Joanna & Will - September 13, 2008

Hello, Hello, Hello everyone! I'm finally making an appearance! Between getting links for photos and then the holidays - blogging has taken a back seat unfortunately.

But here we are! Joanna & Will - another awesome couple! Joanna came to me as a reference from Bill Gaff of Humanstory Films, so I was so thrilled to be able to help her out and work with Bill again.

The ceremony was at the Edgar Allen Poe museum gardens in Richmond. I had never worked there before and cannot believe what a beautiful little nugget it is tucked away smack dab in the middle of the city. It's got character, charm, beauty. There's a great fountain, gorgeous greens and amazing stonework. The seating area can fit enough for a medium to small guest count, which makes things nice and intimate. They were calling for thunderstorms most of the day, which made an all outdoor ceremony quite exciting to pull off. But we made it and it was beautiful. The sun peeked through grey storm clouds to create some amazing shots. Joanna looked stunning, Will was as handsome as ever and everyone was very, very happy for the couple.

Joanna has lots of friends with LOTS of talent which worked out in her favor for her wedding. Alexis Biship, a wife of a co-worker who used to work for a local florist did all the flowers and really did an incredible job of capturing what Joanna wanted as well as adding in her own style and flair to make everything beautifully unique.

Another one of Joanna's friends from her hometown, Woods Pierce did the photography. What a soft spoken, sweet, behind the scenes guy! You never knew he was around, and caught the cutest moments of Joanna I've ever seen in a bride! All the shots were excellent, you would never believe there was only 1 photographer on site the entire event. He was everywhere!

And as I mentioned, Bill Gaff from Humanstory Films did the videography. I cannot wait to see what he creates with this couple and their amazing families and friends. I know it will be amazing!

The reception was held at Main Street Station, just a few blocks from The Poe, which was very nice for the guests. I've worked at Main Street numerous times, so it's nice to be very familiar with a venue to help the night go smoothly. I like Main Street - it's a great space, an affordable rate, great location. They have a lot of rules and regulations though, but if you read all the print in the information they send and follow everything to a "T" you should be just fine!

The coolest thing was that Joanna & Will and the wedding party arrived to the reception via Rickshaws through River City Rickshaw. It was great to see everyone pulling up outside Main Street in little carts pulled by bikes. Definitely one of the most original transportation ideas I've seen - ever.

Catering was done by White House Catering and it was excellent! They are located right next store at The City Bar, so that's always helpful. The staff and the food were incredible. That is one thing with Main Street - you need an incredible caterer - beyond food quality - but just as important is staffing. Main Street doesn't have a kitchen and you can't use open flame inside the building, so that makes catering quite difficult. In addition, the tables they provide, while amazingly gorgeous - are REALLY heavy and must be lifted off the floors to be moved. So you need a GREAT caterer, which White House was.

Chez Roue was the band for the evening and they were a ton of fun. The crowd danced the night away to swing & jazz being led by Roger Carol, the lead singer with the most amazing Louis Armstong voice. They were great to work with and everyone had a great time!

Joanna & Will left to 2 long lines of sparklers and smiling faces. I know they will have a long and happy marriage together. Congratulations you guys!

Warmly,

Windy