I love watching American Idol and my wife and I were particularly big fans of Skylar Laine from last season. It’s funny, though, how things happen ’cause I tried my hardest to surprise my wife with tickets to see her and the rest of the Top 10 crew when they came to Jackson last year, but the concert sold out in just minutes. How cool, then, that Skylar reached out to have me photograph her for her first website post-Idol. I’m thrilled to have gotten to know her a bit and look forward to watching where her career will take her. Skylar, you’re a beautiful girl… thanks for letting me be the one to showcase that to the many out there who love you.

I brought along my great friend Kelly Moore-Clark to assist me on this one and our mutual friend Brandi Howard to help with some styling. This boy doesn’t do all the frills of fashion all too well, so I was so grateful to have some help. Thanks girls.

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you’ve heard me rant and rave before about how much I love these two. They’re the “Dirty Dancing couple” a lot of you have asked me about. I’m not going to do a whole lot of writing about their Hattiesburg, MS-set wedding day, but let the pictures showcase it in a way better (I hope) than any crafty words I might come up with.

But to you, Virginia & Daniel, my heartfelt thanks for starting my 2013 off on the best foot possible. I really enjoy you both, so much so that I found myself chuckling and smirking almost the whole way through the editing of your wedding photos. As I’ve told you already, I appreciate so much the amazing privilege it was to be there with you during every step of this monumental occasion.

Up first are just a few of the images from Virginia’s bridal session a few weeks before their wedding day…

I’ve known Kaitlen since she was in elementary school. So crazy to see her all grown up:

Denton:

Jessica:

Zach:

Hollye:

(and Hollye’s brother who got worked in to a shot or two)

What started at a consultation at my studio about a year and half ago continued at an engagement session at the end of 2011 finally culminated in December with Amber & Trey’s wonderful wintry wedding. I love people like Amber who are incredibly orderly and detailed and yet still able to relax and savor the significance of a an incredibly detailed wedding. And then there’s Trey, whose offbeat sense of humor kept things light-hearted and Jess and me entertained the whole day through.

It was the perfect end to an overwhelming year. 30 weddings (so many of which will soon be featured here on the blog) and the year I think I’ve grown most in becoming the photographer I’ve always wanted to be. Funny, though, because there’s no settling in an artistic profession like photography–so that growth just means a maturing perspective that has helped me realize that I will never be done growing.

Amber & Trey – I love you both. Here’s to hoping you two somehow end up living in Clinton like we daydreamed about on your wedding day. Hope to see you again soon!

I think it would take being a photographer for you to understand this, but while it’s always an honor to photograph for anyone, being chosen to photograph a photographer is a unique privilege… and a bit nerve-wracking. However,  Candace McKay and her handsome husband and adorable daughter still make me smile as I watch them interact in these photos. Seriously – I dare you to look through these and not grin.

Despite us living a couple hours apart, I need my little Meg and Reese to be best of friends just so I can spend time with this little joy. We’ll have to figure that out, ok parents? ;)

I am going to MISS working with this bride & groom. Richmond and I went to high school together and while we knew one another then, we got to know one another a good deal more after he chose Haley as his bride and Haley chose me as their photographer. Haley is someone who I’m fairly certain nobody on this entire planet could say one negative thing about. Besides being strikingly beautiful and unwaveringly elegant, she’s got the most sincere demeanor. Truly, I loved every minute of getting to know these two people so well.

And then there’s their wedding. Haley kept telling me she wanted something… different: a word I want to always be true of the photographs that I take. So, I felt like she was a natural fit for followell fotography. Haley and her sidekick mom brought along Shanna Lumpkin, Davaine Lighting, Pretty Presentations, World of Flowers and Northwood Country Club to create an unreal evening of glamour, elegance, and fun. Great work each and every one of you. Here are a few of my favorite images from the day…

Haley’s a school teacher and I couldn’t believe how many of her students came to the wedding. As soon as I saw Haley’s reaction to seeing her students at the reception I understood why they love her so much.

Eleanor Mathis is a local Jackson gal who runs the unbelievably creative arts boutique, Curiously Wrought. She makes the most impressive nailhead-yarn art pieces including this monogram piece below. Check her out!

I love shooting in the Fall – I think it’s my favorite time of year to photograph my clients. It’s no surprise to any of you that I love striking colors, and Fall just seems to be full of them. On a dreary, cold January day like today, these Fall colors make me feel good.

On to the pictures… first up, Micheala & Russell:

Kelli & Derek:

Lindsay & Ethan:

Katie & Jace:

Saia & Stephen:

Jessica & Davey (and their two cute little kiddos):

Ashley & Brian:

Amazing story about these two. So, they grew up in the same small Mississippi town in the very same neighborhood. Their families are best friends and Regan and Drew grew up going on vacations together for as long as they can remember. Then, as life and the good Lord would have it, these two striking young pair end up falling in love. How beautiful a scene it was to see these two families who have known one another forever become forever united by the marriage of their children. Definitely no awkward in-law situations here–just one, big happy family.

It was a gorgeous wedding, too. A smooth, beautiful, southern, and charming day. Many thanks to Regan and Drew and both of their families for having me along.

The Followells were all in for Catherine & Cody’s wedding. Catherine is one of Jess’ closest friends so Jess helped coordinate some things on the wedding day. Truth is, though, Catherine is a champ at details herself and I was so impressed with the beautiful wedding she created. While DIY is all the rage, it’s not NEARLY as easy as it looks to pull together a classy wedding but that’s exactly what she did.

Cat is a Louisiana girl and Cody’s a Mississippi boy so they settled on Vicksburg – a city right on the border of where these two states meet – as the location of their wedding. Thankfully, Vicksburg offers some beautiful venues and scenery making things ideal for me. Enjoy these, Cat & Cody, and thank you so much for giving me the pleasure of photographing your amazing wedding day.

Jess and I had the incredible privilege of going to Hyderabad, India last month with our church, Pinelake. Obviously, with our intense interest in the country and culture of India, it was a trip we’ll never forget. This trip wasn’t for the adoption per se, but Jess and I made the decision soon after we settled on adopting from India that we needed to make a visit to the country as soon as possible. We settled on joining a team from Pinelake that was going in early December and couldn’t be happier that we did.

We are praying that it is sometime in 2013 that God grants us a match to the Indian baby that will be our daughter (for those of you who aren’t aware, my wife and I are adopting from India and will be naming her Eden). At this point, we are still awaiting final approval from the Indian government as adoption candidates which we anticipate happening sometime this spring. But, when we go to get Eden, we will be in-country for only about five days, so we knew some time getting to know the culture was vital as we prepare to raise a daughter born in this country.

Honestly, we were nervous. Some of our most well-traveled friends shared stories of how difficult a culture India is for our vastly different American perspective, and yet we feel like God positioned us the entire 10 days we were there to seeing only the best this country had to offer. And we quickly found the best of this world to be the people that are in it. We were amazed, truly, by the selflessness we saw in them. Their hearts were for our good and they loved on us so genuinely and purely that we both were challenged in an incredible way to do the same.

We were excited before about this adoption and the journey God has begun arranging, but now we are so thrilled that it is the heritage and culture of India that God has chosen to be a part of our family.

Here are just a few of the shots from our time there. For a few others, visit my album on Facebook.

I’m not exactly sure why, but this little girl has captivated my mind and attention since our return. I posted this a few weeks back on Facebook and Instagram, but hers is the image that comes to mind when I think about our dear Eden.