Bow Tie Photography

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!