In order to fully take advantage of their beautiful venue, Erin and Ellis chose to do their bridal/couple session on a day after the wedding. Couples who really value those special photos together will often choose to do the session on a later day, and there are several advantages. This allowed the wedding day to be more relaxed. We chose a day with better weather than the actual wedding day. Erin looked her best for the ceremony and didn't have to worry about getting dirty or disheveled during the photos. We could spend more time on the photos, and the couple didn't need to see each other before the ceremony.

Erin and Ellis spent a few additional honeymoon days at Blackberry Farm after the wedding so I went up on a weekday for the session. We practically had the place to ourselves, and the staff members at Blackberry were very accomodating. I would like to especially thank the group sales manager Lisa for being so flexible and helpful.

Erin and her family have horses in Kentucky so we were excited to borrow one of Blackberry's beautiful animals during the session. Erin is a real country girl at heart (her dog went to hunting school while they were in Tennessee getting married), and I'm glad that she brought along her boots for a few photographs. It was a great day with wonderful people, and I'm thrilled with the resulting photographs.

Congratulations to my brother Andrew who just graduated from high school! We are very proud of how far you have come and of the person that you are becoming.



Marcus took this photo of me with Andrew and our nieces just after Friday's ceremony at the coliseum. I'm not a big fan of photos of myself (especially since my pregnant belly is getting so huge), but I always advise mothers and mothers-to-be to take lots of photos of themselves anyway because our children see us with love-colored-glasses. I cherish photos of my mother and expect that my son will do the same ... which leads me to some of my favorite advice for graduates:

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Erin tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on Saturday, and I have to admit that I am in love with their venue. Blackberry Farm in Walland is an amazing little hotel hidden away in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. It blends country charm and beauty with modern luxuries to create a relaxing retreat, the perfect backdrop for a romantic wedding celebration.

Blackberry has been called a Ritz-Carlton in the woods, and their service and hospitality live up to the reputation. If you really love the beauty of the mountains but prefer not to shiver all night in a tent while swatting bugs and eating out of cans, you'll love this place. Blackberry Farm is about as far from "roughing it" as you can get. With their award-winning food and wines, exquisite rooms and cottages, and four thousand acres of maintained fields and forest, this is the sort of place to go if you enjoy being pampered. For those who can afford the very best, this is it - the very best place to stay or get married in the Smoky Mountains. Can you tell that I am impressed?

As we all know, last week was WET in East Tennessee, and the bride wasn't the only one worried about having a rained-out wedding. Erin and Ellis live in Kentucky so we hadn't met, but I email with my brides quite a bit before the wedding. Erin is just so sweet and easy-going. I really wanted her to have an amazing wedding day so I was checking the weather daily and crossing my fingers for a dry Saturday. Luckily, the rain let up for a few hours in the afternoon and evening, and the couple had a touching ceremony against a beautifully pastoral backdrop.

When a beautiful venue and a great couple come together with their family and friends to create an amazing wedding, I am so honored to be there to witness and document the day. Those are just the best days to be a wedding photographer.





Wedding days can be really stressful and hectic, but it's great when couples actually have some "down time" to just relax and be in the moment. This wedding was about as stress-free as any I've seen. While the guests were transported to the ceremony site, I had a few free moments to photograph Erin in her cottage. She's such a gorgeous bride.

A professional coordinator will make sure that all the details are under control and can go a long way in relieving the stress on your wedding day. However, if you can’t afford to hire a pro, do ask a trustworthy friend or family member to put together a survival kit. If you’re prepared then you’re less likely to have anything go wrong, right? Most importantly, make sure that they remember to bring it on the wedding day!

Also, make a list before the wedding day of items to take to the venue and go over it before leaving home. Things can be so hectic. I’ve seen a groom forget the wedding bands and a bride forget her gown, but more likely you'll forget something like the garter, jewelry, or cuff links. The further you are traveling from home, the more important a survival kit and wedding checklist can be.

I am not saying that you need to spend a lot of time or money putting this together, but here are some things that you may want to include in your kit depending on season and venue:

Clear nail polish (for runs in your hose)
Individually wrapped nail polish remover pads, nail file, polish for touch-ups 

Scissors 

Safety pins, straight pins, corsage pins 
Travel sewing kit (including thread to match the dress)

Tissues 

Aspirin/Advil 

Brush, comb, bobby pins, hairspray 

Super Glue (broken heels, jewelry, etc.) 

Sanitary products 

Gum, Mints, breath spray 

Shout wipes - removes stains/dirt from tuxes and dresses 

PeptoBismol Tablets, Tums, Imodium 

Duct tape, Scotch tape, double-sided tape 

Lighter or matches

Bactine, clear bandaids 

Mosquito repellent 

Club soda (if serving red wine) 

Sunglasses 

Bottled Water and light snack

Rice/blotting paper and powder for shiny skin 

Umbrellas 

Wrinkle releaser 

Jumper cables 

Benadryl 

Black socks for the men 

Lint remover 

Compact mirror 

Lip gloss or lipstick for touch-ups

Toothbrush and paste 

Deodorant

Fix-a-flat aerosol can 

Wooden or padded hanger for the dress