I have a bit of a confession. I’m a huge Bucs fan. Like I mean a HUGE Bucs fan. You don’t even have to know me to know this. All you have to do is see me around, because there is a 99% chance I am wearing something Buccaneers every single day. That being said, let’s just say I was a little excited about being a part of Rachel and Joe’s wedding, since Joe is a coach  for the Bucs. We even did their engagement shoot in an empty Raymond James Stadium (which was truly amazing)!  As an extra bonus, Rachel is pretty much the sweetest person in the world. We hit it off from our very first phone conversation, and she was so much fun to work for. Luckily, I will get to see both of them at future Bucs games:)

Their wedding took place at the Crystal Ballroom in St. Pete, although they got ready at the Grand Hyatt. My favorite moment of the ceremony (and probably the entire wedding) was when Joe gave a ring to Rachel’s 5 year old daughter London. It was such a sweet moment, and I couldn’t help but get a little emotional. If that wasn’t enough, London got a hold of the mic during the reception and told Joe she loved him. I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the place – certainly not from Joe. It was such a special moment, and I am so honored to have been chosen to capture it.

Here are a few of our favorite images:

Brittany and Garrett were married at the beautiful Lange Farm in Dade City. Talk about a great property to get married!!! It’s a photographer’s dream because there are so many beautiful spots for photos. As you can see, we even got the horses to cooperate a little for the photos:).

The couple has been dating since high school, and you can see right away that they are perfect for one another. Brittany had the idea of blindfolding Garrett before the ceremony, where she became a little emotional at seeing her husband-to-be. It was a really cute idea and a nice alternative to doing the typical shot behind the door.

Here are a few of our favorite images from the day:

2017 has gotten off to a great start, especially when we are blessed to shoot weddings like Robin and Louis. We had a little practice photographing them at Joyce and Tommy’s wedding a few months back, where Robin was a bridesmaid.  We really love when we get the opportunity to shoot different members of the bridal party, as there’s a certain comfort level for everyone involved.

The day started with Robin and Louis getting ready at Le Meridian in downtown Tampa. This is such a beautiful hotel – definitely one of our favorites. The stairs out front made for a great spot for their first look. After the first look, we just had to cross the street to get to their ceremony at Sacred Heart Chapel.

After the ceremony, we went to Green Bench for some photos. They wanted to shoot somewhere a little non-traditional, so we skipped the beach and shot at the restaurant. They even snuck in a little bit of corn hole, because why shouldn’t they? We then moved on to the St. Pete Museum of Fine Arts for their reception. The ballroom was set up beautifully, and Ben from Grant Hemmond did a great job as their DJ.

Here are a few of our favorites:

With October in full swing, we were excited to be a part of Alex and Billy’s wedding. They were married at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tarpon Springs. The church was absolutely breathtaking, as was the entire wedding. They got ready and had their reception at the Intercontinental Hotel in Tampa, so there was quite a bit of travel time involved, but thanks to the help of their coordinator Natalia Day from Days Remembered by ND, everything ran smoothly.  Natalia is excellent at her job, which makes our job so much easier:)

Here are a few of our favorite images:

As a photographer, there are certain days every year that you could probably book 10 times if you had the man power. This year, it was October 15. I must have turned down 15 different couples for this date.  Although I’m sure all those couples are great, we couldn’t have been happier to have been a part of Christine and Eric’s wedding. From our very first meeting over a year ago, we just hit it off.  There was a part of me that was sad to see them get married because I was going to miss them:)

Logistically speaking, this wedding was a bit of a challenge because they got ready at different places – Christine at the Grand Plaza and Eric at their house in Riverview. Luckily, I happen to be married to a pretty good photographer, so Janice was with the girls while I was with the guys.  It’s a huge advantage that I have an assistant that is equally as passionate as me, and is arguably just as good at her job (we always compete against each other for the title of best photographer, lol).

Their ceremony was held in the beautiful Sacred Heart Chapel in downtown Tampa. This was our first trip there, although we have two more coming up in the near future. Inside the church is absolutely breathtaking!  We’ve shot a ton of weddings in churches, but this may be the prettiest of them all. I can’t wait to go back in December!

After the ceremony, we headed to the Grand Plaza for the reception. I noticed there was a pretty nasty looking cloud in the distance, so we decided to go out a little earlier than scheduled, just in case it started pouring and we missed sunset. Luckily, the weather held up and we were able to get sunset photos, but it was better to be safe than sorry. We had some gorgeous light, of course the couple is gorgeous, so our job was pretty easy.

The reception was a blast, and they partied until nearly midnight.  During the dancing, the groomsmen re-entered the ballroom wearing light up shoes.  I was so impressed, I ordered a pair for the 4 of us when I got home that night.  I mean, why wouldn’t I?

Here are a bunch of our favorite images:

We’ve done well over 1,000 weddings in our career, but none quite like Natalie and Chris. They had a German-themed wedding, complete with German attire and German food!  It was really cool, and we were honored to be a part of it.  One of the things we really love about our job is that no matter how many weddings we do, we always see something unique.

Their wedding took place at the gorgeous Ocala Jockey Club. Talk about a place with some beautiful backdrops for photos!  It’s one of those places I wish we would have had more time to explore, because it was such a large area and of course time is always limited with weddings:)  Hopefully we’ll be back soon!

The couple chose to do a first look, and Chris picked out a great spot to see his beautiful bride.  From there, we headed to cool off a little before the ceremony, which was held under a huge tree that was amazing for photos! After the ceremony, the bridal party went to change into their German outfits, followed by Natalie and Chris doing the same after sunset photos. Of course, what German-themed wedding would be complete without a drinking game? The night came to a complete with a sparkler send-off.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Our crazy busy October kicked off with Amanda and RJ’s wedding at the Carlouel Yacht Club in Clearwater.  The room Amanda got ready in had the most beautiful picture window facing the water.  It was an absolutely perfect place to hang the dress, and it also brought in some beautiful natural light to help create some beautiful photos. The guys got ready down the road at the Sandpearl Resort, which isn’t too shabby either:)

The couple made the trip from their home in Chicago, and they brought their daughter – their golden retriever!  Izzy was pretty much the most well behaved dog I’ve ever seen, and she was included in many of the events throughout the day. She was even there for their first look.

Here are a few of our favorite images from their special day:

Summertime is coming to a close, but not before Jenn and Adam’s wedding. They were married at St. Michael’s in Clearwater, with their reception following at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club. Before I tell you about their wedding, I have a great story as to how we met Jenn. We did a wedding expo at Innisbrook, and Jenn and her Maid of Honor were there checking out vendors.  While Janice was talking with the girls,one of our photos fell. Since I didn’t have a ladder, I grabbed the chair that was behind Janice. I’m sure you can probably guess what happened next. Yep, Janice didn’t realize I took the chair, and proceeded to have a seat. Next thing I know I hear a thud, and there is Janice lying on the floor, lol.  Jenn and Kristina did a great job of not laughing too hard, but the same can’t be said for me.  I guess we made a good impression, because they ended up booking us. I’m thinking that might have to be our strategy at future expos. Janice is much less receptive to the idea.

Anyway, back to the wedding:)  One thing that really stood out with their ceremony was their minister. Not to stereotype too much, but you don’t usually associate a Catholic minister with funny. However, their minister was really funny.  He even made a FSU joke to the couple (they both went to the University of Florida).  It lightened the mood, and made for a very enjoyable ceremony.

After the ceremony, we were running a little low on time, and the limo wasn’t back yet from taking a groom from the church to Innisbrook. As a result, we did a quick little photo shoot outside the church, which ended up being a life saver because the sun set well before we got to the resort.  By the time we arrived at Innisbrook, it was almost completely dark.  It was challenging, but thanks to a little creative lighting, we were able to get some good shots.

Of course you can’t talk about this wedding without talking about the cake cutting. I’ve seen a few cake smashes, but this may have been the best one yet, and it totally caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect it, and I don’t think Jenn did either. Of course Jenn got her revenge!

Here are a few of our favorite images: