A sign hanging in their home- how wonderful and inspirational.

Just loved this shot of the bride’s bouquet lying on the bed in their home.

Their rings. Shannon’s ring served as both her engagement ring and her wedding band, because to her she said it just felt “right.” The stones on her ring represent the joining of their two families.

Shannon’s mom helping her lace up her gown.

Shannnon had her mom walk her down the aisle- it was such a sweet moment. Here she is just before the ceremony- taking a deep breath.

Mel watching Shannon come down the aisle.

I LOVE this picture- It’s like they are saying “WE DID IT!!!”

Thank you Mel and Shannon for having me there to photograph your special day. I can tell that every moment of your marriage is truly going to be blessed and that your home will be full of love. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek and your full gallery will be active soon!

The bridesmaids before the wedding, looking absolutely fabulous!

While the girls were getting ready my awesome assistant Jenna went with the boys to the UF Stadium for some groomsmen photos.

Just before the ceremony- Jessica trying to calm her nerves. Doesn’t she make a gorgeous bride?

With her father walking down the aisle.

Sam trying to get a look at his bride.

And the beautiful couple.

Jessica and Sam chose to incorporate a sand ceremony to represent the joining of their two lives into one.

The groom.

This little one was so enthralled with tossing her flowers, she kept doing it al through the ceremony!

The groomsmen “lost” Jessica’s ring. Here is one looking in his shoe for it. The ring had found itself a great hiding spot around his toe.

Exchanging of rings, toe jam and all.

Some quick photos after the ceremony before the formal pictures took place.

You have got to love these candid moments. Thank’s to Jenna for capturing this great shot!

And here are some fun shots with the bridal party.

And some more of Sam and Jessica as husband and wife.

Welcome to the reception- where this couple certainly knew how to have FUN! Here they are dancing their way in as their grand entrance.

First dance.

And a little cake on the face never hurt anyone, but certainly makes for a good time!

All the lovely single ladies looking to catch the bouquet.

Congratulations Jessica and Sam! Hope you had a fabulous time on your honeymoon. Thank you for inviting me to be there to capture your wedding day, and I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek!

The sky as we arrived at the Rustic Manor for the pre-ceremony coverage. Just slightly ominous. My second shooter and I actually had to wait in the car for almost 45 minutes for a long enough break in the rain that we could get our gear inside!

Once the rain let up, I went inside to meet with the bride for her pictures, and Jenna, my second shooter, headed to the UF stadium to brave the weather there for pictures of the groom and his entourage. More of those photos in an additional post.

Jessica writing a special note for Sam. Her gift to him on their wedding day was a Black Book of images taken from one of my Rockstar Boudoir Marathon sessions earlier this summer.

Jessica even decorated the bottom of her shoes! I love creative brides!

Some of the beautiful bride in her dress. As a photographer sometimes you just get lucky with unbelievable lighting that lets you capture shots like these. Her dress is by Solutions Bridal.

Flowers in a light plum color and white- absolutely beautiful thanks to Prange’s Florist.

Jessica had mentioned a long time ago that she was in search of the perfect cupcake- and here is why. In lieu of a traditional wedding cake the couple had cupcakes provided by Cakes By Pam Greenwell with an anniversary cake topper. How fabulous.
cupcakes

And this pretty much says it all- the theme of the day:

The Rustic Manor just after sunset. Amazing sky, amazing venue, amazing day.

Congrats to Jessica and Sam who are celebrating their nuptials on a week long honeymoon. Many more of the couple, the ceremony and their celebration coming soon!

Emily had her stepfather and mother walk her down the aisle.

It’s so great having a second shooter- Jenna was in place and was able to capture one of the sweetest handoffs.

I can’t get over just how amazingly cute these two are together- just check out how he is holding her pinky during the ceremony.

And look at John looking at Emily while the pastor speaks about the bond of marriage.

Emily and John making their way down the aisle as husband and wife.

Some of Jenna’s images of Emily and John….

And I just love these intimate moments…

Emily and John were up for anything, and even braved this rickety dock for this photo.

And just in case John forget the most important words of the day….

Emily was such a beautiful bride, and everything about this wedding from the location to the ceremony to the favors was so very intimate and exquisite, and just so very Emily! Jenna and I had a fabulous time and loved being a part of this couple’s special day. Enjoy the first sneak peek- more of the couple will be posted soon!

The ceremony and reception took place at Finz Waterfront Restaurant in Stuart, FL on the Intercostal Waterway.

Some of Emily’s fantastic details- and look at that cake! Simple, beautiful, and delicious.

Always a traditionalist, Emily chose to wear her grandmother’s pearls for her walk down the aisle. I don’t think I have ever seen a happier bride on her wedding day.

Calla lilies- in white for the bride and yellow for the attendants- perfect for a midsummer afternoon wedding.

John showing off the bling,

One of my late summer brides, Jessica, is actually working for A’vie, so Angela asked her to write a little blurb on their blog about JLS Photography. I am incredibly touched by Jessica’s kind words, and it is just another reason why I love my clients so much!

Check out the post here.

Check out this amazing cake made by a family friend!

The bride carried a gorgeous bouquet of yellow calla lilies, while her 3 daughters who served as bridesmaids each carried a yellow calla lily.

While it was a small ceremony, it was quite emotional. Here is Michelle reading her vows to Rodney.

After placing a ring on Michelle’s finger, the couple surprised her daughters by Rodney giving them each a ring as well.

And some of the lovely couple.

Michelle and Rodney are headed to Barbados for their honeymoon- and here they are getting ready for a week of fun, sun and island cocktails!

Congratulations you guys- I hope you had a wonderful honeymoon and thank you for including me in your special day!

JLS Photography is pleased to introduce the Romance Session. This engagement/ wedding style session features you and your special someone at your most intimate moments. These sessions will take place on location in some of the locations that you have seen featured on this blog, or in a place that is special to you. Romance sessions can be used for couples – either married, engaged, or just deeply committed to each other- who want to have photographs that show beautiful your love is. Romance sessions are also perfect for couples who have small weddings or civil ceremonies who choose not to hire a photographer for their event but would like to have portraits.

Romance sessions can also replace the Trash the Dress informal sessions that take place after a wedding as a more informal portrait session of the bride and groom.

And for the details:
Romance Sessions take place on location and last up to two hours
Standard session fee applies ($100 plus applicable sales tax)
After the session you will have access to your online gallery for a la carte or print package ordering.

A coffee table book would make a perfect way to display the images from your Romance Session. JLS Photography also offers a full menu of custom design options and print products including canvas gallery wraps and gallery mounted storyboards.

The romance session is the perfect gift to give to the couple who is hard to shop for! Gift cards are available as well.

The bride wore a dress from Brides by Demetrios. The bridesmaids wore dresses designed by Democracy Clothing.

Jessica and Dee chose to be married on St. Pete Beach at the beautiful Grand Plaza Resort.

Dee surprised Jessica with a gift before the wedding.

This stunning and very delicious cake was designed by Chocolate Specialities by Joe, a local St. Pete Beach vendor.
I LOVE when brides choose flowers to adorn their cake- the beauty and simplicity of it is amazing. I also absolutely love the trend of using the couple’s first letter of their new last name as a cake topper- there is something just so elegant and understated about it.

Keeping up with the theme of beach simplicity, Jessica chose calla lilies for her bouquet. Her florist, Irene from For Better For Less Wedding Flowers, also from the Tampa/ St. Pete area was such a help on the day of the wedding making sure that everything was coordinated the way that it should be.

Jessica’s father could not wait to see his daughter when we got off of the elevator, and still could not take his eyes off her. Here he is stealing a look just before he walked Jessica down the aisle.

They also planned their wedding specifically so that we could get a series of beach sunset photos. Unfortunately the weather was not as cooperative as we hoped, but we still managed to get some amazing shots. Those will come in another blog posting, along with their ceremony and reception photos.