Gretchen Shaw Photography: Heidi + Will ~ Married!

The last few years I have thoroughly enjoyed doing photo work for Memphis Teacher Residency. Not only is the work fun, but I also get to meet so many new people every year. Heidi and Will are both teachers who I photographed in their classrooms a couple years back and NOW... fast forward a couple years…. they asked me to photograph their wedding!

These two truly are the cutest! I felt so relaxed with them throughout the day and everyone around was so welcoming and genuine.

So the plan was to have a few hours before the wedding to walk around downtown Memphis and take some Memphis-y, urban wedding photos….. But then came the rain…and the WIND….and more rain!! We decided it was too risky to venture outside as thunderstorms were coming and going, and the wind alone would probably have blown Heidi’s bouquet away.

Fortunately, the Balinese Ballroom had such a great atmosphere and wonderful light! We made the absolute best out of a rainy day…and if I may say so…I don’t think we missed much by staying inside.

Let me take this moment to recognize my AMAZING second shooter, Ruthie Montague. I love shooting with this girl. She has such natural talent that continues to blossom and BLOW ME AWAY! Many images below are shot by Ruthie. I will try to highlight which ones are hers. Look for the portrait of Heidi straight-on, looking down….INcredible!

The day was filled with much joy, great worship, sweet, sweet moments, lots of MTR folk :) and of course, CELEBRATION!

I feel like I have to highlight the father-daughter dance. It may have been the best I’ve ever seen. Heidi and her dad danced to an original song, written and performed by one Heidi's brother. After dancing for a few moments, Heidi’s dad brought out 2 baseball mitts and a ball and started playing catch with his daughter. He then passed his mitt on to Will who took his place in this game of catch. TEARS…lots of TEARS…mainly from me. :) Having a daughter has made me WAY more sentimental that I used to be. :)

The mother-son dance was also a sweet moment as Will’s mother took turns dancing with each of her 3 sons as well as her husband, and then back to Will again. It was obvious that these families loved each other much.

The dancing continued….These people were having a ball! Tiger City Entertainment was mixing up some great tunes! I love dancing…and it’s really hard not to dance when your favorite dance songs are being blasted and everyone around you is livin’ it up! I’ll have to learn a couple moves with my camera. ;)

Heidi and Will, it was a pleasure!

Enjoy!