I went through all my work from last year & I for real chose my favorites. It was completely instinctual. I tried to stop from thinking about my audience. I purely chose what I loved, not what I thought others would love. And you know what I found?

Lots of smiles. Lots of dancing. Lots of sweet moments & a few hilarious ones. And last but certainly not least, lots of love.

You know what I didn’t find? Cakes, bouquets, shoes, and other details. I didn’t choose one photo without a person in it. That was totally unintentional, but I think it’s pretty telling. People are the most important thing about my work.

2011 was a doozy. I’d like to thank every one of you for making this year possible. Thank you. It was my first full year as a wedding photographer & to say it was awesome would be an understatement. 2010 was the year I fell in love with wedding photography, but 2011 is the year I came into my own. I can’t wait to see what 2012 brings.

I’ve already got so much lined up that I’m excited about. 2012 couples, get ready. Your wedding will be here before you know it.

Again, thank you thank you thank you. Here’s to a great 2012 for everyone!

I’m back from China!

& I’ve got a few bullet points to share.

– I had to cut my trip short a week or so. I had planned visit some of the Tibetan areas of Sichuan Province, but because of Tibetan protests, many cities have recently been closed to foreigners. Blurg. It sucks, but that’s one of the risks of traveling in China.

– I started to feel sick a few days before flying out of China. It’s a good thing I came home because I have a horrible health mixture of strep throat & a sinus infection. I’m really glad I’m not in China for this ickiness.

– 30 hours of flights & layovers sucks when you have strep throat & a sinus infection. It is also not pleasant for others sitting around you.

– While trying to change my return flight, I learned that Expedia has really bad customer service.

– So now I’m at home trying to get over jet lag, sleeping 20 hours a day, and staying hopped up on cough medicine. Hopefully I’ll be over this gunk soon. In the meantime, I’ll be trying to answer my overflowing mailbox, but no promises!

xoxo,

Alex

I love this little boy’s enthusiasm at Melissa & Dave’s wedding!

I had so much fun meeting up with Kendra & Matthew in Knoxville for their engagement photos! We had a blast in the unusually warm Knoxville weather & I learned that the KMA has free admission everyday. Who knew? What a gem!

Can’t wait for their wedding in June!

I love all the unique bridesmaid dresses that I’ve seen on Pinterest & many wedding blogs! & I love that David’s Bridal is getting a little bit of competition. Sure, it’s great, and they offer every style possible in every color, but there are some definite gems to be found elsewhere. For some reason David’s Bridal has almost tricked everyone into believing that the only types of bridesmaid dresses you can have must be labeled bridesmaid dresses. Not only are these non-bridal boutique dresses unique, but they are all under $50!!

I stole my sister & her friends to illustrate this idea. We went shopping & found a ton of dresses that are under $50 & would be awesomely unique for a wedding. The purpose is not to showcase each particular dress, but to show how easy it is to find dresses that are creative, affordable, and available. And your girls will thank you when they can re-wear the dress :)

Most of these dresses are from Target, Delia’s, and Dillard’s. Other great online retailers are Ruche, Lulu’s, J. Crew, and ModCloth. There are tons more, of course, just let your imagination run wild!