Amanda and Ryan have known each other since grade school as they both grew up in Polk county. It was great to be a part of their day as they finally became husband and wife. They had a beautiful day for their wedding on St. Pete beach at the Grand Plaza.
I absolutely loved Amanda's dress! It was the perfect mixture of fabrics, and she looked amazing in it.
Spring break was in full swing so the beach was busy, but I don't think they noticed. =)
Since we had such a gorgeous sunset, we snuck out of the reception for a few more photos.
We met Whitney and Chris back in November when we shot their engagement session. They are such a genuinely nice couple and they welcomed us into their wedding day like one of the family. The wedding was held at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, and the gardens and trees really make this a beautiful setting for a wedding. We were so happy that the crazy rain from the previous two days had blown through, and we were left with a gorgeous sunny day. Whitney got ready in the mansion house and the lighting was amazing.
Whitney had a gorgeous group of girls by her side all day.
And the guys.
Whitney and Chris chose to see each other before the ceremony to take advantage of the daylight since their ceremony was close to sunset.
Whitney and her bridesmaids put a lot of thought and time into the details of the wedding. Here are a few of the many details.
We had quite a brisk day for this engagement shoot, but at least rain was out of the forecast for one day. We met Amber and Greg at Phillipe Park to take advantage of their love of nature. One of their favorite things to do is scuba dive so we figured a park was the next best location, above water. Sadly, as we walked closer to the water the cold wind became super strong, so we decided to find some other spots that were warmer.
Amber and Greg went to rival colleges, Ohio State and Penn State, so they threw on some jerseys and the rivalry was quite apparent. =)
And one last adorable moment. =)
It was so great getting to know you guys and we're really looking forward to hanging out with you on your wedding day!
Jennifer and Nikolas are from Chicago and planned their destination wedding from out of town. We finally got to meet them in person on the day of their wedding and Jennifer's smile is so infectious, you can't help but be in a happy mood when she's around. =) I was so impressed with how the heavy rains early in the morning didn't seem to bother her at all. She was more focused on the bigger picture of marrying her best friend.
The wedding was held at the Sirata Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach, and Patrice McHale-Gibson did a fabulous job with the girl's makeup. It rained super hard all morning as the cold front moved in, but the rain eased up just in time to head outside for pictures. It actually ended up being a gorgeous day and a beautiful wedding!
I know it's been a while since we posted about our trip to Europe, but here are photos from the second half of our trip. We took the Eurostar train from London to Paris, which was super easy and nice. Public transportation is something Europe definitely has over us. On to the pictures!
Along the Siene River in Paris.
Outside Notre Dame Cathedral was filled with tourists and lots of vendors. It was pretty much impossible to get a picture without tons of people in the shot.
There is so much detail carved onto the front of the cathedral. The churches in Europe are simply ornate and unlike anything we've seen before we went there.
Inside the cathedral were even more ornate carvings. This is the view, looking straight up toward the ceiling. We were glad photos were allowed inside. Sadly, St. Paul's in London was really our favorite, but we don't have any photos of the inside because we were good tourists =(
The first night in Paris, we went to the Louvre at night to see the inside, but didn't bring a camera. The place is just out of this world huge. It was super easy to get lost in there and the maps they give you just don't cut it. Since the outside it just a cool as the inside, we went back the next day to grab some more pictures. This is a shot of the courtyard and the famous pyramid. Being there definitely reminded us of the DiVinci Code, which Chris and I both loved.
Here is a video we took in the courtyard of the Louvre. It was just too massive to take a picture. This is almost a 360 video to capture the entire building from the center.
At the end of the courtyard are the gorgeous gardens of the Louvre, and this was our first sight of the Eiffel Tower from afar.
One of the many Egyptian obelisks.
We walked all the way from the Louvre to the Arch de Triumph. It was a heck of hike to get there walking down the famous Avenue de Champ-Elysees, but we finally made it to the Arch de Triumph and took a few pics from the median.
Finally, on our self-guided walking tour of the city, we made it to the most iconic and visited site in the world, the Eiffel Tower.
The line to ride the elevators was really long, so we decided to take the stairs, even though our feet were really tired at this point. This was our view of the city from the first level.
We went back to the tower at night for the famous light show and it was all lit up which made it much cooler.
Every hour, on the hour there is a light show.
Eiffel Tower Night Show:
Then, on our last full day in Paris we visited the Chateau de Versailles. There is so much history here and the decor on the walls and ceilings were like nothing we've seen.
The gardens around the chateau were even more amazing. This is the Versailles Orangery.
The property stretches on for miles. Trust us, we know. We walked like half of it and couldn't take anymore!
We saw so many great things in our week overseas, but it's always good to be back home. =)
