Memphis Wedding Photographer: Thoughts by Maddie 10-2-18

Hey hey! Maddie here.

It’s been a loooooooooong time since I’ve posted really anything on my wedding blog other than wedding photos (and even those have been at a minimum). So, I thought it was time to discuss something a little closer to home because we’re all friends here, right??

I’ve been bad about weddings lately. I haven’t posted on facebook, emailed, tweeted, or instagrammed much at all. In fact, I have been doing the absolute bare minimum the last year and a half.

Yeah, we noticed Maddie…why??

Well, some old news…my dad, my business partner and my best friend in the entire world, died in 2015. Maybe you knew that, maybe you didn’t. But 2015, for my business was the hardest both technically and emotionally to have to go through losing him. But it was do-able because I still had my husband and family to help support me, and because weddings still made sense.

Until a year and a half later when my husband and I got divorced. And between the double Ds of death and divorce, it made shooting weddings too much for me. People told me to “just separate the work from my personal life.” “Just do your job.” “Get ‘er done.”

And well, I kinda suck at that.

When I take photos, especially wedding photos, I cannot take my emotion out of the session. I have to get personally invested in the client and their life, and I have to have some sort of emotional connection to them in order to create images that show their emotions to each other.

It’s a lot. And I’ve been bitter.

Which is what I have struggled with this last year and a half – feeling like I got the short end of the stick. So, how can I photograph people getting married when I feel this way? It just seemed fake.

Ahhh, you didn’t expect a wedding photographer to discuss divorce, did you? Seems ironic doesn’t it?

Not to say I haven’t shot any weddings the last two years. Of course I have. I’ve laughed, cried, screamed, danced, and loved my way through weddings. I’ve made some amazing new friends, and I’ve met the most wonderful couples and families that I couldn’t have even dreamed of having as clients.

It was this semi-break from weddings and my amazing couples who have allowed me to heal.

To fall back in love with weddings again.

Weddings are stressful. I’m dead the next day. There’s a ton of work before, during and after the wedding day, and there’s the extra stress of a wedding being a one-time event that you don’t want to mess up. BUT, it’s also an amazing day to experience the behind the scenes…like a fly on the wall during one of the most intimate, happy, and just all around emotional days of someone’s life. Through my camera, I can see the world clear as day. I can see true love exist. True happiness, emotion, and familial support…all captured through photos. Moments that I have the privilege to witness over and over again.

And finally, after taking some time to grieve the loss of my dad and this divorce, I can breathe again.

I can go to a wedding and cry, not because I miss my dad or I’m sad because my marriage didn’t work, but I can go to a wedding and truly cry tears of joy because this is something that I love. Because my couples are the best part of my job and my business. And because I’m genuinely happy for them and this life that they get to live.

So what now you ask?

I guess now, I just want you to love in your most honest and best possible way. Love the gorgeous day you’re putting together, and just remember what it’s for in the first place. Appreciate your parents, your family, and your future spouse. Because life is short and because extra love and gratitude never hurt anyone.

And when you hire your photographer (and any other wedding vendors, for that matter), give them some grace. It’s not an easy job. It’s exhausting, difficult, and emotional.

But I dare say…

It’s worth it.

Till next time.

xoxo

maddie

Y’all, I’ve got a BAD case of the Mondays. It’s like we had this awesome week of goofing around with 4th of July. And nowwwwww, we are back to work. Boo.

But to cheer EVERYONE up from the Monday Blues, I have super sweet new wedding photos to show you from 409 South Main.

Meet Matt and Lauren!

OMG, aren’t they super cute??

I loved Matt’s white suit. And then during the ceremony and some portraits, he wore this awesome lei, which was great contrast. I loved how they incorporated fun Hawaiian touches since that is where Matt is from. They had cute little favors and the flowers were gorgeous!!

And then there was Lauren. Like, no words. Her dress was amazinggggggggg! The criss cross back was gorgeous. The train with the buttons going all the way down. Ahhhhhhhh! It was literally a dream dress…

Before I gush about the photos, I wanted to mention a few things. Matt and Lauren did do a traditional look. This worked out well because they had a nice little cocktail hour in the downstairs area of the venue, so we had some time upstairs alone that was very warehouse-y industrial. I loved the distressed brick and the gorgeous windows!

They did have a second shooter for their wedding, which comes in super handy when you do a traditional look. They help to get some different angles of portraits since we are usually on a pretty tight timeframe for those.

And lastly, instead of a sparkler exit, we did a ribbon exit. I think these are good alternatives to sparklers, so maybe something to keep in mind if you’ve chosen a venue that is not ok with sparklers. Also, they are a lot safer if people have been drinking… 🙂

Enough chit chat. Let’s get down to business.

Here was Matt and Lauren’s wedding day through my eyes!

Again, I want to send a big ol’ CONGRATULATIONS to Matt and Lauren! Your day was perfect, and I’m SO glad I could be a part of it! <3

I want to give a shout out to Emily, my amazing second shooter. Every wedding, you keep me on track and capture amazing shots! Thanks for all that you do! 🙂

And for ALL of my BRIDES-TO-BE, here is Matt and Lauren’s Memphis Vendor List!

Venue: 409 South Main

Photographer: Maddie Moree

Caterer: Donnelson’s

Cake: Muddy’s Bake Shop (Sooooo tasty!)

Florist: Lynn Doyle

DJ: DeepBlu 

Wedding planner: Michael Doyle with Lynn Doyle

Makeup/Hair: Brittany Cobb from Estelle’s in Cordova

Dress: Paloma Blanca from the Gown Shop in Ann Arbor

Till next time, y’all!

xoxo

maddie 🙂

Helllllllllllo WORLD!! What a crazy week it’s been! I’ve been working on some new projects, but I just had to get this Tyin’ the KNOT Thursday post out there because it’s been foreva since I posted!! And I’m not even going to lie. I’ve been sitting on this engagement session for a minute (Ok, ok. Longer than a minute). But, nevertheless…

I’m SO EXCITED to show you Bryan and Jordan’s awesome at home engagement session!

First off, meet Jordan and Bryan! These two, omg! Not only are they completely adorable (just look at them!!), they are super nice and ridiculously funny! I thought I was going to pee my pants a couple of times throughout this session because I was laughing so hard. TMI? Maybe, but what’d you expect from me anyways?? Lol!

They decided to do their engagement session at their house because they have this huge back yard with gorgeous trees and this cute little fence! And just look at the sun peeking through the trees. This was definitely one of those Golden Hour shoots, and I was LOVING the light. That paired with their cuteness made this a dream engagement session.

So, just a few short notes on “at home engagements:” You can opt for a 1 hour engagement over the 2 hour engagement probably because there’s not nearly as much walking and exploring…assuming you don’t have a huge ass property for us to explore. Hey, remember Derin and Bryan’s engagement?? That was their family farm, and we had enough spots to shoot to keep us occupied for hoursssssss.

I love at home engagements, though, because you really get a chance to shoot at a place that’s important and familiar to you (your home…). It’s super easy to incorporate animals for home engagements because you can just put them back in the house when you’re done, which is what we did with Jordan and Bryan’s pups! AND, you can probably even fit in an outfit change because you’re so close to a changing area. All great pros when trying to figure out locations.

That all being said, you really need to have a pretty yard or an interesting house (preferably with great light) so we actually have places to shoot. Just keep that in mind. Jordan and Bryan’s house and property was amazing, so that made it amazing!

These two are tyin’ the knot in September and I CANNOT wait for their day! But, enough talk. Let’s get to the photos! <3

OMG OMG OMG. Like, how STINKING CUTE?!?!

Alrighty y’all! That’s all I have for you today!!

Till next time.

xoxo

maddie

Happy Fri-YAY!! It’s practically the weekend, and what better way to celebrate than showing you a super sweet Heartwood Hall Wedding?!?

OMG, you guys. I have been SO bad about posting my latest wedding and engagement photography, BUT better late than never!!!

Maybe you remember Brad and Natalie from their cute little sunflower engagement session we did last summer. It was hot as hell, but they were champs about it. You can check out their engagement photos here!

It may have been hot for their engagement session, but the weather was P-E-R-F-E-C-T for their wedding day. The entire week, it was showing like a 100% chance of rain (oh our weather men…). But they both kept their cool, and the day ended up being a perfect 75 degrees and sunny. That being said, even if it had rained, I think Natalie would have been A-OK with it. She was literally the chillest bride I’ve ever shot with, no bridezilla here!!

For their day, kids played a huge part in the wedding day, so you’ll see quite a few photos of them throughout the post. They were the sweetest kids, super cute in their wedding outfits, AND there were zero meltdowns. That has practically never happened before with that many young kids on a wedding day! Haha

Logistic-wise, Brad and Natalie did a first look! Both the ceremony and reception were at Heartwood Hall, and they did have a second shooter! You’ll also see two areas of couples photos, which is definitely one of the benefits of doing a first look. You’ll have a few more looks for your portraits, AND often times the the lighting is much better after the ceremony, especially during spring and summer weddings.

But enough of that talk. Let’s see the photossssssss.

Without further ado, I give you guys Brad and Natalie’s GORGEOUS wedding day at Heartwood Hall!

This moment……so sweet.

Congratulations again, you two! I wish y’all SO much happiness!! <3

I just want to send out a big ol’ thank you to my second shooter, Philip! Great reception shots!!!

AND FOR ALL MY BRIDES-TO-BE, HERE IS WEDDING VENDOR LIST!

Venue: Heartwood Hall

Photographer: Meeeeee, Maddie Moree

Caterer: Heartwood Hall

Florist: Lynn Doyle 

Cake: Cake Crumbs & Cookie Dough

DJ: Tyrone Mosby

Hair and Makeup: Taylor Addington 

Dress: Low’s

Getaway Limo: A Posh Limousine

Thanks for hanging with me, y’all!! Enjoy your FRIYAYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Till next time!!

xoxo

maddie

Hey peeps!! Happy Married Monday!!

Today, I have an adorable wedding to show you!! Y’all meet Paul and Hannah! Omg, so stinkin’ cute.

These two could honestly not have picked a better day and time of year for a wedding at the Botanic Gardens. Because alllllllllll of that rain we’ve had went straight to creating the most beautiful Cherry Blossoms, tulips and other random but amazingly gorgeous flowers throughout the entire garden! The weather was a tad overcast, but the sun really came out before the reception and made for some really awesome shots. We spent more time in the Rose Garden and were able to capture some of the most gorgeous shots. It’s all about the Golden Hour, ya know….

So, for their day, I just want to explain some of the logistics because we did it a bit differently here. To start, we skipped the getting ready portion and went straight into the first look. This is a great way to get a TON of bride and groom portraits, which is definitely reflected in the blog post here! This is all about prioritization. If couples portraits are the numero uno priority, then this kind of schedule is something to consider along with having a first look. Paul and Hannah had their ceremony at a church in Cordova, but we decided on doing the first look at the Botanic, which is an awesome idea considering all of the different backgrounds as well as the time of year made for some GORGEOUS scenes. Just check out the Cherry blossoms…

Since we skipped getting ready, we were able to extend their first look section by a good chunk. That paired with their smaller wedding party, it made for some fun couples portraits throughout the garden. After the ceremony, we headed back to the gardens for the reception. But before the reception actually started, I kidnapped the bride and groom for some more photos in a couple of gardens we didn’t get a chance to hit during the first look. This was OMG-gorgeous because the light was so soft and warm and happy and inviting, and I just wanted to sing it a love song and knit it a hat it was so amazing. Not to mention, Paul and Hannah were super cute because the hard part of getting married was already done!

I just want to reiterate that there is NO right or wrong answer when it comes to what you want photographed. It is all about what is important to YOU! I love working with couples like Paul and Hannah because they are SO laid back (bridechilla!!!!!!), super sweet to each other, and absolutely hilarious. There were points I was actually crying I was laughing so hard!! Haha

I’m so HONORED that I got to spend the day with them! But enough talk.

Let’s do this thing!! I present to you Paul and Hannah’s Memphis Botanic wedding as I saw it!

The cherry blossoms. Swooooooooon!!!

Ahhhh, this light…………

Alrighty, y’all! Thanks for hanging with me!

Congratulations again to the beautiful couple! I had a great day with you. 🙂

And for all my brides-to-be, here is wedding vendor list!

Venue: Botanic Gardens for First Look and Reception 

Ceremony Venue: Memphis First Seventh-day Adventist Church

Photographer: Meeeeee, Maddie Moree

Caterer: India Palace. Ummmmm, YUM!!! Y’all it was awesome. Just sayin’…

Cake: One of the bridesmaids, Laura Horn, made this cake. I just want to say, no joke, this was the BEST TASTING cake I’ve ever had in my years of wedding photography. AHHHHH-MAZING JOB. I consider myself to be a cake connoisseur, and I DEFINITELY approve…

Hair: Katie Raburn. Katie does the hair for Click Magazine, and I think she does fabulous wedding hair!! 🙂 

Dress: David’s Bridal

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. Till next time!

xoxo

maddie

Ok, y’all. It’s been a while! I’ve been traveling and resting up over this winter break. And now I’m ready to jump back into wedding season full force! How’s everyone doing over there?? You know what day it is?!

Of course, it’s WEDDING WEDNESDAY!! And that means that I have a fancy, gorgeous, fun, and BRAND-SPANKING new wedding to show y’all!

Meet Becca and Hunter.

Now this couple. Y’all. So stinkin’ cute. I, honestly, could not have asked for a better couple to start off my wedding season with! So laid back, so sweet to each other, and so much fun! My favorite parts to shoot during a wedding day are the bride and groom portraits because y’all are both so stinking happy! So happy to see each other, but then it’s mixed with this nervous anxiety before the wedding ceremony. They are so sweet. I just love watching all of it unfold. I really enjoyed our couple’s portraits for this wedding! Hope y’all do too!

A little about their day. The ceremony was actually at their parent’s house. It was gorgeous. GORGEOUS. It was a really intimate ceremony, and then the reception was downtown at the Cadre building! We even had a little time to sneak off to the Peabody and grab some fun portraits there!

As far as the rest of the day, Hunter and Becca did a first look and a sparkler exit at the end. They also had a second shooter, which made for some awesome couples portrait additions. (Eeee, excited for y’all to see the rest of the gallery!) Oh! And we were even able to incorporate Boon, their pup, for quite a few photos!

Lovin’ their day, so without further ado……

Here is Hunter and Becca’s wedding story in Midtown, at  Peabody, and then the Cadre…and everything in between!

Hunter’s sister is an opera singer. OMG, it was beautiful. I started tearing up. So moving.

Congratulations again, y’all!! So glad to be a part of your day! I’m glad to be back to it, and I wanted to send out a special thanks to my second shooter, Emily! She rocked those portraits and ceremony shots like nobody’s business! <3

For all of my brides-to-be, here’s Hunter and Becca’s Memphis wedding vendors!

Photography: Me! Maddie Moree

Reception: Cadre Building

Caterer: Paradox Catering and Consulting. <–Y’all. Food was on point. Pork rind nachos. All I have to say.

Cake: The Flour Garden

Band: The King Bees

Planner: Betsy with Salt Style and Events <–Love her! Check out this post where she answered all of my questions about wedding planning!! Betsy always puts on a gorgeous event.

Flowers: Deedra Stone Designs

Ceremony Music: Mark Edgar Stuart

Hair & Make-Up:  Rachel Douglass Glo Salon

Bar Staff:  Memphis Bar Ties

Rentals:  White Door Events

Ok, till next time! 

xoxo

maddie