Rebecca Long Photography Blog

Lauren & Josh | Bradenton, Florida Wedding

Rebecca — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:35:38 +0000

Lauren and Josh’s wedding took place at a fabulous garden there in Florida. The Palma Sola Botanical Garden was lovely and provided some beautiful locations for our photos. Thankfully, the rain decided to wait until the next day and we were left with a PERFECT day for an outside wedding. I wrote about our little trip to Florida a few weeks ago here. You may also recognize these two from their engagement session here in Birmingham just two weeks before the wedding!

We loved being part of Lauren and Josh’s wedding. Loved. It. These two could not be more willing (ahem, notice the climbing tree photos…) kind, or comfortable to be around. We enjoyed the intimate setting and the feel of a Friday afternoon ceremony. Another thing I particularly loved was following Josh and Lauren to the beach right after they left their reception! The sun was still a little high but we were able to catch some fun and adorable shots in the few minutes we had with them on the beach. Thank y’all for trusting me in all of my ideas throughout the day!! I think we got some pretty lovely results : )

Fun fact: Lauren and Josh had dinner reservations for just the two of them right after they left the beach that evening! How fun is that? They went in their full wedding attire and had a private (and I’m sure fabulous) dinner as a way to end their day of celebration.

Megan & Brett | An Alabama Farm Engagement Session

Rebecca — Thu, 17 May 2012 02:15:10 +0000

Finally! Here are some photos of the lovely duo of Megan and Brett. I think Megan is probably one of my most photographed subjects. We met her freshman (my sophomore) year at Mississippi State University and we’ve been fabulous friends ever since. Along with many other interesting things, we share a love of olives, Dr. Pepper, photography, art, Jesus, boots, and boys named Brett. Not in that order of course. Megan was one of my own dear bridesmaids and has been responsible for me booking a number of weddings… as in, I’ve lost count of the number of people that have told me, “Megan sent me!.” I dearly love this fabulous friend and blog stalker and I’m so thankful for people like Megan that have been beside me since the beginning, cheering me on through my business. My life isn’t possible without God-sent people like that.

So! Here we are. Megan is finally making her own official appearance on the blog! My Brett and Megan’s Brett actually knew each other from playing soccer around the same time in middle school. Somehow they got reconnected in college when Brett R. came to MSU for grad school, and I’m glad they did! Brett Long and I were there for the very beginning of Brett R. and Megan’s relationship. It was back in the day at an MSU basketball game when BR asked BL, “Is she single?” A few years later, here we are my friends! These two kiddos will be tying the knot next month and I couldn’t be more excited to be photographing such a special day.

Their engagement session took place at Brett R.’s family farm. I posted a few photos of our time at the farm a few weeks back and I’m so excited to share these lovely engagements! The weather could not have been more wonderful – how I love sunny spring afternoons! Y’all enjoy!

^ Meet Skeet. Or as I prefer to call him, Skeetster.

^ This is the tree where they got engaged.

Nikki & Michael | Sturgis, Mississippi Wedding

Rebecca — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:20:20 +0000

Nikki and Michael met at their church in Nashville not too long ago. As you can see, things worked out pretty well for their relationship! Nikki and I know each other through mutual friends for the most part. She actually attended the 3rd wedding that we photographed as an official photo biz several years ago! On a cool and cloudy day, Nikki and Michael exchanged vows in the quaint little town of Sturgis, Mississippi in a sweet country church. Her great, great…..(not sure how many great’s go in there) grandfather’s house was actually still next door to the church and you can see we took a little trip to the front porch for a few porch swing photos. You have to love a good porch swing! Here are a few photos from to give you a preview of the day Nikki and Michael became man and wife!

Wedding Season | A Florida Wedding

Rebecca — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:38:14 +0000

This last weekend, Brett and I were able to enjoy being part of Lauren and Josh’s wedding in Florida. We decided to drive since I’m super paranoid about my gear before a wedding and we’re not too opposed to road trips. We spent a day driving down and a day driving back with two days between – one day for the wedding and one day for us to attempt to relax for a bit.

The wedding was lovely and relaxed. Lauren and Josh were just so sweet throughout the day…and even willing to climb trees in their wedding attire : ) Thank y’all again for asking us to be a part of your wedding! I’m looking forward to your blog post in a week or two!

Our day off was great. We slept in, went to the Apple store to replace my laptop battery and charger (perfect time to die – when we’re 11 hours from home) and wandered around IKEA for a few hours. In case you were wondering, IKEA was actually Brett’s idea and he did enjoy it! We did a few other random things here and there but we mainly just wanted to have a day without an agenda – those rarely happen for us.

We ended our day with trying to find a public access spot to the beach close to where we were staying. Going to the beach was a little higher ranked on our to-do list but of course, the day flew by and we ended up racing a thunderstorm in an attempt to make it to the beach by 5:00. Needless to say my legs are still as white as they were a week ago. After about the 8th attempt at a public access area with parking, we finally made it to the beach!! About the time we were halfway down the walk to get to the sand, the skies opened up. We got our umbrellas and decided to just stand on the beach in the rain… with umbrellas. We started to see lightning after about 2 minutes and headed back to the car. So much for the beach…

Long story short and a double scoop ice cream cone later, we were back on the beach for the sunset after the rain had passed. Thankfully, the clouds made for a pretty end to our day. I would have loved a little more beach time, but alas, life happens and I’m just thankful to have Brett with me – rain or shine.

So, wedding season is well upon us! We’re in the full swing of things amidst wrapping up the school year at Samford University (for those of you that don’t know I photograph for them as well). I’m looking forward to all that the summer has in store and trying to keep up with getting everything out to my sweet clients as soon as I can. Wish me luck! ; )

Here is a little stop motion video that Brett made on the way to Florida. It was a fun idea and we have a few ways we should probably perfect it for next time. Feel free to judge my amount of time sleeping in the car and my awesome granny pillow. No Shame.

song credit: REO Speedwagon “Roll With the Changes”

Lauren & Josh | Birmingham Engagement Session

Rebecca — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 06:00:50 +0000

Lauren and Josh drove to Birmingham from FLORIDA just for their engagement session. Did I mention it was just two weeks before their wedding?! Whether it’s crazy or not, I’m so glad they were able to come for a session with us. I just love being able to get to know couples before the wedding day and I think engagement photos are so wonderful for so many reasons… I should probably just do a blog post on that by itself. Thankfully we had a perfectly lovely day and we’re looking forward to seeing these two again THIS WEEKEND for their wedding in Florida! Sunshine State, here we come : )

Samantha & Jonathan | Birmingham Engagement Session

Rebecca — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:47:43 +0000

Samantha started out saying something along the lines of she wasn’t very good at being photographed. I would like to be the first to let the world know, she lied! ; ) We had a great time getting to know Samantha and Jonathan during their Birmingham park session. It was a lovely (although warm) day and I love that they were willing to get in the water for some shots. So glad we did! I think one of my favorite shots might have to be Jonathan in his mountain man stance. Of course, I’m also a huge fan of Samantha and her sweet dress and fabulous boots. Lovely session with sweet people. Doesn’t get better than that! See you two in December when the wedding bells start to ring!!

Nicole & Jasper | Mississippi State University Engagement Session

Rebecca — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:12:06 +0000

Super cute? I think so. Nicole and Jasper met at MSU, got engaged on campus, and are having their reception on campus too! I do believe Nicole is one of the biggest MSU supporters I know out of my college friends. If I remember correctly, at tailgates, her food item was usually maroon… or maybe I just remember the maroon ones the best : ) Of course, MSU is the most fabulous place in the world, so why would you not be a huge fan? We enjoyed our afternoon around campus, the research park, and then on to the best first-date location in Starkville – Old Venice! (That was my first date with Brett as well). Thanks for the fun afternoon you two! We’re just a few weeks away from Nicole becoming a MRS!!Yes, we made them hide their kiss with the cowbell for kicks and giggles. We also got them to make the heart on the tree where they got engaged. I’m a sucker for cheesy occasionally : )

Ashley and Jared | An Outdoor Mississippi Wedding

Rebecca — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:36:07 +0000

Jared and Ashley were married on St. Patrick’s day just a few weeks ago! Their lovely wedding was filled with fabulous details and wonderful people. Beautiful flowers by Tulip added to Ashley’s fresh, yet vintage feel for the day. You may remember the couple’s engagement session from a few months back and the story of how I met Jared his first week at college. I knew most of their wedding party, which always makes for a fun day! Their ceremony was sweet, reverent and gave all glory to the Lord for the many ways their relationship has been blessed and a blessing to others. Sometimes I am so busy shooting that I rarely get to pay attention to the ceremony, but I was able to hear enough of their sweet story to get chill bumps during the part I was able to hear! I absolutely love the joining together of a man and wife and I am so thankful I was able to be part of Jared and Ashley’s ahhhmazing wedding day. We’re also thankful for fabulous weather, beautiful fields, and willing wedding parties : )

PS. Um… I don’t think Ashley could have looked more amazing in her dress from Ivory & White and she definitely rocked the birdcage veil look. Just lovely!

Lianne & Alex | Birmingham Engagement Session

Rebecca — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:09:43 +0000

Lianne and Alex made the drive from Mississippi for their engagement session, all the while checking the radar! Once again, we were blessed with no rain, just some cloudy skies. They had a fun little car companion on the way over… isn’t he adorable!? I’m so excited about Alex and Lianne’s wedding this fall. They have been dating since high school (way to go on beating the statistics!) and it’s obvious they have a sweet and respectful love for one another. Also, props to Lianne for being on top of things with wedding planning! She contacted me the week after they got engaged, then we had an engagement session set up for the week after that! I know your wedding is going to be fabulous and we’re definitely looking forward to it Thanks again for making the drive you two! ps – that’s the train going by in downtown Helena, Alabama. I wasn’t quite prepared for a hand-held long exposure shot… but we tried! My clients are brave… : ) ^ This one is one of my faves! Y’all are lovely!!

A Visit to the Farm

Rebecca — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:50:43 +0000

This weekend, Brett and I went to “the farm” with our dear friends/big supporters/now clients Brett and Megan. (Yep, our men have the same name!) We had a fabulous time! I’ll give you a little peek into our weekend and the beauty of the farm. In a few weeks I’ll have a post of B&M’s sweet engagements we did while we were there as well. It was SUCH a great setting and a photographer’s playground. I already have a list of photo-to-do’s for the next visit. Well, the next casual visit that is. Actually, the next time we’ll be back here will be for Brett and Megan’s wedding reception!! Can’t wait

So, for those of you wondering why I had no cell service and did not respond to many texts, emails or phone calls, it’s because we were in this lovely middle-of-no-where Alabama setting thoroughly enjoying ourselves, friends, and God’s creation.

Friday night at the farm:

It’s either a shooting star or an airplane at the bottom of the frame. I’m going to go with shooting star of course…

The view over the lake at night:

The view over the lake at sunrise… of course, those of you that know me know that this was taken by my hubby

The other Brett’s pup! He was a fun addition to the weekend as well.

Why yes, we did have a lovely time reading in hammocks and sippin on sweet tea. Spring is here! This little guy was working hard. One of the many gorgeous spots we stopped for engagement photos later that afternoon!