Man oh man, what a way to kick off the season with this beautiful St. Patrick’s Day wedding! Ashley and Glenn are friends of mine from college and when they asked me if I’d be willing to photograph their St. Patty’s Day wedding I got excited, of course I would!
We experienced just about every weather condition imaginable (besides snow) but that didn’t stop Ashley and Glenn from having fun and making the best of their day. Beau (my husband) came along to assist, so I am proud to feature some of his captures as well. We started our day at the awesome Hotel Ignacio and made our way down the street to Saint Francis Xavier College Church for their midday ceremony. The sun was shining bright as they said their I do’s, and as the afternoon rolled around it brought along thunderstorms that were off and on the rest of the day. You’d think that may cause a couple to be a little stressed, but Ashley and Glenn were the coolest of cats and stayed upbeat, so cool that they decided to hit up the bowling alley when it got super nasty outside 🙂 Their reception was a celtic affair complete with a bagpiper, green, and lots of dance moves that had the party going into the night.
Ashley and Glenn, thank you SO much for having me be a part of your wedding day. I can’t think of a better way to have spent the day or a more beautiful couple to have spent it with. I remember seeing your love for one another back when you began dating at Lindenwood, and over the years, it’s still the kind of love you know and feel is the real deal. Here’s to many, many more years ***
Image below by Beau, you may or may not spy me in the background 😛
Bob and I go back to our days at Lindenwood, we didn’t have a lot of classes together but he’s the type of guy you don’t have to be around long to know he’s a gentleman. When I met up with Shelley to discuss their wedding we bonded over talks of half marathons and triathlons (get it girl!) and I swooned over their vision for their engagement photos. They chose to have their session at Bob’s family property, where we explored over 100 acres with their two pups, Milly and Lexi, by our side. If their engagement session is any indication of their wedding in September, I am in for a real treat!
Last week, my mom and I took a trip to Nashville, leading up to and during the trip she’d randomly bust out some lines from the song “Nashville Cats”. If you have never experienced, here is a youtube of what you’ve been missing. I apologize and also giggle a bit for the somewhat weird video. I just can’t seem to get the silly tune out of my head, I thought you may get a kick out of it and maybe even look at the rest of this post while it plays, for the super Nashville experience 😛
The purpose of the trip was at first for me to attend a seminar called the Fix held by one of my favorite international wedding photographers, Jasmine Star. My mom and I took the opportunity to hang a little more and make it a 3 night trip, getting to explore for a couple days. We packed up her car two Sundays ago and rode off to the south. I brought along my “new” film camera, the Canon EOS 3, digital camera, the Canon 5d mark ii, the hope of a relaxing time with my mom, and business dreams. Here is who greeted us everyday outside of our hotel, shot with film 🙂
We kept it chill the first night by settling in our room and gathering some tourist pamphlets from the lobby. One of the pamphlets caught my eye with several testimonials, one being, “Al Gore, Princess Anne, and just about any Country Star you could name have all pulled up a chair to Loveless Café’s red checkered tablecloths.” ~ Country America. Woah. And they have world famous biscuits?! I’m in! So, that was our first dinner in Nashville and man it was the country cooking I was craving.
Monday we decided to go to the shop featured on the show American Pickers, my parents are HUGE fans. If you’re not familiar, these guys are experts at finding and selling unique antiques. The shop was filled with just that and my love for photographing details was bursting with anticipation.
Next, we went to the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, a town just outside Nashville. It became an on- site hospital when one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War took place in nearby fields. The home was transformed into a medical center where surgeons worked around the clock to save injured soldiers. So many procedures took place that blood stains are still noticeable on the wood floors throughout the plantation. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside, but the grounds were gorgeous. And who would’ve known?! Some local wedding vendors had set up a shoot to showcase some cakes and flowers. Wish I could have caught their names! This first image is from my film camera.
(below is another film image 🙂 )
(the cemetery, my mom, and bird’s nest are film)
After the plantation we headed back into downtown Nashville, strolled some cool shops, and ate dinner. We called it a somewhat early night and planned to see more places Tuesday before my seminar. Welllll, early in the morning I started to get sick, and continued to get sick about every hour until mid-day Tuesday. Pretty sure I got food poisoning from Monday’s dinner 🙁 Though we didn’t get to go more places around town that day which was a bummer, I still had to put on my “I feel well enough to meet Jasmine” face for later that evening. I managed to keep a banana down before walking out the door with my camera and notebook, ready to be starstruck and learn.
I attended the Fix knowing little about what would be discussed. I went with the hope that if I learned just a couple pointers and got to meet Jas that it would be worth it. What I walked away with was much more. I came back with new friendships, a stronger belief in myself, clearer goals, the courage to make changes; to dream and push myself to my potential as a photographer. I will no longer be afraid to move forward and that is what my promise is to myself and business. Because like Jasmine said, ” Staying safe doesn’t move you forward.” That sentence has set me free.
The following morning we headed back to St. Louis. I reminisced on the priceless time with my mom, making new friends at the Fix, and meeting Jasmine. As we passed through the rolling hills of Kentucky and into Illinois, my imagination took me to the future. A future where dreams were reality, and I realized I am ready to reach for them.
I took the film camera along to Nashville not expecting much. Afterall, I just bought it and the last time I shot film was back in high school. I didn’t finish off the roll in Nashville, so my husband and I took a photo adventure around the Katy Trail by the Family Arena and our own yard 🙂 That is what this final series of images is all about. I have to say my love for the natural, stunning colors of film is stronger than ever after getting back the scans. It has me dreaming of shoots with golden light and bokeh that resembles a painting. After Nashville, I feel free to chase the coattails of my ambitions… and to take my film camera along.
I leave you with another quote from Jasmine:
JD (my husband) turned to me and said,
” I’d rather see you fail at something you love,
than succeed at something you hate.”
Life is too short, friends, to be doing something that makes you anything but happy. I hope that you feel free to dream big ***
There’s one word that sums up Jeanne and Mike, sweet. They were so lovely to work with and made the chilly Sunday afternoon we shared a little warmer. Their sweet embrace, the golden light, and Jeanne’s cute baby bump pretty much makes this a maternity favorite 🙂
Back in January I held the first ever boudoir marathon here at Alison Duffy Photo, and what can I say, the ladies ROCKED it. I am so fortunate to have such beautiful, confident women that are willing to share some of their images with you today. This first friend to share is giving her photos to her boyfriend as a Valentine’s Day gift, I’d say he’s never going to forget this V-Day 😉
Below is my session favorite, what a beauty!
The second friend willing to share wanted to give her man something memorable near their wedding, LOVE.
