Lee and Naresha's Lexington Wedding

Everything came together beautifully a few weeks ago for Lee and Naresha's wedding. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the details were perfect. Even if nothing had come together right, I doubt you would have been able tell from these two. You could tell how genuinely happy this couple was to be marrying and it made my task of photographing their wedding a real joy. Add to that sweet family and friends, and it was a wedding I didn't want to leave!

Other favorite memories from this wedding...

The bride's adorable 7-month-old twin niece and nephew. They had bibs which read, "The bride is my aunt".

The beautiful architecture of Lexington's First United Methodist Church -- the columns, the steps, the texture of the stone are all perfect for formal occasions like this. Add to that their coordinator Bonnie, who's just a nice, pleasant lady to work with. Just as we were photographing the bridal party, the sun hit the towering 5/3 Bank Building a few blocks away and bounced beautiful afternoon light on the steps, providing the largest reflector I've ever worked with. It was serendipitous.

When the bridal party arrived at the Marriott for their recepion (where Lee and Naresha work and met), it was so neat to see many of the hotel staff on hand at the car port to congratulate them as they exited the limo. Over and over I saw how much this couple is loved by their family and friends -- and it's not hard to see why.

Finally, it was fun to hear the tunes of a band (Funk Seminary) started by our old college friend, Mike Vandemark. They kept the party going!

Others who contributed to the wedding:

Video: Jeff Meadors at JM Video Productions

Hair: Noelle Palmquist

Make-up: Tina Howard

Programs: Hunter at Notables, the Party Store

Florals: Bonnie at Stems

Transportation: Gold Shield

Wedding Photographer: Cydil Waggoner Photography

Jay and Mary Ellen are married!

It was such a struggle to distill my favorite images from this wedding to an acceptable number for this post! Thankfully, I had a fantastic special, er second, shooter (Jan, a Washington D.C. based photographer) at my side who posted on her own blog her personal favorites from the day (so you'll get TWICE the number of teaser pics -- I wish I could do this for all my brides)! We had a wonderful time, thoroughly loving this couple and their families.

Wedding Photographer: Cydil Waggoner Photography

Dustin and Kelly's Lexington Wedding Photos

July 18 is a great day to get married. After all, someone I deeply love married me on July 18 (ten years ago)! This July 18 (2009) was a particularly good day to get married -- how often can you enjoy temperatures in the 70s for a summer wedding in Kentucky?

Not only was the weather lovely, but so was this wedding. Kelly chose some of the prettiest places in Lexington for her wedding! And she also gave me lots of time for portraits before the ceremony so we could take advantage of the beautiful venues. We got some fun portraits and bridal party shots outdoors and more beautiful portraits indoors. I know you want to just look at the photos, so here's just a sampling...

Aren't these the loveliest bridesmaid bouquets? Then check out these programs! Aren't they beautiful? I love the simplicity and elegance -- it's anything but plain.

Take my word for it that it was a wonderful day from beginning to end. Thank you, Dustin and Kelly, for allowing me to take part in it! Enjoy Cabo!

Here's some of the individuals that contributed:

Catering: Lundy's (their hot brown tarts melted in your mouth -- yum!)

DJ: Brian Williams

Florals: Kim Ross

Attire: Casablanca (Kelly's gown), White House Black Market (bridesmaids' dresses)

Hair: Shelley Johns

Make-up: Tabitha Crabtree

Venues: The Carrick House & Central Christian Church

Wedding Photographer: Cydil Waggoner Photography

Jay and Mary Ellen | Engagement Session

Mary Ellen and I had been dialoguing about this session for months. As she shared her ideas with me, I knew it was going to be so fun and unique. (Background: Mary Ellen is a stationery designer and uber creative. She provided me with all kinds of ideas she had for props, clothes, poses, and how she wanted to use the finished images -- wonderful!). She found this location (The Arts Place on Mill Street, very appropriate for an artiste!) and made the arrangements to shoot there (thanks, Tripp!). Meshing our schedules proved to be a bit trickier, but when the day arrived, I had a great time getting to work with these two and know them better (we discovered we know some of the same people, and other fun details like the fact that they met at Aldersgate Camp -- a very cool place in eastern Kentucky attended by other great people we know). They are as sweet and kind in person as they come across in the photos below! I can't wait for their wedding in August!

It was SO hard narrowing down my favorites, but here's a 'few'! Enjoy!

Check out Mary Ellen's website, MEllen Designs. She will design personalized stationery, greeting cards, invitations, etc for you! Kudos to MEllen for their debut at the National Stationery Show in New York City earlier this spring!

Naresha and Lee's Engagement Session

Friday night Nathan and I joined Lee and Naresha for a relaxed photo session around downtown Lexington. I think the threat of rain (and maybe all the Derby weekend festivities in Louisville?) lent to a quiet evening, which was nice! These two were great, tried anything we asked, and provided some fantastic smiles to make my job easy. Lee and Naresha, I look forward to your wedding in September!