Soli Photography | Chattanooga Photographer

Chad & Lynsey- Married

Friday, October 28, 2011 Posted in Weddings

You know you must have done something right to have a future bride (not yet photographed) refer you to her future sister in law….thanks Alexis, you’re so great! Alexis is marrying Lynsey’s brother, Chad, this coming November and I am super excited about their wedding,,,,but first, Lynsey and Chad’s post coming right up!

Chad and Lynsey were married a few weeks ago in Crossville, Tennessee at their home church. It was the most perfect day, cool with a little wind and blue skies. After they were pronounced Mr. and Mrs., we headed to the Crossville airport to have their reception in an airport hanger! It was our first wedding reception held in an airport hanger and I wasn’t sure what it would be like…upon arrival it was the perfect setting for their family and friends to enjoy one another. Lynsey first mentioned to me how important details were to her and that was displayed in her reception decor with the hanger filled with sunflowers. Sunflowers seem like the perfect symbol of Chad and Lynsey….they are so happy and sweet!

Their exit was a little untypical too, and I always welcome something new! Lynsey’s Dad loves flying and thought it would be a perfect idea to have the new couple exit the reception in a helicopter….when Lynsey first mentioned this, my immediate thought was, ‘oh my, she’s totally going to ask me to ride in that thing’….what would my answer be? Well ABSOLUTELY!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Crawford. Thank you to both of your families for your sincere kindness throughout the day, we enjoyed you all so much!

I loved the happy faces to the right as Lynsey’s Mom put on her veil….

As I mentioned, Lynsey loves details, check it out!

I love the look of pure happiness on their faces!

My most favorite cake shot. Ever.

Lynsey’s Dad’s plane, love it!

Lovely arial view of Crossvile, TN

We made a pass back in front of the hanger so that all their wedding guests come come into the tarmac after the helicopter took off. I love Eric’s shot below….

My view from above….

Chad proposed to Lynsey right down there in the ball field!

After a quick change we took a quick picture or two before their headed off to their honeymoon (:

Tags: Chattanooga Wedding Photographer, Crossville Wedding Photographer

by Meg

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Josh & Heather – Married

Thursday, October 13, 2011 Posted in Weddings

To me, nothing is a great compliment than a referral from a past bride. It says that she trusts me so completely that she knows that a friend would want to have a similar experience with her wedding photographer. So thank you Kristen! The lovely lady featured below is Heather and she married her best friend, Josh, last Saturday at Second Presbyterian Church. This wedding day was amazingly relaxed and so was Heather! Her friends kept her laughing until it was time for her to see Josh. It was extremely important to Heather that they have plenty of time for lots of pictures of she and Josh with all of their friends. With this in mind they decided on a first look prior to the ceremony. One of my favorite moments is Heather’s face when Josh turns around to see her (see the image below!). The rest of the day was so much fun, their bridal party and families just hung out and had plenty of ideas for fun pictures, thanks guys!

Amanda from Divine Designs created her gorgeous and delicious smelling flowers and her gown was handpicked at Boutique Couture. Philip at Soundforce kept their guests dancing until midnight at the Read House, what a fun party it was! Let’s not forget about her awesome wedding planner, Sarah Ryan with Luxe and Charm Events. Sarah was a bride of mine last year and quickly became a friend and now fellow wedding vendor. She was an excellent support on their wedding day and she’s highly recommended from us!

There’s more pictures I’ll share with you later…..Eric and I went with Josh and Heather for a few days on their honeymoon to Disney World!!

Thank you to both Josh and Heather’s family, we enjoyed getting to know you all!

Thanks to Amy at Hairbenders and Olivia Clark with MAC Cosmetics for Heather’s fabulous look!

Tags: Chattanooga Wedding Photographer, Double Decker Bus, Second Presbyterian Church, Soundforce, The Read House

by Meg

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Vendor Spotlight: The Daily Flower

Friday, October 7, 2011 Posted in Vendor Spotlight

The October newsletter is out! Our vendor spotlight this month features The Daily Flower, the sister-store of Humphrey’s Flowers. It’s a quaint little shop downtown that offers customers and hands-on experience for picking out flowers. Customers are encouraged to open the cooler door and pull out stems to create their own personalized bouquet. They also offer unique containers such as vintage finds, antique mason jars and recycled glass.

A few times a month, The Daily Flower offers classes on flower arranging, whether it be arranging flowers in a pumpkin or our trusty mason jar. They’ve recently stepped out into the wedding scene and are now offering their services to brides. The Daily Flower is perfect for the D.I.Y. bride who’s looking for something unique without spending a large portion of their budget on flowers. They offer flowers by the stem and in bulk but also offer full-service flowers such as bouquets, boutonierres, and centerpieces. We are super excited they are part of the awesome group of wedding professionals in Chattanooga!

Contact Amy Azar via email or phone at 423.266.5643 to set up an appointment to discuss your upcoming wedding.

For class listings, check them out on Facebook and look through their events!

Our classes in October:
October 12 @ 6:00 PM: A Pretty Pumpkin
October 20 @ 6:00 PM: A Pretty Pumpkin
We’ll be carving out our pumpkins and using floral foam to create a festive fall arrangement. This was our first class we offered (this time last year) and it was so much fun! This class is also BYOB, so bring a friend or two and settle in for an awesome time!

Cost: $45 and we’ll have the perfect pumpkin waiting on you

Cost: $30 if you want to pick out your own pumpkin and bring it in (best if kept under 10″ in diameter, and the more squatty, the better!)

Tags: The Daily Flower

by Meg

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Josh & Megan – Married

Monday, October 3, 2011 Posted in Weddings

Megan is the sister of Nicole, who happens to be close friends with a sweet mutual friend, Andi. So technically, in a roundabout way, I have Andi to thank for this wedding right girls?!

How do I describe Megan and Josh…..hmmmmm…..first Megan is equally as through in organization skills as I am so that makes me happy because we speak the same language! Second I think she’s a super funny and full of life in a way that makes Josh and those around her smile. She’s a firecracker in a small package while Josh seems to be her calming presence in the world. They adore each other and it was neat to see the love overflowing from their friends and family in celebration of their marriage.

I was so thrilled that Megan chose us to photograph her and Josh’s wedding last Saturday. They were married at Patten Chapel followed by a quick car ride in a pristine black Chevelle to The Mill.

Thank you Josh and Megan for being so amazing to work with and thanks to both your sweet families!

Vendors:

Dress: Boutique Couture

Hair: Jesse James Salon

Ceremony: Patten Chapel

Reception: The Mill Event Hall

Flowers: Divine Designs by Amanda

Cake: Cakemakers

Wedding planner: Foxy Events

Pink Christian Louboutin…..of course!

I think this kind of family portrait should replace all the other typical ones, I love this family!

My view…..

Eric’s view…..

Tags: Chattanooga Wedding Photography, Patten Chapel, Patten Chapel Chattanooga

by Meg

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John & Lucy – Married

Saturday, October 1, 2011 Posted in Weddings

What do you say when your own Daddy asks you to photograph his wedding? “Ummmmm, yes Daddy?” Emphasis on Question Mark! I was torn….on one hand I wanted to play the part in a wedding I would normally (the photographer of course) and missing out on experiencing the day. On the other hand, I wanted to experience the day too…..enter my amazing husband on his photography skills! We planned out many shots we would capture at the beautiful Crescent Hotel ahead of time, we made sure my sister, Melissa could get our daughter Madyson ready because after all she HAD to be the flower girl with her cousin Olivia!

Everything seemed to be going perfect, but as you know with weddings, you can only plan so much and the rest will play out as it may…..Sunday morning at 3am when both flower girls ended up with a terrible stomach flu! I get my laid back qualities from my father and Lucy isn’t lacking in a ‘take it as it comes’ attitude, so the evident absence of their two precious flower girls wasn’t a huge deal. Our plan quickly changed to me being the main photographer and Eric caring for one sick little girl. Although I ended up enjoying it very much because it was what I do best, after all, and in the end I just wanted them to be happy with the photos of their wedding day (Dad and Lucy that is).

My brother Josh helped with lights as I planned out their first look in the lobby of the Crescent. There’s nothing that can get me emotional more than when my Daddy cries….he started choking up right when he saw Lucy’s back facing him. My favorite image of the day is Dad’s reaction to Lucy when she turns around (See below).

We headed over to Seventh Day Adventist Church for a lovely ceremony and then off to the classy, Maximo’s, for a delicious sit down dinner with both families.

It kills me that I wasn’t able to get photos of the girls together in their white dresses, but Dad and Lucy made it down the aisle and that’s all that counts. I have to give Eric the father of the year award for nursing Madyson back to health somewhat, well enough to get her down the aisle and then back in his arms to sleep (you’ll see a couple of photos of her in this post but not many!).

Thank you Dad and Lucy for honoring us by choosing us to photograph your wedding. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. Thank you also to Lucy’s family, you were so warm and welcoming and I enjoyed you very much! Muchas gracias mi familia!!

xoxo

I loved the character of this church.

He’s my sweet girl all dressed and ready to go! I can’t believe she’s even standing up after being sick for so many hours, but she’s was all about walking down that aisle!

Aunt Missy helped her sprinkle the flowers in place of Olivia (:

Anyone that knows this child can see she’s not 100%, she’s sort of half smiling here watching Mommy do her job (:

Maximo is such a neat restaurant. The food was amazing, atmosphere equally as nice.

Lucy’s sister collecting gifts and my brother giving a lovely toast….I love the look on is face!

Tags: Dallas, Texas wedding photographer, The Crescent Hotel

by Meg

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Travis & Holly – Married

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Posted in Weddings

Oh Holly and Travis I’ve waited so long for this day! I met Holly in May of 2010 when her cousin, Alex was married to Hunter, and she already had it in her mind I would be her photographer. That’s a good thing because I sure enjoyed that family! Travis and Holly’s engagement session was tons of fun and I expected nothing less for their wedding.

They were married at Red Bank United Methodist, the same church that Holly’s sweet mom and dad were married at, isn’t that cute?! After the wedding we only had a few short steps to take over to The Gallery for their reception with lots of friends and family. They ended the night covered in silly string with lots of hugs from everyone who loved them.

Thank you to both Travis and Holly’s family for being so sweet and fun to work with!

Ode to Bridesmaids the movie…..

Tags: Chattanooga Wedding Photographer, The Gallery

by Meg

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Chris & Ashlea – Married

Friday, September 9, 2011 Posted in Weddings

I first met Ashlea at This Ain’t Your Mama’s Party and Expo this past spring and I was so excited that she and Chris chose us to photograph their wedding! Chris and Ashlea were married last Saturday at the Pot Point cabin near the Tennessee River Gorge. It was a beautiful, intimate ceremony filled with happy details and happy people. The fabulous ladies at Homespun Parties + Events helped Ashlea with the decorating and Jill Allen kept the guests full with some delicious food throughout the evening. Ashlea’s dress was chosen from Monica’s bridal.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Roark! We enjoyed getting We are so happy for you both! Have an amazing time in Mexico!

Look at all the lovely wedding details….

Tags: Homespun Parties and Events, Pot Point cabin

by Meg

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Ryan & Amanda – Married

Monday, September 5, 2011 Posted in Weddings

Ryan contacted me last year and after several great conversations he decided to book us for Amanda and his wedding! They had such fun ideas for their engagement session I knew that everything they planned for their wedding would be equally as amazing. I haven’t got the words for our level of admiration of Ryan, Amanda and their families. From the beginning they were amazing to work with, not to mention excited about photography, over-the-moon in love with each other and, as a bonus, trusted us completely.

Ryan and Amanda were married last Saturday at Patten Chapel then transported by the Double Decker to the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club for a reception kept alive by the band, Big Blast and the Party Masters. The floral decor and bouquets were designed by theClay Pot and their amazing cakes (including one of Ryan’s family crest!) by Cup a dee cakes. Cheryl and Whitney with Blissful Momentskept the day in perfect order, thank you both you are amazing.

Thank you Amanda and Ryan for your kindness, we congratulate you as you begin your life together as a married couple….and thank you to the Wallaces and the Hetzels, I can’t even express my gratitude for your generosity, kindheartedness and respect, we will remember you always!

Look at all these lovely reception details….

by Meg

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Vendor Spotlight: The Fairyland Club Lookout Mountain, Georgia

Friday, September 2, 2011 Posted in Vendor Spotlight

A particular vendor chosen each month will be posted in the newsletter and then additional information and photos will be featured on our blog. You may view the September newsletter at this link and sign up to receive the newsletter at this link Soli Newsletter. I’m thrilled to feature the Fairyland Club as our first vendor to be in the spotlight of our first monthly newsletter! Tammy Puryear has been our point of contact for Fairyland since we first began photographing weddings and we just can’t say enough great things about her. We really enjoy working with Tammy and her team and would highly suggest the Fairyland Club as a first choice for wedding venues. I asked Tammy to write a little bit about the club and this is what she said…..

The clubhouse at the Fairyland Club was built in 1924. With the addition one year later of the ballroom and upper terrace, the Fairyland Club began providing full service in 1926 that continues today. Constructed of local mountain stone, the clubhouse features an English Tudor Revival style with an exterior of stucco and steep timbering. In 1928, ten residential cottages were added to the northwest end of the Club property creating a community known as Mother Goose Village.

What began as a dream for developers Garnet and Freida Carter soon became one of the South’s premiere Clubs with the help of local architect William Hatfield Sears and nationally recognized landscape architect Warren H. Manning of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Club’s natural landscape, featuring large and unusual rock formations reminiscent of fairy and elf grottos of mythical times, inspired them to name it “Fairyland.” Among the more prominent of these formations are the tall rock sentinels, the “Twin Sisters,” that guard the main entrance to the Club.

Because of the Club’s historical significance, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced on June 21, 1990, that the Clubhouse and ten cottages were elected to The National Register of Historic Places. Today, as in the late 1920′s, the Fairyland Club remains an important dining, social, and recreational center for its members and their friends.

The Fairyland Club hosts weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, family reunions, luncheons, corporate parties, and other events both large and small. The Club offers several private rooms and outside locations to accommodate your special occasion. We have hosted corporate events for Coca Cola, CBL, and VW and others, as well as hundreds of weddings and receptions.

Several features distinguish the Fairyland Club from the other venues. The majestic and breathtaking view is at the top of the list. The rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception are onsite if you choose. The executive chef and catering director have been with the Club for many years and are very involved in the planning and execution of the customized menu for your special event. Both are onsite for the event unless prior arrangements have been made. Another attractive feature of the Club is its pricing. The typical room fee is less than half that of other venues in the Chattanooga area. Our menu prices are very competitive and the taxes are lower due to our location in North Georgia.

Special features at the Fairyland Club include a special meal in a secluded part of the club for the bride and groom before attending the reception. This provides a time to relax and have a few special moments and a newly married couple. As I mentioned above, we are available during the event, and the staff is trained to cater to the needs of the guests. We are ready to be flexible and creative to make it truly a special day for everyone.

To view additional weddings at this venue, click on the following names, enjoy!

Nathan & Mary Beth, Brandon & Megan, Brandon & Jennifer

Contact information for Fairyland Club

Tammy Puryear, Catering Director

Email: fccater@epbfi.com

Telephone: 706-820-1551

Website www.fairylandclub.org

Tags: Vendor Spotlight

by Meg

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Brandon & Jennifer – Married

Sunday, August 28, 2011 Posted in Weddings

These two have a special place in my heart! I don’t know how we get so lucky with such amazing clients turned friends and Brandon and Jennifer are no exception. Jennifer was introduced to me by another wonderful couple, Zanna and Bobby, thanks guys! Eric and I had the pleasure of photographing this lovely couple 3 times, once for engagement, once for bridal (which shall be shown soon now that she’s a Mrs!) and then of course their wedding. They were married last Saturday at 2nd Presbyterian Church downtown followed by their reception at Fairyland Club on Lookout Mountain. Jennifer’s dress was chosen from Monica’s Bridal and Brandon’s sweet Mom made all of their flowers, she’s amazing! Soundforce entertained her guests until they headed off to their honeymoon in Alaska.

Thank you both for your dedication to making all of our sessions with you the best that they could possibly be. I love that you love photography as much as me and that you get so excited when you see us excited about a picture, we love you both!

Enjoy this sneak peek…..