One weekend in the middle of December, I hopped on a plane to travel to St. Augustine, Florida to photograph John and Chelsea’s wedding weekend. This was a special wedding, as the groom is one of my second photographer’s brothers! If you’re a past bride, you might see the resemblance. It was a treat to get to know both families better throughout the weekend. We had so much fun together!
Starting off the Wedding Weekend with an Engagement Session on the Beach.
We were all anticipating perfect, lovely, warm, sunny Florida December weather, but we shifted expectations towards another kind of beauty. Cold air filled the evening as a tropical storm came through! I never force or even try to coerce a couple to take photos, especially when it’s hours before their rehearsal dinner (!), but looking back, we are all so thrilled we slipped away for this half hour. John and Chelsea were up for it, despite the chill. Such sweet moments before their meaningful rehearsal dinner nearby.
A Different Kind of Florida Beauty!
Though many would say they miss the beautiful blue/green Florida water and sunset colors, I fell in love with the creamy, misty, neutral tones that were a perfect compliment for Chelsea and John’s outfits. Chelsea wore a beautiful white dress with delicate ribbons and long earrings that made her already elegant look that much better. I LOVE how much she loved her dress! There’s something special about finding something you feel beyond beautiful wearing – Chelsea definitely looked like a movie character that night. John’s hair is now much shorter due to work (you can check out Chelsea’s whole reel about it here), so it was fun to capture these before he had to cut it. That’s the power of photography! You can “freeze” moments in time when memories are not enough. One of my favorite songs, Photograph, written by Cody Fry, tells of that very thing.
Final Thoughts
Some of my favorite photos from John and Chelsea’s beach engagement session would be the first one you see below, the black and white, film-inspired intimate shots, and the photo-journalistic/candid images. I LOVE when couple’s trust me and just “play” with each other as they enjoy the fleeting moments before their wedding day. Looking for more inspiration for your own session? Click here!
John and Chelsea, thank you for entrusting me with capturing these moments and your whole wedding day in beautiful Florida. I’ll come back from the sunshine next time, but know that you two were the sunshine for all of us that weekend. Grateful for you both! Congrats!
Ready for more? Here you go!