Sarah Isbell and Daniel Burtch are from Knoxville, but they had a destination wedding on Sanibel Island. Marcus and I flew into Ft. Myers on Friday and then drove to the island. It's a beautiful area, and Sanibel is one of the best places to hunt seashells! Around fifty of Sarah and Danny's friends and family showed up to support them and share in the festivities. Everyone stayed at the Sundial Resort where the wedding was held. Other than a small afternoon shower, the weather was gorgeous.

Sundial is a popular destination wedding location, but they have several spots to choose from for the ceremony and reception. Sarah & Danny's ceremony was held on the beach in front of the resort with a reception around the pool. The views were extraordinary.

The bridesmaids wore tea-length brown dresses with white sashes, and the flower girl coordinated with a white dress and brown sash. I love veils and am happy that Sarah decided to wear one. It was borrowed from her sister Allison who wore it when I photographed her wedding at Church Street United Methodist last year. (side note: Allison works at A Joyous Occasion bridal boutique in Knoxville - definitely worth checking out)

It was a wonderful wedding weekend.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day-after couple session that Marcus and I did with Sarah & Danny Burtch on Sunday. We started on the beach near the Sanibel Island lighthouse and then did a few shots around their wedding venue, Sundial Beach Resort.

What a weekend! I've spent most of today catching up on email. The electricity in my community was out for several hours on Thursday so I wasn't able to be online. Then I left early on Friday for a trip to Florida where Marcus and I photographed Sarah & Danny's awesome beach wedding (check back later this week for pics). The wedding was Saturday, but the couple woke up early Sunday for a sunrise couple session on the beach. We all got a little wet, and I'm not sure that I'll ever get all of the sand out of my equipment. It was a lot of fun though, and I'm excited about the photos we were able to get. Special thanks to Sarah's sister Allison (one of my 2006 brides) for letting Sarah use her veil.

I had a "trash the dress" session set up with a bride for later this month, but she has a scheduling conflict and isn't going to be able to do it. I'm really disappointed, especially after the fun that I had with yesterday's session so.... I'm looking for a replacement. To qualify, you must already be married and be willing to get your dress dirty, wet, and/or possibly damaged. You must be available on October 28 for the session which will take place in the Nashville area. I prefer to have a couple (no tux required), but I will shoot a bride alone.

There will probably be a couple of other photographers involved so we may be able to shoot more than one bride. If you are interested, please send me a photo of you in your wedding dress along with a short explanation of why you want the session and any location ideas you may have. The deadline for applications is October 18 so don't delay!

I will be unavailable from now through Sunday. All emails and phone calls will be answered on Monday. Have a great weekend!

I've been working hard the past few months and have several big weddings coming up. Fortunately, I didn't have a wedding booked for this past weekend so I was able to take a little break. My family and I went camping at Cades Cove. The nights were a bit chilly, but it was nice to get out and spend some time together. Cades Cove is the most visited area of the Smokies which is the most popular national park in the country. Crowds are common on the weekend (avoid Saturdays in October), but it is a beautiful place to visit if you've never been.

Of course I couldn't go all weekend without fitting in some photography. One of my 2006 brides brought her family to Tennessee for the weekend so that I could shoot a senior session on Saturday with her twin daughters Carissa and September. It was a beautiful day in the cove, and the girls were great at both modeling and assisting me. We ran short on time and had forgotten to bring a towel so we didn't have the opportunity to put anyone in the creek as planned, but we had fun and got some great photos. Aren't they gorgeous? I wish that everyone I work with could smile on demand as well as these two. In fact, the most difficult thing for them is to look serious and NOT smile in front of the camera.