Leanna and Daniel are getting married! We always love when we get to work with other creative-types. Leanna is a graphic designer. What I love about getting to photograph other artists, is that they appreciate the photographs on a different level. It’s not that artists like the images any more, it just that the things they like are different than the things other people like. So, it’s fun to see how they react to seeing their photographs. All of you artists out there who are reading this post, what is it that you like about these images:

As we all know, Nashville is a melting pot of people from all over the country and the world. It is rare for me to meet someone that was actually born and raised here. So for many of you, that are not from Nashville but are getting married here, you will have a lot of family and friends coming from out of town. And if you are like me, I know when I have family come in from out of town I want to show them the great local restaurants and attractions that this city has to offer.

I am big into supporting our local businesses and restaurants this year, and that love has grown even stronger for me since the flood. That is why this week I put together a list of some local “goodies” that you could use in your gift bags for out of town guests, as bridesmaids gifts or even as guest favors at your wedding.

Just to preface this list, I am known in the office as being a “foodie”, so yes this list does consist of a lot of food and yummy treats.

1. Wine from Arrington Vineyard.

If you have not been out to Arrington Vineyard yet I really encourage you to go as a date night or with some friends. The grounds are beautiful, and the wine tastings are free. You can then purchase a bottle and enjoy a picnic out on the hillside over looking the vineyard.

2. Olive & Sinclair Chocolates

According to the Olive & Sinclair Chocolates website: “Scott Witherow, founder and maker of Olive & Sinclair Chocolates has been celebrated as one of Nashville’s up and coming gourmet superstars. His chocolate is slow roasted and stone ground in small batches using select single origin beans combined with pure brown sugar for a smooth and robust flavor that is unique to southern artisan chocolate.” While I have not personally had their chocolate I have seen it in a lot of stores and it looks delicious. They can also do custom labeled chocolate bars for your wedding.

3. Note Cards from Anderson Design Group

These note cards from Anderson Design Group are a great way to share some locally famous places with your guests. And when your guests use them they will be reminded of the great time that they had at your wedding.

4. Jewelry from Bijougirldesigns and Route Thirteen

This is more of a gift idea for your bridesmaids, but I am in love with Amanda Conley (bijougirldesigns) and Sarah Tams (Route Thirteen) designs. They are so simple and really fun.

5. Coffee from Davis Cookware in Hillsboro Village

Even though I don’t have a picture to go with this entry I had to include it on the list. The owners of Davis Cookware roast and grind their own beans. And let me tell you it is one killer cup o’joe. If your friends are coffee drinkers they will definitely thank you for including this in their bag.

I realize that this list does not even begin to cover everything, but hopefully it is able to offer some ideas that had not been thought of before.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Cheers!

Liz and Jamie like music, so we took them down to one of their favorite Nashville concert halls.

Liz and Jamie like to read, but sometimes they have different tastes.

Liz and Jamie like Pizza. The top right image in this series is my personal favorite. It makes me laugh pretty hard whenever I look at it.If it was named like a fine art piece I would call it “The Romantic Deep Dish” or “Sexy Pie”.

More music influence to this above photo.

Congrats Liz and Jamie!

I pulled 24 ticks off of my body after this engagement session, Whitney had 17, but it was totally worth it. Danielle & Cade made this session a very personal expression of their relationship. This couple met when they had box seats next to each other at the Kentucky Derby. So, horses and big hats were a must for their photographs.

Danielle is a city girl from New York and Cade is a country boy from Texas. We can’t wait to see the mixture of guests they have at their wedding.

Thanks guys for putting up with the tick infestation. We had a lot of fun and can’t wait for your wedding day!

Thank you everyone who has booked Dove Wedding Photography! For over three years now Dove Wedding Photography has been donating a portion of our wedding bookings to Invisible Children, an organization fighting to end a war in Uganda that has enslaved children as soldiers. The above video shows the outcome of a bunch of small voices combining to become one large voice. We are proud to be a part of this.

I wanted to link to a blog post we made from last year’s Invisible Children event titled: The Rescue. While looking for it I realized we never posted the blog. So, here it is:

A large group, made up primarily of college and high school students, met in Centennial Park: a location titled “Abduction Point.” The location symbolized children being abducted from their homes and marched long miles to the Lord’s Resistance Army’s Base Camp. This evening the location was Bicentennial Mall.

As a peaceful demonstration students from across Tennessee walked single file through the streets of Nashville.

This is me leading the youth group from The Village Chapel.

Upon arriving at Bicentennial Mall, the plan was to wait until we were rescued by fulfilling three things:
1) Having the news media show up.
2) Having two or more political figures or celebrities show up.
3) Raising an assigned amount of money.
Fortunately for the Nashville crew, all three happened before night fell.

Upon arriving at the park, we hung photographs of ourselves with our family. Circling images of ourselves symbolized the family that we left behind during the abduction. Here is a family portrait of Whitney’s family at our wedding.

During our wait, we wrote letters to our senators and created art projects. Here is Whitney and our friend Emma making a poster.

Even though we were “rescued” we still decided to spend the night in a downtown parking lot…

…However, that ended when a few drunk club-hoppers decided to get into a fight and the cops showed up. As exciting as it was Whitney and I decided drunk guys, cops and youth groups are not the best mix. So, we rolled up our mats and called for a ride back to the church.