Emily Dean Photography » Lifestyle & Family Photographer | Based in Birmingham, Alabama

Last week, all of my family came into town to celebrate the amazing life of my Papaw Zane, who passed away on May 23rd at the age of 91.  He had lived such an incredible life & was the perfect example of honor, dignity & service.  I am so proud & blessed to have had him for all of these years as a role model for my life.

Needless to say {but clearly I’ll say it anyway}, I didn’t get much {any} work done while they were here.  I decided to take that time off to spend with my family because, well, there’s nothing more important than family, right?!  So, this week I’m playing catch up with all of the sessions I have to edit & am putting myself on lock down until this edit-a-thon is complete.

First up, Chrissy & MJ’s incredible Destin, FL wedding.  I can’t wait to dive into the rest of this goodness!

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Side note:  While enjoying a lovely family day at the pool on Saturday, my dad informs me, ever so politely, that I have “lost my 6-pack.”  Yes.  Thank you, father, now excuse me while I go finish off this bag of Cheetos.

Looks like Jillian Michaels “30 Day Shred” is moving to the top of the priority list.

Happy Monday, y’all!

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One of my favorite traditions on a wedding day is the “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.”  I love finding out how each bride has incorporated this tradition into her day because it’s a completely unique aspect of each wedding.  Nobody ever has exactly the same things.  I adore the sentimentality of the old and borrowed pieces and I love the meaning behind the new and blue.  The bring such a special piece of love and history to the day.

So, what does all of this mean?  Really quickly, here is a run down of why each piece is important:

Something Old:   symbolizes the couple’s desire to remain close with their family once they become a new family together.

Something New:  represents the couple’s new life together that will include health, happiness & success.

Something Borrowed:  is a token of love from the bride’s friends or family

Something Blue:  is a symbol of fidelity and constancy

I hope this sheds some light on a time honored tradition and makes it feel a little more special to you as you plan your wedding!

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The other day, I came across a Martha Stewart Weddings book from 1987.  I have no idea where it came from or how it ended up at my house {I’m just going to assume that it came from my mama & was left here when my sister was planning her wedding a few years ago}.

I never really paid much attention to it before, but this morning it caught my eye, so I started thumbing through the pages and began to realize that I really love this book for a few reasons.

1.  It’s a gorgeous book covered in Tiffany blue linen with a simple, elegant white font on the spine & it goes beautifully with my new living room color & decor!

2.  It’s written by Martha Stewart, so of course it has great tips that are still relevant for today’s bride.

3.  Not much has changed in the basics of wedding planning over the past 30 years.

Sure, fashion is different, thank goodness, {although, if you look around, you’ll see the 80’s coming back in full force…cringe!!} technology is like something straight out of The Jetson’s & things are waaay more expensive, but when you get down to the basic wedding planning checklist, things are pretty much the same.

  • Date
  • Budget
  • Ceremony site
  • Reception site
  • Guest list
  • Officiant
  • Wedding Party
  • Caterer
  • Music
  • Wedding Cake……etc, etc, etc!

The list is pretty long, but you get the idea.  The dresses may be different, but the structure is still the same!

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It’s nice to know that some things never change….and even nicer to know that some things do…yikes!

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May has been beautiful month.  I have been busier with more sessions than ever before and I’m so grateful to everyone who has supported me.  I’m always blown away by my clients and their encouragement of my work.

I started out the month with the most adorably happy baby girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.  Miss Sara Chandler just turned 6 months old, so her mommy wanted to document this precious stage in her life and I was thrilled to have the honor.  I’m always slightly unsure of what to expect when heading into a session with babies because you can never predict their mood or how they will respond to a stranger (i.e. ME!), but as soon as I met Sara Chandler she was all wide smiles and sweet giggles.  She was so sweet and precious that I wanted to hide her in my bag and sneak her home with me, but I’m pretty sure her mom and dad would have noticed…and I don’t have time to spend in jail this month, so I just gave her a squeeze and let her go home 😉

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Those cheeks!!! Could you die?! I could pinch them all day.

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Sweet baby toes are my fav!

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Thank you Emily & Jase for trusting me with these precious memories! I can’t wait to see y’all again and to see how much Miss Sara Chandler has grown.

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I’ve kinda fallen off of the blogging wagon for the last few weeks & I apologize.  My goal is to blog 5 days a week, but lately I’ve been failing miserably.  However, things have been crazy busy around here so I’ll have lots of fun sneak peeks lined up for next week.  I hope you will keep coming back to check it all out!

Today I leave you with this Fun Friday Fact:

Before I was a photographer, I was a wedding photographer’s worst nightmare…the family member taking shots over the professional’s shoulder.  Oh, the shame!!!

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(photo taken at my sister’s wedding in 2007….the poor photographer whose shot I’m ruining is GwyneMark Photography)

Happy Friday, y’all!

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