One of the many favorite aspects about photographing bridal portraits and weddings is that these events are flooded with love. Love between bride & groom. Love amongst wedding parties. Love within families. Love all around…which makes this morning’s tragic news from Aurora, CO all the more jarring. A senseless reminder that we live in a broken and fallen world, elevating the importance of love for one another.

Though the shooting took place 1,100+ miles from my front door, the impact hits home here. I have a large number of friends in the greater Denver area. Some I’ve known for over 20 years; some I’ve known for 20 weeks. They could have been there. Odds are, some of them were there; I’m still trying to check on everyone.

Many of my Nashville friends attended the midnight showing of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises through Nashville’s multiplexes. This could have happened here, and in your neighborhood, just as senselessly as it happened in Aurora.

The sadness and frustration bring to mind the simple and profound lyrics from “Get Together” by The Youngbloods from decades ago.

Love is but a song to sing
Fear’s the way we die
You can make the mountains ring
Or make the angels cry
Though the bird is on the wing
And you may not know why

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now

It’s been encouraging to see phoenix-like responses to this tragedy on Facebook, strength and virtue rising from the ashes of tragedy:

“Many news organizations are going to politicize this event. Let us try to keep our focus on what we can do to support those whose lives have been forever changed by this tragic event. The people that are trying to make the world worse never take a day off , why should I? Light up the darkness.” (David)

“To celebrate the lives of citizens we lost today and to honor the wounded, their friends and family, and our fire and law enforcement personnel, doctors, nurses, please consider doing a kindness for a total stranger today. Make a donation. Hold the door open. Pay for their coffee. Pick up their tipped-over garbage cans. Show them that even though you don’t know them, you still know that they are there, and that they are precious people.” (actual source unknown, presumably a public official in Aurora area)

This affects all of us.

Now is our opportunity to turn the tide collectively. “Come on, people now. Smile on your brother. Everybody get together. Try to love one another right now.” Especially right now.

This will be the shortest blog post I’ve ever written. Kept it at 1,000 + 21 words. What are they saying to you?

So you throw this amazing party, and you want to commemorate the event. Of course, you’d hire a professional photographer to capture it all, and you’d be happy to consider hiring a painter for the event too. Yes, a painter. Brushes, rainbow of colored paints (including the glittery, sparkly kind), big canvas…and a uber-cool painter to turn your event into a one-of-a-kind work of art. Enter Heidi Schwartz of Paint Your Event. I recently sat down with Heidi to learn a bit more about her approach to the Paint Your Event experience.

gb: Why do you do what you do?

hs: It’s creative, interesting and a challenge. I get to do something for people that they enjoy and I enjoy doing.

How did you discover this talent/gift?

By complete accident! I fell into live painting. I’m a singer/songwriter, and I made a record where every song had a painting that incorporated the lyrics (kind of like a word picture). I contacted the entertainment manager at Gaylord Opryland hotel about doing some singing gigs. He checked out my website to hear my music and saw my paintings and asked if I could paint a dinner. It built from there on…

What one wish do you have for your clients?

I want my clients to have a painting years from now still hanging in their house and it brings them back to that special moment in time. And at the same time, adds beauty to the present.

She does just that. You may recognize Heidi from the behind-the-scenes slideshow of the Betsey Johnson-inspired photo shoot from a few posts back. Check out this time lapse video of her in action at that photo shoot and see for yourself.

We delight in looking at the finished 48″ x 48″ painting on our wall everyday as we are still amazed she gathered so many different style elements from the shoot and put them all onto one canvas right before our eyes. So, so good. Check out more of Heidi’s live event paintings at www.paintyourevent.com and book her for your next event before someone else does.

P.S. Big thanks to my friends of Worldwide Groove Corporation for the cool chill tune in this time lapse video. Hear more of their music at the official Worldwide Groove Corporation MySpace page.

Beautiful flowers clipped and placed into gorgeous arrangements. Flour and sugar and butter(!) transformed into delicious cakes. Long white dress donned for the bride’s debut. Sleek black tuxes buttoned up to make the him debonair. Event spaces draped and lighted to create an epic stage…..

It’s wedding season here in Tune Town, and many area wedding professionals have already had full weekends serving brides and grooms for their marriage celebrations.

So what does a gaggle of wedding professionals (a.k.a. friendors) do on a Monday after another full weekend? Take the day off, right?

Nope!

Not for this fun bunch who descended upon Noah Liff Opera Center to throw a “for-fun” wedding inspired by the color-explosive stylings of uber-chic fashion designer Betsey Johnson.

So here’s what happens when a group of talented wedding professionals sets sights on a decadent theme, cranks up the music, and rocks a photo shoot simply to have a great time and show off. First, it all starts with an idea, and Amy Nathanson of Belles Fleurs Designs served as ring mistress to this cirque du colour. Add a contemporary venue designed for the modern, cosmopolitan bride and groom who want to make a bold statement for their wedding day, then assemble a snappy team of creative pros and turn ‘em loose to do their thing and … Boom!

What’s a fun wedding without a fun bride and groom, right? Real-life newlyweds Kendall & Billy are crazy in love with each other, and it clearly shows. A simple “OK, you two, let’s make a kissing shot” which is sometimes directed as “OK, getchya some!” and, well, you know. Weddings are the ultimate Public Displays of Affection, and the connection chemistry of a Betsey-kind-of-couple contributed to the cool craziness. Cosmopolitan, connected, and care-free. Killer.

Speaking of killer, check out this fantastic cake design by Juanita Lane of Dulce Desserts. She nailed this Betsey Johnson inspired theme to the hilt. Talk about combining signature design elements into big-and-bold layers of visual awesomeness. More shots of this amazing cake design to be featured in a future post, and I wanted to start the sweet bragging about Dulce’s decadence now. So, so good.

That post will also brag all over the floral design of Bonnie Denton of Belles Fleurs Designs, table settings and linens pulled together by Sarah Willard of Music City Events and Audrey Bell of Music City Tents & Events, the evocative event lighting provided by Bob McClung of REM Entertainment, and more. For now, I’ll turn back to the amazing people at this shoot…and their tattoos. \../.    .\../

I have one; Liv and Nick (the bartender here) have many, to the tune of 75+ between them. The tattoo score is Nick 69, Gregory 1. Gonna have to bridge that gap by one or two points soon for sure.

Liz rocked the Betsey Johnson dress as the flirtatious yet hard-to-get bridesmaid. Big thanks to Rachel Vich from Betsey Johnson Nashville for providing the amazing dresses for this shoot. Also, a big shout out to Link Tipton of Blue Nova Designs for the draped cabana bar. And there’s that bride and groom getting all PDA on each other again.

The flirty bridesmaid entices another groomsman with another kind of sweet kiss in the form of puckering lips and bold hearts provided by the great team at Dulce Desserts. Who can resist a plate full of cookies like those?

Across the room sits another table o’ deliciousness provided by Pam Hogancamp of Ribbons of Chocolate. This is a “fondue waterfall” of event-colored white chocolate to douse succulent strawberries clad in edible animal print plus chocolate-dipped pretzels and colorful marshmallows served in martini glasses. Sweet decadence…Betsey style.

At the head table, it’s time for tributes and toasts to the lovely couple, and this shot features the work of every friendor involved in this shoot. Check out the hot pink chocolate fountains that look like sculptures. Skewer a strawberry and douse it in that rich melted chocolate….yeah. Check out the exotic flower arrangements and decorations atop the gold linens matching the gold chairs set against colorful ombre lighting pattering on elegant white draping. Please note that behind the draping wall you’ll find a not-so-gorgeous freight elevator. This is how creative event professionals turn a bland area into an epic event space.

Here’s another example of of turning basic corner in an epic event vignette. Behind this black and white backdrop is a set of commercial-grade double doors and an illuminated red exit sign…both necessary in an emergency…and this team of event design pros creatively disguised them (keeping the star couple and guests happy) while maintaining a safe exit route (keeping the fire marshall happy). And, again, check out the fantastic table settings and this fabulous wedding party. Cheers indeed!

The Noah Liff Opera Center offers a really cool architectural facade for wedding party photos and grand exits…even the “traditional” bouquet toss gets a modern twist. Just toss it really high while rocking heels and a Betsey Johnson dress. Any guesses about who caught this feather and flower bouquet?

And finally…this shot begged to be made so we obliged. I present to you Music City’s newest and most-fashionable all-girl performing group … The Petticoats. This calls for another \../.   .\../

Such a fun shoot, and I could write even more. I’ll cover those additional thoughts in additional posts soon. This style shoot has been brought to you by these amazing wedding professionals:

Amy Nathanson & Bonnie Denton … Belles Fleurs Designs (concept, flowers, decor)
Rachel Vich … Betsey Johnson Nashville (dresses)
Sarah Willard … Music City Events (decor, planning/coordination)
Bob McClung … REM Entertainment (event lighting)
Audrey Ball … Music City Tents & Events (rentals, linens)
Juanita Lane … Dulce Desserts (cake, cookies)
Pam Hogancamp … Ribbons of Chocolate (chocolate fountains)
Link Tipton … Blue Nova Designs (draping)
Sunny Fitz … SUNNYband (headbands)
Amy Lynn Larwig (make-up stylist)
Jo Smith & Meghan Parkinson … Salon P’Nash (hair stylists)
Rachael Street … Street Tuxedo (um, tuxedos)
Stephanie Resch … Relish (invitations and paper goods)
Heidi Schwartz … Paint Your Event (live event painter…more on her in a separate post)
Billy & Kendall (bride & groom)
Liv, Rachel, and Jo (bridesmaids)
Ryan, Chris, and Tom (groomsmen)
Nick (bartender)
Noah Liff Opera Center (location)
Jessica McIntosh (photo assistant, behind-the-scenes photographer)
And yours truly (photographer, fun wrangler)

Cheers to a great week. See you soon.