Southern Weddings

Enjoy this beautiful wedding from {Paul Johnson Photography}. This is what modern southern weddings are all about–blending and expressing two lives against a southern backdrop.  Julie’s Asian heritage and Andy’s Brittish upbringing are married beautifully amidst the splendid canvas of gorgeous {Carillon Beach, Florida}.  Coordination by in-house coordinator, Victoria Volpone; Cake {Debra Spurlin}; Flowers {Bella Flora} of Carillon Beach; Caterer by {Townsend Catering} of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Check back later for Part II of Julie + Andy and be sure to visit Paul’s beautiful {BLOG}! Which image is your favorite?

The weather was: a little bit of everything! Clouds, wind, rain, thunder, lightening, and even a little bit of sun as the sun went down. We thought it was just perfect.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  We wanted an elegant wedding that would be timeless… We wanted the wedding to speak from both sides of our cultures. Our wedding coordinator did an amazing job suggesting how we could marry British sensibility (Andy’s side) with Asian simplicity and charm.
What colors did you choose for your wedding? We never started with a particular color in mind, but I decided on blue bridesmaids dresses to start, and then it just ended up permeating the entire day. So in the end, we got blue & white, which we were so happy with.
Describe your wedding flowers: We didn’t want the reception flowers to look too “forced” so we asked our florist for loose English garden arrangements in an assortment of blue & white Spode-inspired vases. They did an amazing job and alternated table arrangements with these and simpler cherry blossom branches in glass vases. It ended up that cherry blossoms were not blooming at the time, so our branches were very green — but we ended up loving the look. My bouquet was a simple bunch of white peonies, and the bridesmaid’s bouquets were simple clusters of white tulips; my favorite flower.
Describe your wedding cake: our cake was very cute! We found a cartoonish Korean bride & groom which inspired the rest of the cake. Since we were having cherry blossoms in the wedding, our cake designer incorporated cherry blossoms (to tie in the pink from the bride) with tiny pearls of blue (to tie in the blue from the groom).
How did you meet? We met at Andy’s friend, Ian’s housewarming party. Julie’s friend, Deron brought Julie to the party with their friend Amy. The first conversation we had was about the British chef, Jamie Oliver (we both love food!)… Actually, Amy also met her future husband, Alan at this same party (they are engaged now). Amy was Julie’s maid of honor and Alan was Andy’s best man!

Check back for the rest of Julie + Andy’s interview in Part II…

And now, a new SWS feature… “The 5 Questions“

5 Questions for Paul Johnson of {Paul Johnson Photography}:

When did you decide this was your calling? I fell in love with photography when I was very young and actually shot a friend of the family’s wedding when I was 11 years old but it wasn’t until later in life that I decided to pursue photography as a full time career. Soon after my wife Mecheal began assisting me at weddings I decided to give her a camera to do some second shooting. Although she was new to photography it was very obvious to me early on that she had a natural talent. Now it’s a fifty fifty deal and we both cover every wedding and combine the imagery into a chronological story of the day.
What fuels your inspiration? Mecheal and I both have a very strong desire to create something special for every client. We never think a wedding is just another wedding and being inspired by each and every couple is a must. We believe that each couple has a unique personality and style so we really strive to be sensitive to what those qualities are. We know that if we can identify and capture our clients uniqueness instead of molding and conforming them into our style of imagery then they will have not only beautiful, but meaningful images.
What inspires you on a daily basis? Imagery is everywhere.. movies, magazines, catalogs and shopping malls to name a few.. I love seeing all kinds of non-wedding imagery and using it as inspiration for my shooting and processing style. During the wedding day people watching is key, I try to pay attention to what is actually happening and not just look for the next pretty composition.
Favorite blogs/magazines/designers/photographers? Of course SWS, and MACRUMORS! I can’t wait for the new 3G iPhone to come out.
Do you have any advice to up and comers? 1. When you find that something is working for you keep it up, but at the same time never stop trying something different. 2. Timing.. if you want to capture moments you must anticipate them. The only time you will see a perfect moment in the viewfinder is AFTER it has already happened, if you didn’t already press the shutter you missed it!
What is in the future of Paul Johnson? Wow, hopefully just to be the best father, husband, and photographer I can be!

A date we went on that we’ll always remember: Dinner in the New York Grill atop skyscraper in Tokyo – stunning views!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: the white paper parasols, imported from china, for each of the guests – with special designs for the two mums and a super sized one for Cheryl and her Dad.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Time – with busy careers, and a young baby – there never seemed enough time to get it all done.
Where there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? All the bridesmaids and the Mother of the bride wore my maternal Grandma’s jewelry. My Grandma had a HUGE jewelry collection. Some of my fondest memories of her, whom I was very close to, where trying on her jewelry while she told me stories of where each piece came from. I knew that if Peggy were around today she would have loved the idea.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Seeing Cheryl approaching me at the "alter"; I had to really hold back a wave of emotion and a tear. When Phil and I went for a walk on the Beach at sunset.
Scariest moment? Trying to get Kevin , the boys’ photographer, ashore from the yacht without soaking his cameras Not knowing how our 41/2 month old son was going to hold up in the heat surrounded by a crowd of people and loud music.
Funniest moment? Uncle Kevin dancing and lip-synching
What were your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue items? Something old was an old English penny, something new was a lace embroidered handkerchief , something blue was my son’s birth stone Blue Topaz (he was born December31^st), something borrowed was my bridesmaid Vanessa’s Angle pin.
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was: Uncle Perry singing a big production show tune before we sat down for dinner…we thought he was just going to say grace.
How was your wedding different than the way you’d always imagined it would be? It was more personal, more involving and more spontaneous than I had expected. It wasn’t held up by any protocols or "doing the right thing".
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Authentic, natural, intimate
Did you write your own vows? Yes – to include baby James and to put ourselves in the context of where we were and who was with us.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Live your dream – and not other people’s expectations. Have fun planning for the day, Volunteer someone to take care of last minute emergencies the week leading up to the wedding. Remember the things that matter and forget the things that don’t.
What’s next for you? Everything…traveling the world with work and for play; maybe moving job/state/home; finally having Cheryl’s dog Rauch come live with us (not allowed in our current rental home so he’s living with her parents!), and giving James’ a brother or sister to play with.