Soli Photography | Chattanooga Photographer » Soli Photography Blog

Where do I begin?! Lena first contacted me last year in October with the thought that she was behind the ball on booking a photographer. Luckily for the both of us that was one of the last weekends in May I had available! She let me know that she was planning a destination wedding in the small town in which I was born, Natchez, Mississippi. Natchez is such a near and dear place to me and Eric, after all it’s where we met! Lena spoke of Esala very sweetly and let me know that while she lived in North Carolina working on medical fellowship, Esala was far away in Chicago. Lena’s good friend Lisa actually met Esala at a food festival called the Taste of Chicago. After they realized they lived in the same area of town, Lisa invited Esala along with a group of people to eat dinner. It was at that dinner where Lena met up with her friends…..and found her future husband.

One thing about Lena you must know is she’s excellent with detailed side of things (girl after my own heart!). She’s really great at email communication too, which was perfect because we didn’t actually meet in person until 2 days before her wedding! Esala and Lena were surrounded by friends and family that came from all parts of the globe (Mexico, Chicago, Sri Lanka, you name it). They were married in the front lawn at the historic Dunleith Plantation this past Saturday and we were so thrilled to be a part of it.

Esala and Lena, we just can’t thank you enough  for choosing us to be a part of your amazing wedding day. Thank you to their families for your kindness and willingness to help in any situation….and for being super fun in front of our cameras! Also, Ben Hillyer from the Natchez Democrat Newspaper shot with us, you’re awesome Ben!

PS: Because we didn’t get to meet for an engagement or bridal session, Esala and Lena scheduled a Mr. and Mrs. session the morning after the wedding….stay tuned for those amazing images!

Click HERE for a slideshow.

Vendors:

Ceremony/Reception: Dunleith Plantation

Day of coordination: Lyn Fortenberry and Carolyn Ight

Hair and makeup: Anruss Salon

Florals: Brenda Zerby – Moreton’s Flowerland

Cake: Edna Welch

It doesn’t get more southern than this!

I have to brag on Lena just a little…..she single-handedly planned this wedding. No joke. She wrote, printed and assembled her programs (with some helpers I’m sure!), purchased all the decor and made the most perfect detailed wedding schedule I’ve ever seen.

Ben captured this shot while Lena was waiting to see Esala for their First Look.

Their First Look from Eric’s perspective (top) and mine (bottom).

Although they look cool, it was 95 degrees in Natchez last Saturday…..actually in this greenhouse I think it was more like 125. That hot temperature makes you pose like this…..

And this…..

And this, WOW!!!!

Like any good southern bride would, Lena chose magnolia and gardenia flowers for her bouquet. Brenda Zerby, who owns Moreton’s Flowerland, fulfilled Lena’s vision of her bridesmaids bouquets….fabulous!

The ghost didn’t make her way into all of their images in front of the house (:

Right before the kiss they lite the Oil Lamp and shared Kiribath.

Perfect walking form with a hoop skirt!

I think this was Lena’s friend Lisa’s idea….A+ Lisa!

After they cut the cake, Lena was dressed by Esala’s aunt in a traditional saree.

I won’t even say too much about this post. My one and only question is could someone please offer an explaination of the following series of images.

1/640 sec, f2.8, ISO 250. Taken with Nikon d700 35mm f/2 at 3:54 pm Eastern Standard time. The first image is socc except for resizing and sharpening. The others I increased the contrast in Lightroom. Please direct your attention to the top right hand corner of the picture! This was from this past Saturday’s wedding in Natchez, Mississippi. The house that Lena and Esala are pictured in front of is the historic plantation Dunleith.

Has it really been 8 days since my last blog?! After blogging every day for 40 days I still think about it every single day and actually miss it if I can’t find the time. This past month was the craziest month for us….crazy and fun all at the same time! I will get right back on my frequent posts soon. Let’s start the blog back up again by saying congratulations to Justin and Ashton! They were married last weekend and although we expected rain again, thankfully it held off.

You likely recognize these two from their engagement session in April. I met Ashton and Justin over year ago and I’m happy to share their wedding images with you finally! Their fun personalities and playful admiration for each other made for a picturesque depiction of their relationship. They had plenty of friends and family around to support them on their wedding day and to see them off for a week long honeymoon cruising around the Caribbean. I hope you had a wonderful honeymoon you two, congratulations!

Click HEREfor a sneak peek slideshow.

Vendors:

The dress: Monica’s Bridal

Hair: Darlene Shelton

Makeup: Amanda Shelton

Ceremony: Hixson First Baptist

Reception: Chester Frost Pavillion

DJ: Entertaiment Solutions

Wedding Coordinator: Tina Player with TP Events

Cake, Flowers, Catering: Karen’s Kakes

Brittany is groomsman picture master. Yes, that’s your official title. These were some of the more tame ideas from these creative groomsman!

Ashton you are beautiful and looked so happy to walk down the isle!

Karen’s Kakes did an amazing job on the cakes, catering and flowers…..how did you do it all?!?

After the ceremony we headed over to Chester Frost Park for the reception. Being the good little bride that she is, Ashton allowed for plenty of time for some alone photos.

Might be my favorite one of the day…..

Rawr.

I first met Brinkley’s mom and her aunt at the Formal Affiar bridal show last February. They loved my photography and thought that Brinkley and I would get along great. After our first meeting together I knew they were right! Brinkley is so sweet and likewise her fiancé Dane suits her perfectly. Their relationship is obviously loving but playful at the same time. They seem to keep each other on their toes! Dane proposed to Brinkley last New Year’s Eve in St. Simons Island. He arranged a scavenger hunt ending with Brinkley alone in a lighthouse with her future husband on one knee……I’m crying just typing about it, sheesh! Congrats you two!

They will be married at Walnut Hill Farm this July, what a beautiful location! If this venue was available 5 years ago when Eric and I were married I most certainly would have chosen it. Nanette Yarbrough and her team do an amazing job of pulling an event together and I’m thrilled to work with them this summer. She was even nice enough to allow us to do Brinkley and Dane’s engagement session there as well. After shooting for a bit at the farm we headed over to Brinkley’s parent’s land and had some fun at their barn.

Click HERE to enjoy their slideshow.

Brinkley actually asked me ahead of time if her Dad shouldn’t mow their grass in the field near their house. She had seen pictures that I had taken in tall grass before and thought it would be cute….now that’s a bride that’s thinking ahead about her images!

Chattanooga Engagement Photographer

I met with Hannah and John recently for their downtown engagement session and we had a blast! They were both so comfortable with each other and very comfortable in front of my camera…..a perfect combination for a photo shoot! They will be married next month at Asbury Chapel and I couldn’t be more happy for them.

Click HERE for a slideshow.

I would give anything to live, photograph and baske in this kind of light all the time!

It’s always a busy week in our house after Mother’s Day. Two important birthdays fall very near that day, sometimes even the same day….one of which is my Mom’s that I wrote about yesterday and today, Eric’s birthday. This is the 10th…..YES TENTH birthday I’ve celebrated with this man. That’s almost a 1/3 of my whole life, sheesh! Birthdays are very special to me, particularly Eric’s because it marks the end of one fabulous year I’ve spent with him and the beginning of another. Happy birthday baby, I love you.

….and yes, these are a few more photos captured by the amazing Cheryl Muhr.

I’m the oldest of 4 children so as you can imagine growing up in a house with 6 people can be a little hard to get individual attention. My mom had tons of little things that we she would do so that each person was “special” for a day. Our favorite was the red plate with white lettering that said “You’re Special Today”. Of course if it was your birthday then you were a shoe in for the plate! Well my sweet Mom’s birthday is today and you definitely deserve the plate!

Happy Birthday! I love you Mom.

I finally had the chance to see Liam again, only the second time since he was born, what a shame! Hey, we will take what we can get right Amanda?! I’ve known Amanda since I was 17 years old and her husband Ryan since age 21. We will be 30 this year (wootwoot!), I’ll let you do the math. She’s one of my oldest and dearest friends and I love seeing how our lives have changed over the years. Thanks for the visit Amanda, hopefully next time Madyson won’t be quite as jealous (:

You won’t see me or Amanda’s faces in any of these pictures, we were too busy keeping Madyson’s feet away from Liam’s face!

He’s not happy at all can you tell?!

Madyson loved Liam’s neighborhood park.

This is the only one that I actually got of them together. Bet you can’t even tell that’s Madyson’s arm in the background! Amanda didn’t you get a cute one of them together?

Madyson wore him out.

This sweet girl made me a Mommy almost 3 years ago….I love you baby baby (yes two times). To which she replies, “No, I love you Mama llama!” We love Llama, llama Red Pajama (:

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers and mothers-to-be!

After a busy day of hanging out in the most perfect weather day this year, a delicious Mother’s Day dinner and a bath, Daddy read her Alice in Wonderland. Look how intense she looks, and tired too! By the way, we are really close to giving up that pacie, wish us luck, she looks attached.

Picture via iPadlight, Nikon d700, 35mm, 6400 iso, f/2.8, 1/125 wootwoot!

You’ve seen this beautiful family many times on this blog, but this one takes the cake…..literally! I can’t believe Ria is 1 already. It seems like just yesterday I photographed her when she was brand new and then again at 6 months. I adore being able to see a child grow over the course of a year’s time. Capturing those changes with my camera is a special treat! Veryll and Jermaine, again thank you so much for sharing your family with me, I love you guys very much!

Click HERE for a slideshow.

Veryll you win 1st place for the most perfect family outfit coordination ever! Your family is beautiful.

I’m sorry Veryll, I had to post this! Javan is SO over it!

Happy baby.

Veryll always has the sweetest most girly outfits for Ria, I love it!

Yummy cake!

And the most awesome cake disaster ever……