eileen and i just got off Skype with melanie and james this morning. we miss them already. that’s the kind of easy-going, fun-loving couple they are. you just want to be around them! so we were thrilled when we got the call: they were engaged, and wanted us to capture their big day! melanie and her incredible family were no strangers to us. we got to know the whole big, crazy family when we shot the wedding of juliana and tyler (melanie’s brother) over three years ago. (as a side note, we can’t wait to meet the newest member of the burgess family. juliana and tyler’s firstborn is due soon! woohoo!)

this wedding was spectacular, and spectacularly unconventional all at the same time! since melanie and james flew from california and back here to georgia for their wedding, the whole affair was an especially emotional reunion of family and friends from all over the country. from their rehearsal dinner at the historic and locally beloved georgia theatre to their wedding at the state botanical garden, every moment seemed filtered through rose-colored glass. we especially enjoyed exploring the grounds with them at the colonels b&b,  one of the better-kept secrets around here when it comes to accommodations with real character. since they both work in the hollywood scene  — as a casting director and as an editor — i shouldn’t have been surprised when an emmy-nominated actress appeared at the b&b during the couple’s portraits to wish them well. i was a little star-struck at first. but the thing about the crowd they hang with, everyone is completely approachable and endlessly fun. when you’re together, you’re family. and it showed in the way everyone pitched in, arranging flowers and setting tables till everything was perfect. the “reception” began as soon as guest arrived; and rather than a formal ceremony, melanie and james simply stood up from their table to exchange personally written, deeply meaningful, and at times extremely funny vows. quite a few “go dawgs!” calls were heard from the crowd (in honor of everyone’s favorite uga bulldogs), and very few dry eyes were left by the end.

melanie and james were good friends and even shared a rental with other roommates before they finally fell in love. as their friends remarked, theirs is a true hollywood love story. james was nearly ready to leave the city and get out of showbiz before they met. but everything changed after that fateful first kiss in the photobooth at a friend’s wedding. it was appropriate then, that they showed everybody how it’s done when they jumped into their BlumeBooth this time around. who knows? maybe another first kiss was shared by some couple this time, with an equally bright future ahead of them. we hope so! 🙂  congrats, you two! can’t wait to watch how your script unfolds!

(to view the rest of their wedding images, watch their slideshow here!)