WEDDING | Sam & Hilary - a late summer rustic barn wedding with mountain views

As they prepared to walk down the aisle that afternoon, everyone began to feel the excitement!  Hilary had a calm presence about her - she wasn't nervous but the anticipation of the upcoming moments was growing!  She had so much joy!  You could just sense the love these two families have for each other and how thrilled they were to be joining in marriage!  At the foot of the cross with the Peaks of Otter as their backdrop, they made their vows and committed their service to the other in marriage through the washing of feet.

Hilary had selected a variety of colors for her big day - purples, yellows, touches of blue and green.  I was excited to see how it would all come together and it was gorgeous!  The details that Hilary put together not only suited the setting of Sierra Vista exquisitely, but all were done with her personal touch!  The bouquets were some of my favorite EVER!

Guests enjoyed games outside the barn during cocktail hour, a delicious taco bar for dinner, and cupcakes for dessert!  Hilary loves to cook and the little "Love Spice" favors were perfect for their big day!  At the end of the evening, they swept off to their honeymoon with the sound of cheers - bells and wands waving!

I would be seriously remiss if I didn't mention my fantastic second shooter, Aaron of Aaron Mallory Photography.  He was a great help to me all day and you can see many of his images in this post as well!

PORTFOLIO | Jessica Mae Photography Workshop Fall 2013

I want to share about an opportunity I had this past November to attend my first photography workshop.   I am self taught so I wanted to attend a workshop to further my learning and education in photography.  It was put on by Jessica of Jessica Mae Photography who is based here in Lynchburg as well.  I have assisted her in the past at some previous weddings so it was great to learn more from her (here, here, here, and here).  

This was a perfect first workshop for me!  It was held at the Oakwood Country Club which is literally at the end of the street where I live and it was a small group of about 10 photographers.  We were able to speak comfortably to one another and I didn’t feel like I was lost in a sea of attendees.  There was also a styled shoot as part of the workshop.  This enabled us to see how Jessica works with her clients as well as allow us to gain some images for our portfolios.  There is more than just education to gain when attending a workshop.  Making connections in our industry is important to have someone to bounce ideas off of, encourage, and challenge on another.  I am thankful to have met them all!

I’m displaying some of my favorite images from the styled shoot here but be sure to also check out Jessica Mae Photography’s blog to see her images from that day and her other amazing work here!  There were a lot of fantastic vendors who provided items or services and you should check them out too!  See the list below:

http://jessicamaephotoblog.com/fall-workshop/

Photographer: Jessica Mae Photography | Venue: Oakwood Country Club | Hair and Makeup: Kathryn Miller | Dresses: Celebration Bridal and Church Street Bridal | Florals: Hannah Swanson | Styling: Andrea Pesce + Jessica Mae | Cake: Jessica Mae | Models: Brandon + Alex Wirth