Nancy Margaret & Andy ~ esession . . . round 1-oxford

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I met Nancy Margaret and Andy a few weeks ago for an engagement session. Things went so well we've got another planned for this Thursday in DC. I can't wait. It should be a ton of fun. This session was in Oxford, MS near Nancy Margaret's home, and I'm sure Andy will be thrilled to create some fun photos exploring the DC area near his home.

They'll be marrying this October in Water Valley, Mississippi and the wedding is going to be absolutely gorgeous. Kate Barron of A Bash Events is coordinating and I'll be assisted in my photo duties by Deb Tracy, who's flying in from California to second for me (thanks Deb!)

So I'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning for a quick trip to DC, and be back in Cleveland Friday night. It'll be a bit tiring, but tons of fun. Nancy Margaret and Andy -- see y'all tomorrow!

~wj

Nancy & Roger : delta wedding

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It's been a few weeks now, but I wanted to post a few images from Nancy and Roger's wedding. I was assisted at this wedding by a great photographer from Indianola named Mickey Mallett.

Nancy is from a small Mississippi Delta town named Inverness, and they were married at the Episcopal church there. It's a wonderfully quaint church. So simple and true. They spent most of the weekend at the beautiful Alluvian Hotel which is owned by the Viking Range company. It, too, is one of the Delta's gens. If you're ever passing through and looking for a hidden gem, this is the place. The cooking school and spa are as nice as you'll find anywhere.

The reception was held at the Greenwood Garden Club and was absolutely awesome. Take a look at a few of the detail shots above. I really liked their "guest book" as well as the jars they used to serve some of their drinks. And the band, Azizz -- they were incredible. If you are looking for a live band, give these guys a look.

Nancy and Roger, thank you both so much for letting me be a part of your day. I wish you both all the best!



~wj

Mandy & Matt ~wedding

Mandy and Matt were married a few weeks ago in Greneda. They rented cabins at the state park for the weekend and held their ceremony on the edge of the lake. It was quite windy leading up to and during the ceremony, but as the day slowly ended the weather became incredible. We made our way back down to the wedding site as the sun was setting and created some really great images. The light was perfect!

There were so many things I loved about this wedding. I loved the way Mandy and Matt tied in his south Louisiana heritage with her Mississippi Delta upbringing. The food was such a great reflection of this -- jambalaya, gumbo, catfish and hush puppies. And of course, much more. But it was how they made sure to include things that were important to each of them -- and their families-- that I found very touching.

Another thing that I found really unique and special was Mandy's version of the father-daughter dance. She told me a few weeks prior to her wedding that her father had an aversion to dancing. But she had a great solution and wanted to be sure I got photos of it.

Mandy was a college softball player. Her father coached her for years until she reached college, and he got so much pleasure watching his daughter playing ball. So when it came time for the father-daughter dance, Mandy took the DJ's microphone and told her father how much she loved him. She told him how much she appreciated his coaching and support throughout the years. She told him she knew he really didn't want to dance, so she had another idea. Then she led him outside where her best friend and teammate for so many years had gloves waiting for Mandy and her dad. So Mr. Russell and his little girl proceeded to have one last "catch" together. A fitting way to "dance" with your father, mentor, and friend if I've ever seen one.

It was all I could do to keep from getting watery-eyed as it reminded me a lot of my younger days as well. Such a special and touching idea. There are a few photos included here of the "father-daughter" dance.

I hope you enjoy looking at all of these images as much as I did creating them.

blessings,

~wj

Danielle & Josh ~wedding

Danielle and Josh were married a few weeks ago at Lake Caroline just outside Madison, Mississippi. The ceremony was very intimate and very beautiful. Even though the weather was quite treacherous the night before, Saturday turned out perfect and the sunset wedding was really, really nice.

Thank you Danielle and Josh for letting me be a part of your day. Best wishes to you both.


~wj

Danielle & Josh ~the night before

It's the night before Danielle and Josh's wedding. The video above pretty much shows what has gone on around Jackson today. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes rolled through the area, and over 92,000 homes are without power. Luckily I called ahead to get a hotel room, because this place is swarming with people that have lost power to their homes. Entergy reports that over 20% of ALL it's Mississippi clients are without power. Amazing. And many of them won't be getting power restored until Monday.

I haven't heard if anyone is injured or not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone is safe here in Central Mississippi. I'll be glued to the news here shortly to get more reports. Prayers and warm thoughts to everyone affected by the brutal storms today.

More later.


Blessings,

~wj

Dinah & Patrick ~wedding

I spent the weekend in Jackson photographing Dinah and Patrick's wedding. They were married at the First Baptist Church on State Street. That place is HUGE. The main sanctuary is larger than most theaters I've visited. Dinah and Patrick, however, were married in the adjoining chapel, which is so quaint and perfect.

We were right across the street from the Mississippi State Capitol, so we did a lot of our photography over there. The weather was perfect and all of the flowers are trees are starting to come back--it really was one of the prettiest days we've had in a while.

The reception was just down the street at the Old Capitol Inn. It's a boutique hotel that really is one of my favorite locations to work. They handle all of the details of the reception and they do it really well.

Congratulations Dinah and Patrick -- thank you both so much for letting me be a part of your day!

~wj

Aimee and Will ~wedding

Aimee and Will were married this past Saturday. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon and evening, but not without a scare. A tornado ripped through town about 4:00 AM Saturday morning and wreaked havoc on the area, but luckily didn't cause any damage to any of the wedding venues--or to any of the homes of their families and friends.

We had a blast. The wedding party was great and the service and reception were beautiful.

Congrats Aimee and Will. I wish you both all the best.


~wj

Aimee and Will ~ esession

Aimee and Will are getting married this Saturday in Tunica, Mississippi. We met a few weeks ago to go over a few details and create some fun images for their engagement session. We spent a couple of hours riding around some of the backroads of the north Mississippi Delta--always one of my most favorite things to do. They are a great couple and I cannot wait to help them celebrate their wedding on Saturday. It's coming at a time when I really need to have a happy day, and it's going to be absolutely beautiful.

They are marrying at a small church in Tunica. It's an old, wonderfully solid small town church. The reception will be held right on the Mississippi River at the Tunica River Park, which is just a stone's throw from the casinos. Everything should happen right around sunset, which will only make things even more magical.

Keep an eye out here. I'll post images from their wedding soon.


Take care,

~wj

Nancy & Roger : Engagement Session

I met Nancy and Roger this past Saturday for their Esession. They both live in Birmingham, but will be marrying in Nancy's hometown of Inverness, Mississippi. It's one of our wonderfully beautiful small Delta towns. The wedding is in April and I can't wait to see how gorgeous Deer Creek will be that time of year. If this first run (in January, no less) is any indication, the images from the wedding should turn out great!

OSP NOLA

Part of my trip last week was spent in New Orleans. I met several other photographers in the French Quarter and we spent three days listening to great speakers and roaming the streets. We had several great models assisting us, and boy were they ever patient with us! I can't imagine how tough it must be to model in the first place, much less in the middle of Bourbon Street with 10 photographers yelling different directions at you. Thanks to all of our models for all of their hard work.

On Monday night we had a night shoot in the French Quarter, and Tuesday we went across the river to a cemetery in Algiers. Here are a few images from those shoots.

Amber & Christopher

Amber and Christopher were married a few weeks ago near Chattanooga. The weather was wonderful, the settings beautiful and the couple. . . .well, they were soooo much fun to work with. You can see their engagement session here.

From the rehearsal Friday night. . .




And the rehearsal dinner. . .






Just before the ceremony. . .




Amber's jewelry and accessories were family heirlooms. . .







And for more images. . .the slideshow.

A beautiful night at the Cadre Building

What a great night!

Jennifer and Bob were married last night in a beautiful ceremony and reception at the Cadre building in downtown Memphis. We had a great time and created some great images. I got to meet a lot of really great people and saw several faces that I haven't seen since my time as a junior high English teacher nearly 15 years ago.

Settling in for big day tomorrow

So I've just arrived in my hotel room here in Tunica, MS. Amazing how
much this place has changed in the last 15 years. What once was
cotton fields as far as you could see is now filled with neon lights
and tons of activity. Tunica County was once the poorest county in
America. It now is the wealthiest in Mississippi. Amazing.

Anyway, a good friend of mine was nice enough to set me up with a
hotel room for the weekend and I'm now settling in for a big wedding
tomorrow in Downtown Memphis. You should see it. You'd think I'd be
out playing blackjack or something, but instead I'm ironing shirts,
polishing shoes, and charging camera batteries! Oh, and watching
foorball in the background. Multi-tasking at it's finest!

It's about a 20 minute drive from here to the location, so I should
get a good night's rest and be ready to go when I meet Jennifer and
Bob around noon. The weather should be perfect and the venue is
gorgeous. I can't wait!

Amber & Christpher

OK. I'm getting older. As if the hair in the shower drain weren't enough of a reminder every morning, last week I photographed Jennifer and Bob for their engagement session.(I coached at her high school when she was a junior,see below) Well, this week I had an appointment with Little Christopher Card and his fiance' Amber.

Actually Christopher has grown into quite a young man. A tall, strong, Air Force young man. (And Christopher, I use the term "Little" lovingly.) Christopher's parents, Bob and Beverly, are great friends of my mom and dad. Bob was perhaps the finest coach I've ever had (high school football and basketball) and definitely the best history teacher I've ever known. So I've known Christopher since he was just a wee-little thing. It makes me proud to see what he's become, so I can only imagine how his parents must be bursting. And to top it off, he is marrying such a sweet girl in Amber.

The wedding will be near Riceville, Tennessee in September. I can't wait--the weather should be gorgeous and the foliage at that time will make for stunning backdrops.




Christopher and Amber had a very tight schedule as they were in town for only a few days and had lots of parties and showers to attend. So we met early Sunday morning in the cool little Delta town of Merigold and played around a bit. The old buildings there make for great images, but we didn't stop there. Seeing as Christopher would be marrying outside his hometown, and he currently lives in Texas, I though it would be nice to create some images with a reminder of home. So we made sure to visit some crops (usually cotton, but this year it's corn) and Po' Monkeys Lounge--our local "juke joint" made famous by Annie Leibovitz in Vanity Fair magazine.

More from Jennifer & Bob

I've been editing Jennifer and Bob's engagement session the last few days and the images are great! They had so much fun with each other and it really shows. Here is the slideshow.

Jennifer & Bob

Well, I first have to apologize for being so tardy in posting! It's been a busy month--which is a good thing. I have a ton of stuff to put up here so there should be quite a few new posts the next few days.

The first is an engagement session from Saturday (7-7-07). Let me preface this by saying that my first job post-college was teaching 7th and 8th grade English (as well as coaching football and baseball) at Marshall Academy in Holly Springs, MS. While Jennifer was not in one of my classes she was a student (she was a Junior at the time). So it's kinda strange beng called "Coach Jacks" during a photo shoot.

I met Jennifer and Bob around 4:00 PM in Memphis and we didn't stop until around midnight! But it really only seemed like about an hour or two had passed. We went all over downtown--the river (naturally) , a Redbirds ballgame, the trolley, Flying Saucer (one of my favorites!), and of course, Beale Street.

The wedding is in Downtown Memphis on September 29 and I can not wait. It's going to be too much fun!

Cindy & Michael

Cindy and Michael were married recently here in Cleveland. The weather was absolutely perfect. It is not uncommon for us to have 90+ degree days in May, but for Cindy and Michael the weather stayed very nice around the low 80's. The sun was out and the light was beautiful.

Here are a few images along with the slideshow.

Jennifer & Matt

I had the pleasure of photographing Jennifer and Matt's wedding this past Saturday at Cedar Grove Mansion in Vicksburg, Mississippi. It was absolutely gorgeous. The weather was perfect, and the grounds of Cedar Grove were incredible.

Congrats, Mr. & Mrs. Byrd !

Click here to view the slideshow.

Stacy & Frank

I wanted to share a few images from Stacy and Frank's wedding last night in Memphis. The weather was crazy (we had a tornado scare) but by the end of the night downtown Memphis was beautiful! The rain actually created beautiful reflections on the streets. I could have wandered around all night photographing them around the buildings near Beale Street, but of course we had a reception to get to.

You can view the slideshow here.

Congrats, Stacy and Frank. I had a great time!