merry and bright

I am so happy to say that all of the ornaments are finally on the tree and *almost* all of the presents have been wrapped. Anyone who is feeling like a procrastinator or slacker this Christmas season only needs to look as far as our house to cheer themselves up. We are in full-on Christmas spirit mode, it is just taking a little longer to get everything in place this year! So, I am going off the grid for a few days to avoid distractions and allow myself to soak up every ounce of our first Christmas as a family of three.

I tried on the baby’s Christmas PJs this morning and couldn’t help take some shots of her in front of the tree. Photographing a moving baby at f/1.4 was slightly challenging (as in, I overshot to make sure I had some in focus), but it means I have lots of pictures to share with you!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend full of family, laughter, yummy food and warm memories to last for years to come. I’ll see you all on the flip side. Merry Christmas everyone!


 

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Molly - I love your pictures!!! Mind sharing what lens you used for the pictures of the baby with the Christmas lights?January 4, 2012 – 9:09 am

Gail - She is getting so BIG!!! And I love babies in front of Xmas trees…that light bokeh gets me very time!December 30, 2011 – 11:32 am

Amy Frith - The last picture of her cheering made me LAUGH OUT LOUD! Happy baby girl! Did she get into the packages and bows at all?December 28, 2011 – 3:41 pm

Megan - Wonderfully adorable!! I wish that I were a photographer to get amazing pictures in my babies Christmas pjs!!! I hope the 3 of you have a lovely Christmas!December 25, 2011 – 12:26 am

Stacy - Love that sweet little baby!!! The last pic is my favorite :)my. Merry Christmas!December 23, 2011 – 11:59 pm

Deb - Confused, amazed, amused, happy, joyful! Happy first Christmas sweet baby girl. PS: I love the boca.December 23, 2011 – 9:59 pm

Tina - Merry Christmas! Hope you have a wonderful first Christmas with that cutie:)December 23, 2011 – 7:29 pm

Katie - awww! I love that last one!December 23, 2011 – 2:57 pm

Ryan - Amanda she is soo precious!!! May you have a wonderful 1st Christmas as a family of 3!!December 23, 2011 – 2:56 pm

Erin - So adorable! Merry Christmas!December 23, 2011 – 2:51 pm

kristy & martin | north river yacht club wedding

I am a sucker for a winter wedding. The cool crisp air and touch of holiday decor makes the ideal backdrop for a wedding day. Kristy and Martin’s wedding this past Saturday was amazing. I had no doubts Kristy would make a beautiful bride, but oh my. When her dress was on and her veil was in place, she was truly stunning. She and Martin both had a super chill outlook on the events of the day, and we had a great time with them.

They were married at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tuscaloosa, AL. This church was one of the prettiest I have been to and lent itself to photographs in such a unique way.

Kristy and Martin chose to have a first look which allowed plenty of time for portraits before the ceremony. Kristy had been saying all day that she felt fine, no nerves, she was good. But when she saw Martin for the first time, the nerves surfaced and she teared up a few times. She told me later that she was so glad they had seen each other early in the day to release the wave of nervous energy! Plus, we were able to get so many great portraits of them together! — some of my favorites this year.

The architecture of the columns and the light that surrounded them was perfection! I love the two shots below. The left is mine, while the right was taken by Breanna, who was helping me that day. Several of the photos in this post were taken by her as well.

Kristy and Martin’s reception was held at the North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. Holy smokes! I loved this venue. It overlooked the river and the Crystal Room provided a chic atmosphere that perfectly complemented their day. A big thanks to Breanna for heading over early to capture the amazing details!

On the bus ride from the church to the reception, Kristy and I talked about the possibility of getting a few more wedding portraits when we arrive at the North River Yacht Club. The sun was setting fast, and I knew we were going to be pushing it. We hopped off the bus and headed straight to the deck that overlooked the river. It was so dark at that point, I could barely see them. I maxed out my camera settings and snapped off a round of shots. They turned out to be some of my favorites of the day!

(Photographers note: ISO 2000, 50mm, f/1.4, 1/125 sec)

This is a pretty accurate representation of what it really looked like! The sunset sky was a gorgeous shade of yellow and purple.


 

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Dani Smith - These photos are beautiful!December 29, 2011 – 10:09 am

Deb - First, Coe cracks me up with her comments and the purple and gold sky in Tuscaloosa is one of her best. That out of the way, this is one of my favorite weddings of all you have done. The architecture of the church is amazing and the photo of the b&g standing under that red medallion is beautiful.December 23, 2011 – 10:14 pm

Coe - The obvious comment aside from how absolutely beautiful the bride is (especially against several perfect settings) is ‘was there really a purple and gold sky in Tuscaloosa?’December 22, 2011 – 11:54 am

Allen - Holy cow these photos are beautiful! Very nice job- congratulations to Kristy and Martin!December 22, 2011 – 11:50 am

katie o. - Oh my gosh! I haven’t seen the redone Holy Spirit. It’s gorgeous! Look at you traveling to Tuscaloosa for weddings. And North River is pretty nice too. Absolutely gorgeous shots! So beautiful as always.December 22, 2011 – 10:01 am

Kristy - These pictures are beautiful!December 22, 2011 – 8:27 am

Tina - These are gorgeous Amanda! My favorites are the one where the wind caught her veil, and of course the shot with the purple sky – beautiful!!December 22, 2011 – 7:38 am

Jimmy - Beautiful pictures as always Amanda!! I LOVE the silhouette of them that you captured. Great job!!!December 21, 2011 – 6:09 pm

first christmas together ornament

If you have spent much time around my blog during holidays past, you know the affinity I have for Christmas decorations — and especially Christmas ornaments. I love to collect ornaments that represent various milestones in our lives and look forward to hanging them every year.

I have been wanting to do something special as a way to say thank you to my sweet wedding clients this year. So when I saw these personalized photo ornaments while browsing a favorite website recently, I couldn’t resist. I printed the 2.5 x 2.5 photo at my pro lab and put them together to send out last week. It was a lot of fun to relive the wedding memories of 2011 as I packaged up each couple’s ornament. They turned out even better than I imagined they would! And the best part is, even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, the delicate frame would still look pretty hanging anywhere!

I can’t believe that Christmas is less than a week away. I know everyone is busy this week with last minute shopping, Christmas parties and getting ready for Santa. But I still have a ton to share, including this beautiful wedding! So grab the Christmas cookies and check back in tomorrow. See you then!

 

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ashley - LOVE IT!! Such a special gift.December 19, 2011 – 5:02 pm

Betsy McCallen - Hey, there we are! :) We LOVE the ornament, and it was such a fun surprise in the mail! Thank you Amanda.December 19, 2011 – 5:00 pm

april - LOVE it!!! I am thinking you could add “Baby’s First Christmas” to your list next year:) (I mean to offer as a product to purchase…not for you to give me:)December 19, 2011 – 4:54 pm

robin - That is such a special gift…great idea!!December 19, 2011 – 4:01 pm

Amy Creamer - I absolutely loved our ornament :) you’re the best!! Merry Christmas!!December 19, 2011 – 3:20 pm

Allen - Perfect gift idea! Sure beats a calandar :)December 19, 2011 – 2:47 pm

kristen - what a GREAT idea & FUN surprise for your brides!December 19, 2011 – 2:47 pm

christmas party with my photo girls!

We have scaled back a bit on Christmas this year. Life with a nine month old is hectic, and there just hasn’t been time for mall shopping and hanging of the yule tide. The fact that our Christmas tree is up (sans ornaments, sadly) is an accomplishment in itself. But I am very much in the Christmas spirit thanks in part to online shopping and the first of several Christmas parties and dinners with friends.

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to become friends with a group of local Birmingham portrait and wedding photographers. We meet for lunch once a month as well as the occasional spa day or pottery party ;) What originally began as a small fellowship group between women trying to keep up with the demands of running a household and a photography business, has grown into a group of friends who are there to support and encourage each other through it all. I have made some dear friends within the group and feel blessed to have each of them in my life.

We met for our annual Christmas party this Tuesday night at the fondue restaurant, The Melting Pot. It was a great excuse for a bunch of work-from-home girls to get gussied up and have a night out. The noise level and laughter from our table filled the whole restaurant at times.

Some of my favorite girls, (l-r) Becky Abernathy, Heather Knowles, me and Kelley D!

We played a fantastic game of Dirty Santa after dinner. There was more stealing and scheming during this game than I have seen in a long time! Fingerless gloves are awesome when shooting during the cold months and were apparently the hot item of the year!

And of course, we couldn’t go home without our obligatory smiling group photo and silly “family portrait”.


 

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stephanie fisher - awesome!! thanks for documenting our fun night!!! :):)December 16, 2011 – 6:16 pm

Megan - I follow her: http://natalienortonblog.com/ when you said “women trying to keep up with the demands of running a household and a photography business” it made me think of this: http://natalienortonblog.com/2011/12/14/the-breathe-intensive-las-vegas/

Maybe something interesting for you pretty girls to look into.
Merry Christmas!December 16, 2011 – 6:12 pm

Allen - Glad to put some faces with some names! It is great you guys are able to hang out despite the fierce competition… just kidding of course :)December 16, 2011 – 4:25 pm

April - That’s a lot of photogs!! :) Looks like you had fun:)December 16, 2011 – 4:04 pm

melissa - were you the official party photog, or did everyone have their cameras out?! that would have been a site to see!!December 16, 2011 – 4:01 pm

ashley - Look like fun!!!
Your hair looks long!!!December 16, 2011 – 3:44 pm

katie o. - Well that is adorable! I can’t belive there are so many photographers in B’ham. Love the camraderie.December 16, 2011 – 2:30 pm

the nason family

The Nason family was my last to photograph for the year! I couldn’t have asked for a more happy, smiley bunch than these three. Everyone was so sweet and were genuinely happy to be spending time together as a family. (Dad didn’t even seem to mind that we were pushing right up against the start of the SEC Championship game!) We met at my favorite downtown area and let the little one just explore and play. I love how relaxed the session turned out and hope you enjoy the sneak peek!

This image just screams PURE JOY to me. I love it!


 

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Andrea - Those are my peeps! So cute. Now we just need to get a session with Ruby and Patrick:)December 14, 2011 – 4:34 pm

Maggie - Very sweet pictures! Love the second to last one.December 14, 2011 – 3:18 pm

april - Adorable! The colors in these photos are AMAZING:) Such a sweet, happy family!December 14, 2011 – 2:58 pm

Tina - So cute! LOVE that last black and white one….priceless!December 14, 2011 – 2:11 pm