Hill City Bride

Everyday Wedding by Sincerely, Liz: Photography – Jared & Lisa

This wedding offers so much! Gorgeous florals, an adorable bride and groom, a stunning location and lots of sweets (and fun!)) for the guests. This autumn West Manor wedding was photographed by Liz Cook of Sincerely, Liz: Photography, and be prepared to look at all of the details … there are lots of ideas here!

Wasn’t that just filled with all sorts of fun ideas? Love it! I am sure the guests had a lot of fun around the campfire making their s’mores. Thank you again, Liz, for sharing this wedding, and Lisa and Jared… congratulations!

Catering: Father’s Table Catering

Coffee Bar: The Muse Coffee Company

Cupcakes: The Cupcake Guy

Florist: Petal Flower Company

Hair: Fusion Salon

Photography: Sincerely, Liz: Photography

Venue: West Manor

Craving more? Take a peek at this wedding on Liz’s blog by clicking HERE.

Everyday Wedding by Crystal George Studios – Stephen & Alicia

Crystal George of Crystal George Studios has the wonderful talent of truly being able to tell a story through her images. Just the photos of this wedding tell of the weather, beautiful colors and a family filled with love (complete with a dancing grandmother – so cute!). Enjoy this stunning wedding, and here is what Crystal herself had to say…

Summer months are hazy and hot and known for unexpected thunderstorms. Summer is usually full of laughter and friends and family. Summer weddings are a wonderful fusion of these various things. As I kept one eye on the sky and one eye on this bride & groom on their June day, one thing was abundantly clear: Alicia and Stephen were more likely to dance in the rain than to cry in it. Living the way lovers should.

 

Photography: Crystal George Studios

Venue:  The Avoca Museum

Hair:  Hair Images by Emily

Makeup:  Mary Kay

Flowers:  Petal Flower Company

Dresses:  David’s Bridal

Video:  Lynchburg Live

Cake: Coffey Cakes

DJ: Brandon Cyrus from BPSI Entertainment

 

Everyday Wedding by KD Burke Photography – Brian & Robin

In December, I visited the venue Pharsalia for the first time, and I do have to say that it is beautiful! What an amazing property filled with lots of buildings, a fantastically laid out property and stunning views. Of course, with it being December, I missed out on the beauty and the colors shown in this wedding. I am SO enamored with the flowers … I am such a “flower” girl, and my heart sings when I get submissions filled with colorful florals. That combined with a cute couple and a spectacular location makes for a welcomed posting in mid-January. Thank you so much to KD Burke Photography for letting me share the wedding of Brian and Robin with the HCB readership.

Here is what Robin had to say …

Brian and I met in 2005 at the University of Tennessee through a mutual friend.  We became very good friends and had a lot of common interests (including hiking!).  As our friendship grew over the next year, we decided to try our hand at a relationship, and the rest is history!

From the beginning of our relationship, we had tossed around the idea of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.  We finally began to save money and seriously plan for our adventure.  In March of 2010, we set out on the Appalachian Trail and hiked from Georgia to Maine – 2,179 miles.  It took us 6 ½ months to complete our thru-hike, and upon completion, Brian popped the question!

Our ties to the Appalachian Trail are part of the reason that we fell so in love with Pharsalia; the backdrop of our ceremony was The Priest and Three Ridges, two mountains that we hiked over on the AT.

We try to live a very “green” lifestyle, and wanted to incorporate that as much as possible into the wedding.  We repurposed old bottles and downed trees, among other things, for decorations.  We tried to minimize waste.  We brewed our own beer for the wedding, and used seasonal flowers from the grounds of Pharsalia.

 

Photographer: KD Burke Photography

Venue: Pharsalia

Dress:  Allure Bridal, from Becky’s Bridal

Flowers:  Grown at Pharsalia, Arranged by Friend, Mary Hill

Band: Harwell Grice Band

Cakes: Sweet Violet Cake Company

Catering: Avenue Foods

Bridesmaid Dresses: Katesy on Etsy

Tuxes: Celebration Bridal

Hair & Makeup: Studio Style & Spa

Wedding Wednesdays – A Glimpse into HCB’s Advertisers

If you are a bride, you have probably heard of Wedding Wednesday … whether it be on Twitter or Facebook wedding vendors and aficionados post tips, photos and tidbits concerning all things wedding. Well, I actually have a “secret” Facebook group for our HCB vendors where I share news and ask for ideas. It is kind of like a meeting place for the advertisers.

A while back, Christopher from Christopher Breedlove Photography began a trend of posting a photo on Wedding Wednesday (now reduced to W/W on our page), and soon after many of the other vendors started to follow suit. I wanted to give you a glimpse into what the vendors are posting and also what they are saying … it is fun to have a little behind the scenes look, and I hope you enjoy this first of many W/W postings brought to you by our amazing HCB vendor family.

Below is the photo that started it all, and here is what Christopher had so say … I thought I would start a new trend on the group wall. Whether photographer, florist, or designer, we need to showcase our work. With that in mind, here is a teaser of an amazing intimate wedding post to come … Chris and Rachel’s first dance.

Next to post was Linda of Love Is in the Air, who does amazing work with catering, cakes, decor, flowers and so much more. Here is what Linda had to say … Ok, Christopher! This is one of our favorite photos – our Shrimp Louisiana in glow martini glasses. Photo by Stone Blue Productions.

Kimberly from KD Burke Photography posted the photo below, which is so classic and beautiful. Vendors offered comments of … beautiful, Kim; some of your best!  and elegant, nostalgic and lovely. I love the way our vendors support each other even behind the scenes!

What a sweet exit that was caught by Liz of Sincerely, Liz: Photography. She said … I love this shot from a super fun wedding back in May, and I agree!

This next photo from Kim Jennings of Capture It Photography and Events
is so sweet! Kim said … this kid is taking his ring holding job pretty seriously. He is!! I’m sure he did a fantastic job.

Of course our photographers were quick to get in on the fun as was Jeremiah Colling of Colling Photography, who said … this is my first time posting for Wedding Wednesday as well. I love the anticipation as the B&G are about to see each other for the first time!

It’s not all weddings behind the scenes as you will see by this photo taken by Jeremiah Guelzo of Stone Blue Productions who said … our couple was having fun on an engagement session we shot a few weeks back. She looks like she IS having a great time!

This was from the Connor Wedding shot on June 11th at Boonsboro Country Club … said David of David Duncan Photography. Other vendors said … can’t wait to see more and very cool! I agree, and the colors are great.

Below is Crystal of Crystal George Studios‘ first W/W posting to which she said … well, I guess it’s time to join in on the Wedding Wednesday fun with the rest of you crazy people. I love this. It just happened randomly while we were on the beach. I think it’s past and future looking at each other.

The next photo is a moment captured from a “first look” by Allegra of Allegra’s Studio. One vendor said … I love the framing. Allegra definitely does have an eye for that!

Of course it is always a treat to see a beautiful cake made by Jennifer of La Bella Torta, who said … This is this past weekends’ cake with hand painted gold scrollwork and adorned with handmade gumpaste flowers. For those of you who are curious about the flavor (as one vendor did ask!), it was strawberry lemonade. Delish!

Adam of Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography shot this beautiful image to which one of the vendors commented … Check out that captured emotion! BRAVO! What a sweet moment.

The next image hails from Thomasina from Photography by Thomasina. She stated that she … wanted to get in on the W/W fun. And what fun it is when there are stunning images such as the ones below.

You never know what you will find on the page on a Wednesday as is evidenced by this photo by Heather of Visions by Heather. Vendors commented … lovely, lovely! and the clouds behind her are so cool. 

Our vendors are so talented as is shown by this photo of the work done by RS Exclusive. Rachel of RS said …Enjoy a photo from an outdoor wedding RS decorated for, and directed, this weekend. We were so happy with the way their bridal pagoda turned out! It’s no wonder … it is so gorgeous!

And last, but not least, even our hair experts get in on the fun! Here is a hairstyle by Gwen of Mitchell’s Salon on 7th to which vendors said … nice, soft curls and so pretty Gwen! You’re the bomb with a pair of scissors and a few hairs – I’ve seen you at work! Again, I adore how much our HCB family really supports each other.

I hope that you have enjoyed this little glimpse into our secret Facebook group … it is a lot of fun to see what the vendors come up with to show us each week, and I am looking forward to sharing more with you soon.

“Blogiday 2011″ – Everyday Love by Christopher Breedlove Photography – Written by Kristen Breedlove

I am on “blogiday” this week spending time with family and friends. I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and that you get a chance to relax and take a little bit of a break, too. I will see you with everything fresh and new in January!

Well, I guess it is about time that I add an “Everyday Love” category to the site. After all, we have everything before the wedding, but life together does not end there! I truly love this posting. It is an article from the heart by Kristen Breedlove, who is the wife of Christopher Breedlove of Christopher Breedlove Photography, and it features Christopher’s photography. Yet, it also features the photography of another one of our talented photographers, Adam Barnes of Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography.

Brides, I would take Kristen’s words to heart. I have heard her story in person, and she and Christopher are very passionate about their business … you will read why below. Enjoy this heartfelt posting capped off by a photo session of a lovely couple.

“The Great Wedding Tragedy”

It happens all the time, and it truly is a tragedy!  The wedding and honeymooning are over, the presents are unwrapped and placed away in their fully functional spaces within the comforts of your newly established lives, and yet you are still waiting for something … the walls are still empty, where are those wedding pictures?  The tragedy for many married couples is that they are encouraged or pressured to have that “friend of the family” or that “family member” take the wedding photos to save money.

For Chris and I, husband and wife team for Christopher Breedlove Photography, that is exactly what had happened to us on our wedding day.  A few weeks before the wedding, we were so stressed out, and the money was lying very thin … so thin that we entrusted a “friend of the family” to take our wedding photos. To this very day we only have 10 photos of the most important day of our lives.

Same thing happened to married couple Steve and Emily Brisson (two dear friends of ours).  They were left with very dark photos that seem to only tell the dark story of how they should have hired a professional photographer.

But there is hope for all the married couples out there, which have experienced this great wedding tragedy.  Go get anniversary photos done…

Near their anniversary, Steve contacted Chris back in August and explained their story.  Chris didn’t waste any time.  The Brisson’s were booked shortly thereafter, and portraits were taken on a cool evening around downtown Lynchburg and around Percival’s Island.

Today Christopher Breedlove Photography would like to encourage all those married couples with tragic wedding photos … a HOPE in that the wedding is never over; it is an everlasting promise, a declaration to the All Mighty and the world that love will last forever and pictures can too.

For you brides-to-be do your research, and invest in a professional photographer that meets your personality and needs because if you don’t, you will never be able to capture that day again.

To all the married couples and soon to be … what are you waiting for?  Contact a Hill City Bride vendor photographer today, and invest and enlighten the flame with professional photographs.

Chris proposed in April 2008 and to my delighted surprise brought Adam Barnes to capture that moment.  We are both so thankful for our friendship in Adam and for his willingness to capture the proposal – the photos you have seen so far have been a sneak peak at the day.  We cherish these beautiful images from Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography more than anything.

And without further ado, enjoy these Antiquated Film Expressions by Christopher Breedlove Photography featuring Steve and Emily.

Thank you so much, Kristen, for your sage advice and your words of wisdom from experience. I personally love seeing your engagement photos … they are so sweet and sentimental! Just to clarify, Christopher and Kristen’s engagement photos (aren’t they the most adorable couple?!?!) are by Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography and Steve and Emily’s images were captured by Christopher Breedlove Photography.