Jennifer & Mark's Midtown Atlanta Wedding | Helmet Hairworx, Peachtree Christian Church, Swan Coach House, Ventanas | Atlanta Wedding Photographer

As I mail off the disc of images to the bride and groom, it’s only fitting that it is time for a proper blog post for Jennifer & Mark’s wedding which took place at not one or two, but FOUR locations around Atlanta, Georgia! Well, technically I guess it took places in Downtown Atlanta, Midtown, and Buckhead but we’ll just say Midtown for simplicity 🙂

While that is one of my favorite photos of the day from Jennifer & Mark’s first dance, our story really begins at Helmet Hairworx in Midtown where the bride was getting ready for the big day ahead. Saturday was also the same day of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival that was literally next door at Piedmont Park, but luckily we were off to such an early start that I didn’t notice at all.

As Jennifer and her mother finished their hair appointments, we headed over to the location of the ceremony: Peachtree Christian Church. Now let me say that this place is simply amazing and a location that I always hoped to photograph at. When Betty was in the hospital with Miles I drove past Peachtree Christian Church every day, sometimes twice a day going back and forth from Piedmont Hospital. Each trip I would see the stunning architecture setting it distinctly apart from the rest of the Buckhead/Midtown buildings.

The girls got ready inside the Bridal Room of Peachtree Christian Church while the guys were in the Church Library. Jennifer got to just relax for a bit while the bridesmaids got ready with the Make Up Artist before it was Jennifer’s turn in the hot seat. We didn’t have any music so I turned up Pandora for my iPhone and cranked the speaker up as high as it would go – I love technology! Radio in my pocket!

Over on the guy’s side of the church, things were progressing as one would expect them to be. Everyone was relaxing, cracking jokes at each other, dining on some Wendy’s and a quick shot of Maker’s Mark for all of the boys (father’s too!) to set the tone for what was going to be a long day of celebrating the union of Jennifer and Mark.

While Jennifer described her wedding vibe as “Ultra Modern Sex and the City” as we got to talking more I understood more, this was a New York meets Texas marriage made in heaven. Jennifer is originally from New York and most of her bridesmaids flew down for the occasion, while the groom’s side is from Texas.

As Jennifer slipped into her gorgeous dress, time drew near to head into the sanctuary and get this show on the road!

One thing about Peachtree Christian Church is that their photographic policy states that no photographer can be in the sanctuary where the ceremony takes place, however, I was allowed up on the balcony where the organ player and singer was which provided the perfect vantage point for the wedding ceremony! These images were primarily shot with the 70-200mm lens which gave me just enough reach even on the full frame sensor that is inside the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

After the ceremony, I was allowed back into the sanctuary and we took family formals against the gorgeous backdrop of the church.

Jennifer really wanted some stunning photos of her in her amazing dress and set aside time for the wedding party to take portraits at the Swan Coach House located at the Atlanta History Center in Buckhead. With the help of the Swan House’s coordinator we quickly set up on the stairs leading up to the mansion for a few quick shots.

What you don’t see is the wedding that was setting up RIGHT BEHIND US! We had to move quick due to their ceremony about to take place so after grabbing some stunning photographs of Jennifer and Mark, we moved over to the front of the house and used the gorgeous vines and columns as our backdrop.

With the overcast day this was some pretty tricky lighting and admittedly I missed one or two shots that were completely over exposed as the sun broke free of the clouds and trees and washed everything out with brightness. If we had more time I would have loved to reshoot a few of these shots but the Swan House’s coordinator had to keep us moving to no longer than 10-15 minutes per location with the other weddings setting up around us.

I still got plenty of amazing “keeper” shots that Jennifer and Mark are ecstatic about as the clouds mostly cooperated with us. This is the one drawback to shooting a wedding in full manual mode – you have to act quickly and constantly dial in your settings as the lighting conditions change outdoors. Inside you have consistent light so it’s not a problem but on a day like today with moving clouds it is a real challenge to any photographer.

Once we were done photographing at the Swan House and out of the other brides’ way we made our way to where the Lincoln Towncar was waiting for Jennifer & Mark. Over by the driveway however was the bridge that connects the Atlanta History Center with the Swan Coach House, and since Jennifer and Mark had been there before, they asked our coordinator if we could take a few photos on the bridge before we left. She agreed that we would be out of the other bride’s way so I quickly asked them to walk a bit down the bridge and framed them in front of the green trees, using the bridge itself to create interesting angles and leading lines.

Just when you thought the wedding couldn’t get any more fantastic, as 6:00 PM rolled around everyone met up at Ventanas Atlanta in Downtown to start the reception and more importantly the party! I blogged last week about the rooftop photoshoot that we did on Ventana’s rooftop helicopter pad, but here is one more quick photo so that you are not saturated with the same amazing shots again (as much as I love them).

The reception itself was amazing and more of a party than anything else. Guests were treated to fantastic catering from the Ventanas Atlanta staff while DJ Suspense kept the atmosphere festive and upbeat.

As the night progressed through the various formalities of first dances, bouquet/garter tosses, etc. the mood was nonstop fun as everyone got on the dance floor and celebrated together Jennifer & Mark.

Congratulations Jennifer & Mark and enjoy your honeymoon in Mexico!

Bride’s Hair: Tina from Helmet Hairworx Midtown
Ceremony Venue: Peachtree Christian Church
Portrait Session Location: Swan House at Atlanta History Center
Reception Location: Ventanas Atlanta
Bride’s Wedding Dress: Martina Liana
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Alexia Designs Alexia II 680
Bride’s Shoes: Pour la Victoire