Twigs Tempietto Greenville Wedding | Scott & Hassie are Married!

It just got real. Like REAL REAL. Scott and Hassie's wedding at Twigs Tempietto in Greenville just confirmed it. Yes, it will be me, ME! who will be at the tempietto in just a few short weeks for my own wedding. Scary right? Well actually Scott & Hassie's wedding made me feel much more at ease. I've shot weddings at twigs tempietto before but never at night. And while twigs is gorgeous during the day it is even more stunning at night!

You may remember Scott & Hassie from when we did their engagement session downtown late last year. These guys were so much fun to work with and super down to earth. Yea yea, it's one thing to exude that during an engagement session for an hour, and its another thing to show that during an entire wedding (even when your dress gets just a wee bit dirty before the ceremony!). But yea, Hassie & Scott totally rocked it! So here's to you guys! Thanks so much for having me capture your day! Checkout some of my favorites:


The beautiful Twigs Tempietto












Lookin good hassie!


First sighting...



































The wine ceremony... I like it!




















































Thanks again for having me guys! A big shoutout to the following vendors who made this awesome day possible:

Flowers: Twigs
Officiant: Brenda Owens
Cake: Kathy & Company
Venue: Twigs Tempietto
Photography: J. Jones Photography
DJ: Ray with Life of the Party

And a special shoutout to my beautiful fiance, Debra, for helping me shoot this wedding on HER BIRTHDAY!

Hassie & Scott's Twigs Wedding Sneak Peak

Just a few quick sneak peaks from Hassie & Scott's wedding at the gorgeous Twigs Tempietto here in Greenville. I love this shot because it was right at that moment during their ceremony where a tear was just starting to form in Hassie's eye.




Yup, there is definitely lots more to come!

Featured: Wedding Planner's Survival Guide Book

You know when you get those emails that sound almost a little too good to be true? Yup, it happens to me too... But you know what, sometimes it actually works out!

And here it is! Sitting on my scratched up dining room table! A book with the first chapter written by me!


The Wedding Planner's Survival Guide - Now available on Amazon


A few months ago I got an email from Michael over at Dream Publishing. He had seen some of my work and wanted to feature me in an upcoming book on Wedding Planning. Basically he was looking for wedding vendors in a bunch of different categories (a photographer, a DJ, a hair stylist, a coordinator ect.) to interview about their specific area of expertise! The book was to be called "The Wedding Planner's Survival Guide: 10 Industry Insiders Tell You What You Really Need To Know". Trust me, I know FIRST HAND from the past year of wedding planning that it is definitely something that will stretch you in almost every way and shrink your wallet in every other way possible!



From "How do I set a budget for wedding photography" to "What types of things should I avoid when choosing a wedding photographer?", I covered it in this book. I wrote it from my personal experience to help out future brides and planners help navigate the huge ocean of wedding photographers out there. It's definitly not easy picking out a wedding photographer so I figured that since I happen to be one AND I just picked out a wedding photographer for my own wedding, I might be able to provide a small amount of insight into the process! Hopefully...



Want to see more? Want to buy a copy? Can't afford a copy but want to read it anyways? You can check it out on Amazon here! Better yet, you can even read a good portion of the chapter I wrote online! Just click on "search inside this book" and flip click to the first chapter. Later in the book there are some awesome sections on how to pick out a variety of other wedding vendors, all written by some of the best people in the industry!

While I have to admit its a huge honor to get to write in a book like this, its not all unicorns and rainbows. Now Debra thinks that since I am a published "Wedding Expert", I would be perfect to finish up the rest of the planning for our wedding! I thought the girl is supposed to take care of that stuff! Sheesh!

Downtown Engagement Session | Amanda & Anthony

When I first met Amanda and Anthony I was a little concerned. It was barely 50 degrees out and there they are dressed like its 75! Yup, Anthony was in shorts. I'm ok with that! And you know what! He kept plenty warm. It probably has something to do with the fact he spent so long in Colorado or the fact that Amanda was there to keep him warm. Nope, I didn't have anyone there to keep me warm but I did have my spankin' new D700 there, and it totally rocked!

We had a blast spending some time in the beautiful sunlight pouring though falls park downtown earlier this week. These guys are just such a perfect fit its ridiculous! Checkout some of my favorites here:


















































Thanks again for having me guys!

Greenville Wedding Portraits | Mike and Toni

It was a gorgeous spring day. The daffodils were swaying, the sky was blue, the Bentley was gleaming. I met Mike & Toni at Falls Park in Greenville to take some of their wedding portraits on that beautiful day. What about the rest of their wedding? It will be happening in the Dominican Republic. I might even see them down there while I'm on my honeymoon! How cool is that! Here are a few of my favorites from the day:












































Thanks again for having me guys!

New Gear: Nikon D700

It's always a special day when a photographer gets a new camera. It's probably the same for a dentist who gets a new drill (although my camera is a lot less painful).


Nikon D700 w/ Nikon 135mm f/2 Lens

After my poor Nikon D300 shuttered it's last shutter last week, I had no choice but to box it up and ship it back to Nikon for an immediate heart shutter transplant. In the mean time, I naturally got jealous of all the new sexy cameras that have come out since the D300. Never start looking...

So please don't get mad at me D300, I'm sure I will still love you even if you are 400 less numbers than the new D700.




So whats so much better about a D700? A lot of really cool technical stuff only camera nerds really care about: Higher ISO, Bigger Viewfinder, Full Frame, More DOF, Better Dynamic Range... So yea, it takes better photos! (Side note: Please don't ever say to me - "Wow thats a nice camera, I bet it takes great photos!" because I will probably tell you "Your mouth makes really nice comments")




So don't worry D700, I won't be cheating on you anytime soon...

...at least until the D4 comes out!