But before hitting the graveyard, we walked the streets of St. Augustine and talked about their wedding day. I really want to tell you all about the incredible plans they have for the perfect St. Augustine wedding, but you’ll just have to wait until next month when the wedding happens! I will just say it’s going to be gorgeous!!!

We took photos throughout the Oldest City, including a stop at the Lightner Museum (where they will hold their rehearsal dinner). Stephanie & Dave are so laid back and cute and flirty together that the photos just happened naturally. We spent most of the afternoon chatting and enjoying some beautiful Florida weather! The guys talked a lot about planes and basketball, of course!

I’m just grinning looking at these photos! Aren’t they so adorable together?! Don’t forget to watch their slideshow at the end! : )

Such a cute moment between Stephanie & Dave…

… but I think I like this one better! It wasn’t until after we looked at the photos on the computer that I noticed the alien painted on the side of the plane. Nice!! : )

I adore this shot taken by Matt!

Matt’s shot…

And my shot…

It was really nice to get away from the craziness of the Las Vegas strip and shoot in the beautiful surrounding desert! The bus ride alone was so much fun and I got to meet some great photographers because of this workshop! In fact, our gorgeous models were Erin & Gavin Wade, a husband and wife photography team from California! Just as amazing in front of the camera as they are behind it!

I knew that my trip to Vegas would not be complete unless I did a shoot in the desert, so as soon as Scarlett’s workshop went live I was frantically trying to type in all the information to secure my spot! I thought it would sell out immediately, so my heart was racing! It did sell out fast, but my spot was safe! : )

It was so great meeting everyone who participated in the shoot and I want to thank Scarlett for organizing it and Erin & Gavin for bringing the hotness to these photos! Their love for each other and the beautiful location in which this entire shoot took place just made for the most romantic photos! I’m so excited to finally share them!

There is a joke that your marriage is official when you change your status on Facebook, but the truth is that Angie & Johnny’s wedding was made official at the historic Bethel Baptist Church in downtown Jacksonville. As soon as I saw the church, I fell in love with it! It’s one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen! Bethel’s growing congregation has made it necessary to build a new sanctuary, but Angie & Johnny envisioned their dream wedding in the old sanctuary. Anyone can see why by how beautiful it is!

The reception was held at the Arlington Women’s Club. There were some very sweet moments (especially a tender moment between Angie & her youngest son – see below) but most of the evening was a party! I just wanted to put the camera down and dance! Taylor Made Productions knows how to get the party started and keep it going all night long! And, as usual, everything went smooth thanks to the team at Alpha & Omega! We really enjoy working with them! The day was complete with a gorgeous cake from Metro Custom Cakes and transportation by A Luxurious Limo!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Daniels!

I’m taking away a lot from WPPI, and one of those things is some fun Trash The Dress photos on the Las Vegas strip! This was part of a group shoot set up by Chicago photographer Melissa Diep. As you can imagine, trying to do a group photo shoot with over 40 photographers and 5 models on the busy sidewalks of the strip was a bit chaotic. But when we were able to take the models to the side streets and shoot we were able to get some fun images. Here are a few:

Maricel & EJ are getting married this May in California and were referred to us by Jenny & Miguel (see their engagement photos at the San Diego Fair here). When I was thinking about coming out to Vegas for WPPI, I shot Maricel an email and asked if she had any interest in coming out to Vegas while I was here. She wrote me back and said that EJ was already going to be in town the same weekend!!! When she told me that, I KNEW I had to make the trip out here!

We met up with Maricel & EJ at a gorgeous spot on the Las Vegas strip. Maricel kept hinting that she had some sort of surprise for me, but I had no idea what it was. Then when we met up she said “Here’s your surprise!” and it was Jenn! It was a huge surprise! We ran into Miguel a little bit later in the shoot. Their friend Pia also joined us and helped out a lot with lighting (thanks so much, girl!!). My roommate Ananda came along to shoot as well, and we all had so much fun!

Just seeing Maricel & EJ again (and my “surprise”) made the trip to Vegas worth it, but the photos just keep making me feel all lovey dovey. At one point Pia started crying because you could just see the love between Mars & EJ. I know I don’t have to explain it because the photos say it all! They are so in love and so full of happiness!

I miss you guys already, but will see you soon! And this time, Matt will be with me! ; )

As the evening came to an end, Stacey & Mike made their grand exit to the limo waiting outside. We all followed behind on the buses and joined the bride and groom in their suite for an after party. It’s bittersweet that it had to come to an end, but that’s what photos are for! We will have a final video slideshow soon, but for now here are some more photos from Stacey & Mike’s destination wedding:

But for today’s post, we thought it was only appropriate to give you a “first look” at their wedding by sharing what happened leading up to the ceremony. Stacey & Mike gave us a lot of time to be creative before the wedding began, including a very emotional first look on the beach where the ceremony took place. All of the months of planning, visiting Nassau, having family visit Nassau to also help with plans, the waiting and dreaming of what the day would be like, the threat of rain on the wedding day, the excitement in the days preceding the wedding – it all came down to this one moment when they remembered what it was all for. It was just the two of them (and a couple of photographers observing from a distance). Matt and I wondered what was going through their minds, but we think that the photos will tell the story.

After the first look, we took a few photos of them together before they relaxed with the wedding party and watched the guests arrive…

But you know what this means! Wedding photos are next!! We’ll start posting wedding photos beginning tomorrow! : )

As Matt and I were capturing the laughter and memories created that evening, we decided to do something different. First, we decided to not use flash because of the distraction it would create. We decided to compromise technical perfection for composition (you have no idea how big of a leap that was for me). We also shot most of the photos in black and white. Some of you might be thinking, “Well, couldn’t you just convert the photos in your post processing?” And we could have, but it’s not quite the same and we really thought that black and white would capture the emotion of the evening better than color photos. When I first started shooting film I always preferred black and white film, but ever since going digital over five years ago I have NOT ONCE shot in black and white. We couldn’t have chosen a better opportunity to start!

Pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zone was well worth it, because had we not done these things I don’t think we could have captured the feel of the evening as well as we did. It was such a wonderful evening and as we went back to the hotel, counting down the hours before the wedding day would begin, I felt myself get teary-eyed thinking about how the wedding would happen and this would all be a memory. Stacey & Mike and their friends and family truly are some of the most incredible people that we have ever met, and the way that this wedding brought them all together made it clear that this is what a destination wedding is all about. It’s not just about a beautiful location. What makes a destination wedding special is that it’s an escape from the every day to focus on what matters most. On this evening, it was clear that family was all that mattered.

The first post is to highlight the accomodations for the bride and groom and all their wedding guests. Stacey & Mike selected the luxurious Atlantis Resort & Casino on Paradise Island so that their guests could enjoy some sun and fun during their trip. The Atlantis also served as the venue for the welcome reception, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and brunch the day after the wedding.

Matt and I took some time on Friday to walk around the resort and check out the many pools, lagoons, beaches, aquariums, and architecture that the Atlantis offers. Matt was particularly excited about the sea turtles! : )

Here are a few pictures to give you some idea of how gorgeous the resort is: