The Root Photography Blog

Martha + Richard : The Club Continental on St John’s River Wedding in Jacksonville, Florida

April 22, 2014 by Jensey 7 Comments

Nate and I have been together for a decade, and he’s only ever met one set of my aunt and uncles, but I’m lucky enough to have a core set of honorary aunts and uncles that have been major parts of my life. These are the relatives he’s met multiple times, and the ones I know I can always call if I need, well… Anything, really. Aunt Martha is one of those people, and the kindest, strongest, most genuine woman I’ve ever known. Basically, if I were to make a list of role models, she’d make the rest just look bad. :)

I can’t think of anyone in my life who deserves a happily ever after more than Aunt Martha. When asked to photograph her wedding, I was thrilled. And then terrified. And then thrilled again. She and Richard, her lucky husband, were married at the gorgeous Club Continental on the St. John’s River in Jacksonville.

When Aunt Martha told me about her wedding, she said she and Richard were having what she told her girls they were never allowed to do: An outdoor ceremony. Leading up to the wedding, rain was imminent. 24 hours out, there was a 75% chance for storms and it even poured when we went to lunch before the wedding. But then a funny thing happened- We pulled up to Club Continental and the sky cleared. Just like that. And Aunt Martha got her gorgeous outdoor ceremony and married her prince.

I can’t think of a more lucky start to a wedding day than seeing turtles cuddling at the wedding venue!

First look time, which meant I cried more than Aunt Martha and Richard combined. :)

Martha and Richard’s children made for a gorgeous bridal party.

Nate and I photographed Brooke and Kyle’s wedding in Austin years ago. Richard wasn’t able to make it to her wedding, which prompted Martha to call him, and well… The rest is history. As Brooke so humbly put it in her matron of honor speech, this all sort of happened because of her! :)

I love how much she loves her grandson! William Otis is a lucky little man, indeed.

Yeah. Tough day. ;)

These next two make my heart swell!

Richard pretending to pour water on his new wife. :)

Oh yeah- My sister was there. :)

Favorite. <3

Pearson kids with the bride. :)

Aunt Martha and Richard, we are still on Cloud 9 from your wedding day. I so hope we made you proud with these photos! :) So much love to you and your families!!

Natalie + Adam : Boardwalk Inn Sea Breeze Point Wedding + Yacht Club Ariel’s Reception

April 14, 2014 by Jensey 4 Comments

Natalie and Adam hail from the UK, got engaged in Paris, and chose Walt Disney World as their wedding location. :) They were married on one of the warmest days I can remember photographing, and even though their guests weren’t used to the extreme heat, everyone stayed in good spirits and were so happy to be a part of the day. It was clear how much these two are loved and adored, and we were honored to be a part of their day!

We met Natalie at the Yacht Club where she was getting ready.

Everyone was sooooooo excited. :)

Sister shenanigans. :)

Maybe my all time favorite bridesmaid bouquets; who knew carnations packed so tightly could look like this?!

That tie- Are you kidding me?! Adam should be given a trophy for conquering that!

Fact: There are no guests like British wedding guests. I’m in love with every hat!

Then it was on to their reception at Ariel’s!

Love Natalie’s proud parents looking on. :)

We love when Kathryn Flocken of Paper Portraits is on hand to make some magic. (You can check out her Etsy site here!) Kathryn’s work is amazing, and she cuts two silhouettes of each each guest- One for them to take home for a favor, and one to go in a guest book for them to sign. :)

Natalie and Adam, thank you for having us- Hope you love the photos!!! :)

Jessie + Jason : Bonnet House Museum and Gardens Wedding in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

April 7, 2014 by Jensey 6 Comments

So, my little sister-in-law is now a Mrs.! <3

I talked a bit about my love for Jessie when I blogged her and Jason’s engagement session here, so make sure you read that post first!

Nate and I have been privileged to photograph all of our family members and best friends’ weddings since we started shooting weddings, but this was our very first time sans camera bags, both of us in the bridal party! Nate has done the groomsman/best man thing at least 4 times I know of (who wouldn’t want that face in a groomsmen lineup?!), but this was my very first time as a bridesmaid. I was completely shocked when Jessie asked- I knew her sisters and Jason’s sister would make it to the “line up,” but me- The in-law?! !t made my heart so happy to stand behind my Jessie as she committed herself to the love of her life.

So yes, this was my first time playing octopus bridesmaid the week before the wedding: tying bows one minute, going to pick up a wedding dress the next, and doing everything I could to help my stressed out little sister make her wedding as stress-free as possible. :) I was so happy our schedule allowed us to be in town a few days before hand, so we didn’t have to fly in and barely make it to the rehearsal dinner.

Jessie and Jason were married at the gorgeous Bonnet House in downtown Fort Lauderdale, and this colorful historic catapulted its way to our dream wedding venues to photograph list! Just a couple quick photos from the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner:

Jason’s reaction to a surprise UM groom’s cake, while Jessie looks on with her token “yeah, I know I’m amazing” face. ;)

Sometimes I worry I love on him too hard!

I loved some of the photos Nate got hanging out with the guys on the wedding day…

… But this one’s my favorite. :)

This cannot be that four year old boy I met 10 years ago! I love that Jessie and Jason had all of their siblings and siblings-in-law as part of the bridal party. (Nate wants me to specify his 14 year old brother isn’t smoking a cigar here, it’s chocolate. But we *will* be recreating this photo on his someday wedding day!)

Nate’s first glimpse of his little sister as a bride. :)

Katarina, my mini-me. <3

Sister photo! :)

Nate’s grandpa, probably our favorite photo subject ever!

My mother-in-law looking gorgeous with her sister:

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavorite. <3 Thank you, Sarah Bray, for my favorite photo of us!!

When I first met Austin he was 8, and now he has a girlfriend and leaves for college in the fall!

More gorgeous in-laws: Dad and Lisa. :)

Then it was ceremony time! I think the weirdest thing about being a bridesmaid was how fast it all went. I was expecting ~5 minutes of stressful waiting time in a line-up, but the second we got to our spot, we were queued to walk down the aisle! They had almost 200 guests and a loooooong gravel aisle to walk down, so I was thankful we got to walk two-by-two (and that I got to walk with my husband!) Since Nate and I eloped, that was our first time walking down an aisle together. We basically went twice as fast as we were supposed to and just kept smiling and repeating “Sooooo, this is weird…” to each other. :) The ceremony and cocktail hour flew by, and a couple glasses of wine later, we were being announced into the reception!

Loooove this one of my mothers-in-law watching the father/daughter dance.

Sooooo I’d say Jessie and Jason’s reception was one of my top 10 favorite memories of all time. I basically drank wine and danced with my beautiful little sisters to every song. Love. My. Family.

Pretty sure this was Nate’s view the whole night: Him trying to go talk to family and visit, and me leading him riiiiight back on to the dance floor. :)

Jessie, you were an unfairly gorgeous bride and Jason, we know you’ll provide a wonderful life for our little sister! We’re so excited to have front row seats to whatever adventures the future has for you, and please know we’re always here for you and love you to pieces. Yay for our new brother!!