Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Brittany + Kyle Are Married! 1.11.14! | Jacksonville Wedding Photographer

Brittany and I have known each other for years through mutual friends and when she got engaged almost two years ago, she was on the ball with wedding planning right away. She booked me in the summer of 2012 and was my first 2014 bride to book. I loved how organized she was and she got so much done earlier on, which is always the way to go in my opinion. 

Brittany and Kyle have been together seven years so this was a long awaited marriage for them, their family and friends. One thing they didn't anticipate was Brittany's maid of honor, Paige getting deployed in November...two months before the big day. You may remember the session I did with Brittany and Paige as a bride/maid of honor session so Brittany could have Paige not only in spirit but in pictures on the wedding day. I shot Paige and Mike's beautiful fall wedding in 2011 and Mike is actually the person who introduced my husband to me. 
Mike was also in Brittany and Kyle's wedding as a bridesman, along with Brittany's brother. I adored this idea so much and he was really there for Brittany filling both his bridesman and Paige's maid of honor duties in any way he could. 

We are all very close friends and this time has been hard on everyone, especially Paige who is serving her country while away from the people she loves. 

Another thing nobody can ever plan for? Rain. Oh rain and Florida. I feel like it's been an unusually rainy November, December and January and this photographer doesn't like it. The wedding I shot last weekend was 25 degrees and windy and Brittany and Kyle's wedding was 77 degrees and rainy. Oh, Florida. Brittany texted me on January 2nd and had checked the forecast and it said 80%. I told her don't even worry about it this far out because Florida weather literally changes at the drop of a hat. She texted me again a few days before the wedding and it had lessened to around 50% and I reassured her saying - we will make it work, I always do. Then the day before the wedding, I check the forecast and it says....100% chance of rain. I have NEVER in my life seen it say 100% on one of my wedding days. So back up plans were starting to form in my head because when I picture 100% chance of rain...I picture a monsoon. Lovely.

The morning of the wedding leading all the way into the afternoon before the ceremony at the church...was gorgeous. Sunshine and a beautiful breeze even came out to greet us. I'm thinking "We lucked out - it's gorgeous, and the rain gods were nice to us today". The ceremony ended and we walked out of the church and there were the clouds and a few raindrops. So we rushed back to the Country Club and went right into Brittany and Kyle's portraits. Then came the rain. At first it was manageable and I'm obsessed with the images I shot with the clear umbrella (that they used in their e-session too! It haunts them in a good way ;)  All of their shots together were shot in the rain and it was worth every second getting soaked. Soon the actual monsoon came and we had to go in. Wedding party pictures were shot indoors and then the party began!

Knowing how long Brittany had planned this wedding and how much work went into it for her and Kyle...I'm so beyond happy for them and truly loved shooting their big day. 

Enjoy that honeymoon you two and RELAX! ;)


Many thanks to all the fantastic vendors who helped make this wedding day happen:

Ceremony: Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Coordinator:  Eric Ogle and Brenda Wilson with  Orange Park Country Club
Makeup:  Nancy Bruno      
Hair:  Sheri Young with Rexanne’s Salon    
Catering:  Country Club of Orange Park
Videographer: Siberian Pictures
Dress:  Vera Wang by David’s Bridal
Sash: Allure Bridals
Brides Shoes: Steve Madden
Jewelry: Swarovski
Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Angelo
Flower Girls Dress: Light In the Box
Suits:  Black by Vera from Men’s Warehouse
Garter: Glam House on Etsy
Invitations: Designed and made by the bride
Programs: Designed by the bride, assembled by mother of bride and family friend Lauri Winburn
Bridesmaids robes:Thai Chill on Etsy

Special thanks to Kristin Walsh who traveled all the way from New York to intern and second shoot this wedding with me! You're wonderful!


Three generations of rings. Grandmother, mother and daughter.















































The last thing that surprised Brittany was at the reception. When all the speeches were over, I could tell she was disappointed because there wasn't a recorded speech by Paige. The DJ, Skip (who is always amazing) led everyone to the dance floor for their first dance and then announced "Oh! We have one more speech prepared" And he then played a video of Paige on his iPad and that moment Brittany realized she did record something was so priceless and emotional. 



















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