20th Anniversary Couples Session | Greenville SC Couples Photography

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I am a huge believer in celebrating and photographing your love, whatever phase it is in, and I also think we should soak in as many experiences as life hands to us. When it came time for my friend Marilynn to give her dad and step-mom a gift for their 20th wedding anniversary, she opted to give these special people the gift of memories. She planned a weekend getaway to Greenville SC, complete with a riverfront hotel package, spa treatments, dinner out, a wine toast, and a special photography session to celebrate their love over the past 20 years. This photo session was their first professional portraits EVER. We really wanted to just carve out a bit of time for them to laugh and love together so that when they view these pictures they remember the EXPERIENCE of this weekend. Yes, yes, yes!!! THIS is why I love photography: the opportunity to remember not just how you look or what you’re wearing, but to remember how you feel together….one year in or 20.

Fred and Kathy are full of romance and laughter, which are beautiful to photograph…

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They are so cute and smiley!

 

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Rawr!!!

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A little toast to 20 years of laughter and kindness…

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They look as giddy as a couple of teenagers in this one. 🙂

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One of my favorites!

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I love, love LOVE everything about this series. Sassy, sweet, happy…

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Fred and Kathy, 20 years of marriage look FANTASTIC on you two! Here’s to many, many more happy years together. I hope you made lots and lots of memories during your special weekend.

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To view Fred and Kathy’s entire Proof Gallery, CLICK HERE. Password is their last name.
As always, it makes us feel happy when you click below to leave a comment saying that you’ve stopped by! 🙂 Happy Weekend, everyone!

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We’re Engaged! | Month #7 and #8

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Whoa! Time is just tick tick ticking away….I completely missed my Month #7 post (sorry to all our Moms who looked for the update), I’m a week late for our Month #8 post, AND we are already less than 100 days out from the wedding!! 94, to be exact. (But who’s counting?) Go grab your popcorn, get comfy, and be prepared to hang out for a bit: Tony and I have been engaged for 8 months now, and we had a lot going on in Months #7 and #8! Get ready for tons of photos and engagement/wedding updates.

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In Month #7 of being engaged, Tony and I….

–shared our first full Christmas together (although Tony DID come over to my parents’ house last year for dinner and the white Christmas). It was so special to spend time with each other and our families during the holiday season. This was our first time experiencing the “we need to see everyone” schedule that most couples face, but we made it work. (Thanks to a nap!) It went something like this: Christmas Eve church services at his dad’s church, Christmas Eve dinner at my parents’ house, including baking and fudge-making…Christmas morning stockings and brunch with my parents, visit Tony’s sister’s house to see his nephew’s 1st Christmas, his parents’ house for gifts and snacks, his grandma’s house, nap at my parents’, opening gifts with them, dinner at 10pm, and falling asleep on the couch watching Rudolph. Then the next morning, we got up to meet his grandparents and Mom and her husband for lunch in Greenville, stopped back by my parents’ house to see our sweet family friend Shirley, and back to our house to meet my BFF who had driven in from Alabama. I’m tired just remembering all of that!! 🙂

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Christmas Eve church service…my parents, Tony’s parents, and his two brothers

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Christmas Day with my parents….adorable stockings handmade by my mom (mine when I was a baby, Tony’s cute gingerbread chef this year)….our first “family picture” with Pearl the Cat

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Christmas Day with Tony’s parents….this has been a big year for their family (a new baby and 2 engagements), so it required all new stockings!….Take 1 of the family photo…Take 2 is much better. *Sigh* 😉

–had a great visit with my BFF and Matron of Honor, Rebecca. Since she lives so far away, she hasn’t been able to be involved face-to-face with wedding plans. During her visit, we packed in tons of catching up, wedding planning, and dinner out. There’s just nothing like time spent with the people who know you the best and love you the most!

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–ordered bridesmaids dresses!! They will be in mid-March, and I’m so excited to see them! I had a fun morning with Rebecca (MOH), Robyn (bridesmaid and match-maker), and Ella Jane (Flower Girl Extraordinaire) at the dress shop. EJ’s favorite part was dancing on the pedestals and hiding in the dress racks. 🙂

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–worked on a Bridesmaids Craft Project, thanks to Pinterest! We are making these cool candles for the reception space….just glass jars, modge-podge, and lace. **I still need glass jars if you can donate any to the cause!**

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–welcomed the New Year, also known as “The Year We’re Getting Married.” Tony had to work late, so I hung out with my parents for the countdown, and then he and I toasted at midnight on Mountain Time when he finally got home. We just pretended we were in Colorado. 🙂 The next day, we had lunch at the Waffle House and ate traditional porkchops, beans, and greens with my parents and played funny card games with them. It was a great way to spend the first day of our Wedding Year!

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Happy New Year, 2012!

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One of my favorite recent photos of us…so comfy.

–celebrated Christmas and Hanukah with more of Tony’s family, hosted at our house. It was fun to have them here with us!

–hung 4 humongous canvases from our engagement portraits!

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3 of the 4 canvases!

–WE FINALLY FOUND OUR FLORIST!! We are so excited that Adina at Frilly Bloomer’s Florals will be prettying up our wedding and reception. She is super talented, and a complete riot!!

–we attended a wine tasting, and while we were there we decided on our honeymoon location!!

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We are traveling to……….Italy!!

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–I had my last visit with my one-of-a-kind Aunt Dot, who died just a couple of days after I spent a perfectly normal afternoon at her house. Tony and his parents all helped our family say goodbye to her.

–spent the weekend in The ATL with Rebecca and her husband Marshall. We have a blast with these two! We went to the World of Coke Museum (thumbs down, except for the all-you-can-drink tasting room), ate some great food, laughed a ton, and visited CNN (pretty cool, even though I don’t watch the news.)

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This photo just cracks me up; it was too funny not to buy from our CNN Tour! I don’t know why we are wearing coats while reading the news. I told Tony that it looks like I am interviewing a homeless guy; thanks Big Beard!

During Month #8 of being engaged, Tony and I…

–visited with my awesome far-away bridesmaid Marilynn while she was in town for a couple of days. We have family and friends attending the wedding from SC, NC, Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, and Las Vegas, but Marilynn wins the prize: she and her hubby are coming all the way from Seattle for our big day!!

–received our first wedding gift from our registry! Tony’s grandparents sent us an amazing 1st Gift: our KitchenAid Mixer! We are so excited to begin using it….recipes are welcomed. 🙂

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–had a quick and fun get-away in the mountains with our awesome friends and photographers, Craig and Lindsey. (3 photographers on a trip, and no photos…oh well!) Our engagement portraits were also featured on their blog–yay!

–WE FINALLY FOUND OUR CATERER!!! Food is such a big part of our lives, and we had a really difficult time finding the right caterer for our wedding. We are beyond excited that Brian from Tupelo Honey Cafe’ in Asheville is keeping our tummies full during cocktail hour and dinner. The menu he prepared is ridiculous. We could not be more excited about our wedding food!

–got our Save the Date cards!

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–hosted our parents for the Superbowl. It is so awesome that our parents are friends through our relationship!! (They even get together, and don’t even invite us! 😉 )

–continued our weekly cooking nights when Tony gets home from school, and we also had an awesome Spanish dinner night, thanks to our inspiration from Chef Jose Andres’ cookbook and some authentic products from La Tienda in Virginia. Yummo.

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On the menu: anchovy-stuffed olives, manchego cheese, braised chicken with stewed vegetables, and potatoes cooked with chorizo and paprika. Oh my. (And yes–we cook in our jammies.)

–picked out at least one song for our wedding ceremony, and we picked out our nephew’s Ring Bearer outfit. SO CUTE!

–started planning several showers and our Bachelor/Bachelorette party! Yay, let the celebrating begin! (or continue…I guess we’ve celebrating our engagement and marriage all along…)

–picked out the guys’ suits for the wedding, and Tony got measured for his! We also got ties for Tony, our dads, and all the groomsmen. My bridesmaids’ dresses are a color that’s difficult to match, so we are really excited that we found 3 different patterns of ties in the perfect color!

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–celebrated our “engaged Valentine’s Day” with a 10 course tasting menu at Devereaux’s downtown. Dinner (and my date!) were amazing! I also got a beautiful necklace and earrings, and I gave Tony a wine book and a Pinterest-inspired homemade gift.

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–continued to grow The Big Beard. TBB is sort of like a pet, or a houseguest, or an old friend. It is definitely an entity all its own. (It will also be gone before the wedding.)

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The Big Beard on one of its bushier days; Tony, deep in thought, comparing beards with the inventor of Coke.

If you’ve continued reading this post all the way to the end–thanks for being so interested in me and Tony, our engagement, and our love! We love you and we’re excited that you are part of our journey. Leave us some love in the comments section to let us know you made it to the bitter end. 😉

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Love,
Amy + Tony

We’re Engaged! Month #2 (and 2 Days)

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Mine and Tony’s wedding is a little over 9 months away, and we’re staying busy planning the wedding, loving each other, and living our lives. If you missed the happenings of Month 1, you can read it HERE. Now, Month 2…

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Whoa, Month 2 of our engagement was buuuuuuuuuuusy! So busy, in fact, that I missed getting to blog on the correct date, August 16. So here we are, Tony + Amy engaged for two months and 2 days. Here’s what we’ve been up to in Month 2:

~Attended Tony’s baby nephew’s baptism

~Received a special heirloom gift that Tony’s Oma and Opa (great-grandparents) brought back from a Mediterranean cruise many, many years ago.

~Combined our homes! Now, if we can just unpack all of these boxes… 😉

~Had a huge yardsale to start our “Honeymoon Fund.” I got a little addicted to it…..the cleaning out, the bargaining, the people who showed up in their Bud Light pajamas.

~Went on our first plane flight together and our first big trip together. We were happy–but not surprised–to find that we travel great together. We ate and ate and ate our way through Washington DC. We’re both huge fans of “small plates” and shared food, and we ate LOTS of it at some amazing restaurants. (One tapas place suggested that we order 4-5 small plates to share. I think we had 11.) I tried the Best.Sangria.Ever. at Jaleo.

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~Tony assisted me on two photo sessions! He’s an awesome helper, and I loved that he wanted to see what I do.

~Celebrated 3 birthdays with Tony’s family, helped out my parents when my dad had outpatient surgery, and visited with my special aunt, uncle, and cousins in Charlotte. We are so blessed to love each other’s families and to have families who nurture our relationship.

~Relaxed with friends on an overnight mountain trip to Caesar’s Head. Rode Segways. (Harder than it looks!)

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~Commented in a blog contest on Scarlett & Stephen’s website, and we won free Save the Date cards from Just Invite Me in Chicago! Woohoo!

~Talked and talked about Our Wedding. Got excited, all over again! Put together design boards and began to see a really clear vision for the look, feel, taste, and even the smell of our big day!

~Talked about preparing not only for our wedding, but also for our marriage. Googled “questions to ask before you get married.” Asked and answered lots of them. This site was our favorite.

~Changed our wedding colors. Three times. In one weekend.

~Met with Potential Caterer #1, who totally got our vision and excitedly brainstormed with us…..after seeing my “A + T Wedding Food” design board. Yay for visual aids!

~Met with Potential Florist #1, who gave us some great ideas (yay!) and who told me that basically none of the flowers I want will be available in late May (boo!).

~Confirmed that our wedding reception will be at Apple Hill Farms!! We are IN LOVE with this place and can’t wait to celebrate with our friends and family here! It is seriously so perfect for me and Tony and for the way we want our guests (and us!!) to feel on our wedding day.

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~Scheduled our Engagement Portraits. Yay!!! Super excited to be on the other side of the camera with my sweet Mr. Keely!

~Became hooked on Swamp People. I’m not really sure why we like it, but we do.

Apparently, one thing we didn’t do much of in Month 2 was take pictures! Except for our DC trip, I don’t have many photos of the two of us. Here’s a couple more at the Gaylord National…one with the ultimate “photo bomb” in the background….

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Thank you so much for all of your love and support! We have amazing friends and family, and I don’t know if we can ever express how much we appreciate you celebrating with us.
Love,
Amy + Tony

We’re Engaged! Month #1

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Today marks one full month of me and Tony being engaged! On June 16, I got up from our picnic blanket at the Rock Quarry to get something out of my bag, and when I turned around, I found Tony on one knee, holding my ring with the biggest smile on his face. I love the memory of that look on his face! I hope I never forget that look…it was pretty amazing.

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In one month of being engaged, we have….

~celebrated with champagne and strawberries at the sweet Pettigru Place Bed & Breakfast and had an amazing four-course dinner at American Grocery Restaurant

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~enjoyed a quiet get-away to the mountains, where we walked around the lake and just spent time together

~picked our wedding date! Woohooo May 27, 2012!!

~reserved our ceremony site

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~had dinner with my parents at Bin 112 to celebrate

~introduced part of our families to each other (with MUCH laughter and conversation!) at Giorgio’s

~introduced Tony to my sweet Great-Aunts…and received a hot-from-the-oven pound cake

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~been treated to a family Engagement Party Cookout hosted by Tony’s parents….again, MUCH laughter and conversation between our two families, and some neat surprise connections between them!

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~begun the process of combining two homes. WOW we both have a lot of stuff. Yard sale next week, folks!! (Seriously! Please, come buy.)

~asked about half of our bridesmaids and groomsmen to share in our special day

~asked our dads to perform our wedding ceremony

~gotten the cutest Flower Girl in the world who sings a special song about “Miss Amy and Mr Tony are getting marrrrrrrrried…”

~almost narrowed down our Guest List (thank goodness that’s nearly over; stressing me out!)

~pretty much decided on our reception site (crossing fingers!!)

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~hired our photographers–love our sweet friends from Sposa Bella!

Not too shabby for just a month, right?? 🙂 Tony and I are so excited to be planning not only our wedding, but more importantly our marriage. It has been wonderful and overwhelming to see how many people are sharing in our happiness and are supporting us in this new, exciting journey. The facebook messages, phone calls, cakes, cards, hugs, and happy tears of our friends and family have blown us away. It is a pretty special thing to be this loved! I am such a lucky girl.

–Amy

Rebecca & Marshall: Anniversary Portraits (again!)

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You may remember that my bff Rebecca, her husband Marshall, and I nearly froze to death trying to take their 5th anniversary portraits in the NC mountains back at New Year’s. I am a southern girl, and I just don’t see any reason why the wind chill should be in single digits. Can I get an “amen”?!? I went to visit Rebecca and Marshall in Alabama recently, and we shot “part two” of their anniversary session. Fortunately, it was a beautiful spring afternoon…no frostbite this time!

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Makes me smile…

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Love love love this one!

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Happy Anniversary (again) you two!!

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Me and my BFF….in case you didn’t read the post from our January session, Rebecca and I were in the same kindergarten class, graduated from high school together, shared a rinky-dink college apartment, and are as close as sisters. 🙂

Someone (that would be me) could use a tan. By the time he shot the photo on the right, Marshall was acting like he was on an NYC fashion shoot…we were obviously amused. I love it.

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