Weddings like Cristy’s and Don’s get me excited about what I do.  Gorgeous details, picturesque venues, and talented vendors all helped to make the wedding awesome, but the biggest contributing factor to the day’s success was Cristy’s wonderful attitude.  She was literally glowing all day long.  So happy to be in love and getting married.  So sweet.

Our day started early at Douglas’ & Associates for hair before heading over to the Crown Plaza Hotel to finish getting ready.  We all then headed down to Stanford Baptist Church in -you guessed it- Stanford (about an hour south of Lexington).  The church was just recently renovated, so Cristy’s and Don’s ceremony was actually the first one with the church’s new digs.  Beautiful sanctuary.  Tons of available light.  Best part?  The minister is a former photojournalist, so he appreciates the fact that great images often require great angles and vantage points.  He made a point to tell me that I would have free reign to shoot wherever I wanted during the ceremony.  Of course, I wasn’t swinging from the light fixtures or anything, but I had some pretty fantastic views.  Scott shot from a tripod at the rear of the church, Betsy shot from the balcony, and I worked the side aisles.  Go team! 

Don and Cristy opted to do all of their formal photographs before the ceremony (always a great thing, by the way), so we were all able to head straight to the reception at Keene Barn on Keeneland’s grounds.  While we grabbed some fun shots outside of Keeneland, their family and friends enjoyed cocktails and live Bluegrass music.  Great stuff.

The inside of Keene Barn was fabulous, details abounding.  This is where hiring great vendors makes a difference.  Here’s the list:

Teresa Thompson - master florist

Schafer’s Catering - linens, decorative lighting, flowers

Tim Estes- DJ

Caramanda’s Bake Shoppe - cake

Mary Beth Hutchison - event planner, custom embroidery

In Motion Video Productions- videography

Turf Catering Company - food & drink service

Douglas’ & Associates - hair

Karen Hawkensmith - makeup

Shaun Ring Photography - they made a GREAT choice hiring this dude

 

So…without further ado, here’s the slideshow of around 170 of my favorite shots.  You can click HERE or on the play button below.  It’s a couple minutes longer than most, but it’s totally worth it.  There were just so many great moments!  If you’re interested in seeing any of the other 600 shots, just click HERE.  You can be notified by email here in a couple weeks once the rest of the wedding images are edited and the happy couple have had their first look at them.

Thanks for stopping by, and please leave a comment if you have a second.  I love reading them!  -SR