Kayla & Cody |~| Epping Forest

We are SO excited to share Cody and Kayla's, beautiful, Epping Forest Yacht Club wedding from this Spring! We met these two last year for their engagement session in historic Saint Augustine, along Magnolia Avenue and the hundred year old Oak trees. Cody and Kayla met in high school, but it wasn't until 2015 when the sparks really flew. Their first date was at TacoLu, followed by a evening walk on the beach and lots of cuddling on an empty lifeguard stand. Several years later, Cody proposed to Kayla on the beach where it all started. That night, after his proposal, he had an entire surprise engagement party planned with all of their friends and family (Go Cody!!) They chose Epping Forest as their wedding venue and they could not have asked for a better place. The weather was perfect, slightly overcast which was ideal for getting soft, rich colors from their photos! Following their wedding and continuing with the beach theme, they went to the Dominican Republic for their honeymoon! We are so excited to share a few of our favorites from their wedding day! As always, check out their amazing vendors below that helped make all of this possible. Congratulations Kayla and Cody!!!! 

Photography: Bow Tie Photo

Floral: Aime Peterson Flowers

Makeup: Kristine Marie 

Hair: Styled by April 

DJ: Y? Entertainment

Photo booth: Smiley Face Photo Booth 

Dress: Debra’s Bridal

Dress Brand: Stella York 

Groomsmen: JOS A BANK

Bridesmaids: Bill Levkoff from Bella Bridesmaids

Videography: Lunic Visuals

Cake: Classic Cakes

Venue: Epping Forest Yacht Club

 

Photography: Bow Tie Photo

Floral: Aime Peterson Flowers

Makeup: Kristine Marie 

Hair: Styled by April 

DJ: Y? Entertainment

Photo booth: Smiley Face Photo Booth 

Dress: Debra’s Bridal

Dress Brand: Stella York 

Groomsmen: JOS A BANK

Bridesmaids: Bill Levkoff from Bella Bridesmaids

Videography: Lunic Visuals

Cake: Classic Cakes

Venue: Epping Forest Yacht Club

The Ring Shot Hall of Fame!

There are few, special, unique things that you get on your wedding day that stay with you forever. Wedding photography, of course, is one of those things. An, even more, perpetual reminder of your love for one another that is almost always on display are your wedding rings. As wedding photographers, this is one of our favorite things to photograph! Every couple is a unique match that is special and like each couple, we have never seen two rings quite like one another! What makes our ring photos even more interesting is the fact that we use environmental elements to frame and capture the best, most meaningful ring shot for you. Did your wedding have a fruit theme? Cool, we'll photograph your rings on that fruit! Was your wedding at a honey bee farm? Awesome, we'll incorporate something from the farm with the rings! These few examples and much more are shown below in our 2017 Ring Shot Hall of Fame. Share with that friend you think is soon to be engaged or may be already engaged and thinking about decor ideas!

 

Source: www.bowtiephoto.com

The Wedding Cake Hall of Fame!

For those of you joining us for the first time, we are a small family of wedding photographers based in St. Augustine, Florida. When you photograph seventy+ weddings per year you see a LOT of gorgeous cakes. And when we say a lot, we mean a ton. From traditional white cakes with bride and groom cake toppers, to incredibly unique groom's cakes that will make you spit out your drink laughing. We always think we've seen it all, until we see the next cake. Whether in North Florida, Central Florida, South Florida, or a further destination, our clients handpick, and many times custom design their cake for their big day. We simply have the opportunity to photograph their wedding day, and in this case, wedding cake. We couldn't wait any longer to show you some of our top picks, in hopes that they may inspire those of you currently planning your wedding. 

Are you trying to narrow down your style? Perhaps it's nautical, or maybe you love the bling? You may want to add a pop of color or drench the entire cake with your favorite color pallet. Are you going to have a monogram cake topper, bride and groom topper, or something special and unique? Will you add flowers to your cake, glitter, ribbon, rosemary, or edible beading?

Perhaps you'll strip off the icing and have a naked cake. Or maybe cakes aren't your thing at all and you envision having cake pops, cupcakes, or donuts.

Whatever the case, whatever the taste, here are some of our top picks for the Bow Tie Photo Wedding Cake Hall of Fame! Bon appetit! 

Source: www.bowtiephoto.com

Joseph & Christina | Orlando Wedding

We had the pleasure of photographing Christina and Joseph's beautiful wedding that took place in Orlando and Celebration, Florida. We met Joseph and Christina last January in Washington, DC for our first engagement session of 2016! It was below freezing for our sunrise session, touring the monuments. We were happy that the weather could not have been better for their wedding day. The two-day wedding affair was filled with lots of laughter, tears, hugs and even some kisses! We were fortunate enough to have extra time after the ceremony for portraits in downtown Celebration. The reception took place at Reunion Resort, which was over the top in every way imaginable! Near the end of the evening, Stan Pe Films shared an incredible same day edit wedding highlight video, see video below! We are excited to share some of our favorites from their big day!

MUST WATCH!!! Video below is their Same Day Edit, produced by Stan Pe Films! 

www.stanpefilms.com Music licensed through Musicbed.

Awesome Vendors:

Coordination: Blush by Brandee Gaar  

Church: Corpus Christi Catholic Church 

Venue: Reunion Resort  

Videographer: Stan Pe Films

DJ (Night 1): Event Concepts

DJ (Night 2): Our DJ Rocks

Caterer (Night 1): Sizzler Indian

Floral: Lee James Floral Design 

Hair/Make-Up: LeJeune Artistry

Rentals: A Chair Affair

Draping: Swag Decor

Dance Floor: Orlando Wedding and Party Rentals 

Pin Spotting: FyerFly Productions

Cake: Party Flavors

Linens: Over The Top

Photobooth: Grainger Entertainment

Transportation: VIP Wedding Transportation

Photography: Bow Tie Photo

Elissa & Zach | Jacksonville Zoo Engagement

It is always special when we make it out to Jacksonville's world class zoo, it is even MORE special when we have the privilege to take engagement photos there with an awesome couple! Weekday mornings are extra quiet at the zoo, which creates the perfect time to take romantic portraits of a couple in love! Incorporating many parts of the zoo was not only fun, but turned into a "date" morning. As always, the session was filled with laughter, a few silly faces, and plenty of kisses! Here are a few of our favorites:

Paige & Jeff | Engaged

Happy New Year! It's hard to beat the mild winter days in St. Augustine, Florida, especially when it comes to engagement sessions outside! We had the pleasure of photographing Paige and Jeff in historic St. Augustine and the nearby beach. Both natives of Florida, who now call Lake County home (outside of Orlando) they fit right into the laid-back, go with the flow vibe that north Florida is known for. We started the afternoon outside of the Lightner Museum, wandered our way through the streets (with their Labs, Mia and Cali), and wrapped up for the last bit of sunlight on St. Augustine Beach. We are excited to photograph their wedding in a few short months at the Bowing Oaks Plantation outside of Jacksonville, Florida! Congratulations Jeff & Paige!

Michael & Kayla | Old Silk Mill Wedding

And like that, fall is here! We kicked the fall wedding photography season off with Michael and Kayla at the beautiful Inn at the Old Silk Mill. It was a picture perfect day for weather and the company was even better. Our day was filled with laughter, silly faces, a few happy tears, and lots of dance floor excitement! Earlier this year we spent an afternoon with these two and it's clear they're each others soul mates. We did a little wandering and found some incredible outdoor locations for portraits that look like they were right out of a studio. During the reception Michael's acapella group made a surprise performance for the wedding guests. We are excited for Michael and Kayla, here our some of our favorites! Also - LOTS of flying things in this collection!

Lauren & Scott | Beach Club Wedding

FALL is (almost) here! Fall ushers in the third and final wave of weddings for the year, and we couldn't be more excited about our schedule the next few months! One of our favorite places to photograph weddings is on the water, and on top of that having an awesome couple like Lauren and Scott makes it that much better! These two have so much energy and are very much in love, it made for a great day and even better photos. Pressed for time with a tight schedule to get all of the day's events in, we made the best use of the weather, Club, and our time to get beautiful shots. We can't wait to get through the rest of the photos, enjoy some of our favorites below!

Kaileigh & Andrew | Big Talbot Island Engagement

One of our favorite places to photograph couples for engagement sessions is Big Talbot Island, which is a little known gem just south of Amelia Island, Florida. The woods have a beachy - prehistoric fee with their oversize ferns and large, moss covered trees. Moving through the woods and down to the beach will put you in the middle of Boneyard Beach. I promise it's not as scary as it sounds! As trees fall off the short cliff into the water, they stay on the beach as they become gigantic pieces of driftwood. ON TOP of all of that we had the wonderful opportunity of photographing Kaileigh and Andrew's engagement session. They are a cute couple who are clearly head over heels in love. Our session was filled with laughter, silly faces, and cuddling. We are excited to share some of our favorites from their engagement session and can't wait for their wedding in March! 

Lacey & Brandon | Wedding

It was a beautiful late summer day on Amelia Island for Brandon and Lacey's wedding! Both Maryland natives, they moved down to Jacksonville several years ago for Brandon's service in the Navy. With an interesting turn of events, that had both sides of the family excited, he was relocated back to Maryland earlier this year! They already had made their wedding plans at the Golf Club of Amelia Island. An amazing venue tucked between Amelia Island's famous Ritz Carlton and one of the many treasured canopy roads of the island. We managed to get outside several times throughout the day for some extraordinary portraits. The love between these two was palpable and it really shows through their photos, we are excited to share a few, enjoy!

-Zack

Devin & Jasmine | Engaged

It was a sunny, but sleepy morning a few weeks ago for Jasmine and Devin's lifestyle engagement session. It wasn't raining (a common theme this May) but we started in their home. A charming turn of the century row house that they call home, is updated with modern conveniences but its character remains intact. When we first began talking about an engagement session, I asked, "What places are important to you two?" without missing a beat they said their home, favorite coffee shop, and the places they frequent in their neighborhood. Having a connection to not only one another, but also the backdrop for your photos gives that extra meaning which makes them that much more special when you look back. It was a great morning, we can't wait for their wedding next spring!

-Zack  

Rain On Your Wedding Day

A rainy wedding day is never, well almost never what a couple hopes for on their wedding day. Its darker, usually colder, slippery... the list goes on. On the flip side the light is soft, the ground glistens, the curious guests are non-existent, the mood is intimate and there's that extra closeness between a couple as they cuddle to stay warm. As a wedding and engagement photographer the show must go on rain or shine. Working quickly and efficiently while still maintaining a high quality level of work is essential. This weekend it was exceptionally rainy through the mid-Atlantic, but our couples stayed more than positive and we pulled off some great shots, here's a few of them!

Zack