La Dolce Blog | Nashville and Destination Wedding Photographers Melanie & Bradford Watson » personal

Happy Birthday B-rad!

Melanie — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:04:33 +0000

Today my beautiful bearded boy turns another year older and another year handsomer. Bradford, I am so lucky to have you by my side, keeping me sane, and driving me crazy all at the same time. I wouldn’t have it any other way. You are my best friend and my heart. Thank you for loving me no matter what and being good at things I’m too impatient to be awesome at. Happy Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!!! I can’t wait to celebrate many more by your side.

Here are a few shots of my love taken while driving down the California coastline this past October.

Grouse Mountain Vancouver | Destination Wedding Photographers

Melanie — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:22:51 +0000

I have to admit now that September has rolled in we are getting good and ready for some cooler weather to set in. Its left me daydreaming of hot tea, warm fires, and hearty soups. It isn’t too often that we have time to share some of our personal images but while longing for cooler days I wanted to pull up some of our images from our trip to Vancouver this past Spring. We shot these photos on Grouse Mountain overlooking the city below us. It is amazing how these beautiful snow capped mountains are only a 15 minute drive from downtown. I love the Pacific Northwest and wouldn’t bat an eye to move there and bask in its beauty year round. Hope you enjoy some of these photos from our little scouting adventure and I hope to show more from our time in lovely Vancouver.

This is the view from the top of the gondola. You can see the large ships waiting in the harbor below.

Brad was pretty pumped to make some legit snowballs!

The Ellison Family caught on film | Orlando Film Photographers

Melanie — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:49:07 +0000

Growing up my dad, who was and still is a barber, always said “its the barber’s kids who always need a haircut.” Well I guess that’s true for the photographer’s family… they never get their pictures taken. In our case they do, we just don’t get around to posting them. So I guess you can say what is done and never seen, never really existed to begin with right? Brad and I have been trying to be better about documenting and showcasing our lives in photos. We’ve been shooting a ton, just haven’t had a chance to share yet so I thought I’d start with a quick little film post. Back in April, my youngest brother Sam turned 21. We had a family BBQ at my parent’s house in New Smyrna Beach to celebrate and while all four of us kids were home (this does not happen too frequently) I whipped out my Contax 645 to shoot a few images of everyone. I shot these using Kodak Portra 400.

The whole family… mostly

Mom & Dad

My sister Kari & her pup Ellie (Andrew couldn’t make it so Ellie was his stand in)
Me & Brad (PS: I’m the oldest sibling… and the shortest)

My brother Adam and his wife Julie
My brother Sam and his girlfriend Stacey

If you’ve never played washers… you should. Perfect BBQ game. Call us and we will come over and show you the ropes. Its good stuff.
Sam has a tendency to randomly “dougie” when left unattended for too long.

My cousin Josh flew in from St. Louis just to surprise Sam for his birthday

Destination Wedding Photographers | Savannah Caught on Film

Melanie — Mon, 23 May 2011 18:51:46 +0000

Last month Brad and I were in Savannah, GA shooting Jennifer & Brian’s engagement session. As luck would have it some of our favorite friends were also in town that very same weekend shooting an engagement session of their own. We all made an adventure out of it and spent an extra day in town exploring some of the shops and eating delicious southern cooking at Mrs. Wilkes restaurant. Here are some of the film scans I shot with our oh so yummy Contax 645. All the photos below are straight out of camera and scanned by Richard Photo Lab.

Jenn & Brian are adorable!! Their session turned out fantastic and I can’t wait to blog it in full soon.

A few images of the iconic fountain at Forsyth Park.

I love all the row houses that line the squares in Savannah. Especially this one with a secret garden tucked away behind it.

The line for Mrs. Wilkes restaurant was pretty monstrous, but the food inside was well worth the wait. I ate fried chicken and mashed potatoes until my eyes were about to pop out of my head. It is a definite must if you are in town.

Becka, Nate, and Brad making friends during our wait.

The Savannah Bee Company has the most amazing honeys I have ever tasted. Tupelo was my absolute favorite. Definitely pop into their flagship store on Broughton St. and sample some. You wont regret it!

Oh look… you can see my reflection in Brad’s sunglasses. See there are pictures of me after all.

…and my favorite of the fountain at Forsyth Park. Love it in Black and White.

Happy Early Anniversary to US!

Melanie — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Today (because it is still today for me as I write this even though it will be tomorrow when you are all reading this) as I was eyeballs deep in a furious edit fest my doorbell rang. Instantly Lucy began her ritual psychotic barking and freaking out as I raced down stairs to get whatever package UPS was sure to be delivering. This is a normal occurrence in our home. Lucy’s arch nemesis is the FedEx and UPS delivery man. She barks and runs around so feverishly that no thought process can occur in my head until I have opened the door, collected the package and rush back up stairs to let Lucy know… all evil is gone. It is always a very high stress moment but after 6 years of trying to get her to stop this behavior I have simply come to accept it. So amongst the chaos I rushed down the stairs and opened the door ready to snag my package like a ninja. I was baffled when there was no man in brown waiting with a digital clipboard, but the lovely Amy from The Conservatorie holding one of the most gorgeous arrangements of flowers I’ve seen in ages. She was there hand delivering a surprise pre-anniversary gift from Brad. I was flabbergasted to say the least and I’m pretty sure I’ve never ever been flabbergasted before. Brad gave the girls at The Conservatorie a top secret mission to create a beautiful arrangement for our anniversary and oh how they delivered. I love their design aesthetic and how they used some of my all time favorite flowers (just like the ones from our wedding day) in the arrangement making it extra special. What can I say folks I have a weakness for peonies and ranunculus… its a scientific fact. I know it is a simple thing, but fresh flowers are one of my all time favorite things in the world. Especially soft and and fragrant ones like these. I confess, I am that goofy girl that sticks my face in them every time I walk by just to inhale deeply and fall in love with them all over again. I’m not ashamed… they really do smell that good. You all have no idea what you’re missing out on. Sniffing aside, today was a wonderful day filled with little things that left me feeling oh so loved and special. I am so blessed to have a husband like Brad and lovely friends like Amy & Meredith who created something so wonderful for me. Tomorrow (that is today in your world) Brad and I are closing up shop for the day and celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary. Because we are deep in a very busy wedding season and will be shooting on our actual anniversary (which is Friday) we decided tomorrow (which is today) will be the perfect chance for us to celebrate all that we love most about being married. Mostly I love being able to spend an entire uninterrupted day with my very best friend. That is anniversary perfection to me.

Although you cannot sniff them… unless of course you stop by and visit… you can enjoy this lovely arrangement with me. Thank you so much Amy for bringing these by and brightening my day. You and Meredith outdid yourselves! Lots of love to both of you! PS: those gorgeous green poppy pods are heavenly!