And now, for July… July was a big month for me – and for the twelve new brides and grooms that invited me to photograph their weddings!
Cari and Guy were married on July 3rd in the huge backyard at Cari’s family’s home.
It was a beautiful evening with some of the most amazing floral arrangements I have ever seen. If you take a peek at the first page of their online proof album, you’ll see pictures of these two huge flower balls sitting atop glass pedestals. Never seen anything like them. Then there were the artfully arranged centerpieces and the colorful accent pieces at the ceremony site… I think Cari told me that Lazy Daisy in Yorktown did the floral work. Cari and Guy also had a very unique cake – three tiers of delicious cheesecakes and cake. But my favorite thing about their wedding is that I got to create a photobook for Cari’s mom! I am going to toot my own horn here and say that I feel that it’s the best one I’ve made yet, but… You can be the judge. Take a look at their book online here!
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Shannon and Wes, my next bride and groom, were married on the 4th of July.
Their wedding was steeped in tradition! Shannon and Wes’ ceremony was held in a church that hadn’t been used since the 1970’s. The church sits on property that was donated in the 1800’s by Wes’ four-times great-grandfather to the Harlan Cemetery. I understand that Shannon, along with several friends and family members, spent a lot of time cleaning the church and getting it ready for the big day. Although it was a rainy day, tons of people packed into the church to celebrate with the bride and groom. Afterwards, we drove just down the road to Wes’ family’s farm for the reception, held in the big barn on the property. I loved their choice of a first dance song: “Where the Green Grass Grows” by Tim McGraw. The decor included classic tractors and an antique beet truck. Centerpieces were candles in glass mason jars, and Shannon used her favors as decorations too – small trees from the Arbor Day Foundation decorated with a little ribbon. It was all rustic, but very classy and very true to Shannon and Wes’ style. When I complimented Shannon on how beautiful everything was, she confided that she’d had a $2700 budget, but had pulled everything off for $1600! I told her that she should go into event planning!
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My next wedding was the marriage of Matt and Lacey on July11th.
They chose to get married in an intimate ceremony with a small group of family and friends in the gazebo at Falls Park in Pendleton. Where Shannon and Wes’ wedding day had been rainy, Matt and Lacey had a DELUGE! We sheltered underneath the gazebo while Matt and Lacey exchanged their vows and rings, kissed, and shared their first dance. Their reception was held at Garfield’s in the Mounds Mall. Everyone gathered there to watch Matt and Lacey cut their cake and then joined them for dinner. I loved Lacey’s dress, a simple ivory lace A-line with an empire waist.
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Suzanne and Armand were married on July 18th.
I’d done their engagement pictures (and blogged about it as well) back in early June. It’s nice to know the people who I’ll be working with. Not necessary, but nice. Again, I had a great time photographing this couple and I hope they enjoyed it too! Suzanne and Armand held their ceremony at the True Vine Church, and their reception at the Carolina Room in Muncie. The Carolina Room is a nice venue inside, with a good setup for a large number of guests. What stands out the most for me about Suzanne and Armand’s wedding, in fact, is their guests. Often I get comments and compliments from the guests at weddings, but Suzanne and Armand’s guests were genuinely appreciative of the work that I did with them. They were a friendly and caring bunch of people, to me as well as among themselves. It was a pleasure to be surrounded by people who were truly happy to see and visit with each other.
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My final July wedding, on the 25th, was the marriage of Keri and Matt.
Keri and Matt were married at the Wesley Free Methodist Church, where Keri’s family attends. I have photographed a few weddings here and I love the architecture. It’s an impressive chapel. I kind of knew Keri going into the wedding – Mark used to work with Keri’s dad, and I took Keri’s brother’s senior pictures a few years ago. Keri was a little nervous when we started out, but just about everyone is… It’s weird to think that you’ve hired someone to follow you around and take your picture all day! She and Matt had a beautiful wedding, including a slide show during their ceremony. The reception was held at the Military Armor Museum in Anderson. I’ve also photographed a few weddings there and I really like it as a venue. Although the outside doesn’t look like much, the inside is nicely updated. The staff is friendly, the facilities are good, and the parking is right there so that you don’t have to walk blocks through bad weather. The only thing that drives me nuts is that *everyone* places their cake right in front of a huge mirror on the wall. Makes it a little trickier when getting pictures of the cake and the cake cutting! 
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And those were my July weddings! I did have a portrait session in July, but I’ll throw it in with my August post. I don’t think they’ll mind!
Okay! I think I can start catching up now!
You all saw my first June wedding with Courtney and Colby. Man, that was a lot of fun. I just loved how open they were to trying new things!
My next June wedding was the union of Barbara and Corey:
I’d spent a couple of hours with them when we first got together for our initial wedding meeting (we couldn’t stop talking and laughing about things). Barbara and Corey held their wedding at Mounds State Park in the Pavilion. I think that’s a really nice venue if you’re trying to stick to a small budget. It was a warm day for June, but plenty of the bride and groom’s friends and family turned out to celebrate with them. One of the neat things that Barbara and Corey had at their reception was a live birch tree to take home and plant. A small table next to the tree held cards with ribbons that guests could write their wedding wishes on and tie to the tree. I always like seeing the creative ideas that people come up with to make their weddings unique! I also got to work with some of my favorite DJs, 500 Lbs. of Sound. If you’re looking for a DJ, Todd and Shelley do a nice job!
My third June wedding was the marriage of Kara and Jonathan.
Aren’t they cute?! Their wedding day was super hot, but they had a perfect venue at Minnetrista in Muncie. They chose the rose garden to be married in, with its beds and beds of roses and lilies, and a gazebo from the 1939 World’s Fair. Afterward, they held their reception in the Cantina. if you look through their pictures, you may come across the groom’s cake decorated with bugs. I was confused too, but it turns out that Jonathan is an insect aficionado and is studying to be an entomologist. Still, I passed on tasting the bug cake By the way, Isn’t Kara’s bouquet gorgeous?! The flowers were done by Lasting Impressions Flower Shop in Daleville. It’s a tiny little place that you might not know was even there if you weren’t looking for it, but their work is terrific!
And those were my three June weddings. I fully intend to post my July ones before the weekend’s over, but for now I’ve got two hungry little girls clamoring for a snack!
