Mike + Christina

Mike + Christina's wedding day was wonderful in every way. It was a much anticipated wedding for T.J. and I, which always makes the wedding day a little bit more fun for us to photograph.  Mike + Christina got ready for their big day surrounded by their closet friends. For a wedding gift, Mike gave Christina gorgeous earrings to match her birthstone, and Christina gave Mike a round of golf at Pebble Beach. Both such beautiful and thoughtful gifts. They tied the knot through a traditional Greek ceremony, followed by portraits around Bent Creek Country Club. Again, nothing short of beautiful.

Cocktail hour was held in the ballroom, complete with a seafood bar, live music and a surfboard for guests to sign. Wedding photos of Mike + Christina's family surrounded their five tier wedding cake that was on display for their 300+ guests to see.

Now let me say this, I received permission to from the bride herself to tell you the next part of their wedding day story! Once Mike + Christina's guests were finished with dinner, dancing had started, and people were rockin' the Smilebooth, it came time to cut the cake. The cake had been moved down from the ballroom (where cocktail hour was held) and placed on a little, round cake table in the corner of the dance floor. The band made the announcement that the newlyweds were ready to cut their cake. I was in place, camera in hand, ready to go. And then, like you see in the movies, slow motion and all... the entire cake came crashing down to the floor. (The legs of the table weren't very secure, and someone must have bumped it.) You could hear the entire tent gasp at the same time. Everyone was shocked and didn't know whether to laugh or cry!! And then, my favorite part of their entire wedding day happened -- Christina, without any hesitation, picked up the top layer of the cake, slapped it down on the now uncovered and crooked table, and started to cut what was left of her cake with her new husband. They laughed as they fed their messy cake to each other and the entire crowd cheered them on. And I remember thinking to myself, as I shot the image of them kissing with napkins in hand, that if they could have that kind of attitude about their marriage, they will go far. It was so refreshing to see a young couple who just went with it, enjoyed what they had in front of them, and let go of the expectations for a "perfect" wedding day.

By the end of the night, the dance floor was packed with guests dancing like crazy. Mike + Christina passed out sunglasses as one of their wedding favors, which made the dance floor go even crazier. Mike + Christina also hosted an after-party dance back in the ballroom, with french fries, pizza, chicken fingers and a DJ.

 It was an awesome wedding day. Cake mishap and all. –Brooke