Team Wheaton | Atlanta, GA | Nashville, TN
But you would never know it! These two are either on their way or in Aruba right now but yesterday they were on the Island of Love! Just a quick teaser from Brie and Kyle’s beautiful, stress free ahhhhmazing wedding day! Cheers to the amazing couple. More soon!
Bowie and I have been back from Savannah for about 3 hours now and I have not stopped since I entered the house. With supporting Bowie’s choice to unpack and get the house set up, I decided to start saving cards to the hard drives, right after snuggling my Chloe and Brasco. Just as I was thumbing through I found these two images from Saturdays beautiful wedding. Cheers to the amazing coupled and their families. We worked with a few new vendors and I can’t wait to tell you all about them! An amazing band – Empty Pocket – rocked the house down an Anne Hagin Events made the day move so smoothly. Even through one tiny little hiccup that no one but us ladies (the lady bridal, the bride) and Mr Bowie Wheaton even knew about! Perfect day – hiccups and all! Cheers to the happy couple!!!! Off to bed soon for the Wheaton’s
Ok ok so it’s just one image – but Bowie and I are so excited to have been featured in this month’s Jezebel! Therese’s and David’s amazing wedding was at The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June and we are in the middle of getting that post together. Here is the spread in Jezebel and I am honored to featured with some other amazing Atlanta photographers! Check out our published image in Jezebel. Cheers everyone!!
Yes, yes – I’m sure that you have seen a ton of new changes happening at ALP&D! We have been working really hard and just about ever aspect of the company and Bowie and I are feeling really good about everything. We are going to be attending the Equally Wed Show in Atlanta in a few weeks and we have some amazing new products to share with everyone! More on that later. 🙂
So, we had a few months off. We have been catching up on everything and the blog is going to come back to life very soon! With a few special things in store with in the next few moths. We are happy to be back behind our cameras and here are a few teasers from the last two weddings.
August 20th, Bowie and I head down to St. Simon’s King and Prince resort. We had the best time with Erin and Nick’s family and all were super welcoming! We hung out with everything on Friday and got to know the family well. This is something I really love about destination weddings. Bowie and I get to meet and know all the people that make Erin and Nick – well – “Erin and Nick.” ;D They have an amazing daughter and such a love for her and each other. We were thrilled to be apart of their day and here are a few teasers!
Look at this cute 🙂
The Happy Family
This weekend we hug out with Michelle and Eli! Michelle and Eli have an amazing family. I can not tell you how many dancing pictures we have (including some of Bowie and I) We felt so much love from everyone we meet at this wedding. Right down to each and every vendor we chatted with – everyone was so excited to share in the love of Eli and Michelle. Everything felt so natural that you  would never know half of us are meeting for the very first time. A few people came all the way from Israel just for Michelle and Eli’s big day. We partied with the family all night long, dancing to the crazy beats of Dsteet, We could not stop shaking it all night long. We were so happy to be there and celebrate such an amazing love! Cheers to both the happy couples.
I have known Sharon and Bowie for some time now, and have been close friends with Sharon for as long as I can remember so when it came time for us to make a choice on who would be our photographer we only made one call. My wife and I have been to our fair share of weddings and have witnessed some good ones and some equally bad ones, unfortunately it seemed as if the bad ones always had that element of nervousness and fear in the background. In my opinion it is the photographers job to keep everyone focused and relaxed and believe me these two knuckleheads did a fantastic job. The Wheatons brought an overall calmness and professionalism to our wedding while being goofy and hilarious. Not only will they photograph your wedding but did you know that they will do circus tricks such as juggling bowling pins while riding a unicycle or they might even dress up as clowns if you ask (OK I made that last part up). In all seriousness words cannot express the awesome, fantastic, stupendous job they did for us and we are forever grateful. The finished product is equally outstanding, the photos are flawless and it’s interesting to see yourself at moments when you least expect it. My opinion may be biased because I’ve known them for so long but hey, you’ve got to give credit where credit is due. I expect big things from these two in the future.
Savannah Quarters Country Club
I first met with Sharon as an overwhelmed bride not knowing what direction I was supposed to go in. I knew I would select her to photograph our wedding within the first five mins of chatting. Sharon is so sweet and easy to get along with! You immediately feel at ease with her, and like you have known her for years, and that is important with someone that will be by your side your entire wedding day. Sharon and Bowie took us all around Atlanta for our engagement photos, and we had an absolute blast. My husband and I are sort of shy at first, especially when there are cameras constantly clicking away. Sharon and Bowie instantly put us at ease and it quickly turned into a fun day out with some friends who happen to be holding cameras. Sharon made us an album with our engagement pictures that we used for our guestbook at the reception. I received so many compliments from guests on this! Everyone loved it! The day of the wedding was an absolute dream. From the moment these two showed up at the salon to snap some pictures, you could just see the wheels turning in their heads of all the creative shots they wanted to get, and that continued the rest of the day. We had an awesome timeline that Sharon put together that kept everyone on schedule which is super important. Everything ran so smoothly with the pre-ceremony shots, and we even had extra time to get some AMAZING shots all through the park. As the bride, sometimes your wedding day is a blur. With all the excitement, it just all goes by so quickly. Sharon and Bowie captured every little moment that I may not have gotten to see. From the details of the reception to our guests boogying on the dancefloor they captured it all with beautiful images. I swear I don’t remember seeing them a whole lot that day, but they captured everything, even the ridiculous, hilarious moments. I will cherish these photos for a lifetime! Sharon and Bowie are so good at capturing the moments that just scream “love”. We have been married for three months now and I am having the hardest time selecting the images I want to put in an album. They are all just that good. I want to print them all. I would hire these two again in a heartbeat! They were an absolute blast to work with, and I can’t wait to have a reason to use them again.
Piedmont Park Garden Tent • W Midtown
There are so many wonderful and awesome things to say about Sharon and Bowie. They are truly one of a kind duo. I had a very traditional ethnic wedding consisting of over 700 guests so I needed to find someone who was willing to be flexible and not so overwhelmed with everything going on the day of. Sharon and Bowie together are so fun and exciting to be around. They keep the spirit and moral up even though they knew inside both my husband and I were stressed. They were a perfect match. They also reminded me of my husband and I. 🙂 Even my guests were complimenting her work, and that’s about 700+ compliments! When I finally saw my wedding pictures, can I say “OMG”? Sharon captured exactly what I wanted. It was like she read my mind even when I had a hard time explaining to her what I was looking for in my photos. (BTW, I am hard to please when it comes to photos because I want that “wow” factor.) I am absolutely amazed by the photos she took. The photos definitely took my breath away and it felt like I was re-living my wedding through these photos. They defnitely love what they do and it shows with the end results. I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone and everyone. You aren’t hiring just photographers, but friends.
Commerce, Georgia
First and foremost, Sharon and Bowie captured every wedding moment plus more in a beautiful, creative way. I could not be more pleased with my wedding pictures, which means a lot because it rained our whole wedding day! Their artistic approach made all of our pictures look good, even though almost all of them were inside. Their talent truly shines every time I look at our pictures. Second, Sharon and Bowie are great at directing the flow of events after the ceremony – my husband and I did not want to see each other before the wedding, so most of our pictures were taken after. I thought this might be a timing problem, but they took charge and made sure we got every shot without being late to the reception. This is HUGE – I was a bridesmaid in a wedding recently and the photographer was very passive – we were begging him to direct us and keep things flowing, and consequently we felt frustrated and were off schedule for the entrance to the reception. This would never happen with Sharon and Bowie. Third, Sharon and Bowie make an awesome timeline for the wedding day to keep us on track. They send it well before the wedding, so I sent it to my bridal party so they knew what was going on. It was extremely helpful. I promise you will love working with Sharon and Bowie – they make your wedding day feel fun yet relaxed! I would HIGHLY recommend them!!
Chateau Elan Winery and Resort
If you love our work and your are interested in having Bowie and Sharon shoot your amazing event, then head over to the contact area and let’s start getting to know you! What are you waiting for? Click on “Let’s chat”!
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Houa & Michelle were married back in March. Yes, I know, I am so behind on the blog! Anyway, Bowie and I met Houa and Michelle a little over a year now. We met at Carrabas when they were looking for wedding photographers. During our very first meeting, I could tell these guys were perfect for each other, and that Michelle is a sangria fan (a girl after my own heart). We met for a while chatting about their traditional Hmong Wedding. Now, there are a ton of things that they both told me but not a lot of it has stuck in my memory. The one thing that did stick in my mind after that meeting was that over 700 guests would be attending this party of all parties and that I LOVED Houa & Michelle! 🙂 As time went on, Facebook being what it is, Michelle and I got to know each other well! We all planned to run off to my hometown of Savannah to shoot their engagement session and it was a great success. We all just clicked. Leading up to their wedding we met a few more times for coffee and chatting until the big day came.
Now, imagine this. You are planning a wedding for 700 guests. In your tradition, it is custom for everyone(family) to help out and put the whole shindig on for all the guest (no planners here..family is the way of it although I am SURE Michelle would have loved a planner to help)  You can imagine a small level of stress that might bring. Houa & Michelle, with all the twist and turns of their wedding, handled their emotions like a charm. Their wedding turned out to be a huge celebration of their love for each other and their families! Bowie and I (and our assistance Bethany and Ashleigh) were treated like one of their guests and we all had a blast. We even got to dance with some lucky guest toward the end of the night (well not Bowie)! Take a look at this amazing wedding filled with lots of laughter, love, and DANCING! At the end, there is a write up from the bride and groom to give you a little more insight about their traditions! 🙂 Also, if you are interested check out this link to learn more about the Hmong culture!
The above board is part of the traditional ceremony! All the guest would come up to Houa & Michelle and tie their hands showering them with love, best wishes and blessings as they do! There was a ton of boiled chicken at this wedding as well. As you can see one of the family representatives inspecting the feet and wishbone. It is said to be good luck if the feet are curled up nicely together! Looks like Michelle in Houa is in for a good life. Oh, and how cool is it that cash is given? Talk about a great first start to a marriage!
Hmong Wedding Events by Day
So, I am sure after seeing everything this wedding has to offer there may be questions! I find this all very interesting, and Michelle & Houa we kind enough to write some facts about the Hmong tradition!
Day 1:
For the traditional Hmong Marriage to begin the soon to be bride will be taken and brought to the grooms family home. The new groom and bride cannot enter the home through the front door and must enter through a side entrance there we are greeted by a Shaman that blesses us into our home to be both accepted by the family and the ancestors. Upon entrance, messengers are dispatched to inform the bride’s family that their daughter is well and is under the care of the groom’s family. After informing the bride’s family the messengers must now also deal with negotiating a time frame in which the family representatives can meet and discuss the details of both the dowry and wedding itself.
Day 3:
3 days after the bride enters the groom’s home a large meal is created to receive the blessings and acknowledgment of the groom’s clan and ancestors. This meal cannot have the new bride to participate in any of the labor required to make the meal because during the 3 day period she is entrusted with only learning and not working. The ancestors are called upon to acknowledge their new daughter and protect her as if she was one of their own. Clan members will tie a string onto the wrists of both bride and groom placing upon them and tying them with the blessings of the future and words of encouragement. After this meal positions are appointed or allocated to clan members to find people to represent the groom’s clan during the negotiations.
Appointed Date:
The day has arrived where the families will meet to discuss the dowry and wedding date. Here the representatives of both families will meet for the first time in the bride’s home. Primarily a $5,000.00 payment would be sufficient for the dowry of the daughter but can vary from individual family to family. Once the amount is reached and a date has been agreed on for the wedding. The bride’s clan can air out any grievances or discrepancies that may have been conducted by the groom’s clan. In our culture, it is important to remember we do not just marry individuals we marry into each other’s family.
Wedding Date:
On the wedding day both the groom and bride dress in traditional attire. Here the families will have a feast involving both sides of the family where both the groom and bride must be chastised to be better as a couple or informed of how they need to grow together. Here the dowry is paid to the bride’s family in exchange for their daughter. As the feast draws to a close the groom must bow to the bride’s family. The bowing process can last up to hours as a sign of respect to the bride’s family and as a reminder that the pain you feel today should never be passed forward or as not to hit your bride. As the bride and groom leaves, the bride’s brothers and uncles are allowed to make the groom engulf alcohol. Upon drinking with each other this oral contract states that we are now brothers or sons and if we were to cross each other’s path and not recognize the other with a greeting we would be allowed to throw a rock at one another. Of course, this custom no longer holds true.
Returning Home:
Upon returning home the groom must bow and thank all the clan members for their support and superhuman effort for helping to complete the wedding. At this time the groom must also bow to all those that participated and share a drink with everyone there as well. This drink with each member of the family is to signify the bonds of our clans or our brotherhood that we have in helping one another.