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

I love my job.  Wedding photography is not something that I ever thought I would be interested in , but here I am & I love it so much.  It never fails that when I tell someone (usually another photographer) that I love shooting weddings, I get a look of horror…and I understand their concerns.  I’m not gonna lie, weddings are a LOT of work.  They’re super stressful, fast-paced, a million things can go wrong & my feet hate my guts at the end of the day, but I just can’t help myself.  I love every second of it all!

Today, I started thinking about this.  WHY do I love torturing my feet & my sanity shooting weddings?  After some soul searching, I finally realized the answer.

Emotion.

When I look through photographs, my favorites are always the ones that show the emotions that were being experienced at that time.  I love capturing those emotions {sounds cheesy, I know} & a wedding is full of them.  I’m completely drawn to that.  At the end of a wedding, when I’m on my way home, completely exhausted & my feet are screaming at me, I sometimes wonder if I can do it again…if this is what I want to do…surely, I must be completely out of my mind?!  But then, I unload my memory cards onto my computer & I start flipping through the images from the day & I remember.  I remember why I love it so much…why I torture myself for 10+ hours on a Saturday, when I could be laying by the pool with a good book.  I see the emotions…the love, the excitement, the giddiness, the joy, the bittersweet tears as a daddy gives away his baby girl & I know that I absolutely, 100% HAVE GOT to do this again…and again…and again.

It gives me a secret thrill knowing that 10, 20, 50 years from now, this couple will look at the images that I created & remember the happiest day of their lives…remember why they fell in love.  It blows me away to think that one day a little girl will flip through her mother’s (or grandmother’s) wedding album & begin daydreaming of her own wedding day…knowing that I had a hand in that.  Whoa.  That’s why I love photographing weddings.  That’s why I’ll put on my ugly, supportive shoes on a Saturday & spend my day doing everything in my power to get the shot that will one day make every single happy memory from your day come flooding back to you.

Some people may think it’s crazy, but I think it’s AMAZING!

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I am so happy that spring is finally here, despite the crazy pollen everywhere :), so to celebrate, I’ve decided to offer my very 1st set of Spring Mini Sessions.

Mini sessions are not something I will offer frequently.  In fact, this will be the only time they will be offered to everyone.  In the future, these sessions will be reserved exclusively for my awesome, loyal clients, so take advantage now before it’s too late!

Time slots are limited and will be reserved on a 1st paid (and contract received) basis, so be sure to let me know quickly which time you’d like & I will get your contract out to you ASAP.

Available Times:

Friday, May 10th:

8:00-8:30 am
8:45-9:15 am
9:30-10:00 am
4:00-4:30 pm
4:45-5:15 pm
5:30-6:00 pm
6:15-6:45 pm

Saturday, May 11th:

8:00-8:30 am
8:45-9:15 am
9:30-10:00 am
4:00-4:30 pm
4:45-5:15 pm
5:30-6:00 pm
6:15-6:45 pm

I can’t express how thankful I am for your support.  You are making it possible for me to follow my dreams & it blows me away.  Thank you…a million times.

Email me { emma@emilydeanphotography.com } to reserve your session today!!
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Steel Magnolias is one of my all time favorite movies.  There isn’t another film out there that more accurately depicts life in the South or highlights bizarre unique Southern Traditions.

One of my favorite scenes from this movie is the unveiling of the groom’s cake.  This was my 1st introduction to such a tradition & it instantly became a favorite.  If you’ve never seen this movie, drop what you’re doing IMMEDIATELY and go watch it!  It’s a classic & you’re missing out, majorly, but for those unfortunate souls who’ve never seen it, I’ll explain:

The groom’s aunt created a masterpiece for her nephew on his big day and this is what the bride and her mother had to say about it.  “The Groom’s cake!  It’s awful…it’s in the shape of a giant armadillo.  Worst, the cake part is red velvet…people are going to be hacking into this poor animal that looks like it’s bleedin’ to death!”  Hysterical.  You’ve gotta see this movie.  This woman was the original Cake Boss, y’all.

So, where did this tradition come from?  Unfortunately, us Southerners can’t claim this one.  Even though, today, it is a predominantly southern ‘thang,’ the groom’s cake originated in England during the Victorian Era & served a very different purpose than it does today.

The 1st groom’s cake was a dense fruit cake (yuck!).  It was cut into pieces & placed in small boxes to be given to “all the single ladies” {you just sang that and did the dance in your head, didn’t you? Don’t lie.} to take home & place under their pillows in the hopes that they would then find a husband.  Kinda like the Tooth Fairy, but better…a Husband Fairy!  Sounds pretty awesome…maybe I should go buy a fruit cake…

Anyway, for some reason, the British have since abandoned this tradition, leaving American Southerners to adopt it & transform it into what it is today.  A way for the bride to honor her husband-to-be & incorporate his interests into their wedding day.  A way to let the groom feel like he isn’t just a {very vital} accessory to a big girly party 😉

Hopefully, your beloved’s interests don’t include road kill, otherwise, you might end up with something like this.

 

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What are some unique and/or hilarious groom’s cakes you’ve seen over the years?  Did you, or will you, incorporate this tradition into your wedding celebration?  I’d love to hear!

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The beach is my favorite place on earth.  Anytime I have the opportunity to take a trip down, I jump on it.  I’m pretty dang lucky because my mom lives there.  She doesn’t just live at any ‘ol beach, though.  She lives at the BEST beach in the country…maybe even the universe.  The beaches of 30A.  It is the most gorgeous place ever and I’m spoiled rotten because I can go whenever I want!

During my last trip, I was lucky enough to get to meet up with my mom’s BFF and her daughter for a quick beach mini session.

Laura Lee & Bree are the most gorgeous mother/daughter duo, inside & out, and we had a blast playing on the beach together.  Thank you so much, girls, for the fun time!

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Spring is in the air and pollen is all over EVERYTHING.  I left my screened windows open all day yesterday to enjoy the fresh air and this morning I’m seeing pollen dusting all over my furniture!  Slightly annoying, but I’m so glad to finally see the dogwoods and azaleas blooming and the wisteria climbing out of control that I don’t even mind the itchy nose and extra cleaning.  It’s the most beautiful time of year, so who could complain?

Today, as I continue to recover from the 1st wedding of 2013 {and the longest wedding of my LIFE at a whopping 15 hours long}, I can barely contain my excitement at the busy season ahead.  I’m ready to shoot, shoot and shoot some more!  I’ve finally decided to offer my 1st set of Spring Mini sessions!! I’m working out the details today and will be announcing the dates later this week.  If you’d like to be the 1st to know details and have 1st dibs on the very limited time slots, comment below with your email address.  I’ll send out an email 1 day before I open the dates up and announce them on Facebook.  Dates will be extremely limited, so they will go FAST!

Happy Monday, y’all!

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