face. Look at Avery's blog for more! (The Link is on the left).

The Smiths vacation in Destin!

2007-10-10T23:11:00.002-05:00

The Smith Family traveled to Destin for some fun in the sun and they asked us to take their photos. I have never seen blue eyes more blue! I used to think Avery had the best blue eyes, but I think this baby wins. Electric blue!! We had a good time in the afternoon sun and baby Smith was a trooper.

Carol & Tim's E-session in Sandestin

2007-10-10T00:17:00.001-05:00

We made the drive over to the Sandestin Resort for engagement photos for Carol and Tim. They are getting married in April 2008 while overlooking the gorgeous emerald green waters at a new condo resort at the Destin Pass. The ceremony will be poolside and the reception will be in one the ballrooms. I am sure their wedding will be absolutely perfect since it is being planned by It's A Shore Thing. We are so excited to get to work with them and we are so lucky to have the opportunity to work in such a beautiful part of the world.

Cancer - The taboo kind

2007-10-09T02:34:00.000-05:00

I'm going to talk about something I have not shared with many people, so stick with me here. Rae and I had been married for six weeks in the year 2000 when I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. It was a really bad time in our lives and a terrible start for our marriage. Fortunately, our willpower prevailed and I am alive today to share some insight. I bring this up now because we found out just today that a groom of ours from this year was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer. Ironically, this couple's story is almost identical to ours with the timing and all. This is a medical issue that is not talked about nearly enough as we men are not really into sharing and talking about these sorts of issues with each other. You guys out there need to be doing monthly checks on yourself just like the ladies do for breast cancer. For you ladies reading this, make sure your fellas are checking themselves, and don't let them convince you that they need your help every time! You can google "testicular cancer screening" to find out every thing you need to know. It might just save your life someday.

Allyson & Kethan - E session

2007-10-09T02:19:00.001-05:00

I met Allyson and Kethan on Pensascola Beach for a few engagement photos. They are getting married at the Hilton Garden Inn in April 2008. They are so lucky to be planning their wedding with the Oh So Fabulous Danielle Flowers of Bliss Event Group. I know Danielle will make sure everything is perfect. Also, I must thank Julia and Greg for the referral!

Danielle & Len Wedding

2007-10-07T01:06:00.001-05:00

Danielle and Len (also known as Dirty) had such a beautiful wedding at St. Michael's followed by an uber cool reception at Myspayce in downtown Pensacola. We had the joy of working with the awesome Danielle Flowers Atkinson of The Bliss Event Group too. The flowers and arrangements were beautiful and perfect for the beginning of Autumn thanks to Faith Pendo of Southern Floral Traditions. Danielle and Len were so full of emotion and love. Their love really comes through...ya'll saw that in their engagement photos though! These two are the third couple in a large group of friends that we have had the pleasure of photographing. Ashley and Hamid celebrated their 1-year anniversary this weekend....CONGRATS! And - Heather and Rhett were celebrating their 14-week anniversary.

The beautiful bride.....

We LOVE fall wedding colors!

Len cleans up good!

Wow! The first emotion when Len saw Danielle....

Rae rocked this shot.....

We couldn't keep them off each other!

The heavens came down before we left the church.....

The reception decor' was absolutely amazing.....

Bliss did an awesome job decorating the cake.....

WHOA! Who is this stud? Note to self. Never let a bridesmaid hold the camera. Good job Jo!

Their first dance was by one of Rae's favorite artists, David Gray, so this is the tune for this weeks slideshow.

April and Ian's awesome E-Session

2007-10-04T22:28:00.001-05:00

So we had a very cool time with April and Ian today. They are really fun people. April works for one of the best caterers in town Big Sexy Food, who will be catering their awesome wedding on the Blackwater River in a couple of weeks. Ian is British (with a great accent) and these two are definitely non-conformists. They wanted something fun AND they wanted railroad tracks, so we thought we would give them a little of both. They were so nervous about this photo shoot. Well, I think they warmed up very quickly. They were so easy to photograph and definitely in love! Look for their wedding photos here soon! I am certain the wedding photos will be so much fun.

Baby Cat is 10 months

2007-10-03T18:03:00.001-05:00

If you are a regular blogstalker, you will recognize this cutie. We have been documenting her growth for 10 months now....Wow! She is getting so big. She had a good time at the beach this week!

YouTube 1970's

2007-10-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

This is the opening from one of my all time favorite shows as a kid... I'm dying to know if anyone remembers this? I think being born in the 70's is necessary. Gotta love the cheery blond at the end too. That was a requirement for all shows around this time! And the plot - the adventures of a truck driver and his monkey...WOW No wonder I wanted to be a truck driver at 4 years old. The star of the show was Greg Evigan.... most recently playing Edie's ex-husband in Desperate Housewives.

ETA - This was posted by Wesley, NOT RAE! I never saw this show. LOL!

Johnjay & Michele E-Session

2007-10-02T00:35:00.000-05:00

Rae did an E-session with this cool couple down at the beach recently. They are getting married in November at Cathedral of the Scared Heart. Poor Johnjay works out of town A LOT, but we were finally able to get him in front of a camera. You'll be seeing their wedding photos soon!