Who:

Meredith + Aubert

What:

Wedding

When:

April 5, 2008

Where:

Meridian, MS

When Meg sat down to pull the images for this blog post, she tells me ‘I fell in love with this wedding all over again’ - and we think you just might, too. Introducing our newest 100:1 blog feature - the wedding of Meredith + Aubert. Y’all just met these guys in our last entry where we introduced their “southern elegance” rehearsal dinner. The wedding day was equally as charming! Take a peek…

~ Charles

Meg started the morning with the Meredith doing her final touches during preparation…

…and then we rolled right into a ‘first sight’ on the front porch of her parent’s home. (As always, taking a little bit of time to see each other BEFORE the ceremony opens up all kinds of doors for a speedy transition to your reception following the ceremony. It’s not for everybody, but the couples who choose to go this route always tell us this was one of the best parts of their day!)

I’m fond of this sweet exchange between sisters as Meredith prepares to see her soon-to-be-husband for the first time on their wedding day…

Aubert beaming at his beautiful bride:

Aubert surprised Meredith with a stunning wedding band:

The Bling:

The first sight gave us the opportunity to take a few simple but lovely couple ‘formals’ prior to the ceremony…

A classic Rolls-Royce is always an excellent choice.

Meredith + Aubert’s church was the most charming little downtown southern church you’ve ever seen! We worked with both the girls & the guys right on the front steps.

Going to the chapel…

OK — this was too much! The little guys were “escorted” up and down the aisles of the church in a little red wagon and the flowergirls followed behind ringing little bells!

Gorgeous floral arrangements filled the reception - here are just a few details:

The dances:

The ice cream bar was a surprise for the groom that was rolled in following the cake cutting!

The reception was held in the downstairs area of a lovely performing arts center… which meant that somewhere in the building there would be a theatre. With the newlyweds in tow, Meg and I set out to find it. The results from our ten minute excursion were pretty fantastic:

Their guests were treated to one of the best, most entertaining bands I have ever heard to date - Meg and I were talking about them for days. The lead singer did a mean Michael Jackson impersonation towards the end of the evening - he even had the moves down!

A rose petal goodbye:

And there you have it - one hundred images highlighting one fantastic southern wedding!

Who:

Meredith + Aubert

What:

Rehearsal Dinner

When:

April 4, 2008

Where:

Meridian, MS

Meredith + Aubert tied the knot this past April over in Meridian, MS. Meridian is a charming little southern town with all sorts of heritage & history! The day before the wedding, we photographed an amazing backyard rehearsal dinner at the home of Aubert’s parents. Here are a few images from the evening.

~ Charles

The guests were greeted by a live 3 piece band…including a live saxaphone! What a great way to set the mood. Earlier in the day, a string of tornados has busted up the downtown area…fortunately, the power came back on right before the event started!

The catering was simply astounding…exquisite attention to detail, superb food…it was amazing!

The toasts were hilarious, emotional, and everything in between! One family member had written a custom song to the tune of “I want to be a rockstar”, and switched it up to read “I want to be a senator”. It was hysterically funny!

Who:

Jessica + John ...Ashton too!

What:

Portrait Session

When:

April 3, 2008

Where:

Pensacola, FL

If you don’t know Jessica + John, and their adorable baby Ashton by now, then you’ve just been hiding under a rock! We love this family to death! They stopped by the studio for a quick afternoon shoot on their way through Pensacola to Tallahassee. Here are a few images from the session.

~ Charles

Who:

Amy + Bret

What:

Engagement Session

When:

April 2, 2008

Where:

Bellingrath Gardens | Mobile, AL

Amy + Bret are an awesome couple that live & work right here in Pensacola. I met Bret through my work with the Pensacola Symphony, and we had the chance to meet Amy during our kickball league last year. (Yes, you read that right!) Amy + Bret asked us to meet them at Bellingrath Gardens (the site of the big proposal) for their engagement session. What an incredible day!!! Check it out.

~ Charles

(While beautiful and still technically in bloom, this was the only patch of ‘fresh’ looking blooms we found in a cluster in the entire gardens - apparantly we were about a week or two late and everything had started to die… and SMELL! Ever smell rotting flowers? LOL)

Luckily, Amy + Bret had such awesome natural chemistry - we didn’t really miss the flowers after a few minutes!

Meg has a thing for cherry blossom trees dating back to her years living in Japan - so this was to indulge her. Amy + Bret had to climb through all kinds of craziness to get near this tree:

I have too many favorites from this shoot - a lot of them didn’t even make Meg’s blog pull (what’s up with that?!) - but this would probably fall among them:

Our ode to the proposal:

One of Meg’s faves:

Who:

Ballet Pensacola

What:

One Step to the Left

When:

March 27, 2008

Where:

Pensacola Cultural Center

Ballet Pensacola recently hired a new artistic director named Richard Steinert. One Step to the Left was his first opportunity to share his vision for Ballet Pensacola. Meg & I absolutely LOVED the production! Check it out.

~ Charles

This production really took it to the next level with intense lighting & high energy music. The staging was outstanding as well!

I love the layers in this image.

Simple, dramatic lighting.

One of my faves.

Awesome moment.

Great work dancers! We can’t wait for the next one!