Photo by Allen Clark allenclarkphotography.com

This photo was made 14 years ago today (or 5,115 days if you’re keeping count).

I’m delighted to be able to see that same expression often still, even after all this time.

It’s doubly special when that expression crosses the darling cheeks and mama-shaped eyes of our little girl.

Meghann is a beautiful ballerina (once one; always one).

She is a top-of-her-class nursing student who has cared for scores of premature babies in neonatal intensive care units.

She is a wonderful children’s photographer for our sister studio Molliepop Studios.

She is a fiercely loyal friend still to people she’s known for half a lifetime…including me.

She is a deep admirer of dark chocolate, red wine, black beer, and bleu cheese…foodies unite.

She is an a–maz–ing mother to our daughter Mollie Anneliese (age 2 1/2) who bears her mother’s beauty inside and out.

Most importantly, she is my Everbride. I remember this great day in 1998 as if it were yesterday. I still hear the song that played when she walked down the aisle, and it all comes rushing back.

Today we celebrate the past 14 years of marriage and look forward to the next several sets of 14 years together. So grateful to have this lovely in my life. Love you, Lady.

May is our anniversary month. This May brings our 14th…on the 16th. With wedding season in full swing, open May weekends are a rarity, except this past weekend when Meghann and I were given the opportunity for a date night from one of our favorite local businesses called Babysitting By Nina (a.k.a., grandma needed some Mollie time). Double win.

Our date night appetizer consisted of an outdoor tango lesson in Centennial Park, a first for both of us (and we’re hooked), before dinner reservations at 1808 Grille just down the street. Housed in the super cool Hutton Hotel, our first dining experience at 1808 Grille was a hit. An amazingly delicious hit.

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop
whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” 
~Luciano Pavarotti

Photo from www.1808grille.com; photographer unknown

Cue the adjective onslaught….

We were greeted at the door by two smiling hostesses bedecked in classic little black dresses then seated at a comfortable table to peruse a sophisticated wine list (1808 Grille has been the recipient of Wine Spectator Award of Excellence three years running) featuring select fine wines from around the world. We chose Centine…a youthful and intensely fruity blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot…from Castello Banfi in our favorite Tuscan village called Montalcino. Cheers to us!

The deliciousness started with a remarkable salad. “Salad” doesn’t even come close to describing this collection of artisanal greens sourced from a local farmer tossed in a house-made buttermilk dressing including mayo, buttermilk, garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, and cayenne pepper accompanied by salami bacon, dried corn, shaved red onion, golden raisins, and curry spiced cracker. Harmonious explosion of striking flavors.

The famed Classic Braised Short Rib. Photo provided by 1808 Grille.

The decadence continued with the main courses. Meghann furthered our love affair with Italy via Five Cheese Tortellini…Tuscan kale, shaved garlic, Roma tomato, crimini mushrooms, and Pinot Grigio. This dish didn’t disappoint, though it played supporting actor to the menu’s most favorite character…the famed Classic Braised Short Rib.

I’m not much of a red meat devotee, but this entrée changed that. The beef short ribs are slow braised for about three hours in a moist cooking environment until tender (i.e. side-of-fork tender; no knife required) topped with a demi-glace of mirepoix (combination of chopped onion, carrot, and celery), tomato paste, red wine, and veal stock. The flavor so intensely indescribable must be experienced for yourself. These short ribs even had a sidekick popover, a puff pastry stuffed with a horseradish cream. Magical pairing.

Sides of the day included a trio of Mac & Cheese (made with cheddar, jack, parmesan, and roasted red peppers), Wine-braised Mushrooms (cooked with Cabernet, red onions, and red wine vinegar then finished with just a little rosemary), and Tomato & Cucumber Salad of very fresh local ingredients including lightly sautéed ramps, shaved breakfast radishes, and chimichurri (shallot, garlic, parsley, oregano, champagne vinegar).

Such a meal would be incomplete without dessert, right? Server recommendations included Banana Beignets with a Hazelnet Glaze and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, both of which tempted our tastebuds, which we treated to the super-sophisticated version of that magical combination brought mainstream by the legendary H.B. Reese himself. Plus cappuccino for good measure, of course.

Executive Chef Charles Phillips (recently invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in Manhattan) and Executive Sous Chef Jake Strang were in fine form for this dinner. Outstanding table service throughout the entire evening, plus a brief chat with Assistant General Manager John Baskett, rounded out a wonderful dining experience with my everbride.

This anniversary dinner was quite an outstanding experience, and I can highly recommend 1808 Grille for a cosmopolitan proposal evening, sophisticated rehearsal dinner, or decadent precursor to your bachelor/bachelorette party. And in the spirit of all delicious things Italian…Buon Appetito!

This weekend brought the marriage celebration of Heather & George into our lives, and what a celebration it was. I’ll share more images from the wedding day in a future post, but for now I wanted to focus on the star of the show: the lovely bride Heather.

If you’ve spent more than five minutes with me talking photography and fashion, you’ll know that bridal portrait sessions top my list of favorite shoots. I love everything about them. The sophistication, the elegance, the grace, the beauty, the fashion, and so much more.

What other event in your life warrants the time and attention as your wedding day? Without being a Kardashian, that is.

You now own the most fantastic dress you’ve ever owned, with the most details and perfect styling elements and fitting than any other gown in your closet. It’s been selected from hours of flipping through your favorite bridal magazines, clicking through Brides.com, scouring countless Pinterest boards, and perhaps even from channeling Grace Ormonde herself. You’ve been through 2–3 fittings together to make sure it fits your figure like a glove. It’s yours. It’s you.

In this post, it’s Heather wearing “Natasha” by Maggie Sottero from The White Room.

I deeply enjoyed getting to know her over the months preceding her wedding, and especially at her exclusive bridal portrait session at Riverwood Mansion (where she would wed George only a few weeks later). Over the course of a couple hours of dedicated and distraction-free purpose, Talin Love spun her hair and make-up magic while we three had the entire mansion to ourselves to celebrate Heather’s sophisticated style and elegance.

With wedding day festivities now in the history books, I’m excited to share my single favorite image from that afternoon (on left below) plus a teaser preview of their gorgeous wedding day shot just minutes before her big reveal to awaiting guests, family, and her groom. Cheers.

We photographers love showing images we have made. That’s a pretty common practice, especially among the photo blogosphere (including mine). We select  15–20 and sometimes 30–40+ images to share with the world on our blogs. This time ’round, though, I decided to share an entire wedding on a blog post instead of a selected handful. Mix in some cool and moody music from The Candlepark Stars and kick back to (re)live Katie & Bevan’s marriage celebration…

… the way they will for decades to come. Though they’ll likely linger longer on each page while snuggled up with each other and some great wine.

Finally, I have to give major props to Katie and her parents, Debbie & Mike. This sophisticated and decadent wedding was designed and planned as if they hired a professional wedding designer and planner. Superb attention to detail from top to bottom, including a custom set design that converted a pool house breezeway into an intimate outdoor wedding chapel. Yes, the “church with stained glass windows” and painted “brick” is a handmade facade designed and built by Katie’s dad himself. Debbie and Katie poured countless hours of creativity and attention into every detail, big and small, pictured in the Details chapter. Deeply impressive. Their family connection is richly inspiring, and knowing their family story wraps a complete context around the love enfolded into making this a marriage celebration to remember. Katie shares that story in a loving tribute at PrincessKeepers.com, a highly recommended read.

In addition to those numerous DIY details, these fine Nashville wedding professionals also contributed their craft and handiwork to this epic marriage celebration:

Gown: Jim Hjelm
Bridal Boutique: Faccio
Tuxedo: Calvin Klein
Hair & Make-up (bridal portrait session): Andrew Pentecost
Hair (wedding day): Ashley Hunter Mullins
Make-up (wedding day): Kim Grayson Evins of Grayson Couture
Venue: The Snodgrass Family
Day-of Coordinator: Tammy A. Smith
Flowers: Vicki Sanders of Branching Out Event Florist
Cakes: Ivey Cake and The Bake Shoppe
Caterer: Catering by Granny’s
Videography: Jon & Kelsey Bufkin of FocalPoint Cinematic
Musicians: Melissa Greene, Antonio Compton, and Tarryn Wallin
Minister: Stan Mitchell of GracePointe Church
2nd Shooter: Jessica McIntosh
Photography Assistant: Joel Hartz

Such a great day uniting Katie & Bevan. Deepest thanks to the lovely couple for allowing me and my team (with Jessica & Joel) to photograph the festivities. Raising a glass in your direction. Cheers.