I had the pleasure of working with Haley + Seth on their big day and it was SO much fun! Haley met Seth in her freshman year of nursing school. They would always run into each other in the lobby… which at first seemed like a coincidence, but soon realized was something more! Four years later, Seth popped the question… he gave her a card that ended with a single question… “Wife?”. When she looked up he was on a knee. See, Seth thought from the beginning that Haley was beautiful, smart, funny… charming… and then he realized how much they had in common, and he knew she was something special… and he realized they were meant to be together.
Haley and Seth chose a beach wedding because they both have always loved the ocean, and New Smyrna was a second home to our bride growing up. They both agreed that the beach was the ideal place to host a wedding that would be fun and a huge party for everyone they love.
Now beach weddings can be tricky, working around weather, and it can be too hot, or too windy, but it was as if this one was just meant to be! We did getting ready pictures are the beautiful Residence Inn Daytona Beach Oceanfront, before jetting over to the beautiful picturesque beaches of New Smyrna. Lucky we did, because we could see the rain clouds over Daytona from the ceremony! It was as if the storms were avoiding us, JUST so these two could have their perfect day!
Most people are upset when clouds roll in for their beach ceremony, but trust me! Clouds are our friends! Our goal is always to diffuse the light, to create as soft a condition as possible. We use “Gary Fongs”… small plastic attachments on our flashes as diffusers, but ideally if I wasn’t afraid they’d blow away on the beach, larger soft boxes are even more ideal! So if bigger is better, you can imagine how lovely the lighting is when the sun is being diffused by a big cloud! Absolute perfection! PLUS these two gave us a lot to work with… loving glances, huge smiles, laughs, tears.. we were able to capture so much raw emotion.
After a romantic couple’s portrait session, we headed back to the hotel, where we were greeted by a STUNNING ballroom, complete with a candle wall, uplighting, beautiful table settings, and a long head table. Dances, toasts, garter and bouquet… and a fake sparkler exit finished off the evening, with more laughter, smiles, tears, and hugs. The grandparents dance with our lovely couple even got me a little choked up! We hope you love the highlights from Haley + Seth’s big day as much as we enjoyed capturing them, and we wish you both a lifetime of happiness together!
