Knoxville CityView Magazine has an April wedding edition on newstands now. The editor said that he wanted to include the best wedding photographers in the East Tennessee area, and I'm honored that they asked to interview me and showcase one of my photos in their feature story.

If you run into an issue (Pilot seems to be one of the best places to find one), be sure to check it out! Here is a scan of the page featuring my photo.

Shannon Baca & Ben McVay were married at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in downtown Knoxville on Saturday afternoon. IC is a really cool old church with high ceilings, stained glass windows, and a nice alcove around the altar. The church coordinator and priest were really great at working with me in trying to get the best photos for the couple and even allowed some moving around during the ceremony.

If rain on a wedding day really does bring good luck then these two are going to have one very lucky marriage. I did get a few shots of Shannon and her bridesmaids outside before the downpour. It was chilly, but they were all great sports about it. Everyone was in such a good mood and so obviously happy for Shannon and Ben. The heavens even seemed to participate in the ceremony with a few loud crashes of thunder at key moments.

I liked that Shannon's gown had a bit of color by way of a green sash that matched her bridesmaids' dresses. Her cake also had the same colored ribbon around each tier (and was delicious).

The reception featured a sit-down dinner and DJ at the University Club on Kingston Pike.



 










The shot below was one of the last of the evening, taken in a little hallway just outside the restrooms.

Jamie Guest and Ethan Allen traveled from Michigan for a 2005 destination wedding in Gatlinburg. Family and friends joined them for a ceremony at one of the many wedding chapels, and then the group went to Calhoun's for dinner and cake.

Jamie was one of the most relaxed, generous brides that I have had the pleasure to work with, and from the way the couple included their son and Jamie's 3 girls in the day, it was very obvious that this is a close-knit, loving family.

Traditionally, bridal sessions took place in a studio before the wedding so that brides could display a bridal portrait at the wedding reception. However, I usually recommend that couples plan bridal/couple sessions for after the wedding. If you do the session after, you don't have to worry about planning time on the wedding day for all those dreamy, romantic couple photos that you want. You can pick the time of year, the location, the time of day for the best lighting etc, and, unlike the wedding day when you're rushed and stressed, you can relax and spend the time you want getting all the photos you desire. Best of all, unlike a traditional bridal sesison, you can do it together.

One of the biggest advantages to having the session after the wedding is that you don't have to worry about getting the dress dirty. Wedding dresses are notorious for starting to get dirty the moment you put them on. Of course you can carry sheets or towels and be extremely careful to keep it clean, but you can't do the fun, cool poses when you're worried about keeping a dress clean.
Some brides and photographers have taken this post-wedding bridal session idea to the extreme with "trash the dress" sessions, and there's even a blog to document this phenomenon.

This is what the blog's creator Mark Eric has to say about it:

Go ahead, you know you want to. Trash it. Get it dirty. Get it wet. Roll around in the mud. Drench it in the ocean. Totally trash it.
Why? … Why not? You’ve made a commitment to your husband. He’s your one and only true love, right? Then you’ll never need the dress again. And no, your daughter won’t wear it in 20-30 years. So you have two choices:
1) Suffocate it in plastic and throw it in a closet
2) Show your husband how committed you are by trashing the dress, and get some great fun pictures while you do it!
Then after you do it- send the pictures to us to publish for all the world to see. What are you waiting on?

Just think about the amazing photos you can get when you aren't worried about the dress! Admittedly, you will get your dress dirty and wrinkled, but for the most part even "trash the dress" sessions will probably not cause irreparable harm to the gown. You have to get it cleaned after the wedding anyway so why not have some fun before you do?

If you're a fun-loving bride looking for some adventure and unique, out-of-the-box photos, send me your ideas for a "trash the dress" session. Whether it be in an abandoned warehouse, in the forest, at a firehouse, or even in a junkyard, if you have a great idea then contact me. Let's have some fun and create some gorgeous photos.