Alabama wedding photographer Amanda Pair is based in Birmingham, AL »

Lauren and Michael were married yesterday on a beautiful – though sweltering hot – August day. Besides the heat exhaustion and sweat, their wedding will likely go down as one of my favorites this year. I have so much to share from their wedding later this week, but first wanted to give you a glimpse of the gorgeous bride via the bridal portraits we took last month. Lauren wanted to have her portraits made near her hometown in Pickensville, AL at the Tom Bevill Visitors Center on Aliceville Lake. I am always up for a new location, and this one definitely did not disappoint!

In a word, Lauren looked gorgeous. I was already in awe of her fun style, and her wedding dress was the nail in the proverbial coffin. I’m horrible with descriptions of fabrics and apparel, but she had the most unique, elegant dress. I have never seen anything similar, and it fit both her personality and an outdoor summer wedding perfectly. 

The Tom Bevill Visitor Center is located on Aliceville Lake near a large dam. We were able to walk down onto the dock for a few portraits, which were by far my favorites of the day. Double A-plus to Lauren for choosing such an awesome location for her one-of-a-kind bridal portraits.

I think this was my favorite of the day. I love the symmetry of the dock, the blue water and the touch of late afternoon sun shining on Lauren.

This is the portrait that Lauren and her mother chose to display at the reception. The vertical orientation is perfect for a formal bridal portrait. I love it for all of the reasons above, plus it takes away the distracting elements from the dock so you can focus on the beautiful bride. It was a great choice!

So, not really a “portrait” in the formal sense, but I asked Lauren to walk to the end of the dock, and couldn’t help but snap this as she walked away.

 I have a ton of stuff coming up on the blog this week, including Lauren and Michael’s wedding. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the start of some marathon blogging! See you then : )

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I am on the home stretch of uploading Susie and Chris’ wedding photos to their online gallery. Because of our semi-slow bandwith, it takes literally hours for a wedding gallery to upload. So in the meantime I thought I’d put together a little tribute to their awesome reception. Their guests were all over the dance floor from the moment the couple was introduced, and the band kept the party cranked up until the very last song. Seriously brides-to-be, your band or DJ is the key to a fun reception. I have been to some fun receptions, and I have seen my share of boring ones too. The music and the level of involvement with the guests is always what makes or breaks the reception. 

I don’t often post a lot of reception photos on the blog for some reason, but I always love looking through them. This particular set made me laugh out loud a couple of times and reminded me how much fun we all had. The music starts with a jolt, so consider your faint heart warned. Oh, and pay attention — there is a cameo or two or ten of my cute groomsmen hubby. Enjoy!

Susie & Chris Reception from Amanda Pair on Vimeo.
The Beatles: Shout

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