Katie + Austin | A Golf-Inspired Kingsmill Resort Wedding

If you have a golfer bride, a golfer groom, and a whole lotta golfing family, then it's kinda only perfect to have golf nuances on your wedding day. And that's just what Katie and Austin did. On, seriously, one of the most perfect days in September at Kingsmill Resort, these two made Williamsburg their destination wedding. To tie in their love of family and the beloved sport, these two even set up a special golf invitational for their wedding guests... and gave trophies to the winning team at the wedding reception!

This beautiful bride left no thoughtful detail untouched. Her cake mockup puts all cake mockups to shame (à la PowerPoint, too!). And since their furbabies couldn't be part of the wedding, Katie found a custom bride and groom cake topper with Tess, Tally, and Little Dog at their feet.

To lay witness to such love through an entire family-- and not just one side, but both united-- was an incredible thing. During the preparations, during the ceremony, and especially during the reception, happy tears were shed and nostalgic sentiments spoken. Through those, you knew these newlyweds are cherished and very well-loved.

Thank you for choosing me to be a part of your special day, Katie and Austin! It was a complete honor, and I wish you both all the very best! May your many years of marriage always be a perfect round! [Insert some extra cheesy golf-y wakkawakkas here.] ;)


















Many thanks go to Caitlin for being a great second shooter, Brittany for orchestrating such a beautiful day, Jeff for making the reception awesome, and Kingsmill Spa, Williamsburg Florals, and Big Top Entertainment for creating the visual aspects to their perfect story!

Arriving in Williamsburg...

It's time to reveal the big one! The LaVeres are changin' zip codes and headed to the other side of Hampton Roads!


Rusty has been transferred to a Yorktown clinic to serve a new community with his patient care skills, and seeing as there really is no relocation crazies with Bit of Ivory Photography (beyond the task of having to register for a new city biz license)... it's a great new adventure in store for us. The idea of moving to the *really* historical part of Hampton Roads is a dream. Four years ago, we were married in the Historic Area, and now that Historic Area will be our backyard. :) To most, it's probably no surprise (e.g., "I thought you lived there already because of the amount of times you talk about it?!" or "You're up there all the time!") especially with the amount of out-of-town brides I meet in Williamsburg as a halfway point to discuss wedding awesomeness.

My little old soul has always felt at home there, and I'm ecstatic that we have the opportunity to still stay in the area AND get all soul-comfy in a beautiful new home.

A few Q's...
* Will you still come to the Southside?
Of course! I'll still be down here often for meetings/events (and as often as I've been going up to Williamsburg in the past years)... and of course, when I'm shooting weddings in Virginia Beach/Chesapeake/general Southside. Hampton Roads is Hampton Roads! :)

* Any new travel fees?
Same as usual. :)

* How excited are you?
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!

* When I'm shooting on the Peninsula, you'll have a guest room for me, right? ;)
Oh my gosh, we are so excited to have TONS more room when we move. Since we'll be moving into a real HOUSE, more room for us, more room for you. ;) I'm sure there will be a golden pineapple decor piece somewhere in our house to showcase the colonial spirit of hospitality. If you find it, maybe you'll get a cookie. lol

* Did you really make your cats wear colonial gear?
I'll keep that mystery going.

And heck yeah. You KNOW I'm going to get a fancy return address stamp for my mail. I've been dreaming of this for years! Watch out, envelopes! ;)

Laura + Winfield | A Classic Williamsburg Winery Wedding

Even though we got to know Laura and Winfield during their engagement session, there is always something about the wedding day that spindles all of that knowledge and weaves it into something timeless.

With wax seals, shades of ivory, blue toile, and THE Bruton Parish in Colonial Williamsburg, you have the setting for one memorable, classic wedding day. But beyond the visuals, the emotional strings were strummed. When you can feel the joy around, there's some serious potential for some happy tears. :) When Winfield saw Laura for the first time during their first look... well, the whole bridal party predicted what would happen, and it did. ;)

The way these two cherish each other is evident in every word exchanged. The speeches, the vows, and the witty remarks. You couldn't help but have that feel-good-kinda feeling. With family and friends attending from all over, this was a day for the (personal) history books.

And as Laura once wrote to me in an email, "I can't wait for him to be my Mister!" And it makes me smile all big because... yay, Laura! He is finally your Mister! Hope you two have a fabulous tropical honeymoon!














Many thanks go to Meagan and Jessica for helping me make Laura and Winfield's wedding day story through their lenses and extra hands. And a big thanks to Williamsburg Winery, Events in Bloom, Carrot Tree Kitchens, The Catering Company, and In Full for creating the visual and audio aspects to their perfect story!

Stay tuned to Facebook for a more complete visual story of the entire wedding day after the bride and groom have had their Grand Unveiling! :)

Williamsburg Wreaths of 2011... well, some of them.

So, the sad story is that when I was in Williamsburg for my and Rusty's anniversary, it was majorly rainy. Like enough to drench my favorite part of the historic area!!

I promised my PA family, Dad and Mom Forry, that I would post the wreath photos that I did capture though. It's just kind of a bummer that I wasn't able to get all of the ones I wanted like I did last year. Insert MAJOR SIGHING here. :)

One day, I want to find out who the florists are who design these things... and I just want to watch them craft one. Just once. Someone out there in the interwebs must know someone, right!? :)

But anyhow, this black and white photo kind of makes up for the lack of quantity... normally, I'm ALL about the color for the wreaths, but this one just makes me smile a bunch. I think Ansel Adams would be proud... I hope?! :)



















So, there you go, Mom and Dad Forry! I wish there were more, but either way, the wreaths will always captivate!

- Chelsea :)

Jenn + Jamie (to be further collectively known as JJ) | Colonial Williamsburg Engagement Photography

If you even mention the words "colonial" and "Williamsburg," you will get a reaction. If you mention them in the same sentence together, you will get an explosion of pure ethereal joy. Yep, and it seems I've met my match in love of Colonial Williamsburg. Jamie even said it; he wants to buy property in the historic area. And I told him he might just have someone who will take residence in their attic. haha!

Hailing from Suffolk, Jenn is a graphic designer who loves to work in all types of media and Jamie is a mechanical builder who loves to work with his hands. I think that pairing couldn't be more perfect.

For all intensive purposes, I tongue-tossed over my words/names/phrases SO many times during our session... that I'm now affectionately calling these two JJ. When I first met Jenn, we (including her mom!) bonded over books and our love of Harry Potter. For real, books are the way to my heart. Oh, and cookies. But I digress...

JJ, we have a bowling double date in our future. I can't guarantee my granny bowling ball rolls won't come out though. :) Enjoy the sneak peek!










- Chelsea :)