Towards the end of the first attempt at taking her bridal portraits (because weather seems to wait for no one!), I realized that the first time I met Mari Caroline she was about 12 or 13 years old!  She is far removed from those middle school years now and has become such a beautiful woman… she is kind, she is genuine, she loves the Lord, loves others well, and made a STUNNINGLY beautiful bride!

She and Scott were married this past Saturday and I can’t wait to show you a peek into their wedding this week.  But what I can finally show you are her gorgeous bridal portraits!  It’s always so hard taking these knowing that I can’t show them off until after the wedding day, but it’s always so worth it.  We did these in two parts because summer storms come and go as they please so we had to cut our first attempt short.  However, it was 100% worth it because the second time we went out – even though it was SO HOT – everything worked out perfectly.  I could have spent hours with Mari Caroline out on that river, but we all would have been melted puddles by then!

Enjoy some of my favorites of this beautiful bride and get ready to see their gorgeous wedding soon!

Katie Cotton of Cotton Rouge, as always, did an amazing job with her hair and makeup!

Even with the storm, a little peek of light came out towards the end and back lit her beautifully!

But within a few shots of our second attempt, we all knew it was worth it for her to get all dolled up again…
and what bride doesn’t love getting to wear her dress several times??

Gah!  Just beautiful!

I was BEYOND excited when she chose this one as her portrait!!  It was even more beautiful blown up and framed at the wedding!