Congratulations to Wallace and Shalauna! Wed in an intimate ceremony in a sweet chapel, attended by family and close friends, Wallace and Shalauna made the ultimate commitment to one another. We are blessed to have been chosen to be their photographers. Here are a few of my favorites in a slideshow of their wedding highlights. By the way, Shalauna wore some killer shoes! Enjoy!

Looking for what’s new in weddings? Read this article in Southern Bride. Just to prove the point, check out this pair of shoes from Teleah’s wedding. Teleah is, obviously, a trendsetter. Her wedding was last June!

I think every bride deserves her own magazine cover so I’m creating one from the bridal session! Take advantage of this special offer! I’m including a 16×20 magzine cover at no charge for all brides who book with me before November 15, 2010! Check out the cover I designed for Hannah Morrison. It made a unique and eye catching display at her wedding reception. She and her mother both have told me that many guests asked them where they could buy the magazine!

Want to be on your own magazine cover? Call me today for a no-obligation appointment. We are quickly booking for 2011! Our specialty is photographs that show the emotions of the day…our ultimate goal is for you, your family, and your friends to be able to feel your wedding day!

Check out Hannah’s very own magazine cover!

Sam and Hannah had a wonderful wedding at First Baptist Church in Birmingham and reception at Riverchase Country Club. I’ve posted a couple of photos from their wedding and wanted to share their wedding highlights slideshow. Congratulations to you both!

Joey and Liz along with Liz’s parents just left the studio with a copy of the wedding highlights DVD and over 600 proofs! Joey and Liz were married in a beautiful ceremony at Prince of Peace with the reception at Hoover Country Club. The cakes were two of the most beautiful and delicious I’ve seen (and eaten!) by Jan O’Donnell. The flowers were gorgeous by Joann Bunn and Carolyn Pate. Joe with Feel the Beat Entertainment did a great job mixing exotic traditional music with contemporary dance music. The wedding coverage was a bit different in that there were a lot of people from out of town who wanted to celebrate with Joey on the wedding day. Buddy went to the Danforah home to photograph their traditional dances between the formals and the actual wedding. I stayed with the bride and her wedding party at the church where we were able to get some very cool images. The entire day and night were much fun with lots of dancing and laughter. Many guests were not only from out of town–they were from out the country! Enjoy some of my favorite images (I’m having trouble with the slideshow upload…I’ll post that later). Feel free to comment!

What an incredible wedding! The weather was perfect…the venues are beautiful…the bride and groom are so much fun…I love my work! Trey and Kristen came by today to watch their wedding slideshow and pick up their proofs. Here are a few of my favorite images and their slideshow, too. Let me know what you think. We had a blast working with Trisha at The Tutweiler, Noona at First United Methodist Church, Carol with Lillie’s Flowers, and Jennifer at The Summit Club! The band was very good–I think their name is “The Next”…anyway, hope you enjoy these images and their wedding highlights slideshow! Also, Kristen and I had such a good time at her bridal session, I’ve included a couple of those images, too.

Classic...you should see this on canvas!

Sam and Hannah were married yesterday in a most beautiful ceremony in the gorgeous First Baptist Church of Birmingham. The church was absolutely packed! Their attendants are all so sweet and so much fun. We had a terrific time with them making some fun images from yesterday morning where the girls were getting ready at Generations in Gardendale (including a limo ride to the church!) to the last wave good-bye from Riverchase Country Club. I’ll have a complete list of vendors, but I do know that Magnificent Cakes were incredible! I had a slice of the strawberry, and Buddy enjoyed a piece of one of the groom’s cakes (there were 3!). Gary Rush with Rush Video was a joy to work with. Anyway, I’ll have a complete list of everyone who worked together to make Hannah and Sam’s wedding dream come true.
Here’s a sneak peek!

We’ve been busy with engagement sessions, bridals, and weddings, and I am behind in my blogging! I just have to share this post on facebook from our latest bride:

Liz Scalisi-Danforah Thank you Gretchen for being apart of our special day…I think of you as more of a friend than a photographer…you helped me out in so many ways throughout this time in my life and I am truly thankful for your hard work and support. GRETCHEN B PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE BEST IN BIRMINGHAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are so honored to be part of weddings. It is a joyful time, and we do everything we can to make certain the bride and groom and their friends and family have a wonderful time. Joey and Liz had a beautiful wedding at Prince of Peace and reception at Hoover Country Club. They are coming tomorrow to view their wedding highlights video and pick up their proofs. Watch for another post where I’ll share some of their images.

Congratulations to Liz and Joey Danforah!

NorthPort, Alabama, is a very cool little town! Julia and Ben will live there once they are married–they have been dating since they were 15! They’ve been in a long distance relationship while Ben attended the University of Alabama, and Julia, Mississippi State. We had an absolutely wonderful time with them in NorthPort. There are so many places to photograph that we could have stayed much longer, but we ran out of day. The owner of Melina’s, a recently remodeled and re-opened restaurant insisted we use her restaurant for some photos. Check out the black and white tile floor and the beautiful woodwork–reminded me of New Orleans! Enjoy the slideshow of Julia and Ben as they celebrate love!

Your friends have already taken lots of pictures of the two of you or you don’t want to put a photo in the newspaper or your groom just isn’t that into pictures. There are lots of reasons to avoid an engagement session. It takes time. You have to be concerned about what you’re both going to wear. You have to get your groom to agree to it.

So stay with me on this…you need to have an engagement session with your wedding photographer because you will get awesome photos of you and your groom (if you’ve hired the right photographer–if you don’t get fabulous photos, maybe it’s a good time to find another photographer for the wedding!). It’s a time for you and your photographer to really get to know each other. From the photographer’s point of view, we can see how you and your groom relate to one other another. Some people are very comfortable being physical with one another in front of the camera; some people are a bit more conservative. We learn about you and will use that knowledge to bring out the best of you on your wedding day.

Being comfortable with your photographer, especially on your wedding day, guarantees better photographs because you will be more relaxed in front of the camera. The more relaxed and “yourself” that you are, the more the images will capture your relationships and the emotions that will be felt that day. With wonderful photographs, you will be able to have those same emotions every time you view your images. (If you have a bad experience with your photographer, you’ll have those feelings, too!) Be sure to take advantage of your photographer’s engagement session. It will serve both sides well.

The smile after the kiss