I had the amazing pleasure of working with Diva Productions shooting Kim & Joe’s wedding out at the Hilton in Sandestin.  Kim & Joe decided on a destination wedding, so it was one of the many brides that I didn’t get to meet face to face before hand.  I knew from her bubbly, yet laid back & cool, calm & collected personality over the phone, though that she would be a blast.  Seriously, she has the type of fun personality that can shine like crazy even over the phone… you know those types that within the first five minutes you’re giggling going “girl, let me tell you…”?  That’s so her .  Well, you should have seen the look on my face when I walked in the room to photograph her on her wedding day, and saw that not only did she LOOK just like a friend of mine, but she had the same sweet, funny, bubbly, awesome personality as well – she was even more fun than I thought she would be, if that’s possible!

Kim came quite a ways, with some of her closest friends & family & put a lot of hard work & effort into an amazing destination wedding here in Destin, and a little clouds & wind (or a lot) wouldn’t put a damper on her day   We managed to escape the rain, but not the wind, and it was really a beautiful day after all  It was absolutely beautiful… Kim has amazing taste, and I don’t think she could have picked a more perfect location.

So here is a little sneak peek of her destination wedding at the Sandestin Hilton Spa & Golf Resort in Destin… starting with her amaaaaaazing dress!  I really really really loved this dress.

Poor Kim got slapped by the wind, but I swear she’s the only person I know that can get away with looking so awesome when windblown!

Lovely!  Hope you all enjoyed it, and this just goes to show – in Destin, the weather is always unpredictable, but even our “overcast” days are amazing

They are such a sweet couple, they met young and have stuck by each other through thick and thin… following each other through college and across the country.  It was so much fun to spend all day with a couple with such enthusiasm for life, big dreams, big aspirations, and a relentless pursuit of happiness.  And of course, Andrew is an artist & budding actor, so that was right up my alley!

Congratulations Ashley & Andrew – you guys deserve so much happiness, much of it you already have, but I have a feeling there is so much more on the horizon for you both

Ashley’s dress was absolutely amazing.  I love love loved it!

Ashley is amazingly beautiful… and so photogenic.  I could have photographed her all day…

What I loved about Ashley & Andrew is how comfortable they were with each other…

One of my favorite places to photograph at Bentley’s on the Bay is this beautiful little tree.  I love the way it hangs down.  We stuck around there quite a bit!

And here you’ll see… Bentley’s has an amazing area that is perfect for photographs.

And I just have to explain this next photograph, otherwise you will think I’m certifiably nuts!  I don’t normally take these kinds of pictures at weddings… ok… confession… I do.  I have this weird tendancy to run into all kinds of creatures (just check through my blog archive… lizards, grasshoppers, you name it).  And so at this particular wedding, out on the beautiful back patio of Bentley’s on the Bay, I see this creature.  Initially I yell “BAT!”.  Only to quickly get corrected by a 4 yr old that it was in fact Tinkerbell.  :)  This crazy little creature (moth?  Butterfly?) flew all over, loving the lights of course, landing on people, letting anyone and everyone hold it!  It was pretty interesting… so I just thought I’d share it

And of course, no wedding blog post would be complete without the video/slideshow

Vendors:
Wedding/Reception Venue:  Bentley’s on the Bay
Photography:  Bella Vita Photography
Dress:  White One by Pronovios
Shoes: BCBGeneration
Flowers:  Winn-Dixie
Cake:  Publix
DJ: Gene Cox- Pro Music DJ
Hair/Makeup:  The Blonde Bellagio

]]> http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/05/bentleys-on-the-bay-wedding-ashley-andrew/feed/ 0 http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/01/eden-gardens-seaside-engagement/ http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/01/eden-gardens-seaside-engagement/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:12:34 +0000 admin http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/?p=926 I was extremely excited to take Jaclyn & Adam to one of my favorite places on earth – Eden Gardens State Park! It has a certain charm to it that you just can’t duplicate, with it’s old house, lovely trees, and all the hidden nooks & crannies.  Plus – it looks out on to the water which is fantastic.  We’d actually had to reschedule by just a day – but it worked out to our advantage – the weather was cold on our originally planned date (little did we know it was only going to get MUCH colder) but it was surprisingly fair (and almost WARM) the next day when we actually went out to shoot!  I love it when that happens  (Not rescheduling, but weather cooperating!)

We started out at Eden Gardens, though – and then hopped over to Seaside, which is conveniently just over Hwy 98 & down 30A a bit.  It was a little crowded, but that’s not really that unusual these days!  It’s just a big contrast to the slow quiet pace of Eden Gardens!  But no worries, Jaclyn & Adam are from Atlanta, so I’m sure it was nothing in comparison to the hustle & bustle of a big city like Atlanta!

Anyways, here’s an awesome little sneak peek.  And I’m obviously infatuated with purple lately cause I was totally loving Jaclyn’s sweater!!!

I absolutely cannot wait for them to have their destination wedding, so far from all the details it sounds like it is going to be amazing & I can already tell they are such a fun couple!  I am getting pretty anxious for this wedding season to finally kick off so I can see it!   And although they’re not getting married at Eden or Seaside, they are getting married in what I would consider THE most amazing church on the Emerald Coast – St. Rita’s! Everyone around, Catholic or not, knows St. Rita’s – it is so beautiful!

Congratulations, Jaclyn & Adam!

So here is just a sneak peek from the big day!

(By the way, how cool are those walls?!  Lauren’s house was built by the same person who built some of the structures at Eden Gardens so they have the same walls & lights!!!)

And finally… the video.  And I have to say, my little hippy heart was jumping for joy when I heard Ray LaMontagne’s music for not only the ceremony but the reception as well.  So here it is, set to a little Ray LaMontagne!

Lauren & Preston from Bella Vita Photography on Vimeo.

In the meanwhile, if you’re on the hunt for a fabulous location for your wedding, you have GOT to check out Eden Gardens. It is easily one of my most favorite locations EVER!  The setting is so perfect for a wedding and reception (with or without a tent).  In fact, if I did my wedding all over again – it would totally be there!

Eden Gardens State Park
Point Washington, Florida 32459  - (850) 231-4214