It’s “family fun Friday” as we call it in our house!  This morning (if we can ever get out the door) we are headed to Naples to spend the day sightseeing before I shoot Chris and Andrea’s wedding tomorrow afternoon!  The plan is to check into our hotel around lunch and then spend the afternoon exploring 5th Ave S and all of the fun little shops there!  We are looking for a good local restaurant to try for dinner and then will head back to the hotel to get Chloe down for bed.  Tomorrow the plan is to spend the morning checking out the Naples Pier which I have heard a lot about and then I will be off to shoot my wedding that evening.  The only kink in the plan is that Graham is going to be kicked out of the hotel room around 2:00 tomorrow and he and a nap-less 2 year old will have to wander the streets until 8:00pm….hmmm….just not sure what to do about that?  If you see a homeless looking man and baby in a Barnes and Noble in Naples tomorrow – potentially with a pack-n-play set up in the corner that will be my husband. haha

My relaxed monochromatic outfit for Saturday’s day of exploring cost in at just $13 !!

Gray t-shirt dress (mine isn’t studded and has a scoop neckline) : $1 (Salvation Army thrift store on half off Wednesday!)

Silver thong sandles: $9.99 Ross at the end of last season

Silver Leaf necklace: $2.50 I believe from Forever 21

Silver leaf bracelet (slightly different than pictured): gift from a friend

Silver Bangles: Gift from a friend (from Forever 21)

Silver Drop earings: I have no idea where or when I got these – I have had them since high school:)

I hope that you guys have a great weekend!!

~ Shay

Welcome to our new series “Thursday Tips”!  Each Thursday I will be posting a tip for the bride-to-be relating to all things wedding and wedding photography. I have been to a lot of weddings, hehe, and lets be honest…I have seen a lot of things go really well, and also seen a few disasters along the way – some of which could have been avoided – and that is why I am here to help!

Today’s tip is for both the bride-to-be as well as other wedding photographers out there:

Don’t bother the bride with locating the “details” to shoot while getting ready!

Nothing is more stressful, or just plain irritating, to a bride then a photographer who has to keep asking while she is getting ready, “Where are the rings?, Where are your shoes? Where is your jewelry? Where is the veil? What were the bridesmaid’s gifts?..and on and on.  If it is important for you as the bride (or as the photographer) to have those details shoot then do a little preparation to keep the bride from having to worry about these items or even worse, have to continually stop what she is doing every few minutes to locate the details that you, or she, are interested in having shot – which only delays the getting ready process.  Sadly, this is an amateur mistake that I am embarrassed to say that I made early on.

As a bride, you can prepare ahead for this by trying to keep all of these little details together in one bag that can be handed to the photographer when they arrive.  If this is not possible then put your Maid of Honor to work on the morning of locating and and pulling together these important details for the photographer to shoot.  Communicate to her ahead of time the special details that will need to be gathered to include, shoes, wedding day jewlery, the grooms wedding gift, your veil, your something borrowed/something blue etc etc.

If you are a photographer, make friends with the Maid of Honor as soon as you get into the bridal suite and tell her that you need her to do the very important job of rounding up all of the special details that you will need to shoot.   Generally, the bridesmaids know that they are there to help make the day as stress free for the bride as possible and your Maid of Honor will likely be more then happy to lend a hand in this area!

So there you have it.  A simple tip for both the bride-to-be as well as fellow wedding photographers to take just a little more stress off of the bride on her wedding day!

A month or two ago I had the pleasure of doing a marathon day of inspiration shoots dreamed up by event designer Lauren of Every Last Detail Blog. You may remember the delicious pink, yellow and gray modern ribbon inspiration shoot that I did with Lauren that was featured recently in Valley&Co’s Spring e-zine.  This “vintage eclectic” teal, gray and pink reception table inspiration shoot turned out just as beautifully and is featured this week on the Every Last Detail blog!  I loved Lauren’s piecing together of bold teal linens,milk glass, lace custom table numbers and soft florals.  The vintage birdcage table centerpiece combined with the bright pink tulips and found vintage items brought so much texture and visual interest to the look.   Well done, as always, Lauren! Here are a few of my favorite images from the shoot.  You can see the full feature here.  Enjoy!

The reality of being a work-from-home mom is that on any given day, I may or may not be presentable enough to even walk out to the mailbox. haha.  The goal is always to get dressed for the day, for my own productivity as well as of course to catch my husbands eye…but lets be honest…there are days when putting in earings constitutes as “getting ready” in the morning. At the risk of coming across as way more stylish then I actually am, haha, and at the prompting of another fashion-loving friend, I am jumping on the train and doing my own new “Weekend Wardrobe” blog series:) I will attempt to put together a sample outfit from my weekend while sharing a little bit of an inside look at what my weekend holds. The best part will be that I will share just how little I paid for each outfit!!  Feel free to jump in with your own fun fashion finds.

My favorite outfit this weekend is my outfit for our Easter Sunday service.  Now, before you gasp that I would wear this to church, haha, let me just say a few things…1)it is HOTTT (already 90+ degrees in Florida) and our service is going to be outside 2) It is a college church – picture rock music, kids in flip flops and shorts, pizza dinner picnic style…this is not your grandma’s Easter Sunday service…no hats, white stockings with white patent leather shoes or dresses with pouffy sleeves here (Actual outfit worn by me circa 1996).

Here is my super fun Easter outfit that cost me $36 (I did not actually buy any of this to wear for Easter – It was all already in my closet!):

The breakdown:

Teal one shoulder romper (mine actually does not have the ruffle and has pockets): $12 Plato’s Closet

Dark teal and gold bangles: $4 Plato’s Closet

Brown Wedges: $15 TJ Maxx

Gold Earings: $2 at a Rugged Wearhouse back in highschool

Yellow belt: $3 clearance bin at Express

So there you have it!  Yes, I know that fashion is NOT the meaning of Easter Sunday – but can’t a girl have a little fun while celebrating God’s great love for us? I think so.  What’s your weekend wardrobe??

You have to start at the beginning of this couple’s wedding day story.  It is worth it, I promise.  If you are still reading then stop right now and begin here

Now that you have read from the beginning, lets pick up where we left off…

The new Mr. and Mrs. Andy Moore bounded out the chapel as the choir continued to dance and sing “Oh Happy Day”…the perfect song for this perfect day.  As the wedding party filed close behind them, the couple was surrounded with waves of tearful hugs, cheers and laughter.  There was hardly a moment for the couple to catch their breath before they were whisked outside to join their family for pictures.  But once each family member had been put into place, leaned close, smiled for the camera, and went on their way then we were finally able to steal away for my favorite part of the day.

The images speak to the beautiful intimacy that was intended with the words “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” Song of Solomon 6:3

There were parties to be had and guests to be thanked and so off to the reception we went. But not without taking just a moment to get a few quick shots in the Carpenter Theater where the reception was to be held.

There was a shot that Christy had envisioned over a year ago when we first spoke on the phone…an image in her mind of them stealing a moment alone in a dark theater filled with empty seats…

Well, like I said there were parties to be had and let me tell you, these guests were there to dance.  It didn’t matter that it was 2:00 in the afternoon, what mattered was who could throw down the hardest on the dance floor.  I knew this the moment that Christy and her dad brought the father daughter dance to a screeching halt and decided instead to do a Blues Brothers tribute complete with black glasses and  matching fedoras. “More our style” Christy said with a laugh.

The ring bearers “dance face” was personally one of favorite moments of the night.

And so they danced the afternoon away.  I dont think anyone, myself included, was ready for the celebration to be over just yet.

Christy and Andy, thank you for letting me document your wedding day and reconnect with a few old friends along the way.  You are a beautiful couple with a beautiful life together ahead of you.

Love,

Shay

This day was planned a long time ago.  Years before the dress was purchased and suits were fitted.  Years before the foundation was poured for what would be the warm and welcoming brick church on Monument Avenue.  Years before Christy and Andy were born into loving homes. This day was planned long before that.  The paths of two individual lives were set into motion, intricately composed of timing and circumstance until it was meant for these two worlds to collide in what would culminate in this day.  A day that was planned long ago by a loving God who would pursue the hearts of these two people and bring them together as two parts of a whole.

The wedding day is so much more then a passing event, it is the climax of a story finally being told…

Christy wore a beautiful backless A-line lace gown.  It hung in the corner as bridesmaids whirled around the room, signing to the worship music playing in the background.  Shouts of joy and clapping broke out when finally the dress was on…this is really happening…

Details and decisions had been made over the course of many months.  Every piece  was a reflection of the couple and the beautiful community of people who would stand with them on this day.

(ring and bouquet shots above by my very talented assistant Ali Williamson)

Love was everywhere that morning as 12 women, with the bond of sisters, came together to stand beside Christy as she married her best friend.

“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” – Song of Solomon 4:7

Andy would be her warrior, her protector, her friend. He would be to her as Christ is for His bride the church. He would walk point. Take the bullet for her. His banner over her would be love.

In reality, Andy and Christy had little to do with what it took to make this day happen.  This day, and this love was a gift and the only proper response to such a beautiful gift is gratitude to the giver.  The morning was full of beautiful moments of praise, thanksgiving, prayer and worship to the one who brought them together.

(above image courtesy of my assistant Ali Williamson)

The moment finally arrived…the chapel doors would open and she would become his bride…

“Oh here I stand

Arms open wide

Oh, I am yours

And you are mine.”

(image above courtesy of my talented assistant Ali Williamson)

Celebration was followed by the groom’s complete confusion when…

…all of a sudden, at the pronouncement of husband and wife, the back doors of the church flew open…

and down the aisle danced an entire choir singing at the tops of their lungs, “Oh Happy Day!” (all of this was a complete surprise known only by the bride!)

It was perfect.  I don’t think there was as single person out of the 300 people that packed that little church that morning that left without a smile on their face or tears of joy in their eyes. God is good.

The story will continue in tomorrow’s post.  Just you wait until you see their portraits…my heart melts!

I’m back in the office after a fun long weekend visiting family in VA and photographing Christy and Andy’s Richmond wedding.  I am LOVING the images from their day and can’t wait to share – there were just so many beautiful moments with this awesome couple.  The day was full of fun surprises and I even got to reunite with some old friends which was such a blessing. Here is just a little teaser of one of my preliminary favs!

My mouth is starting to water just looking at these bright and delicious images!  Natalie of Chic Sweets created this beautifully detailed dessert table for our pink, yellow and gray inspiration shoot with Every Last Detail blog featured in the Valley&Co Spring Ezine this month! I featured the first part of this shoot yesterday.  Crisp whites and bright colors are all over the fashion runways right now and I love that this “trend” can translate into a fun and whimsical wedding color palette!  There is a right and wrong way to do a dessert table and Natalie knows how to pull it together with incredible attention to detail.  Natalie’s dessert table creations have even been featured on the Daytime show (NBC)! One of my favorite elements had to be the fresh baked cookies coupled with the individual single servings of milk!  Too cute!   The ribbon backdrop behind the dessert table tied the look together with the ribbon themed table setting.  I can’t even tell you how fun it was to work with such talented people!

Vendors who made it all happen…

Design, Styling, Planning/Coordination, & Details: Every Last Detail | Dessert Table: Chic Sweets | Flowers: Blooms By The Box | Venue: Postcard Inn | Paper Products: Seaside Invitations| Model’s Makeup: Lindsay Does Makeup | Dress: The White Closet Bridal Co. | Model: Lana Huckabee

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with Lauren of Every Last Detail Blog on a beautiful and modern pink, yellow and gray inspiration shoot at the Postcard Inn in St. Pete.  I was SO excited when I heard that this shoot was also going to be featured in the Valley&Co Spring Ezine!!!  Oh snap!

In Lauren’s own words…

“As I was planning the shoot, I kept coming up with ideas that involved ribbon- probably because I had been wanting to make a ribbon chandelier for forever! So I decided to just make it part of the theme for the whole inspiration shoot. In addition to the ribbon chandelier, I created thatched ribbon placemats, a special thatched ribbon escort card display, and a ribbon table number. I wrapped a vase in ribbon, thanks to a DIY tutorial that I saw on Pizzazarie (yay!), and finished the whole look of the table off with ribbons hanging from the chairs at the table. It turned out that using the ribbon as the theme of the whole shoot was a great move- there were so many ways to incorporate them into all of the details! It all came together beautifully, and was so fresh, bright and modern- perfect for spring! And so, with all of that said, I give you my “pink, yellow, & gray modern ribbon” inspiration shoot!”

You just have to love the beautiful color and creative inspiration in this fun table setting!  The best part is that the ribbon theme really is so customizable to your wedding colors of choice!  I’m not gonna lie…you would have to be CRAZY to make all of these details come to life for your own 200+ person reception but thats what fabulous wedding planners and stylists like Lauren are for!  Enjoy all of these fun and colorful details to brighten up your Monday morning!  Tomorrow I will share more from the gorgeous dessert table that Chic Sweets created for this shoot!

P.S I have to give a shout out to my sweet friend Lana for being our beautiful model for the shoot and the rest of the vendors who made it happen…

Photography: Shay Cochrane Photography (of course!)| Design, Styling, Planning/Coordination, & Details: Every Last Detail | Flowers: Blooms By The Box | Venue: Postcard Inn | Paper Products: Seaside Invitations| Model’s Makeup: Lindsay Does Makeup | Dress: The White Closet Bridal Co. | Model: Lana Huckabee

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband.  I love that we have a daughter that looks just like you:)  You fill my heart with so much happiness.  Thank you for being the most incredible husband and daddy to Chloe.