Clayton Hodge and Brittany Clark

It was cold and overcast on October 17th, but that didn't put a damper on the mood at Wynnbrook Baptist Church where Brittany Clark and Clayton Hodge had their big day! Brittany and Clayton were married by Kevin Calhoun, who also married not only Julie, but her brother Keith and her sister Gracie!

Brittany looked beautiful in her strapless dress with embroidered floral detail on the bodice. She carried a dramatic, deep red bouquet of roses. Her bridesmaids looked great in their deep red dresses with white sashes! They carried bouquets of white roses and baby's breath.

The reception was held in the fellowship hall at Wynnbrook. Reception Décor did a great job with the linens and chair covers! There was a special moment at the reception when Brittany's father sang a song for her.

As the bride and groom made their getaway, it started to sprinkle...but they left happy as can be through horns blowing!

Congratulations Clayton and Brittany! We hope your life together is as special as your big day!

Matt Sawyer and April Dorrill

Wedding Bells were ringing at Summerville Baptist Church on October 10, 2009 when Matt Sawyer and April Dorrill tied the knot! Matt and April have been together since they were just kids, so you can imagine... it was a very romantic day!

April was absolutely beautiful in her strapless gown and long veil! Matt wasn't the only one grinning from ear-to-ear to see April for the first time in her dress! April's dad waited to see her in the dress until her big day! She carried a unique mix of fall flowers in oranges, reds and purples. Her bridesmaids carried similar bouquets that looked stunning with their deep purple dresses! April got her maids a very unique gift for the big day. Chocolate brown robes for getting ready that had their initials embroidered on them!

April was another very "personalized" bride! They had a beautiful aisle runner with their names printed on it...and a customized initial cake topper to go on top of the beautiful cakes that our friend, Fran Papenfuss, made. April and Matt also had the table runners embroiderd with their initials! This looked great with their centerpieces that were handmade by a family friend!

April's wedding reception at the Trade Center was also the debut of the JE Hedges Photo Booth! This came as a total surprise for April and Matt, who had no idea that Julie was bringing the booth to their reception! All the guests had a GREAT TIME having their pictures made in the booth with all the fun props! MBS Entertainment kept the mood fun by playing great music all night! Except for when her sorority sisters serenaded the couple with a song!

April and Matt made their getaway under the light of sparklers! She always had this vision of herself driving off on her wedding day with her veil blowing out the window... so she made it come true! As the couple drove off to their Tennessee mountain honeymoon, her veil was blowing in the wind!

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer! We wish you all the best in your new life together!

Be sure to pick up Columbus and the Valley's Holiday Gift Guide... because we're in it! JE Hedges Photo Booths is featured in the Holiday Gift Guide section of this month's issue. We're smack in the middle of a two page spread on good ideas for holiday fun! Columbus and the Valley can be found at Barnes & Noble, Publix and other locations. More info on JE Hedges Photo Booths can be found at www.JEHedgesPhotoBooths.com.

Romance at the Rankin

On October 18th, we had the pleasure of participating in the Romance at the Rankin Bridal show. We were the only photographer chosen to be a part of the show and enjoyed working near the only baker selected for the show, Fran Papenfuss! It was a small intimate gathering with a very romantic feel. We met a bunch of great couples and see a few of our brides that were looking for other vendors! If you're stopping by our site to check us out because you met us at the Rankin, be sure to let us know and say hello!

Cliff Robinson and Holly McMahan

Oakhurst Farm was a beautiful setting for Holly McMahan and Cliff Robinson's big day! Holly and her mother made sure that every thing was meticulously planned out for October 2nd, so everything ran smoothly!

Holly was a vision in her off shoulder gown with gathered detailing on the bodice. She carried a bouquet of roses and wild flowers in fall colors. Her bridesmaids were very elegant in their floor length black dresses and carried matching bouquets. And speaking of flowers... Albright's did a wonderful job on all of them! They turned the inside of Oakhurst into a floral wonderland. It smelled so fresh and pretty in the reception hall. To add a personalized touch, all of the floral sashes were monogrammed with the couple's initials!

The ceremony was wonderful. It was very romantic and you could just feel the love by watching it! Josh Locklier, one of our grooms from October 2008 was one of Cliff's groomsmen! At the end of the ceremony, the couple released doves!

Everyone had a great time at the reception! The Tag Williams band got everyone in the mood to boogie! Girlfriend's catering made sure everyone enjoyed their meals and a family friend all the way from Tennessee made the cakes! Josh's cake was covered in chocolate bullets and deer... since he LOVES to hunt! Among the guests were Abbi and Dane Brown, one of our couples from earlier this year!

The bride and groom changed out of their wedding attire for some more comfortable honeymoon clothes and took off under the lights of sparklers to a waiting Navigator limosene!

Congratulations Holly and Cliff! We hope you have a fun and loving married life!

Andrew Smith and Kelly McClung

September 29th may have been wet and rainy, but the sun still shined on Kelly McClung and Andrew Smith! To give their wedding an intimate feel, they decided to have it on the property of their family friend, Regina Andrew. The rain started before the ceremony and didn't stop all day. Everyone was so happy for Kelly and Andrew that they happily stood in the rain to share their big day! It actually began to pour so hard during the ceremony, someone brought Kelly an umbrella--but the singers kept singing and the ceremony continued.

Kelly was beautiful in her strapless dress with lace detailing. She carried a bouquet of gorgeous fall-colored Calla Lillies. Her bridesmaids looked very trendy and stylish in coral colored "bubble" hem dresses. They carried long stemmed bouquets of fall colored wildflowers all designed by Jan Rogers. The groomsmen also looked stylish in chocolate brown tuxes.

It started pouring again during the reception...at one point the guests were calf-deep in water under the tent, but everyone just kept having fun and celebrating the day. RSC did a fantastic job setting up the tent and chairs for the reception. DJs Jennifer and Tommy Powell kept the mood happy and the good times rolling with great music. The guests enjoyed a famous southern favorite, Low Country boil! The beautiful cakes were done by Susan Worley. They also had a custom made three initial cake topper.

We wish you all the best in your new life together Mr. and Mrs. Smith!

2009 Ultimate Guy's Expo

Come down to the Trade Center next, Saturday and Sunday, November 14th and 15th for the Ultimate Guy's Expo! We'll be down there with the photo booth, and there are plenty of other things to see and do! Our good friend Chef Jamie Keating of the Rivermill Event Center will be there doing a demo! If you haven't had some fun in our photo booth yet, this is your chance!

Admission is $6 and we'll be there from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We'd love to see you!

Josh Weathers and Amanda Boatner

August 28th was a warm and beautiful day, perfect for "I dos" out at Oakhurst Farms in West Point, Georgia! Amanda Boatner and Josh Weathers could not have picked a better day!

Amanda looked lovely in her cathedral veil and a gorgeous v-neck gown. Her bridesmaids looked sophisticated and classy in their floor length black gowns. The bride and her maids carried beautiful bouquets of white flowers and greenery. Josh was a very happy man to see his beautiful new wife for the first time!

Julie has a family connection to Amanda! Amanda's Aunt Nita has been friends with Julie's family for 21 years. Also, Aunt Nita is part of Julie's sister's family by marriage! It is always nice when we are connected to the families we photograph.

To make her getaway, Amanda changed into a polo shirt monogrammed with her new initials, 'ABW'. The bride and Groom got a spectacular sparkler send off to start their new married life together!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Weathers! We hope your marriage is as fun and loving as your big day!

WTVM "Wedding of Your Dreams" Contest

JE Hedges Photography and JE Hedges Photo Booths has been selected as the official photographer and photo booth of the WTVM "Wedding of Your Dreams" wedding giveaway contest. Right from the Start and WTVM are giving one lucky couple the wedding of their dreams where each element of the wedding will be voted on by the community. Registration begins November 2 and goes through January 15, 2010. The "dream wedding" will be broadcast live on WTVM.

For more information, visit http://www.wtvm.com/Global/category.asp?C=176521 .

Wedding Trends: Personalization

Looking for another fun way to express your personal style at your wedding? Consider a personalized aisle runner! Our friend (and client!) April Dorrill Sawyer had one at her wedding, and we fell in love! You can have them personalized with your initials, a monogram, a phase ("...and they lived happily ever after"), a bible verse or a custom logo. You can get a ribbon border sewn onto the runner to match your color scheme. You can even get custom table runners and unity candles to match! Check out www.signatureweddingaislerunners.com for all the fun!

JE Hedges Photography's New Division!!!

We are excited to introduce you to the newest division of JE Hedges Photography………. JE Hedges Photo Booths!!!!

Photo Booths are the perfect complement to any and all events!

From Wedding Receptions, Family Reunions, Corporate Parties, Trade Shows, Bar & Bat Mitzvahs, Fund-Raisers, Church Events, Grand Openings, Team Building, Birthdays, Sweet Sixteen, Proms, Homecomings, Slumber Parties, Engagement Parties, Graduations, Class Reunions…. YOU NAME IT!!!!

Photo Booths are perfect for any event in which the goal is FUN!

Your Guests will have the opportunity to get in and out of our booth all night long… making unlimited photos and having loads of fun! We have over 35 different props guests can choose from to make their Photo Booth experience even more enjoyable.

Each Photo Strip contains six poses with a customizable strip down the middle! Photo Strips are the one Souvenir your Guests will NEVER throw away!!!

Check out the new website: www.JEHedgesPhotoBooths.com

Sweet Planes, Pretty Girls, & Fast Cars

Members of the Columbus Georgia Photographers Group organized a “Shoot-out” at the Columbus Airport on September 1st, 2009. Several very generous (and brave) individuals allowed us use of their private planes and well polished cars to photograph! Throw in a couple of gorgeous models with some of the zaniest photographers in Columbus... and you’ve got yourself one crazy, super hot, and awesome photo shoot!

A special shout-out to John Helms who organized the event. A special thanks to all those who were brave enough to lend their vehicles, (air or land-based!), to Marco’s for the tasty pizza, to Stephanie Kelly, the very talented make-up artist for the evening, and our models who allowed us to abuse them! Great job everyone! Keith and Julie are looking forward to the next event! Side note: We are slowly processing the hundreds of images we made that evening. As we complete them, we will be uploading them to the JE Hedges Facebook page. You can view the images and become a fan of ours on Facebook by clicking here: http://www.fbook.me/jehedges

Jason Bagget and Leslie Thigpen

It was a typical warm and muggy August 1st in central Georgia, but that didn’t melt the mood at Oakhurst Farm in West Point! Leslie Thigpen and Jason Baggett were as cool as ever on their wedding day! Julie and Keith even brought along another set of hands to help capture Leslie and Jason’s day—studio friend and professional photographer, John Helms.

Check out Leslie’s pictures to see her great idea for a bridesmaid’s present! She got all of her girls yellow terry cloth wraps with their initials monogrammed in pink. She even got the flower girls tiny pink wraps, complete with their initials! They all wore them while they were getting ready so they’d stay cool and comfortable!

Leslie was beautiful in her halter-style dress with a beaded bodice. Her bridesmaids wore tea-length, chocolate brown, strapless dresses with white sashes. (Tea-length is definitely the way to go for your girls in the summer time, ladies!) All of these beautiful women carried bright-colored bouquets of daisies designed by Kimberly Nelson. Jason’s groomsmen looked (and stayed) cool in tan linen suits. (Another good summer time alternative to traditional wedding wear!)

The reception was a fun one! All of the guests had a great time dancing with the bride and groom to the tunes of the band, Mindblender! Jason even got up and entertained the crowd with a song! Burt’s Butcher Shop catered a delicious reception dinner for everyone! No one can say that Jason isn’t ready for football season! Fran Papenfuss made him a great chocolate groom’s cake, complete with an Aubie the tiger cake topper! Fran also did a beautiful job (as usual) on the wedding cake!

The evening concluded with a sparkling send off! Guests used “Morning Glory” sparklers. They give off great colors! (We recommend those for anyone thinking about using sparklers, they make for great pictures!)

We had the best time spending your special day with you, Jason and Leslie! Your wedding party and families were so much fun! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Baggett!

Rivermill Bridal Show

What a fantastic day we had on August 31st at the Rivermill Bridal Show! We talked to Almost 100 brides that day!

Heather Williams of the Ledger-Enquirer, Jamie Keating and Mary Luby of the Rivermill Event Centre did a fantastic job on the show, and Judy Wilkinson of Formal Elegance put on a fun and energetic fashion show full of great gals and great gowns!

If you're stopping by our website to say hello because you met us at the show, be sure to drop us a line! We love making new friends!

A Fun Wedding Keepsake

Most likely, if you invite your favorite actress or the President to your wedding, they won’t attend. However, they may send an official letter of congratulations! Wouldn’t it be great to read the letter at your 50th wedding anniversary?! Julie and Cary did it when they got married and they have a fun keepsake to treasure!

You can get addresses for your favorite celebrities from their official websites. The President’s invitation should be sent to:

The Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama

The White House

Greetings Office Room 39

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Be sure to send the invite to the President at least six weeks in advance, as they handle as many as they possibly can on time!