Morgan Trinker

First of all, welcome to all you brides and grooms and family and friends of brides and grooms who might be stopping by my blog for the first time. It’s so great to have you here! Feel free to browse around the different categories (listed above), or just read up on what’s been going on around here these days. I’d love to hear from you!

Yesterday was one of the craziest, most chaotic, most exciting experiences I’ve had as a wedding photographer. I had heard tales about bridal shows… the manual labor, the exhaustion from being on your feet all day, the insanity of it all…. but I have to say, I actually had a lot of fun! Of course, there’s no way I could have done it without the assistance of my wonderful and patient husband, who managed to not have a heart attack when I explained in detail exactly what we would have to do in order to pull this thing off. But we survived it, marriage intact, and now that it’s over, I’m so thankful I did it!

Here’s our booth:

I have to admit, I’m really proud of how it turned out. After doing a ton of research online and getting advice from seasoned pros, I decided to go all out and basically construct a mini living room to reflect my personal aesthetic. It was a complicated and labor-intensive process, but I think it really made the booth stand out in the crowd. We built the “walls” by hinging together 5 3′-wide hollow doors (I originally purchased nine thinking I wouldn’t get a corner booth, but then I did, so we pared it down to six, but then we had to remove one on the end because of bridal show policy about leaving open space to see other vendors or something. Luckily it was an easy fix, but I wish I had known before I painted both sides of NINE doors, which required 3 coats of primer and 2-3 coats of paint on EACH side. Oh well! I’m just thankful we snagged a corner booth. They’re so much more open and visible, and we were able to handle the crowds from both sides. Highly recommended!) On one “wall” I hand-painted my logo, which would have been easy if I had one of those projector things to make a tracing, but I didn’t, so I went all 9th-grade-art-class-style and made a grid over my logo and then enlarged it on the wall and did a lot of free hand drawing and painting. I have new respect for my logo designer, who makes that lovely calligraphy look so effortless… it took me a LOT more effort than I thought! I purchased the sofa from Urban Outfitters (which is being used in my office), and the coffee and side table are from our living room. The bookshelf was a $15 Goodwill purchase, which was easily freshened up with a coat of white paint and some fun green accents. The accent lighting was from Lowe’s, and the lamp on the table is from IKEA. I also brought along my brand new sample albums from VisionArt and new canvases from Simply Canvas (one of which is not pictured because of the wall issue, but again- oh well!). And I had a slideshow running on my iMac the whole day, too.

Here are some detail shots:

Overall, we got an AMAZING response to the booth. Even before the show started other vendors would walk by, stop, stare awhile, and just smile. And that was exactly the reaction I wanted! I wanted it to be a little unexpected and fun and happy and cozy. A lot of brides told us it was the best booth there, and we had some people just stop and stare and take pictures of it to show other people, which was a huge compliment. Everyone loved being able to “come in,” sit down, and flip through albums. (Note to all the couples featured in those albums: I can’t tell you how many “oooohs” and “ahhhhhs” I heard while people were looking through them. You could tell they were getting some great ideas for their OWN weddings!) I got to talk to so many fantastic brides, and the whole afternoon was literally a complete whirlwind. I can’t wait to follow up with them and hopefully book some fabulous weddings this year!

So to my photographer friends, if you’re asking yourself if it’s worth it to do a show (because I know, it’s an ENORMOUS investment of energy, money, and time), I would say absolutely yes. But if you’re going to do, DO IT RIGHT. Go all out. Make your booth 100% a representation of YOU. I feel that one of the most successful parts of our booth was that it was almost as if we were inviting all these brides into our own house. It was a little peek into my world, and you could tell that it resonated with a lot of people who may not have the most traditional wedding style. If that’s you, then I’m your girl. ;)

When Crystal called me on Wednesday night, three days before her wedding, to touch base about some of the final details, she said something that nearly made me fall out of my chair.

“So I’m making my own wedding dress…. as in, present tense making it, about 30% done.”

Did I mention this was three days before the wedding? My mom was freaking out when she hadn’t finished my dress three months before our wedding!

I have to say, when I showed up on Saturday just in time to see Crystal try her dress on for the first time (the last stitch had been sewn literally an hour beforehand), I was in total awe. Call me a doubting Thomas, but I couldn’t understand how a wedding dress could be whipped up in just a few days, and under intense pressure. Let alone the kind of wedding dress that Crystal had on her body. I’m telling you, if she doesn’t think she’s found a calling in life, she’s crazy. She may not have slept at all the week before her wedding, but all her hard work most definitely paid off. [Did I mention that Christmas, her birthday, and her wedding all fell within a one week period of time? And that as soon as they get back from the honeymoon they’re moving to Nashville? Talk about a lot on your plate!]

This situation is just one small example of how Crystal and Luke’s wedding came together: with a lot of hard work and DIY dedication, a lot of help from friends and family, and a LOT of faith that everything would work out and that no matter what, they would be getting married when it was all said and done. I’ve known Crystal and Luke for a little while now, as they both worked at a Starbucks in Knoxville where a few of MY good friends have worked (I never barista-ed at that particular location, but still felt very much a part of the loop thanks to my friendship with Carrie and Shane and Emory and Eric.) In fact, that’s how Crystal and Luke met each other. (I’m telling you, I’m going to start calling that little green siren Mrs. Matchmaker!) Though I’ve never been really close friends with Crystal, I’ve always admired her effortless style, magnetic smile, and passion for adventure and creativity. She literally dabbles in a little bit of everything creatively, so it makes perfect sense that her wedding would be a reflection of that. From the custom invitations in hand-sewn fabric envelopes to the coffee package favors, she insisted on taking on projects herself. But she also had the help of a huge network of family and friends, from Luke’s best friend James, who brewed ALL of the beer served at the reception and cooked the rehearsal dinner from scratch, to her aunt, who baked the wedding cake from scratch (and it was one of the most delicious I’ve ever tasted!), to her friend Sarah, who photographed their engagement session and made a custom “guest book” that was a wood-burned art piece, to her friend Britta, who did a lot of coordinating and who sang during communion, to Carrie, who did her hair and makeup, to all sorts of ladies who showed up to put together bouquets and decorate the tables and ice the cupcakes and whatnot…. oh, I’m sure there are a million others I’m forgetting. The point is, it was very obvious that Crystal and Luke are the kind of people who love and give to others, and who were very much loved and given to on their wedding day. It was a beautiful thing to witness!

Now I’m not going to lie. When I first got to The Square Room Saturday afternoon, I was freaking out. As per usual for a January day in Tennessee, it was gloomy and dreary and rainy and dark outside. This ended up changing a lot of the plans we originally made for photos, but everyone did really well, and when it was all said and done, I was really happy with what we did get. Huge shout out to my awesome friend and second shooter Ethan, who was always ready to go into crisis management mode and talk me out of my mini nervous breakdowns, and who captured some of my favorite shots of the day. (I’m going to be writing a post for photographers in the days to come about how I handled a lot of the challenges that day, so stay tuned!) And you know what? I bet Crystal and Luke will never look at a rainy day the same way again, because one of the best days of their lives? Yep, it was a rainy day.

This is hands down one of my favorites. Here is Crystal’s dad seeing her for the first time that day…

… and then her seeing her mom for the first time.

I loved the reaction of the girls when Crystal put her dress on for the first time.

…. and Crystal’s own reaction. (I mean, up to this point she hadn’t had that “I’m a bride in my wedding dress!” moments… and I can’t imagine how proud she must have felt at having completed it with such skill… and on time!)

The First Look was moved indoors, but I’m so glad they chose to do this. It really allowed us to get some great shots of the two of them, and I just think this is one of the best moments of any wedding day:

Luckily, there was a covered patio outside, so we ventured out (taking LOTS of care not to dirty up Crystal’s gorgeous gown!).

Another fave.

I know she wasn’t trying to go for a particular “look,” but for some reason she reminded me so much of Katharine Ross as Elaine in The Graduate (which is a film that just so happens to have my favorite screen kiss of all time in it). Do you see it?

(Just wait til you see her in her gorgeous full-length veil!)

And yes, there were eleven… count ’em, eleven… bridesmaids (and three flower girls!). Hands down the largest wedding party I’ve ever shot. But don’t you love the variety of jewel-toned dresses the girls are wearing?

My friend Carrie…. who just so happens to have major Old Hollywood meets pin-up girl beauty. Too many beautiful bridesmaids!

Now this is the face of a man who’s excited about marrying his wife!

Everyone sang one of my favorite hymns, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

This one might be my very favorite shot of the day. At the end of the ceremony, the pastor asked family and friends to gather around Crystal and Luke to pray over them and their marriage. It was truly a beautiful thing to witness.

Another favorite part of the day? When all the guys (and Britta!) literally carried Crystal and Luke away, Indian-wedding-style. And the reactions of all the people milling around Market Square as they passed? Priceless.

Congratulations Crystal and Luke, and best of luck in your new life in Nashville!

To see more of their wedding, CLICK HERE to watch the slideshow, feat. The Black Keys’s “You’re the One.” (They both said that this is really the only band they can agree on, so here’s to unity!)