{Lindsey + Heath}

Today’s story is brought to you by Lindsey and Heath. Enjoy!

1: How did you two meet one another?

Almost five years ago while I was still in high school one of my good friends was seeing this guy who had a roommate that I had always thought was very cute (Heath). One day my friend asked me if I was interested in anyone, and I said yes, that I had always thought Heath Noble was very cute. The next thing I knew my friend said that Heath had always thought I was pretty! So, I went to McDonald’s (where Heath is a manager) one night after I had finished my shift at my job and gave him my number and it’s been history ever since!

2: What is your favorite thing about one another?

Lindsey: My favorite thing about Heath is how he compliments me so well, He’s so much more laid back than I am with certain things and he can always make me laugh!

Heath: Yes, we’re like peanut butter and jelly (we go very well together!)

3: What is your most memorable moment with one another?

Every moment is pretty memorable, but one that sticks out in our mind is our first road trip together to King’s Island in Ohio. We followed Heath’s mom in his truck for eight hours! But the time in that little truck was the best! We learned a lot about each other on that trip; we talked about everything under the sun, we joked a lot, we sang to the top of our lungs (R-E-S-P-E-C-T anybody?), we just had a total adventure! That road trip was a blast, not to mention King’s Island itself was fun (the place I discovered Heath is afraid of heights and he learned that I was not!) Definitely one of the most fun times we’ve had during our journey together!

4: What is your ideal date?

Our ideal date is jumping in the car or truck and getting lost for a while. Being lost is the best adventure you can ever have.

5: How did the proposal take place?

Well, we had the ring since October, and we knew that it was Lindsey’s Christmas present. A couple of weeks before Christmas we were getting stressed (who doesn’t during this time) and we were not getting along. I(Lindsey) had gotten into the shower one afternoon and when I had climbed out and opened the bathroom door (with my towel of course) there was Heath down on one knee with my ring in his hand! I was shocked and couldn’t see well (I wear contacts and glasses and had neither) but Heath asked me to marry him and I melted like butter and have been a giddy little school girl ever since!

6: Favorite movie for each of you and why?

Lindsey: Wayne’s World because it is the story of my life (if I had been in my 20’s in the 80’s).

Heath: Woodstock: Three days of peace and music for the good music and good time.

7: Where was your 1st kiss?

Our first kiss was in the parking lot of Heath’s first apartment right before I left to go to work. He just kissed me goodbye…..that boy had me!

8: Favorite TV show to watch together and why?

Family Guy, because it is just too funny for words (giggity!)

9: Favorite flavor of ice cream for each of you?

Lindsey: Chocolate chip cookie dough

Heath: Any flavor of Sherbet

10: Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?

Together! Together with a couple of kids living closer to our families.

Thanks for sharing guys! Good luck!

Tomorrow we will share another cool story… stay tuned!

Wes

Need to review the other couples? Find them here:
Couple One: Shelley+Brian
Couple Two: Stephanie+Jeremy

Have no idea what the heck we’re talking about? Read about the contest here:
The Perfect Ten: 10/10/10 Contest

Even though it’s chilly outside now,it’s not too early to be planning your big day.Are you having an outdoor wedding? I checked in with All Occasions Party Rentals to see what types of things they have to offer.I was BLOWN away at the variety of tents they have to offer.Who knew? White tents, clear tents…… the list goes on.There are simply too many to share here.So…. to see the entire list,go here to check it out!

{Couple #2 for 10.10.10}

Stephanie and Jeremy

1: How did you two meet one another?

We worked together at East Tennessee Medical Group for 2 years.

2: What is your favorite thing about one another?

Stephanie: My favorite thing about Jeremy is the way he makes me feel. He makes me smile and feel just like a princess.

Jeremy: The favorite thing that I like about Stephanie is her smile. It makes my heart melt and I know that I’m the luckiest guy in the world.

3: What is your most memorable moment with one another?

The most memorable moment that we share is we had only been dating for 2 or 3 months. I was told that I was going to have to have open heart surgery. Jeremy was by my side with my mom through it all. He went to all the doctor appointments and spent a whole week at Vanderbilt with me after the surgery.

4: What is your ideal date?

Taking a picnic to Cades Cove and sitting in the field on a blanket and just telling each other a little about yourself and getting to know one another.

5: How did the proposal take place?

It was Christmas 2009 and with his family. Everyone was taking pictures and I was playing in the floor with my kids and he came up behind me and got on his knee and said that he didn’t have a long speech but asked would you marry me. I said yes and my kids were screaming “my mom and Jeremy are finally getting married!”

6: Favorite movie for each of you and why?

My favorite movie is Hope Floats. I love how, when her life has been turned upside down, she is still able to turn it around and find someone who loves her for who she is and doesn’t look back on her past. Jeremy’s favorite movie is National Lampoon’s Christmas. He loves comedy and how it brings the family together to show them it’s not about what you have or what you get. It’s not about being better than someone, it’s about the love that you have for one another.

7: Where was your 1st kiss?

Our first kiss was in his car outside of Applebee’s on our first date.

8: Favorite TV show to watch together and why?

Judge Judy. We like to watch others get on there and make a fool of themselves and see Judge Judy get upset and tell everyone like it is and how it should have been handled or will be handled, like it or not.

9: Favorite flavor of ice cream for each of you?

Jeremy’s favorite is chocolate. My favorite is vanilla with sprinkles.

10: Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?

We see ourselves in 10 years happily married. We will both have great jobs and playing and spending every moment with the kids that we can. We will be celebrating milestones with them through their school years and programs and sports that they may be involved in.

Thanks for sharing Stephanie and Jeremy! Good luck!

Coming tomorrow will be another cool couple… stay tuned!

Wes

Need to review the other couples? Find them here:
Couple One: Shelley+Brian

Have no idea what the heck we’re talking about? Read about the contest here:
The Perfect Ten: 10/10/10 Contest

{ Ten contestants for 10.10.10 }

You may remember us blogging about Hope Photography’s big 10.10.10 giveaway.If you missed it….here is the link:

This is the first couple trying to win the big prize:

Shelley & Brian

1: How did you two meet one another?

After talking on the phone and via email for many weeks, we finally decided to meet. It was Fourth of July and we made last minute plans to meet at Brian’s house. We saw each other the first time at dusk, and watched as the fireworks showered the sky.

2: What is your favorite thing about one another?

Shelley: My favorite thing about Brian is his giant heart. He genuinely cares about those around him, family, friends and our 8 furry kids. And because of it, I know, through and through, that I am loved in the same way I love him.

Brian: It is really all of the little things, how she makes me feel when I am around her, when she comes home from work and opens the door with a smile on her face, more than anything it is knowing that she truly loves me and that I feel it when she it is around me. I have never felt anything like it before.

3: What is your most memorable moment with one another?

Shelley: Definitely our engagement, in the midst of 4,000 people, it seemed like there was no one else in the world for those few moments.

Brian: Besides our engagement, it was sitting on the lawn at Bonnaroo listening to Spoon, drinking Jager, and talking about our future.

4: What is your ideal date?

Shelley: My ideal date would be a day in the mountains where we could hike and take a picnic lunch, it is really hard to pick one thing, when staying in and doing nothing together is awesome.

Brian: Rather than a hot air balloon ride over the Swiss Alps and bungee jumping out to a catered lobster brunch cooked by Wolfgang Puck and flown-in by helicopter, just being together is enough (Brian: “Won’t they find this cheesy, even though it is true?”, Shelley: “Yes, but so what!”)

5: How did the proposal take place?

We had both, very democratically, decided to get married. However, Brian had other plans! We were on a trip to Austin, Texas to see our favorite band, Spoon, play three shows. We had first talked about marriage and living together at their show at Bonnaroo two years before. On the first night of the concert, a few songs into their set, they played “our song”. Brian turned to me and asked me if I remembered what I had asked him last time we saw this band. I knew I had asked him if he thought we would get married, so that is what I replied. He smiled and told me “now it is my turn to ask you, will you marry me?”. Surprise doesn’t even come close to describing my emotion. I was so overcome with emotion I cried, as he put the ring on my finger. Not only was it a perfect fit, but he had met with my best friend and had the ring designed especially for me. He asked if the crying meant yes, and as I came back down to earth, I told him, of course it did!

6: Favorite movie for each of you and why?

We talked about it and couldn’t pick one. We discovered before we had met face to face, that we had the same TWO favorite movies: Fight Club and Snatch.
Why?: We like the clever dialog, plot twists, humor and not mention Brian’s man-crush on Brad Pitt. “Do ya like dags?”

7: Where was your 1st kiss?

Sitting close together on the couch, the night we met. There was just the right amount electricity in the air that night!

8: Favorite TV show to watch together and why?

Right now our favorite show is Lost. We have watched seasons 2-5 in about 2 months of weekends!
While the show is entertaining, we have enjoyed the suspense, and twists and turns of the plot.
Mostly, we enjoy the time together cuddled on the couch!

9: Favorite flavor of ice cream for each of you?

We both love coffee ice cream and both had before we met! (It is one of Brian’s weaknesses!)

10: Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?

Married (obviously)! We hope to have built our own home, to house not only us, but our 4 dogs and 4 cats (who knows how may we we have by then), and our children. We know in that time we can travel, grow and learn together.

Thanks Shelley and Brian for sharing your story! Good luck to you both with the contest!

Remember folks, check back tomorrow for our second couple. And voting will open on on Feb. 10!

{Let’s Go Cruisin’}

Valentine’s Day 2010

Make this Valentine’s Day truly memorable with an intimate cruise on the Tennessee River. Romance is waiting aboard our beautiful luxury yacht. Enjoy fine dining at your private table in a relaxed atmosphere with your loved one. Each cruise includes a rose for each couple.
Create a memory that will last a lifetime. These cruises will sell out soon so be sure to book early before its too late!

Make the day before Valentine’s Day truly memorable by celebrating on the Volunteer Princess Before Valentine’s Day Champagne Brunch Cruise. Watch the beautiful sights drift by as you enjoy a lavish brunch buffet. Snuggle with your sweetheart at the bow of the yacht, or watch from inside and enjoy the comfort of your private table. An intimate, one and a half hour cruise down the Tennessee River is the perfect way to celebrate. Create a memory that will last a lifetime.

Make this Valentine’s Day truly memorable. Romance is waiting aboard a beautiful yacht with an elegant dinner, dancing and ever changing views. Enjoy fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere with your loved one at your private table. An intimate, two-hour cruise down the Tennessee River is the perfect way to celebrate. Create a memory that will last a lifetime.

Make this Valentine’s Day truly memorable by celebrating on the Volunteer Princess Valentine’s Day Champagne Brunch Cruise. Watch the beautiful sights drift by as you enjoy a lavish brunch buffet. Snuggle with your sweetheart at the bow of the yacht, or watch from inside and enjoy the comfort of your private table. An intimate, one and a half hour cruise down the Tennessee River is the perfect way to celebrate. Create a memory that will last a lifetime.

Make this Valentine’s Day truly memorable. Romance is waiting aboard a beautiful yacht with an elegant dinner, live entertainment, dancing and ever changing views. Enjoy fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere with your loved one at your private table. An intimate, two-hour cruise down the Tennessee River is the perfect way to celebrate. Create a memory that will last a lifetime.

Cruise Enhancements

Make your cruise experience even more memorable with our Bon Voyage Photo Package. Take you choice of having your picture taken as you board the yacht or one at your private table. Once we return to the dock, your picture will be given to you in our deluxe picture frame.

Indulge your taste buds with fresh strawberries covered in chocolate. Comes with four hand dipped chocolate strawberries.

Make your night even more memorable with Champagne on ice. Your pre-ordered bottle of Korbel Champagne will be waiting at your private table. Must be 21 or older to purchase or consume alcohol. Proper ID must be shown.

Show off by pre-ordering a dozen edible roses. Enjoy these delicious treats which feature chocolate covered strawberries for rose petals.

Imagine the look on your sweetheart’s face when she sees a dozen roses waiting for her at your private table. Surprise her by pre-ordering a dozen beautiful roses with a vase. Each package includes 12 roses and vase.

For reservations, please call (865) 541-4556 or book online by following the links above or click here.

Hope to see you soon,

Captain Chris LeMasurier

Volunteer Princess Cruises956 Volunteer Landing Lane
Knoxville, TN 37915

Ph: (865) 541-4556
Email: volunteercruises@bellsouth.net
Web: http://www.volunteerprincess.com

{One of our own}

One of our Own

{This photo was taken{Via cellphone} right after he popped the question

This is Annette Skoczylas and her hubby to be David Sydes.Annette has worked with us before in research and development.Now she is engaged!!!!!

We’ll be following her progress as she plans her big day and sharing it with all of you.They will be getting married in October.I’m super excited…..because yours truly will be doing their photography:)))

Stay tuned for more……

Annette’s co workers decorated her workspace….this is too too cute!

{Macqueline + Nathan = Hitched}

Macqueline and Nathan tied the knot October 9, 2009 at Tellico Yacht Club in Loudon, Tennessee. The best thing about it besides really superb flowers by Lisa Foster (outdoes herself again!!) and rocking music by the Retroholics was the event that was totally unplanned… an incredible rainbow. That has really got to mean good luck in marriage. The ceremony was held off for about twenty minutes, the sky cleared and what an awesome sight.

{10-10-10}

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Oh yeah, this is BIG NEWS alright! To celebrate our 10th year of marriage (everybody say “aawww!”) and the fact that we photographed our first wedding together ten years ago (Hi David and Angie Pointer – we love you guys!), we are having a contest to give away a wedding!! Well, not the whole she-bang. What, do you think we have the budget of NBC? No, we’re going to gift one lucky couple a $3000 photography package! And the even better news is that we’ve got some other great vendors to chip in with some awesome prizes too to bring the total value over $7500 (more on that in a minute)!!

Why are we doing this?
[Mushiness] Danielle and I can not believe that we’ve been married for ten years! It’s not that we didn’t think we would make it this far, it’s just that it has flown by. In those ten short years we have started a successful business together, remodeled a house, and become parents to two amazing little girls.

We started out as a couple of young lovebirds with no real direction in life. Danielle was still in college and I was an underpaid newspaper photographer. But then things started to fall into place. Inspired by our own horrible wedding photos (we didn’t know the first thing about wedding photography back then) we decided to photograph a friend’s wedding. And then another. And another. The couples were thrilled with their photos and poor Danielle cried every time she worked on the proofs because their photos were so much better than ours.

The next thing we knew we were officially in business. We both worked full time jobs, but we dove head first into making the business work. With every wedding, we felt we got better and stronger. Before we knew it, we were talking family. And then remodeling the old shack we lived it. And then Madilynn came along. And man, did life get crazy. Danielle quit her job (she just couldn’t leave the baby) and I started racking up 40 hours a week for Hope Photography on top of 40 hours a week at the paper. Something had to give.

Almost three years ago we took a huge leap of faith and I left the newspaper to focus on the business full time. Eighteen months ago, Danielle gave birth to our second terror, I mean angel, Amelia. We haven’t looked back for one second. Life just keeps getting crazier and better.

Danielle and I realize that we are both so truly blessed. We get to work with our best friends every day (and yes, we mean each other). We see our girls constantly and have the most active role in their upbringing (which means it’s all our faults when they behave poorly). We are our own bosses (she is sooo Michael Scott and I’m Jim Halpert, btw). We have the best clients and friends and family in the world! And we know that we wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for you. So to share this love we have, for each other, for our business, and for our relationships with our clients, we wanted to give something back to the wedding world; give one lucky couple a shot at an awesome wedding. Karma can be a beautiful thing… and since we’ve been blessed, it’s our turn to share those blessings with others (and by Karma, I’m talking the Earl Hickey kind, not the Buddha kind). [/Mushiness]

To honor our 10 years of marriage and 10 years of wedding photography, we are giving away a wedding on October 10, 2010. Yep, I know you’re quick. That’s 10/10/10!

The Details:
We are holding a contest to give away a wedding package consisting of photography, planning, videography, reception lighting, and a bridal bouqet/boutonnière combo. This package can only be applied to a wedding on 10/10/10 and has to be in the Knoxville area. The total value of the package is $7,670!

Who is giving what:
Hope Photography: $3000 photography package that includes two photographers (us), a coffee table book, an online gallery and a proofbook.

One Enchanted Evening: Princess Package including Pre-Wedding services, Day of Wedding services and After Ceremony services. ($2350)

Ambiance Light Design: Color wash and eight uplights ($1500)

Midnight Magic Studios: Video of the ceremony coverage ($655)

Lisa Foster: Bridal Bouquet and groom’s boutonnière ($165)

How it will work:
We’re going to try to keep this as simple as possible (which means it will be difficult… so pay attention!). Couples will email us with their name and contact information by January 31st.

We will then email them a questionnaire and a link to the official rules. The questionnaire will ask them to share some details about the couple (how they met, how he proposed, etc.).

We will then share those stories on our blog over the following week and a half.

We will open voting up on 2/10/10 by posting a new email address (just for this contest) and letting you all vote on your favorite story. You will be given ONE VOTE PER EMAIL ADDRESS. Danielle and I will keep a tally going until voting closes at 11:59 pm on 2/13/10. We will then announce the winner on 2/14/10!! Sound easy enough? It is (at least on paper)!

Why such a convoluted way of voting? We’ve seen too many online polls be skewed by people who knew how to skirt the system. While our system is going to be a pain in the booty for us (counting each vote, making sure only one vote per email address), it’s the only way we could come up with that would be fair for all the couples who enter.

The Basic Rules (email us if you want see the full list of rules and regulations):
• The entrants CAN NOT be under contract with any other photographer (including Hope Photography), planner, or videographer. The last thing we want to do is take business away from someone else who has already been retained for their services.

• The wedding must take place in the Knoxville area and on October 10, 2010.

• Cheating will not be tolerated! In fact, we’ll flog you and torture you with 84 straight hours of ShamWow! commercials if we catch you cheating.

• By entering, couples are granting permission for Hope Photography, and it’s partners, to use their names and likenesses to promote this contest.

Ready to Enter?
If you’re reading this, then the contest is officially open!! Send your name, phone number and email address to: info@hope-photo.com

Deadline for entries: January 31, 11:59 pm EST (No more entries will be taken after that time.)

Questionnaires will be emailed in batches starting at the end of Day One to all entrants for that day. The sooner questionnaires are returned to Hope Photography, the sooner those entrants will be blogged (and the more people will read your story).

Questions or need more information? info@hope-photo.com or give us a call at 865-977-6483

Not getting married anytime soon or already married? Then pass the word! Everyone knows someone getting married. And if they don’t have a photographer lined up already and want to get married on a unique wedding date, then they will love to hear about this contest.

So there you have it! Exciting, huh? And a little bit crazy; we do realize that. But we promise that we will devote as much energy and time to whoever wins this contest as we do our regular clients. We are looking forward to 2010 and have big plans for this to be the best year ever!

-Wes