Ben Finch Photography » Award Winning Fine Art Wedding, Lifestyle & Editorial Photographer

I’ll never forget the day Jenn and I booked Savannah’s wedding.  I was eating lunch in Cracker Barrel talking to Savannah’s sister, Lacey, on my cell phone.  She and Savannah had called to inquire about our availability for a New Year’s Eve wedding.  When she asked if we were available, my answer was “Kind of.”  How can someone be “kind of” available for a wedding?  Well, it just so happened that December 31st was the day we would be returning from a vacation to Hawaii.  We would definitely be here, but might be just a tad bit jet-lagged.  They said they weren’t concerned about that, and several days later we met up and booked the wedding.

However, as their big day got closer, Jenn and I were becoming more nervous about our return trip from Hawaii.  Would it even be possible to stay awake after 20 hours in a plane?  What if there were delays or a missed connection?  Close studies of US maps showed that driving a car from Hawaii to Tennessee is not the best option.  Therefore, my wife decided that I should return home from Hawaii a day early while she would stay (I’m sure that was a difficult decision for her to make…haha) just to make sure everything would be fine.

As it turned out, we both returned on time, but I must admit that extra day on Tennessee time really helped!  This was a wedding that I had been looking forward to for some time.  Over the past few months, we had been able to spend quite a bit of time with Russ and Savannah on various photo shoots (here, here, and here) and got to know them quite well.  Savannah is always so laid back no matter what the situation (actually, the same could be said of Russ).  I knew they were both going to be able to relax and enjoy their wedding day.  Also adding to my excitement was the fact that the Passmores REALLY know how to decorate!  I couldn’t wait to see the church and reception sites.  As you’ll see below, they did not disappoint.  Thank you all for allowing us to be a part of your wedding day!  It really means a lot that you had faith in us even with the close travel schedule; we hope you enjoy!

As I was saying, this family knows how to decorate.  Check out the tree.  Can you imagine how long it took to decorate that?!

As I arrived at the Passmore house, the girls were busy getting ready.  I was dodging hairspray and snapping pictures!

After everyone was ready, we ventured to a nearby field to get some images of the bridal party.

Next, we drove to Woodward Avenue Church of God.  The theme was a Winter Wonderland Wedding.  I think they definitely captured that!

After grabbing some details, it was time for the guys.

UT orange in the wedding band…love it!

It was then time to exchange gifts, and I learned a valuable lesson.  When buying for your wife, Tiffany & Co. is a good place to start!

Is there a better gift than the gift of photography? 

Although Savannah and Russ decided not to see each other before the ceremony, that didn’t stop us from getting some pictures together.

How Savannah’s dad David made it through singing “Butterfly Kisses” just before the ceremony, I’ll never know.

After the sparkler send off from the church, it was time to head to the Open Door Cafe in downtown Athens for the reception.

The wedding party really knew how to make an entrance.  There were top hats involved…need I say more?

We slipped away from the reception for a bit to get some more pictures.  Free photography tip:  work quickly because it gets cold at night in winter!

As it was completely dark, we had to make creative use of our off camera lights.

After de-thawing from our late-night outdoor photo session, the band Smokey Jam got the party going.

Finally, as midnight rolled around, we all counted down with Dick Clark.  Balloons were released, everyone wished everyone else a Happy New Year, and a few lucky ones received a kiss from a loved one.  Perfect ending to an incredible wedding!