Schraeder Family – Lilburn Georgia

When I worked in a cubicle I made an excellent friend. We ended up sitting across from each other and had to discipline ourselves not to talk so much and to get more work done. Last fall, I was supposed to get pictures of her family but our timing just never quite worked out.

SOOOOO, this fall we pinned down a day and braved the cold & overcast weather to get some fun shots at the playground…oh, excuse me the “Mountain Park Park”.

For some reason, I really like this image.That worried look in my friend Stacey’s eyes is due to her firstborn son attempting to sharpen his skills on the concrete skating ramps. This was a great reaction to their dog, Grady, who decided he wanted to see what this skating thing was all about and plunged into the pit only to find there wasn’t an easy way out. Dylan showing off his mad skills. These next two I played with especially for Dylan.A sweet little moment. Hayley (sorry if I spelled it wrong Stacey) doing her best impression of Captain Underpants. I will admit I am not sure who this character is. No matter how hard Hayley tried, she couldn’t get in sync with her sister. Our attempt at a nice family picture. Things were a bit crazy at first. This is the picture that they used for their holiday cards. I had to be a photoshop surgeon on this one because it was Stacey’s favorite except for the fact that her youngest, Hayley decided to cross her eyes for a series of shots (just like her momma). So I took her head from another shot and out it on this one for her. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. However, this one is my favorite of them. Stacey’s face in this first shot is absolutely excellent. Even though this shot was taken as Dylan was unhappy to not be able to go back to the skate ramps, I love how it came out. Mom and her two girls having fun on the playground. Stacey tried to get me on here too but I begged off saying I was carrying too much equipment. ;)There’s a new superhero in town. Mark told me he was “letting me” have this shot of him smiling. Hey, I’ll take what I can get. As we were leaving, the kids noticed a baseball was left on the field so they tossed it around for a little bit. I don’t know much about form, but Dylan looks pretty sharp in this series. Once we got back to the house, Taylor wanted to get some shots with her new(ish) bunny, Oreo. She was so sweet and responsible with him/her?Just look at those bunny eyes!

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Green Hayes :: Wedding – The Details

So let me introduce you to Super Crafty Mom. This woman did the most amazing job on her daughter’s wedding. She made both cakes (which both tasted amazing, by the way). She also was the mastermind behind all of the decorations, from what I understand. To me, the most amazing part, though, is the fact that she made, not only the groomsmen’s ties but the Bride’s dress. Like I said, Super Crafty Mom.

Here is the artiste hard at work on the morning of the wedding working on the finishing details of this awesome cake. The first time I met with Meghan and her mom, Patti, they told me that they were thinking about doing paper flowers for all the bouquets and I was skeptical as I had never seen what they were talking about.

Well, after creating one masterpiece of a bouquet they realized that in order to maintain their sanity, they would be unable to complete the task. All I have to say is, “WOW!” because what you see below is a truly a work of art. The way cool boutonnieres.Lovely wrist corsages for the ladies.Coffee cups? What do those have to do with the wedding? Well. . .Some of Corey’s family owns a coffee bean business and so they had the neat idea of scouring thrift and antique stores for unique coffee cups that the filled with little bags of coffee beans. And there you have a really neat and unique wedding favor.

I actually did not know the story of their engagement until I delivered the wedding images and I asked.

Many couples have their little traditions and Meghan and Corey are no exception. Each Tuesday night, Meghan heads out to get their Starbucks. As usual, her regular barrista tells her to pull around for her order. When she gets to the register she hands over her card and the sly girl pretends to ring everything up and then tells Meghan that her order was already paid for and hands her her coffee. . . . . .Corey then appears in the drive-through window to confirm her answer. And they drive off into the sunset. ;) Okay, so I fudged that last part, but you get the idea.

I absolutely love the details and how the interwove the Starbucks engagement into the theme of the wedding. The image you see on the right is of one of the smore’s stations. I loved that the several times I met with Meghan I could tell she wanted everyone to have fun at her reception and not just her. How awesome is that?

The Bride and Groom’s table. Oh yeah, and Super Crafty Mom strikes again. The “Will You Marry Me?” stamp at the bottom of this set was carved by her. Sheesh some people are just too talented for their own good.And here it is, the masterpiece of a cake. Is it not awesome that the icing looks like woodgrain? Oh and the topper was handmade as well. Yep. A few detail shots of the delicious cake. And the equally delicious and detailed groom’s cake. I love the deer. Footprints and chocolate boots? Yes, please and thank you very much.Below are my first attempt at ring shots not ON the Bride and Groom’s fingers. I had a bit of fun although I was working on next to no light by this point.

Meghan works part time as a substitute teacher, which is the reason for the #2 pencils. :DI had brought with me some antique suitcases to hold the props for the photo station so I utilized them for a bit. And here I was endeavoring to tie in with the theme of the wedding. I took advantage of the graininess and gave it an aged look. I really do not think that the details could have been any more spot on. I remember seeing the sweetest comment on FaceBook the week after the wedding where someone said that Patti took what Meghan’s dreams for her wedding and made them into reality. I couldn’t say it any better than that.

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Green Hayes :: Wedding – Good Hope and Athens, Georgia

Prepare yourself for a long post. I have been waiting to put this up until the Bride was able to look over them herself.

I loved every little detail of this wedding. It was so beautiful, unique and . . . did I mention beautiful. Many of the handmade details will come in a future post. For the time being, you will have to make due with these. ;)

This dress was made by the Bride’s mother. Absolutely amazing.

Here is Meghan, the happy girl herself, ready to go and be made more beautiful

We had fun hanging out as this lady worked her magic.

Meghan was being pampered having her nails done by her good friend, Ashley, as she was being made up.

I traveled up and down the escalator at Belk’s several time to get a few shots.

A goofy crew.

Once we got back, Meghan was given a sweet surprise by a friend who was unable to make it. A heartfelt message was written on her sole.

I call this series the birth of a head. A very happy head at that.

The boys getting themselves ready.

And dad doing, what I am told, he does best. Random odd chores at irregular times.

Spencer started off with the boys getting this shot. . .

. . .and this one which is seriously one of my favorites.

Then I came in from where the girls were getting dressed and got a few shots of the guys.

Dead serious and mysterious baby!!

And this is about the time that I fell into the fireplace. That’s right, I fell into the fireplace. I did not realize that where I was crouched over was a pile of magazines so as soon as I tried to sit down, the pile slid me right into the fireplace. Being the concerned husband that he is, Spencer immediately tried to help me out of it and I am shooing him away saying “No! NO! I’ve got to get these pictures!” It was priceless.

Then when we went outside I started climbing up on the edge of the porch which had a pretty substantial drop on the other side and the guys got really nervous considering the clumsiness I had already exhibited.

Love this shot too.

We had a first look and it was so much fun to watch her creep across the yard with her heels getting stuck in the ground with every step.

Spencer set up as the stalker in the woods got this shot. . .

As I got shots such as this one.

Oh, and this one too. How cute are they?

A little peak at a project I worked on for Meghan and Corey.

They were an absolute joy to work with. I have to say I really did not have to direct them much at all. They were the cutest snuggliest couple.

The look on her face makes me smile. So happy.

The sun was very much our friend that day. I was so worried considering the previous week had been miserably rainy.

{{SIGH}} Cuteness personified.

She had only two girls in her party just as I did and they had so much fun together as you will see in the next series of images.

Daddy and his two girls. I would say smiles all around but, as you can see, Mackie has a hard time keeping a normal face. And that is what makes her unique. ;)

LOVE!

I do not think I have ever had as much fun photographing a bridal party. LOVE these next few shots.

This is not something I would normally attempt but as a special request I tried my hand at it. Six or so shots later, picking my favorite two and marrying them, I’m pretty pleased with the results.

When Spencer and I scoped out the reception location a week before the wedding I fell in love with these silos. We only had about fifteen minutes before the reception was officially supposed to start so I asked if we could pretty please go over there. My request was granted.

Again, no direction was given. This is them being perfect subjects.

Then I had them go under the silo as I tried my hand at climbing the ladder and wrapping my arms around the rungs to keep me balanced as I shot the next few series.

And I am SO glad that I did because I absolutely LOVE the shots that I got as a result. This sultry stare of Corey’s. . .

. . .and then a smile, an honest to goodness natural smile from Corey, making this one of my favoritest images.

Then Meghan took centerstage for a few shots before we headed back to the barn. . .

That’s right, I said Barn. I will be back with more details of the fun reception for your viewing pleasure.In the meantime you can:

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