Juli and Willie

I wanted to subtitle this post, "The Best Wedding Present Ever," because I truely could have done an entire blog post about Juli's amazing present to Willie. However, this post is not about her wedding present, it's about her fantastic wedding. I don't think I've ever seen the level of family participation in the wedding preparation as I did at Juli's. She got ready at her parents home, while her family ran around putting the final touches on the reception site -- their backyard.

When the van arrived with the flowers, I was a bit floored by the never-ending supply of flora that was carried into the house and yard. They were, in a word, stunning arrangements. The bouquets were some of the most beautiful I've seen. Juli told me she told the florist she wanted each of the bouquets to be different and unique, but similar and ended the direction at that. They each had a unique flower, but all the same color palette. I don't think florists often get brides who give them so much artistic freedom, and in the end, Juli was thrilled with result. This is one of the bouquets with the rings.

Meanwhile, Rich was with Willie and the groomsmen getting ready. I loved this portrait of the group. It's difficult to get a shot like this -- to get the reflection well-lit and sharp, you often have to blow out the skin, but Rich nailed it and was able to keep all the detail.

At Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Juli walked down the aisle with her father and a piece of her mother -- that's her mom's veil. She changed into a shorter one after the ceremony, but I thought it was a really amazing gesture. Plus, the veil worked perfectly with her absolutely stunning (though, I'm told, quite heavy) lace and beaded gown.

We only shot a couple of quick portraits on the steps of the church. Again, this is why I totally love having the both of us shooting -- Rich took this informal portrait (that also set the stage for a Fourth of July weekend wedding) while I was setting up the second shot of the bridal party.

Then we headed back over to her family's land for some more intimate portraits of the two of them. When I went out to Juli's parent's house a few months ago, we chatted around their table and Juli mentioned she wasn't sure where to do the portraits. Then we walked out back and I saw the small lake (they call it a pond, but it must be 50 feet across), perfectly landscaped gardens and the grape fields. And I thought, "Huh, I think this might do." These first two, again, are a simultaneous moment -- I'm able to set up a posed shot, and Rich can get a little creative with the angle, without taking extra time to set up different poses.

This is one of my favorite shots of the day, because I love a daytime silhouette, and you don't often get the right lighting and the right landscape at the same time. But they had a beautiful hill, some grape fields, and the sun in the right direction to make it work.

Okay, so I've already raved about the flowers, but I have to give a shout out to the cake, as well. It was straight out of a Martha Stewart magazine. She had each tier separated by a different color of fresh flowers, and I think it's just gorgeous.

As I mentioned before, Juli had a surprise present for Willie that made the rest of us recent brides look terrible. Seriously, how do you compete with a Mister Softee truck arriving at the reception?

As you can tell by his affection for the truck, Willie loves Mister Softee. Apparently, he's known to chase the truck down, and, rumor has it, that the Mister Softee in his neighborhood knows him by name. Clearly, Willie was thrilled by the present, and he made sure everyone knew, he married the best woman, ever. And seriously, with a surprise like that, I think he just might have.

After everyone got their ice cream, it was time for some dancing under the tent. Juli's parents worked so hard, personally, on getting all the details to work perfectly for the wedding. I'm told, shy of setting up the tent, her dad did almost everything else. I think it was a family effort, though. One of Juli's bridesmaids told me when she'd talked to Juli earlier in the week, she was busy toasting walnuts for the salads.

The evening wrapped up with a spectacular fireworks display. From across the "pond," her uncle set off a phenomenal 30-minute show. It was a perfect way to end an amazing day, and Rich and I were so thrilled to be a part of it. Congratulations, you two.