I'm writing this Blog late on Saturday night, 3 days before Christmas.  Mary Alice contacted me a little over a week ago and asked if I'd be interested in shooting a wedding for her up in Richmond with just a few days notice.  At first I thought it probably wouldn't be worth the hassle of driving the 2 hours and finding a babysitter, but then she mentioned "...by the way it's my wedding".  That certainly caught me off guard, as Mary Alice is also a photographer and there are times when she sends wedding leads my way.  Once I verified it was indeed her getting married, there was no way I would miss it!  As a person that typically thinks outside the box, I knew Mary Alice wouldn't have a typical wedding.  Her chosen venue was an abandoned pump house from 1882.  The pump house is made of stone and has 20 to 30 foot drop offs that will land you in the river if you're not careful.  She found her beautiful dress at a local vintage shop, and it was a perfect match with Andrew's dress uniform.  Notice how their attire bears a similar resemblance to the cake topper which belonged to her grandmother, who's birthday just happened to be the wedding day chosen.  Andrew's birthday was being celebrated by their union.  Mary Alice had a very short guest list: their 3 year old son, Beckham; her parents and brother, Hank;  Andrew's parents and brother, Preston; Bud, the officiant, who also happens to be an excellent photographer.  After the ceremony we took a little time to shoot the family portraits on the awesome bridge and then took Mary Alice and Andrew around the park.  We then made our way back to Les and Mary's log cabin style home for a little celebrating.  Mary Alice and Andrew's wedding was truly classic and charming!