The sunshine is back and it’s giving me LIFE, y’all!
Taylor and Scott came dressed for some timeless engagement pictures and that’s what we captured. We photographed their session on a gorgeous sunny day in March at Knoxville’s gorgeous Melton Hill Park. Having a Melton Hill Park engagement session means you get gorgeous views of the water and fields for days.
Do you have fear of commitment?!
No, I’m not talking about in relationships, I’m talking about wedding choices and decor.
When I was preparing for my wedding Pinterest wasn’t available and when Pinterest first came out I thought, “Wow, what a tool for choosing wedding decor!” And then I remembered pouring over pages of wedding magazines and changing the color scheme, center pieces and bridesmaids’ dress color a million times in my head. And I came to the conclusion that maybe it was a good Pinterest wasn’t around when I was planning my wedding.
So, if you’re having fear of commitment you’re not alone and here are some tips to help you narrow your choices and commit for good.
Get off of Pinterest and write a list of things you love. Ask yourself, what’s my favorite color, flowers, food, songs, etc.? How do I want the overall wedding to fee? ?(grand, intimate, fun, timeless, etc.) Using your answers, now get back on Pinterest and search weddings using your words.
Venue: Mill & Mine // Planning: Southern Bliss Weddings // Florals: Lisa Foster Floral Design
2. Spend the largest percentage of your budget on the things that matter the most to you. If I could do it all over again, I would have a small wedding, with my closest family and friends. I wouldn’t have worried about the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen matching. I would have the most amazing photographer I could afford. A beautiful bouquet and long tables where we would share a family style meal. I would want it to feel intimate, so I would have candles everywhere. And we wouldn’t party all night, we would dance for an hour or so.
Venue: (ceremony) St. John Neumann Catholic Church (reception) The Pavilion at Hunter Valley Farm // Florist: Swank Floral
3. Include things in your wedding that will matter after it’s all over. One of my favorite things at weddings is to see family heirlooms and special traditions that will be continued to be passed on.
4. Have fun and show your personality. Love pizza? Have pizza delivered for cocktail hour or towards the end of the reception. Want your grandmother to be your flower girl? (First book ME to be your wedding photographer, pretty please) Call her and ask her. She will be smitten! Love horses? Include them in your wedding photos.
If you are planning your wedding I hope these have helped you feel less overwhelmed! If you aren’t planning a wedding but know someone who is, please share this with them. Thank you in advance!
Hope you have a great week!
It was 2007. I was working at First Tennessee Bank. I had just become licensed to sell insurance and annuities. After my very first insurance sale I came home to tell my husband, Chris, that I wanted to start my own insurance business. We had only been married for 2 years and had only lived in Tennessee for 2 years. And did I mention that I was only 21? His response to my wanting to start an insurance business was that it was risky, we didn’t have the start-up funds, we had just bought a house and he was in Iraq… so, he let me down gently pointing out all of our adult responsibilities.
He loved me, though, and could tell I was sad, so he suggested that I do something that I love.
And he mentioned that I loved photos.
So, he suggested I become a photographer. It sounded like a great idea to me and he thought I’d have a good “hobby” to keep me busy (hehe).
I got right to work detailing everything I’d need. I would need a website, a camera, lens, memory cards, a camera bag, and some business cards. I started working on a website before I even started taking pictures. And back then, we didn’t have easy drag and drop websites. I learned to write code and I stayed up for hours figuring it all out. I begged people at the bank to let me photograph them and their spouse (hats off to Jimmy & Jenny (below) - they were the first couple I ever photographed).
Every place I’d go I would tell people I was a photographer and hand them my card. I charged $25 for an hour session and most of the time I’d show up in heels because that’s what I wore to the bank.
Soon I was quite busy and loving it. Not making nearly enough to quit my day job, but I loved it.
I was hooked.
I loved the photography aspect AND the business aspect.
After practicing and begging people to let me photograph them and practicing some more, I quickly became frustrated that I wasn’t getting better faster. I enrolled in a class photography class at Pellissippi State Community College. And then I realized that I didn’t learn photography very well in a classroom setting, and I wanted real life experience.
I feel old saying things like this, but information on the internet was not as easily accessible as it is today.
YouTube was still new and no one was on it.
So, I had to go carry bags. Do some grunt work. And I sought out my favorite photographers. Photographers that I wanted to be just like. They were a husband and wife wedding photography team out of Maryville. I was a THIRD shooter, a light holder, and whatever else they needed. And I am forever grateful to both of them. After a year or two I learned how to be the photographer I had been yearning to be.
This month, March of 2019, I have been a photographer for 11 years.
It’s been hard. I’ve wanted to quit more than I’d like to admit.
It’s been amazing. I’ve photographed over 250 weddings. Made some incredible friends. And some of the very first clients I ever had I still photograph to this day.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! If there is something you want to do, I hope you go after it. It might become just a hobby, but it may become so much more. And you’ll never know if you don’t try.
And because I want to leave you with something pretty, here is one of my latest couple sessions from the fall - Meet Makenzie & Preston
S I M P L E S E S S S I O N S are here!
Who? Only 10 sessions spots will be offered per month on a first come first serve basis to clients who email us at hello@brittanyconner.com . Families, couples, and babies 3 months or older are welcome.
What? Simple Sessions are sessions that will take place in our simple, white studio. Clients will be asked to wear neutral colored clothing (gray or tan, soft blues or blush, or white).
When? Each month. Check our facebook page for planned dates or email us at hello@brittanyconner.com
Where? The studio in Historic Downtown Clinton. Our studio is simple, with gorgeous refinished wood floors, white walls, and some incredible light.
How much? Sessions are $150 for 20 digital images with print release.
We would also love for you to pamper yourself with hair and makeup and we would be more than happy to connect you with some incredibly talented hair and makeup artists.
Also, if you need recommendations to clothing websites and/or floral crowns (real or fake) please let us know, we'd be more than happy to help with that as well!
These will go fast, so email us at hello@brittanyconner.com!
About a month ago Basic Invite reached out to me to see if they could be of service to my clients. They sent me an incredible sampling of invitations to share with my couples and I absolutely fell in love the quality of their invitations, the unique services that they offer, and the customer service was perfection. If I were getting married today, I would be so thankful to hear about a company like Basic Invite!
One of the coolest things I've found about Basic Invite is that it's one of the few invitation companies that allows you the ability to order a printed sample of your actual invitation so you can see exactly how it will print as well as the paper quality before you ever have to place your final order. I don't know about you, but I am the kind of person that wants to see and feel the final product. And this company delivers!
Another neat service to their clients is the address collection feature with free envelope printing. Use their free address collection service to request your addresses with just three simple steps. Share a link, collect addresses, and get free envelope printing. How amazing is that?!
I adore their Save the Dates! You can go in and completely customize your save the dates with almost any color you can think of and the best part is that you get to see a preview instantly. I used a photo from Nichole and Landon's engagement session to show you how easy designing your own save the date really is.
*This is a sponsored post. Some Images courtesy of Basic Invite.
