Knoxville wedding photographer blog – shannon kelley photography » Knoxville based wedding photographer – modern photography for hip people

I know wedding photography must look glamorous. You get to go to fancy weddings here in Knoxville and beyond, take awesome pictures, be creative. I get that. It is an awesome job and I wouldn’t change it for the world. But alot of times the behind the scenes are a killer. Running a business is hard work. Being an entrepreneur and putting yourself out there is scary. real scary. but yesterday when I was playing with Lena at the park I realized its all worth it. I missed her first years almost completely because of “the man” and now I get to photograph fabulous weddings in Knoxville and beyond. God is good.

The day before the wedding: what is a photographer doing

So today I thought we would take a look at the day before. For all you wedding photographers and those thinking that someday you would maybe want to be. Here it is. The whole truth and a look behind the scenes of the day before:)

First up, I invited an awesome fellow wedding photographer, Jules Wiegand from Louisville, to join in the conversation. Here is what her day looks like on the day before:

I like to check all the areas i will be shooting prior to the
wedding. I check lighting and different backgrounds and make a few notes of
some creative ideas for photos. The day before i go through all my
equipment and plan for the day as well as notes on the couple and some of
the things they want for the day.

So after all the behind the scenes of booking the wedding, meeting up with the bride and groom, and getting all the fun details down the day before the wedding is here and you are getting ready for the big day of photographing the wedding. Can I recommend comfy shoes too:) As Jules stated, prep work is key! Be familiar with the space, how the light hits it, think outside the box for family shots. Here is my general checklist that I go through:

• charge batteries
• clear CF cards and pack them with gear
• go over notes from location and meetings
• get all contact info printed and put with gear
• print out directions (even if I know where I’m going…you never know:) )
• put charged batteries with gear.
• clean lenses if needed
• go over day of schedule
• call bride if needed to chat about any last minute stuff or to confirm
• make sure I have gas in my car
• make sure I have fresh batteries for flashes
• pack water
• charge phone (its an ongoing issue and needs to be on the list with me:) )
• remind the hubby of the schedule for the day so he remembers to take care of Lena:)

A giant thanks to Jules for being awesome and helping out with post!  Her and I share a kindred heart on missions. Here are a few pictures of her beautiful work to enjoy!

For the next couple weeks we’ll be looking at weddings behind the scenes. We’ll look at fun stuff like formal pictures, to see each other before hand or not, where is Knoxville on the wedding scene…all sorts of fun stuff.
Today, a first look? To do or not on your wedding day?

A trend that is continuing throughout the United States with weddings is a first look. This is when the bride and groom see each other before the wedding in an intimate moment so the photographer can capture the first look and then proceed to get amazing couple shots before the hubbub of the wedding begins.

I’m finding more and more, here in Knoxville, Tennessee, the tradition of seeing the bride when she first walks down the aisle is still holding strong. As a photographer I’m kinda on the fence about this one. Maybe I shouldn’t be because a lot of photographers have strong opinions about seeing each other before hand but I have to say I understand those that want the traditional way. So, I thought a blog post was in order:) Plus, I had another photographer weigh in on the matter (and one that isn’t from Knoxville to get a little perspective on it:) )

First, some pro’s and con’s:

PROS for a first look:
-Dedicated time to have your photographer to yourselves and get amazing pictures of the two of you!
-It’s intimate, just the two of you, with time to yourselves as you take this amazing journey together.
-You don’t have to worry about your makeup if you cry during the ceremony.
-Lessens the amount of time you need to dedicate to photos between the ceremony and reception= happy guests:)
-The light! Depending on your ceremony time the light can be better before hand (this is one to talk with your photographer about). I know that weddings here in Knoxville right now that start at 5pm would be better light with a first look beforehand.

CONS for a first look:
-It’s breaking tradition by golly!
-You want his first sight of you being when you walk down the aisle.
-You don’t want to kiss before the ceremony.

What Jared at Jacobus Photography based in Ohio had to say: “I let them decide unless its a winter wedding where it gets dark really early. If light will be an issue then I recommend they meet before. If they still want to wait to see each other then I am fine with it and I make sure I do my job.”

My personal opinion, similar to Jared’s, is I am all for tradition and completely respect the decision BUT if you opt to wait, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put aside time after the ceremony for just the bride and groom to steal away and get some good pictures. So often you get into the groove of the wedding and if you don’t plan time the priority dwindles when Aunt Hilda is pulling on your arm for a hug. Just sayin’.

Lesson for the day: Whether a first look or the tradition: make couple shots a PRIORITY! Those are the ones you will want to see and hang up after the wedding! Oh, and talk to your photographer about the light and timing to get their opinion:)

A big thanks to Jacobus Photography! Here is one of their amazing pictures!

So a few weeks ago I was talking to a fellow awesome photographer friend that just was having one of those days/weeks that we all sometimes have.  a hard one.  one where we wonder what the heck are we doing.  I recommended reading Dane’s book, Fast Track Photographer, because it just puts everything into perspective really.  I texted her the next day to see how she was and her response “getting through it.  God and Dane”

Last week I had the privilege to meet Dane at his workshop in Florida.  Lifechanging, fun, informative, hopeful, moving, and magical are words that come to mind.  Equally as amazing was all the great girls I got to meet and develop friendships with.  Can’t wait to see where God and Dane lead us:)

We had a photo shoot with Amanda and Colton in the GORGEOUS Florida sun! Seriously, why do I live in Knoxville, TN again?   Here are some of my faves…well, alot of my faves.

As announced here this week is going to be wedding week! Jan 2nd through the 8th were going to cover all sorts of fun wedding things from photographers (of course that had to be in there:) ), diy, Knoxville weddings, etc. Lots of fun for those Knoxville brides getting ready to plan their 2010 wedding! Today its all about finding the right vendors for you! There are so many choices that a bride faces as she plans her wedding…here is how to make sure you are paired up with the perfect vendor

How to find the right vendors for you!

-Find your style! This is one of the first basic things that will make all the other decisions a little easier. Have you dreamed of a small vintage garden wedding your whole life or do you want the princess wedding dress with a large church wedding and reception? Knowing things you definitely want or don’t want make life a little easier. Need some help in finding your style? Here are a few ideas

• Take a quiz! Go here to take it and see what it says about you and your style.  This one is a little more simpler to take and quite fun as well:)
• Make an inspiration board.  LOVE this idea! Gather items for a few days of things that inspire you.  They don’t have to be wedding items.  They can be textures, pictures, magazine clippings.  Something that you see and think “this is so me!” Then put it all together on a poster board, paper. Lay it all out and look any themes that pop out, take inspiration from those things.

-Finding vendors that match your style. This is the hard part.  There are several ways that you can find wedding vendors now.  One is the lovely internet (or if you are like my mom and still rely on a phone book you can go that route!), through marketing or ads, or through word of mouth.  A few things to keep in mind..

• Word of mouth is a great tool.  You can gain valuable knowledge on the quality of the vendor through people who have already used them.  This is also a good way to gauge style because if you friend had a similar style wedding and loved this vendor then that takes out the first initial guess work.
• Google and other search engines have transformed how we can search and look up local businesses.  It’s also made it a little harder to find the right one.  Just type in knoxville wedding photographers and you get 609,000 results.  What!? So search away but be sure to check the vendors work.  If they are a good reputable vendor they should have a good website with their info on it and photographers should have their work displayed.
• The nice thing about websites is that it allows you to see their style.  If you are searching for a artistic knoxville wedding photographer, for instance, and you go to a photographers site that is very traditional and posed then you know they aren’t for you.
• After you have narrowed it down and have your couple vendors who you want to look more into, give them a phone call or email.  This will save you some time instead of meeting with them all.  Then once you chat with them and feel this may be the one, schedule a time to sit down and get to know them.  Yes, you want to see the wedding photographer’s portfolio and know what their pricing is but also see how you mesh.  Do you get along? Photographers are probably one of the more important vendors to make sure you have a good relationship with and can trust.  They will be with you the whole day and also be in charge of capturing your wedding.
• Head on over to Onewed.com or Project Wedding to search for vendors in your city.  These sites have lots of vendors that you can search for with most having pictures, reviews, and info on collections and pricing.  Yay for efficiency:)

Are you a bride or any photographers that have any other ideas or what worked for you in finding the right vendor? Feel free to leave comments!

and thought we needed some picture love on the blog:) I’ve been madly working on some albums and this is a page from one. Love fun wedding albums!

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Shannon Kelley Photography | Shannon Kelley Photography Blog | Knoxville wedding photographers

lots of pics in this one folks! Remember M&M from their engagement pics? Well, they celebrated in Knoxville on their wedding day and are off to make a new life in Virginia!

Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, something blue…and a penny in your shoe. This was a new one to me but I am loving it:) Meghan had two pennies in her shoe, one that her mom wore on her wedding day and a 2009 penny. Very cool!


the reception was M&M themed of course:) Here is the cake topper of M&M’s and then the cake topper with the real M&M

the cake had M&M’s all around it too and looked so elegant…all at the same time:)
I’m including this picture because its hilarious and I know Meghan appreciates hilarious pictures:) This was the prelude to the picture below it….quite humorous!


I just love me some ring shots!

Casey and Courtney had one of the most uniquely beautiful weddings I have seen. It took place just outside of Knoxville, in Historic Rugby, in a church built in 1887, still intact with all its original details. Such a beautiful place to have a wedding close to Knoxville and an even more beautiful place for a happy wedding photographer:) Rugby is a place where you get lost in time and forget about the hustle and bustle of real life in Knoxville and just enjoy the details. The wedding reception was at a bed and breakfast, outside under a tent, with the backdrop of trees and fields with horses in them. And the wedding ceremony and reception details…oh the details! I could go on and on of the awesome details (but instead, I will just show you the pictures of them!) Note to know when you are looking at the pictures: Casey graduated the week before the wedding (yay!) and is a pharmacist.

I’m usually pretty nervous/excited on a wedding day because there is alot to capture, do, make sure you don’t miss anything, etc… but for some reason I didn’t have that here…just excitement about the day for Casey and Courtney and to capture some awesome pictures. Perhaps it was the fact that they chose to see each other before the wedding (LOVE it!), or the great organization of the day (Courtney, it was more organized than you think:) ), or just the simplistic beauty of our surroundings and the great people…but something about the day was truly magical.

A huge congrats to Casey and Courtney! Enjoy your wedding photographs! (sorry about the length…I was indecisive!)

this is the bed and breakfast that the girls got ready in…isn’t it great! Brad was loving it because supposedly its haunted…he wants to go back and stay in room #2.so, Courtney had some fun pics taken and we put them in a press printed book that was awesome! It was Casey present…this is his reaction!
don’t you love the socks that the guys were wearing!
probably my fave pic of the day! Looking out the window for the bride to come down the aisle
and some of the marvelous details!!!
sorry Courtney, had to put this one on! A little Mylie Hoedown Throwdown completed the first dance! Love it!

So one of my favorite things about being a knoxville wedding photographer is the ability to connect with other photographers and get inspiration. Last weekend I had the privilege to not only photograph with knoxville wedding photographers, but also some girls from all over the US and Canada!! (I’ll save my love for Canada post for some other time…love them!) Here are a few photographs from last weekend that I have been meaning to post. This is from the model day where a bunch of us knoxville wedding photographers were shooting a bride and groom and some other models. Cade’s Cove, right outside of Knoxville, is a beautiful place to get married!

getting married?
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Shannon Kelley Photography | Shannon Kelley Photography Blog | Knoxville wedding photographers

Heather and Chase were married at the Orangery, a beautiful venue for weddings here in Knoxville. My now favorite place in Knoxville and definitely where I would get married in Knoxville if I had to. It was beautiful and a dream for a wedding photographer! Here are a couple from the wedding…enjoy the sneak peek:)

these flower girls were the best ever! I have such cute pics of them but wanted to share this more candid one. Here they are making their flower baskets…such a cute moment.




and one of my favorite ring shots off all time…kinda different I know, but love their names on the matches in their rings!
and finally, a look at the wedding and all the lights…beautiful!