OLD BLOG! NEW blog: http://thewhiterabbitstudios.com/blog/ Huntsville wedding photography

NEW BLOG: http://thewhiterabbitstudios.com/blog/

2009-10-22T10:53:00.002-05:00

Hello there! We love you for visiting our blog, and ask that you PLEASE redirect to the NEW BLOG at http://thewhiterabbitstudios.com/blog/. Thank you!

Stephanie & Ashley

Family: O'Toole + Moosman | White Rabbit Studios

2009-10-11T18:07:00.004-05:00

Kelly and Stephen have two sweet boys, Isaac (2, turning 3 next week!) and Ethan (4 months). As both Kelly and Stephen are artists, this family is full of not only LOVE but tons of creativity and energy as well. K and S are finally (finally! ;D) tying the knot in November, and requested a family session in lieu of engagement photos. Since they're friends, my husband, son, and I swung by their house this weekend, and here are a few snippets of what took place!

Wedding: Jane + John | White Rabbit Studios | Pumpkins, candy apples, a bit of rain and a lot of love!

2009-10-08T15:25:00.007-05:00

Jane and John were married last Sunday at Burritt on the Mountain in Huntsville. The original plan was for the pair to wed outside in front of the Burritt mansion, where they could enjoy the beautiful autumn temperatures. Rain, however, intervened, and the ceremony was re-routed to the church, which was built in 1884 and originally located at the corner of College and Sullivan Streets in Madison, Alabama.

The church only emphasized the intimacy and genuine love shared between not only Jane and John, but all of their friends and family. The standing-room-only crowd was more than excited to see Jane and John get married, and Ashley and I were so honored to be involved.

Since much of our original photography plans were rained out, Ashley and I are meeting back up with the lovebirds after they return from their honeymoon (in Mexico!) to shoot a few bride and groom portraits. Stay tuned!

Rock 'n Roll Bride Feature | White Rabbit Studios

2009-10-04T21:17:00.003-05:00

Ashley and I just shot THE most gorgeous, love-filled wedding (congrats, Jane and John--more photos later this week!). As if that wasn't good enough, we've also been featured on Rock 'n Roll Bride!

You can see Amy and Randell's original engagement session on our blog here, and, of course, on the website.

Thanks to Kat at Rock 'n Roll Bride for the feature!

Offbeat Mama Feature! | White Rabbit Studios

2009-10-02T13:20:00.008-05:00

Just a quick note to let you know that we were featured on Offbeat Mama! This is a double feature, as the photo is of me (Stephanie) and my family, AND was taken by Ashley, so it's a White Rabbit Studios feature! Two points!

You can see the feature here.

Annoucement!

2009-10-01T12:28:00.002-05:00

We are super excited to announce that we will be among the art vendors at a art show and concert to benefit the Art Hive. This will take place in Sheffield, AL, on the Old Railroad Bridge on November 1. We plan to be there from 2pm until the conclusion at 7:30pm, and to offer a giveaway or two! I will update the blog again as more information comes in, and if you're interested in our work or booking us for a session or wedding, we'd love to meet you there!

Jasper is six months! | White Rabbit Studios | Baby Photography

2009-09-30T17:55:00.004-05:00

My sweet baby, Jasper, turned six months old recently. Ashley was delightful enough to take photos of us, and I'm in turn sharing a few with all of you since we offer several maternity/baby packages, including a maternity+newborn and a maternity+newborn+3-12 months.

You can see his/our 3 month photos here.

Wedding: Davonna + Rob | White Rabbit Studios | Vow Renewal

2009-09-17T09:55:00.010-05:00

You might remember Davonna, Rob, and their daughters, Dallas and Dakota, from their family session a few weeks back. Well, last Saturday we shot their absolutely gorgeous vow renewal ceremony. The two have been married for five years, and, to paraphrase Davonna's spur-of-the-moment vows, even though Rob still doesn't put the dirty laundry in the hamper, we're incredibly grateful that we got to share this experience with them. As two wives ourselves, we understand the commitment and patience that comes with married love, and consider these two perfect examples of all that is true and beautiful about marriage.

PS: Rob and Miranda's wedding has been updated with a few more.

Engaged: Amy + Randell | North Alabama Wedding Photography | White Rabbit Studios

2009-09-09T09:15:00.011-05:00

Amy and Randell are the dream White Rabbit Studios couple: creative, energetic, and slightly offbeat--all things that we love! We were super excited when we met with the two of them, as their love and affection for one another is more than obvious and makes for an excellent photo-taking environment.

Amy brought tons of props with her, including a picnic basket, flowers from their garden, and, just to make the picnic authentic, a bottle of wine. We ventured to Monte Sano first, and then to the backyard of a friend who has a gigantic, and brilliant, red barn that was just sitting there, waiting for us to shoot it.

Since Amy and Randell will be married next month, and we met the two of them too late to book it, we won't get to shoot the wedding. However, we loved this session and getting the chance to get to know them.

Wedding: Rob + Miranda | North Alabama Wedding Photography | White Rabbit Studios

2009-09-07T09:30:00.016-05:00

Rob and Miranda were married this past Saturday at the Botanical Gardens in Huntsville. This location was awesome for both Ashley and I as this is the location Ashley shot her first wedding, and I had never shot there before! We're both huge fans of gardens, flowers, and nature in general, and were beyond excited that we got to capture Rob and Miranda's big day at the gardens.

More images will be added soon, so keep an eye out!

Wedding: Chirag + Nancy | Day 3 of 3 | White Rabbit Studios

2009-09-02T09:49:00.002-05:00

Ashley and I have been busy brainstorming all kinds of plans for White Rabbit Studios--everything from related blogs, new site designs, business cards, etc.--, and with all of that excitement it completely slipped my mind to blog the last day of Chirag and Nancy's wedding!

Stay tuned for new updates--we have quite the busy weekend coming up!

Stephanie

Family: The Wheelers | White Rabbit Studios | Huntsville, AL Photography

2009-08-17T20:29:00.009-05:00

This weekend Ashley and I had the most excellent pleasure of shooting Davonna and her beautiful family--husband Rob, and baby girls Dakota and Dallas! These four braved the crazy heat to join us for a stroll downtown (oh, brick walls and red stairs, how we love thee!).

Rob and Davonna's obvious love and adoration for one another combined with Dakota and Dallas's very obvious love and adoration for the camera made this session nice, easy, and enjoyable for all (at least we hope so!). We're really excited to shoot Rob and Davonna's vow renewal next month!

Wedding: Chirag + Nancy | The Bride and Groom | White Rabbit Studios | Huntsville, AL Wedding Photography

2009-08-09T21:18:00.003-05:00

In all of the flurry and excitement surrounding the wedding events, we've neglected to introduce you to Chirag and Nancy, the man and woman at the center of the entire wedding! So, without further ado..

Wedding: Chirag + Nancy | Day 2 of 3 - Mameru and Garba Ceremony | White Rabbit Studios | Huntsville, AL Wedding Photography

2009-08-09T21:04:00.004-05:00

I blogged about the Pithi ceremony the other day, and now here's information about Chirag and Nancy's Mameru and Garba ceremonies that took place later in the evening!

"The custom of 'mameru' originated centuries ago when there were no legal rights existing for daughters. It was customary for the parents to start making provisions for their daughter by gifting her with things on occasions like 'rakshabandhan' or 'bhaibheej'. These gifts accumulated as 'streedhan' (daughter's wealth).

When the girl grows up and gets married, the 'mama' or maternal uncle comes with the 'mameru' consisting of clothes, jewellery and other gifts items including the traditional 'paanetar' (silk wedding sari - usually white with red border) and 'choodo' (ivory bangle - now replaced with acrylic or plastic). The 'mameru' ceremony takes place one day before the wedding."

As you may expect, Nancy and Chirag's wedding had a slightly different variation on the Mameru, which featured Chirag at the center of the activities.

The Mameru ceremony was followed by the Garba. Garba is a form of Indian dance that has roots in the Gujarat region (the ancient Indus Valley), "is more similar to Western folk dance than to the presentational style of Indian classical dances such as bharatanatyam and odissi" (thank you, Wikipedia! ;D).

"The name garba comes from the Sanskrit term Garba ("womb") and Deep ("a small earthenware lamp"). Many traditional garbas are performed around a central lit lamp. The circular and spiral figures of Garba have similarities to other spiritual dances. Traditionally it is performed during the nine-day Hindu festival Navarātrī (Gujarātī નવરાત્રી Nava = 9, rātrī = nights). Either the lamp (the Garba Deep) or else an image of the Goddess Amba is placed in the middle of concentric rings as an object of veneration.

People dance around the center as if they are horse racing, bending sideways at every step, their arms making sweeping gestures, each movement ending in a clap.
The Dandiya Raas dance

Modern garba is also heavily influenced by raas (Gujarātī: ડાંડીયા Ḍānḍīyā), a dance traditionally performed by men. The merger of these two dances has formed the high-energy dance that is seen today.

Both men and women usually wear colorful costumes while performing garba and dandiya. The girls and the women wear ghaghra choli, a three-piece dress with choli on the top and ghaghra as bottom, made of cotton with beads, shells, mirrors, sitars, and embroidery work, mati, jhumkas, necklaces, bindi, bajubandh, chudas and kangans, kamarbandh, payal, and mojiris and dupatta tucked in the Gujarati manner. Boys and men wear kafni pyjamas with a kediyu - a short round kurta - above the knees and pagadi on the head with bandhini dupatta, kada, and mojiris."

Wedding: Chirag + Nancy | Day 2 of 3 - Pithi Ceremony | White Rabbit Studios

2009-08-06T18:10:00.006-05:00

Day two of Chirag and Nancy's wedding festivities began with the Pithi ceremony. Essentially, a paste made out of chickpea flour, turmeric, rose water, and other ingredients is rubbed on the skin of the bride and groom by family members. Traditionally this takes place at the homes of the bride and groom separately, but in our case, Chirag was pasted first. While he was showering, Nancy had her own ceremony!

The paste is thought to be good for skin and to even out skin tone. I suppose we'd need to check in with Chirag and Nancy to confirm this, but the two were absolutely glowing during the ceremony. Of course...that might be due to the yellow paste! ;)

Wedding: Chirag + Nancy | Day 1 of 3 - Mehndi Ceremony | White Rabbit Studios

2009-08-04T21:32:00.005-05:00

Ashley and I shot a wedding on Monte Sano last November, and we were talking about wedding photography and what our dream weddings to shoot would be. If you know me well then you know this, but for those of you who don't, I've been infatuated with India for years and years. One of my biggest dreams was to visit, and Sean and I did that in 2007. One of my biggest dream weddings to shoot was hands-down a Hindu wedding, and Ashley and I did that this past weekend.

Ashley called me a few weeks after we shot the wedding, bubbling over with excitement about a phone call she'd received about this wedding. She told me more or less that if she booked it I had to help her shoot it, and I readily agreed. After she booked it, I began mentally making notes. Luckily for all involved parties, we moved back to Alabama, launched White Rabbit, and this wedding serves as our first together as White Rabbit Studios.

Chirag and Nancy's wedding was a three day extravaganza. We went to a variety of locations in and around Huntsville, and the first of these was the home of Chirag's parents for the Mehndi ceremony.

Some background: the Mehndi ceremony is traditionally held in the home of the bride and/or her parents. A professional henna designer or relatives apply mehndi to the bride's hand and feed. This process can take up to four hours, and that doesn't count the two hours it takes to dry! There are few places in India where it is a ritual that the first motif of henna or mehendi is applied by the bride’s sister-in-law whereas there are some places where the first mehendi motif is said to be auspicious if applied by bride’s mother. The Mehendi is both the adoration of the bride and epitomizes her transformation from a virgin girl to a woman for her husband. Popular motifs of the bridal mehendi are conchshell, flowers, Kalash, peacock, doli and baraat patterns. The intricate motifs of the bridal henna also hide the husband’s name. It is said that the husband’s name in the intricate henna motifs is made for the groom who has to find out his name in his bride’s mehendi as an evidence of his sharp eyes and active brain to impress his girl.

Woo!

You'll also see photos that feature several brightly-bedecked women singing. The Mehndi ceremony is usually performed for and with women who sing traditional songs for a prosperous marital life of the bride.

This first night was amazing, brilliant, and surreal for Ashley and I. We are forever grateful for this opportunity and experience, and very excited to continue to share our photos over the next week or so! Keep checking back for additional photos, as we'll both be editing this and subsequent blog posts with more as we finish.

Stephanie

Blush: Samantha | White Rabbit Studios

2009-07-25T15:57:00.012-05:00

Stephanie and I had the wonderful pleasure to shoot our first Boudior (Blush) Session with such a fantastic subject! Samantha is every photographer's dream as she just fell into the poses. The photos will be a gift to her fiance. Samantha and Matt are getting married in Ohio, and we hope they have a lovely wedding and a wonderful start of life together! Thank you Samantha for being such a great "first" for us!

Ashley

Family: The Kalois | White Rabbit Studios

2009-07-25T15:32:00.005-05:00

One of the many perks of working as a photographer with a partner is that she (or he, but in my case, a she!) can take photos of...you! And your family! Ha. Ashley was kind enough to take a few photos of Sean, Jasper and I (and our dog, Kali!) around Jasper's 3 month birthday. If you follow our blog with any regularity, I'm sure you'll see plenty more of Jasper (and probably Sean and I) in the future!

Thank you, Ashley!

Stephanie

In Love: Nathan + Jessica | White Rabbit Studios

2009-07-25T15:31:00.005-05:00

Jessica and Nathan are one of those couples that need little or no direction to show off their love for the camera. I met them at Stephanie and Sean's going away party before their big move to Portland. Thankfully, they moved back and Stephanie and I got to spend a glorious morning with them watching them flirt and be lovey dovey.

Ashley

I just had to chime in and say another thanks to Jessica and Nathan! I've known Jessica for quite a few years--we met at college and majored in the same two disciplines and therefore had numerous classes together. Jessica was always one of my favorite classmates, and it was tons of fun to shoot both she and Nathan and watch the love one another. These two were absolutely perfect--adorable, open, and happy to flirt away for the camera. Both Ashley and I were more than aware that we were shooting a couple truly in love!

Stephanie

Bridal Beauty: Miranda | White Rabbit Studios

2009-07-25T15:01:00.002-05:00

Miranda braved the scorching heat for her lovely bridal session. The blazing sun didn't stop Miranda's smile from reaching ear to ear. But who can blame her? She's getting married to the love of her life soon! That can make anyone grin and bear it. Thanks Miranda for a beautiful session and we look forward to seeing you again soon for your wedding!

That day was actually pretty silly. In the middle of the shoot, my shoe broke and I was left hobbling around trying to avoid blistering my foot on the scorching pavement. It was pretty intense!

Ashley

Waiting for Tyair | White Rabbit Studios | Maternity Photography

2009-07-01T20:50:00.006-05:00

Some of the most rewarding sessions either Ashley or I have shot have been with people we know. I met Ateneh when we both worked at a local Ruby Tuesday's together--she was the hostess, I was a waitress, and we got to know each other that way. We hadn't spoken frequently since I quit the job in December 2006, but when I moved back to Huntsville last month and discovered she was pregnant, I knew that we had to document the pregnancy!

Luckily, she was in week 35 when I met up with her and her fiancee, Bobby, to shoot the photos. Their son, Tyair, should be here by July 27. We can't wait to meet him!

Thanks, Ateneh and Bobby! You two are truly beautiful, and I have no doubt that Tyair is going to be one handsome fella!

Stephanie

EDIT: Tyair was born on July 19 at 9:52 AM! He's totally healthy and perfectly beautiful. Congrats to you three, and we hope to have the pleasure of shooting you again! :)