KATHRYN & JIMMIE: DIY WEDDING

I remember it precisely.  The day I spoke with Kathryn on the phone for the first time.  She was in the process of planning an Orange County wedding while residing across the country in Washington DC and we’d been playing phone tag due to the time difference.  I remember how easy she was to talk to and after discussing schedules, we quickly figured out that her wedding day would be the first time she and I would ever meet in person.  A definite first for me!  And after hearing about some of the DIY details that would be included in her wedding decor, I knew that this was a match made in heaven.

Fast forward a few months and Kathryn and Jimmie’s wedding day had finally arrived.  It was a beautiful, cloudy day and as J and I arrived at the venue where the wedding was to take place, we got a glimpse of the ceremony and reception setup.  And my jaw dropped to the floor.  Not only was the setting amazing (complete with a barn and a dozen different areas that already had me thinking about portraits), the wedding decor that had already been set up had me in complete and total awe.  And I just couldn’t stop talking about how amazing it was!  And I immediately felt that kind of overwhelming feeling you get when you know that if there were time, you could photograph something for hours on end.  Just for fun.

Then things got even better.  Kathryn arrived at the venue to begin getting ready and we finally got to meet in person for the first time.  And really, for me it felt like we already knew each other.  No awkward introductions, or small talk.  We chatted for a few minutes, I expressed my complete adoration for all her wedding decor and then the photographing began.

Kathryn and Jimmie, I’m still in complete and total awe of your wedding, and even more so, the both of you.  Thank you so much for trusting me, someone you’d never met in person beforehand, to photograph one of the most important events in your lives.  You’ve both blown me away by your kindness, your sweet families and your love for each other.  The way you look at each other just makes me smile and really, I just can’t get enough of you two!  Washington DC is a lucky city.  Wait, it’s not a city, is it?  Oh yes, yes it is.  I just googled it.  Well, whatever it is, I’m jealous of it!  Please come visit often, okay?

And now, on to the good stuff.  FYI: This post is probably the most image intensive of all my posts to date.  I’m not planning on making this a habit, but when you see all Kathryn and Jimmie’s wedding decor, you’ll know why I’ve made an exception (:

First up, Kathryn’s gorgeous Watters wedding dress.

A cathedral length veil?  Be still my heart. Susan, a friend of Kathryn’s family, created all the bouquets.  I don’t know about you, but I think Susan should go into business!Window light is my absolute favorite thing when it comes to getting ready portraits.  And I’ve been known to pull back any and all curtains and blinds when I arrive to photograph this part of the day.  As you can see, it’s totally worth it.  Especially when you’re photographing a gorgeous bride like Kathryn.Kathryn, darling, I don’t even think you realize just how fierce you are.Kathryn and Jimmie elected to do a first look which, in my humble opinion, is one of the absolute best things you can choose to do on your wedding day.  Not only did it allow for plenty of time for portraits before the ceremony and reception began, it assured that we’d have plenty of natural light to work with for portraits (especially important on a cloudy day) and it allowed Kathryn and Jimmie to experience time together, without anyone else around.  Well, except for me, J and our cameras of course (:See what I mean about the way they look at each other?  Adorable.The band on Kathryn’s engagement ring was Jimmie’s moms.  These kinds of details are my absolute favorite.Oh yes, still fierce darling.  Still fierce.Not only did I fall in love with these two lovebirds, I fell in love with this wall. Jimmie, your expression here is my favorite.And then we found this road.  And I died.  I kept feeling like there was no way we were still in California.  It felt very East Coast to me. I pride myself on being able to make people laugh, but sometimes J likes to show me up.Just a gorgeous red barn.  No big deal.  And inside?  There were goats!  You’ll have to check out the slideshow to catch a glimpse of one of them.I don’t always post wedding party images, but I absolutely love this one of Jimmie and all his guys.  This formation was J’s suggestion. Green apples were a major part of the wedding decor.  Apple is Jimmie’s mom’s maiden name.  It’s meaningful details like these that make all the difference.I especially loved this rose left in place for Jimmie’s mom at the ceremony.  One of my favorite details of the day.Adorable overload on the next 4 images.  I just couldn’t get over how cute they were together!Get ready for all the amazing reception details.  Kathryn and her mom designed the entire wedding with input from Jimmie, Kathryn’s sisters, and Kathryn’s mom’s friends.  And I think they need to go into the wedding design business! Kathryn’s new last name is Hitch.  See what I mean about all the personalization?  I was in heaven!I’d like to think they included this vintage camera just for me (:These wood chucks came all the way from Idaho, where Jimmie is from.  A friend of his family chopped down a tree near his hometown and sent it out to CA for the reception.  Ummm, I want friends who will chop down a tree like this for me!  They were such a great addition to the wedding decor. I’m in love with these tables.  And y’all know I love mason jars.  And trying to use the word y’all when I’m not southern.Kathryn and her family did all of the flower arrangements themselves.  They purchased the flowers from the Flower Mart in LA and then designed everything.  I especially loved the hydrangeas.Many of the desserts were homemade by friends of Kathryn’s family.  I need friends like these!I’ll end with some of my favorite images from Kathryn and Jimmie’s first dance.  I can’t get over how much I love first dances.  And theirs was no exception.  A friend of mine referred to these images as dreamy.  And I can’t help but agree (:To see more of Kathryn and Jimmie’s wedding, click here for a slideshow.

Oh and by the way…Kathryn and Jimmie opted to do a day after session right after their honeymoon and before they headed back to DC.  Stay tuned!