Last year I got to go to Knoxville to photograph the wedding of a sweet, dear friend of mine.  I saw her grow up...literally.  When I was in college I bought the house next door to Andrea and her family.  Her mom and I became great friends (Andrea, too, now that she is all grown up).  I was so happy for her when she found THE ONE and honored when she asked me if I would photograph her wedding for her!  I am starting a 4 part series today of the coverage of her wedding so here we go...

Before the wedding, we met up at the hotel for her getting ready photos.  Believe it or not, Andrea is as beautiful a person on the inside as the outside.  I was so glad to be able to share in this special day with her. 

Mother of the bride helping bride with gown.

Bride with father while getting ready.



Mother of the bride helping with her veil.

After Andrea was ready, she and Aaron decided to meet before the ceremony to do some photos.  Their actual wedding and reception was on a yacht called the Volunteer Princess which cruises the downtown Knoxville Riverfront.  It was really a neat experience for all their guests!  However, because of the limited time to do photos on the boat and the presence of all their guests, we met up at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Knoxville where Andrea was getting ready and all of us were staying and did some family photos and photos of the bride and groom at the hotel and around the downtown Knoxville area within walking distance from the hotel.  I always recommend pre-ceremony photos to couples if they aren't opposed to seeing each other before the wedding.  This allows extra time for photos but also sometimes calms nervous jitters.  Of course, I understand and respect that some couples want to keep the tradition of not seeing each other before the wedding (that is what I did, actually), but "First Looks" seem to be getting more and more popular! 

Here is one of the photos we did on the grand staircase at the hotel.    More to follow in coming days...