Amy + Jason: New Year's Day

On New Year's Day, my sister made a lifelong resolution: to take this man, Jason, to be her husband. To love him, to care for him, to honor, and respect him. Forever.

And long before that, I made a promise to be her wedding photographer. For better or worse.

So here we are. The months of waiting and preparing and longing and anticipating are through. And now what's left are the moments, captured, to share and remember.

My sister's love story has been documented here before (check it out if you want to read it). Instead of preparing you for what's to come, I'm going to narrate as we go along.

So here's how it went down...

Before anything "officially" began, I took the opportunity to photograph some of the details that made Amy and Jason's day special.

One of Amy's bridesmaids gave her a shirt at her wedding shower. But it wasn't just any shirt...it was a white button down "getting ready shirt" with Amy's new initials embroidered on it and her wedding date bedazzled on the cuff. Now that was a good gift.

Something old...you know how the rhyme goes...something blue were Amy's shoes.

Jason's cufflinks.

Our mom arranged for Diana of The Beauty Parlor, who has cut my hair since I was five and my dad gave me sideburns, to come to the venue to do our hair. She was fabulous, and we were so glad she could be a part of Amy's day!

In addition to all of my other duties, I somehow became Amy's makeup artist. Not sure how that happened. The only thing she requested to do herself was put on her mascara.

Thanks to Amy's maid of honor, Amy (yes, they have the same name), for making sure my efforts were documented.

This is why we didn't let her do her own makeup.

Gorgeous.

And this little one stole my heart. She was so precious.

Jaclyn from Doxa photography came along to help me during the ceremony and some of the portraits. I could not have done this without her - she was so helpful and got some wonderful moments.

We decided to take some pictures outside because it really wasn't that cold; even though the calendar said it was January, it felt like October.

My sister, as usual, hammed it up.

Once she got that out of her system, she really looked beautiful.

And it was a little bit windy...

The bridesmaids.

The groomsmen.

The bride and groom.

In order to have enough time for pictures in their day, Amy and Jason decided to do a first look.

Because Amy approached from behind, Jason couldn't see her coming. But he heard it. He asked me if there was a golf cart driving by when he heard the ruffling of her dress. I simply said, "Turn around."

Jason's reaction was awesome.

Amy was pretty excited as well.

Those clouds...would have been awesome if they'd dropped some snow.

We took some golf carts down to the second hole to this cute little bridge.

While I was getting the long shot, Jaclyn got some close up. So. stinkin. cute.

And as I was driving us back up, she snapped this one. LOVE IT.

Have to give these two credit for being outside in the (relative) cold and not showing it much. But by the time we got here, they were ready to snuggle for warmth.

We snuck everyone back inside and waited for the ceremony to start.

My sister decided that she wanted both of our parents to walk her down the aisle.

First kiss as husband and wife.

And now...the fruits of my labor for the past month. At some point I may have to post a tutorial for the cone trees because they are so easy and would make great winter decorations.

The banner across the mantle was my favorite part. (It says "Snow in Love," and yes, I know it's cheesy. But if you can't be cheesy at a wedding, when can you be?)

After dinner, as Amy and Jason were greeting their guests, the sun came out and delivered the most magnificent sunset over the mountains in the distance. Amy and Jason were anxious for a breather, so we ran outside and got my favorite pictures of the whole day.

First dance.

Cutting the cake. I'm not sure exactly what she's saying, but I'm pretty sure it's something along the lines of you're not smashing that in my face.

And he listened.

Amy specifically requested country line dancing during the reception. Because she is moving to Tennessee.

And this is the moment that makes me smile the most. At the end of their wedding program, Amy put "High Fives All Around" to signify the end of the ceremony. As they left, for their honeymoon, there really were high fives all around.

Amy and Jason, thank you for giving me the chance to capture your wedding. Enjoy your honeymoon and we wish you the best on your life together in Nashville.

Special thanks to the wedding vendors:

Photography: Anna Reynal Photography
Venue and Catering: Musket Ridge Golf Club
Cake: Ed's Country Bakery, provided by Tracy and Kevin Grubb
Bride's Dress: Alfred Angelo from I Do, I Do
Bridesmaid's Dresses: Mori Lee from Deja Vu
Gentlemen's Attire: Men's Warehouse
Alterations: Bev Grimes
Decorations: Anna Reynal
DJ: Ben Grimes
Second Photographer: Jaclyn Bardakjy

Come visit me on Facebook in the next few days for some additional pictures!

Happy New Year everybody!