Steampunk Carnival Wedding in Savannah, Georgia

   12 years ago in high school I had a Newspaper class with a fabulous and unique girl named Blair. Always funny, always confident, and always naturally stunning. After school she followed her dreams and moved to the amazing town of Savannah, Georgia.
   Fast forward to about 2010 and I began a project called a 365, where you photograph yourself every single day for a full year. I did this to gain knowledge of photography and off camera lighting , practicing on myself before I started booking clients.
   One day Blair commented on one of those photos saying if she ever got married she was having me do her wedding. A lot of people say things like that, which I love, but most of the time it's just fluffy words, but Blair, she kept her promise, and I am SO beyond happy she did!
   3 years later in 2013 Blair sent me an email saying, if we were interested (ha! yeah, like who wouldn’t be interested in this!) she would love to talk to me about having us come down and photograph their wedding. It would be in Savannah and they already knew the theme- steampunk meets carnival.
   A couple of years before that we had visited Savannah on 2 different occasions for a vacation. The town is full of history and preserved beauty. I mean, again, come on! Who says no to that? ALL THAT!? I immediately said yes, looked up plane tickets, hotel rooms, and the rest is history.
   We got to meet Troy for the first time through a FaceTime meeting held in their living room. They “walked” us around showing us some of the pieces they had hand made for the reception and told us details about the day. They were keeping everything extremely easy going, yet at the same time, so over the top! I can't express what an amazing combo that is!
   The gear list we wanted to bring was pretty intense, so we opted to drive instead of fly. 14 hours and many miles later we made it to Savannah. We spent 1 day cruising around town with them fitting in an “engagement” session so they had some stellar shots of them as they usually are, and not in full blown wedding attire.
   I’ve never been to so many cool places in such a short about of time. And seeing the two of them in action together was awesome. Blair drove while Troy read off the list of places they thought about going. If we didn't have time the decision was made we would skip it in less than 10 seconds and they moved on. I'm the most indecisive person over, so I was overly impressed. haha
   The next day was the big day! We arrived to their historic home where they were both finishing getting ready. There was no big first look, or presentation of the bride. Blair is the last person to be over dramatic or look for special attention, and when someone made mention of seeing each other before the big moment her response was, “Eh. That shipped has sailed.” God, I love it. 
   We gathered up the family for “formal” shots, as “traditional” as you can make a plum wedding dress with fabulous fishnet gloves and masquerade masks, I suppose.
   The ceremony- breathtaking. The bridal party pictures- so fun. And the reception- one hell of a good time.
   Amazing people, amazing time, in an amazing city. Please, see for yourself. It’s totally, totally worth it.

Savannah, Georgia Wedding and Engagement Photographer

Port Huron Wedding Photographer Travels South to historic Savannah, Georgia

First thing you should know about this couple-
I have never seen a more prepared and organized couple that can drive so quickly through a city. haha!
Troy and Blair live in, what I think is, one of the most beautiful cities in America. It for sure tops any other city I have ever been to when it comes to preserving history and it's a large city that NEVER feels full of tourists or annoyed locals. We've visited Savannah 3 times within the last 3 years and I'm always ready to go back again. 

So why were Port Huron photographers all the way in Georgia? Well. Because of the lovely Blair and Troy. My husband and I went to high school with Blair and since she had been following my work for the last few years asked if we traveled for weddings. And that question came with a very simple- YES! 
After they told me their wedding plans were to have a steampunk / circus theme I was screaming YYEESSSS!!! haha And the rest is history.

We got together a day before their wedding for more casual shots of the two of them, since they didn't have any professionally done. 
Not knowing the area super well, I counted on them to know where they wanted to go. 
I've never shot in so many different locations that were so far apart from each other in a period of just under 2 hours before.
We started at their house which is the epitome of a gorgeous southern home. Original... everything. They are in the middle of renovations but when they are done they are going to have a beautiful porch to sit on while they breath that awesome, clean,warm southern air, covered from the shade of the spanish moss that hangs from the trees. We then went to a near by neighborhood, next to The Wormsloe Historic Site, to a few other stops in between that we changed our mind about, rushed then to SCAD ( Savannah College of Art and Design), and then ended at Clary's, a restaurant that was also in the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I'll admit, all that makes me a little jealous of them!

What I loved most about them was their ability to say, "It's not gonna work, moving on!" We got to some locations that were packed, parking wasn't going to happen, or the backdrop just wasn't as great as they remembered. They honestly worked like a well oiled machine together. There was NO stress with them, they simply were a team. Which isn't that what the perfect husband and wife couples are? A team?

Their wedding was also a blast.... but sorry, you're going to have to wait. Because that's a whole other post!! 

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Check out our full Couples Gallery!

For more Country Love, Check out Brad & Melissa's Backroad shoot!

For some Vintage Love, Check out Cory & Erica's Engagement Session!

Engagement Session in Savannah, Georgia by Port Huron, Michigan Photographer AJBC Photography

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Home is where the heart is... and I've left a little piece of my heart in a lot of places!

Vacation.

You just HEAR the word and your ears get excited.

Every year my husband and I try to plan 1 big, relaxing, site seeing adventure we look forward to. Through out the year we may take small weekend trips or extended weekend trips due to holidays somewhere near us or venture up to the U.P. but we always try to give ourselves a bigger goal for the year!

The first year we got married we ventured to The Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It was a city where you felt at home at. It was a place you could connect with nature, yourself, and your thoughts. It was a place we couldn't wait to return to! The next year we thought we would try something new, but when it came down to it, we couldn't bare the thought of not going back to the mountains, so we went back, except this time in a camper. We did this agin, and again, and again. FINALLY, after 4 years of it we decided THIS year we would try something new! But.... what? What's better than the mountains, the uncrowded hiking trails!? Perhaps..... warm weather? Florida? Really..... Florida?

As a child my parents and I had went to Florida EVERY Spring Break. I've been to Florida 13 times in my life. When I was younger the sun, the malls, the pools and beaches really had my interest, now that I'm older I couldn't be less enthused over that scenery. So.. what were we thinking!?

As we began to plan our trip we realized, if we were going to drive the long 21 hours, why not make the gruesome trip more bearable by stopping at some cool places along the way? Not once in my 13 year to Florida had we ever done anything except drive straight through. Surely there had to be SOMETHING ELSE hidden in between us and all those other miles.

And so it began.

We made our first stop near Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

Pretty much what did make up the town was closed for the season and what was open for the season was a good 10 miles away and consisted of one Mexican restaurant and a Dairy Queen- perfect. We don't go on vacations to be surrounded by people. We go on vacation to be, basically, smothered by each other. haha. Back at home our lives are hectic, we're busy working, we're always trying to finish up projects we've started that are way over our heads, and it's nice to step away from that and just enjoy living at a more simple level. We spent our few short days in the mountains driving around to site see off into the middle of nowhere, hiking on top of natural arches, in between rock crevasses, and looking over the edges of mile long drop offs. We knew we were "down south" when upon our hour long drive into the middle of nowhere we came across someone's "home" that welcomely had spray painted on the side of it "Stay the F**K out or get shot."

Once it was time to travel on we packed up, drove for the

day, and landed in-

 Savannah, Georgia!

All we knew about Savannah is that it's a beautiful historic city full of mossy trees. Me, who loves anything aging, intricate, and old and my husband, who loves all things history and trees, it seemed fitting enough. I can not explain to you what an understatement that was. As SOON as we entered the city I asked Jake when we would be able to come back! The cobblestone roads, the attention to detail on the preserved buildings, the huge engulfing trees, the city squares..... I can't reminisce about this city without feeling sad that I can not visit it everyday.

Our few days in this historic wonder were spent merely roaming the streets, enjoying the shops, learning it's history, and talking about what aspects of the town we would love to be able to enjoy in our own town, maybe one day!

So, finally, it was time to travel on, and what beckoned us in the first place, was now about to be in our reach.

Florida.

Now, I'll be completely honest. I'm a geek. Me and my husband both are. We like to daydream, imagine, create, think of the impossible and plan the ridiculous, so when we heard Harry Potter was now at Universal Studios, we had to go. We had to experience what it was like to walk the streets of magic and play where anything was possible. So- that's why Florida was on the list, and yes, the sun! Well, once we got to Florida we got about 2 days of sun and when we left it was a whopping 35 degrees. But, we enjoyed it while we could!

We experienced the magic of Harry Potter, the silliness of Suess' Landing and more. The attention to details in these theme parks could honestly consume your life. We took in so much but at the same time, still missed so much! These streets are transformed into different worlds and that's what I love about them!

After that we took it easy. Enjoyed the beach, searched for shells, and watched the waves crash over the surfers.

When the weather reached MI standards we left.

And where did we stop on our travels back home?

The Smoky Mountains!

Never experiencing it in the winter before really made the trip special and unique. You enter into a green wonderland, covered in ice and a skiff of snow. It's the one place I feel completely at ease all the time, whether I'm in the city, on a trail miles in the woods, on top of a mountain cliff, or biking next to a bear...

A few days later we got in the car and drove back to the box we built for ourselves that holds our everyday schedule and our dreams mapped out in books. We were home.

If you've made it to this point, I applaud you. As much as I feel as though my vacations and travels are like a fairy tale come true, they are merely just stories and pictures for you, but if I can stress one thing after all these stories and tales is... go. Just GO. Explore. Take an adventure. And it doesn't have to be miles away. It could be 10 mins down the road, it could even be in your back yard. But take time out of life to actually think about it... We live so quickly. Isn't it time you slow down and figure out why?