I love the fourth of July. Fireworks, BBQ’s, drinks and good ole fashioned fun. Here’s some homemade love from Axl... Enjoy!

The theme for my wedding is ‘rustic elegance’ and from the start I was looking for personal touches throughout the wedding to give it that one of a kind feel. My mom came up with the brilliant idea to ask 10 women who are close family and friends to go out and collect vintage plates at their local antique store or along their travels. All the plates will be different and will be bought from all over the country. I loved the idea of getting the distant family and friends involved and think it will add a great feel to the tables.
While in Nevada we made invites. My dad came up with a poem for the message and we included a photo to express the look we are going for. Here they are......

Like many couples having wedding with a large group of out of town guests, Courtney and Ethan opted to include everyone in the rehearsal dinner and host a welcome party the night before their wedding. This is an option that I am a huge fan of (we will be doing it at our wedding!), it gives you more time with your guests, allows you to catch up with everyone, so by the wedding night you can just enjoy yourselves. They also decided that to ‘break the ice’ they would have a photo booth there as well. It is something we started a couple years ago as an alternative to the old fashioned photo booth. It is much more affordable, and gives you a lot more freedom to change the backgrounds, have props and get larger groups in photos. They did a great job getting a variety of props and after the cocktails started flowing everyone had a blast!

A beautiful setting for the outdoor welcome party...

A few images from the photo booth....

Photo booth set up

Courtney and Ethan at the Four Seasons Palm Beach, continued....


I love dogs in weddings!!

Courtney looking at her groom

Chad grabbed this birds eye view during the ceremony


Libido played at the reception, they were off the charts! Truly phenomenal.

They had such a fun bridal party!

Courtney and Ethan were married at the Four Seasons, Palm Beach. They had amazing weather (in spite of being hurricane season), a perfect setting, and a great group of friends and family. Courtney was stunning and together they are such an elegant and sweet couple. Susan and Trish of Exquisite Details planned the event flawlessly (as always!). The details were great and Chad and I had a blast shooting such a beautiful wedding. Here is the first post, check back for more!


Their first meeting was great. Something all my brides and grooms should do!

Their ring bearers, so cute!

Over the summer I shot belly photos of my cousin Sara, and since have been waiting to meet her baby. In September, little Reese Ann was born and while in Nevada I finally got a chance to meet her. She is so cute, super tall, lanky, and is going to be my flower girl for my wedding next summer! It was so great to hang out with Reese and her mom and dad, I can’t wait to get them all to Florida!

While in Nevada I spent the afternoon with Jen and Mike for their engagement session. I have know Jen since we were kids and it has been a blast getting back in touch with her before I shoot their backyard wedding in August. Jen and Mike are an energetic and fun couple, and Jen has always had a playful and creative sense of style (I can’t wait to see the wedding details!). In spite of the rain clouds on our tails we had a great time shooting at Jen’s parents house with their horse, Mic and in the oldest town in Nevada, Genoa. I’m looking forward to getting back out to Nevada for their wedding, congrats!

While I was in Nevada planing my wedding I spent some time with one my greatest friends Ashlee and her fiance, Kenny. I have been friends with Ashlee since I moved with my family to the town of Gardnerville when I was about 12. Ashlee is one of the kindest people I have ever known. To no surprise, she met an amazing guy who rivals her in both kindness and compassion. Ashlee teaches special education mathematics at the middle school level (wow!) and Kenny is a counselor at a juvenile detention center (double wow!). They share each others love of the outdoors, dogs, horses and even hunting. I am so happy that they found each other and now are getting married, I can’t wait!

It is always such a pleasure to photograph friends and family, and though I will be walking in Ashlee’s wedding I will have the honor of shooting it as well (it won’t be the first time I will be wearing two hats!). Luckily, at Ashlee’s wedding I’m pretty sure I can leave my heels at home and wear my cowboy boots. I can’t wait for her country celebration and to see them both walk down the aisle! Congratulations Kenny and Ashlee, I couldn’t be happier for you!


My favorite!

Their pack... Avery, Tuff and Leo.

So cute!

After being engaged for almost a year Chad and I headed to Northern Nevada (where I am originally from) to plan our destination wedding. We arrived, and so did some of our family members that flew in to be apart of the adventure. Though we had nothing planned to date, we had been talking with wedding planner Tara Addeo, who was going to be guiding the planning extravaganza, thank goodness! For my brides who are on the fence about having a planner... all I can say is, get one!!!

After three days jam packed with appointments, I couldn’t believe how quickly things came together. On day 1 we settled on the hotel we wanted the guests to stay at. Day 2, we meet with the florist, caterer, and found a ceremony location. The ceremony location was a complete stroke of luck, and I was jumping for joy when we discovered it... I had been dreaming of grass, overlooking the lake and it had seemed impossible (unless you spent a small fortune to rent a private home), until we found it, and it was in the budget!



Day 3, we meet with another caterer and florist as well as tackled the reception location. We planned to have a lakeside ceremony on Tahoe, then load the guests in coach buses and head down the grade (from lake tahoe to the valley below), for a reception in the valley. While we found two great options, but we all fell head over heels with my longtime friend Ashlee’s century old ranch. It was exactly what I was hoping for and it couldn’t be anymore unique or charming. With some lights, flowers, and great details I think it will be stunning...



I am so happy about both locations, that when we found the Tahoe Queen for our welcome party it seemed things couldn’t get better. We plan to have all the guests for a welcome cruise the night before our wedding as they will be coming in from all over the country. The Tahoe Queen has been renovated and is the most unique cruise boat I have ever seen. They serve a full dinner, have a jamming band, and cruise to emerald bay, the jewel of tahoe. Love it!



We had also decided that the day after the wedding we would invite our guests to ‘Hike of their Hangover’ on the Tahoe Rim Trail. We’ll see how many of them are up for a hike the day after, but I know it’s worth the hike when you see the views!


I couldn’t believe how much we got done and am very excited to actually have a date... June 11th 2010!!

Here are a few more shots from my trip... Enjoy!

Lake Tahoe

Burros

The Fam, they were such good sports!

Peonies, love them!

Virginia City

Marjorie and Victor were married at the Hyatt, Ft. Lauderdale Pier 66. It was a stunning location for a wedding, and though the rain clouds were never far behind, Marjorie and Victor had a gorgeous celebration. Marjorie wore a beautiful latte gown and was a timeless and elegant bride. After exchanging vows, they celebrated high above Fort Lauderdale in the rotating tower of the Hyatt with their family and friends. Congrats Marjorie and Victor!