I'm an aunt!!!
Alright, that's not what this post is about but it is very exciting news in our family!! My sister Rachael and her husband Ben had a little boy named Jack last Wednesday, and I can hardly think of anything else!
Well... except for two very big things that are happening this weekend! 1). Erin + Ryan's wedding and 2). The Knoxville Premier Bridal show... the main topic of this post plus there is some great news for brides at the end which you'll definitely want to stick around for even if you don't live in the Knoxville area.
To start, Dan and I don't do a ton of advertising, that's just not us. We rely mostly on word of mouth, referrals from past clients, friends and family --- so far it's worked really well for us and we know that is the best kind of advertising anyways. Like most businesses we do some Google ads, a few Facebook Ads and the one Knoxville-specific thing we've participated in since we started our business and love, is Premier Bride Magazine. They put out a local magazine twice per year and put on two bridal shows, one of which happens to be this Sunday!
For those of you who have never been, the bridal show is a really great way to meet a lot of vendors and see their samples all in one day. The show is a whirlwind so my advice is to go with a plan! Before the show you can click here and make a list of everyone you want to see. That way you can be sure to meet them & see their stuff, making the most of your time... I personally have a really great time at the show so you should go on and put Watson-Studios at the top of your list ;) (if I do say so myself!). Really, we would be honored if you stopped by our booth and said hello!
The show is this Sunday, August 8, from 11:00-4:00 at the Knoxville Convention Center. Tickets are $12 dollars at the door and $10 dollars online. I also have 5 free tickets to give away! So if you're one of the first 5 people to email me they're yours and I'll pop them in the mail asap so go on and include your addresses.
Also, we wanted to make a few little announcements because who doesn't need a little happy news to spread around from time to time?
- 1). We're having a Bridal Show special for the first time! Starting now and ending next Friday, August 13 (ooh, spooky!): Anyone who books us for a 2011 wedding (contract & deposit in) will receive an additional $250 product credit.
- 2). Winter special -- Last Feb we were so antsy to shoot a wedding and so if you are having a winter wedding please talk to us!! For the next month, until September 3, anyone who books a January or February wedding with us will receive a $600 product credit! That's huge! Help us cure our winter blahs!!
- 3). Referral program. If you are our client or one of our friends and you refer a wedding client to us, and they book us, we will give you either a $200 product credit or a $100 gift certificate to the spa or restaurant of your choice :). Sweet right?!?
Adios friends, hope to see you Sunday!
Here are some pics from the hosiptal --- Ahhhh, soooo sweet! Some captions: (left to right, top to bottom: Our brother-in-law Ben (dad) holding Baby Jack, Baby Jack, Natalie's mom holding baby Jack, Natalie's mom and sister Claire (aunt), everyone with phones :), Jan (Ben's mom), Bunnie & Natalie w/ Baby Jack, Claire, Lauren (cousin) looking at Jack through the window and Jack! The end!
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Bridal Show & Special offers
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We pretty much knew Kristian & Brad were going to be great when we first met them... it was just one of those, 'Yeah-this-is-a-great-fit-meetings'. I don't know how it works, but I truly believe the people we work with...it's just *meant* to be, for whatever reason.
Kristian & Brad's beautiful wedding took place at Castletom Farms in Loudon, Tennessee. This was a memorable wedding for me and Dan for a number of reasons: the awesome bride and groom, all of the beautiful things to photograph, her hilarious sisters, and it was hot outside, really hot! In fact, it might have been the hottest day of the year, and that is saying something because this summer (at least in Tennessee) has been a real scorcher! Despite the heat, we never had to worry about any scowling faces from Kristian & Brad or any of their guests. They were all super cool and totally there to have a good time! They had a great time and we did too! Thank you Kristian & Brad and thank you, thank you to all of our brides & grooms this summer who have put up with the heat so gracefully. I just wanted to put that out there because we may have a ways to go until we see some cooler temperatures.
Amazing couple, awesome day, here are a few of our favorites from their wedding at Castleton Farms!
Crochet needle, angelic hands, just enough detail to know what's going on -- definitely a personal favorite for me.
A few of our favorite things :)
Oooh, I love this picture.
I liked this side shot of the kiss better than the straight on one.
I'm just putting this one in here for pure humor... Sometimes, this is what it takes to bustle a dress :P
Now, talk about service! The bartender brought pitchers of cold beer to all of the groomsmen just after the ceremony to cool them off.
They obviously liked that!
My favorite of the two of them!
Oh this is definitely one of my favorites.
Dan and I both love this wedding party shot.
Something a little different this week for the first dance.
I don't know if it's the heat or what but we've seen more crazy dancing this summer and Kristian & Brad's wedding was no exception. For the record, I love crazy, fun dancing - just like in these next two shots :)
Kristian is so cute!
These guys were ready to go! The girl who caught the bouquet was dating the guy who caught this. They were so cute on the dance floor together!!
The End! Thanks for a wonderful day!! Love to you both!!
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Like with all of our couples, we have gotten to know Amanda and Ryan pretty well through the whole process, and we both agree that they're two of the nicest, most easy-going people you'll ever meet. One of the things I will always remember about the two of them is that they changed their wedding date just so they could have us as their photographers -- which means, we were totally in love with them from the start! Knowing that photography is such an important part of someone's wedding makes us extra excited and inspired and Amanda & Ryan's wedding was no exception. Amanda was a veeeerrrryy laid back bride and in addition to being gorgeous, their wedding was all about being in love and having a good time. Because of their church's mass schedule, we started the day in their rooms at the Hilton, did pictures downtown, headed over to St. John Neumann Catholic Church and then ended the night at The Foundry --- wow, busy day! Amanda & Ryan were just smiling, smiling, smiling all day long and their wedding party couldn't have been any cooler :).
Here are some of our favorite shots of the day!
Aside from the photos of Ryan & Amanda together, I think this is my favorite shot of the day (That is Amanda's mom with Amanda).
Amanda always said she loved our groomsmen pictures. I love shooting groomsmen, it's one of my favorite parts of the day. They are just soooo EASY. We just kind of let them joke around together and do their thing. They're certainly not worried about how they look or if we're getting their good side (lol), they're just along for the ride and up for almost anything! We like groomsmen pictures to look like the one below: imperfect, everyone with a natural smile, and having a really fun time. We take soooo many pics at each wedding that I never post any standard or more traditional shots on our blog, but we do take them, just in case you're wondering... We just know y'all would be bored sick if we posted the same thing week after week!
We did all of these shots right around the corner from their hotel. Notice how everyone is laughing -- that's because Dan and I are totally hilarious.... No, not really, they were just a really fun group.
Dan is the man, literally. For all of the photography buffs, there were no flashes allowed during the ceremony and he shot the whole ceremony IN FOCUS with our 70-200mm lens on 1/40 at 2.8. I just love the way she is looking at him in this shot.
I see this huge, in canvas, and in an antique frame :)
Have I mentioned yet that Amanda is a total bombshel!?
Oooh, I just love this one too! The light was just *perfect* after the ceremony
Gorgeous!
I love this kind of light black & white image - so sweet!
Definitely one of my favorite shots of the day!!
First dance
I'm always a huge fan of crazy dancing at receptions (I wonder why :)) and he here's one of my favorite moves of the night. Yes, that's 'The Worm" - lol
But I'm not sure it beats this sporadic toe touch! lol
The end!! Congrats Amanda & Ryan you guys were GREAT!! Thanks so much for having us!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!! xoxo
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CONGRATULATIONS to all of you! Can't wait to see those new parents.
Great post! I love seeing your personal life on here. Congrats to your family, Jack is beautiful. Good luck at the show!