omar and samantha Archives | Wedding Photographers in Atlanta

Let us introduce you to our happy couple

Many of you may remember Omar and Sam from their rocking engagement session at the Goat Farm. We had known Sam for several years but it was truly a blast getting to know Omar for the first time during that shoot. Fast forward several months and it was time for them to get married. If their e-session was any indication, their wedding was going to be a thriller. It surely didn’t disappoint!

Our coverage began very early in the day in two separate locations. Omar and his groomsmen chose to get ready at his apartment while Sam and the girls set up shop in one of the hidden rooms at their venue, Ambient+Studio in Atlanta

What is Ambient+Studio

For those not familiar with Ambient+Studio, it’s truly a unique space for a wedding. This building was first built in 1910 and created to function as a factory for transforming raw cotton into fire-retardant fabrics. For roughly 90 years it carried on this mission until the building was abandoned. In 2007 it got a rebirth as a daylight studio. A contemporary loft-type space, which is really one large blank canvas; capable of being transformed hundreds of ways. A transformation is exactly what happened. The couple’s wedding designer and planner Jaqueline (JAX) Vizcaino with Three Thirty Design Studio, brought their understated elegant vision to life. A romantic color palette and cohesive guest experiences throughout the evening made for a wonderful celebration of love.

Let’s get ready

The getting ready portions on either side mirrored the same fun, easy-going, laid back personalities this couple exudes. A lot of storytelling, a lot of jokes, a lot of fun. As soon as the guys were ready, they made their way towards the venue but not before making one very important stop. A few miles down the road, their local Krispy Kreme store had several boxes of hot doughnuts waiting for them. Seriously, what’s more interesting than having a groom all decked out, hauling dozens of doughnuts out of a Krispy Kreme store? Not something you see every day, but these glazed treats were headed for a huge doughnut wall at the venue for the guests.

Did they have a first look

It was time for the first look. We chose a specific portion of the space that had large, elegant and expansive drapes by Unique Event Elements. This allowed the couple some measure of privacy for the first look but it also offered an opportunity to shoot through the sheer drapes for some creative bokeh-like layers for the images. As soon as they had concluded their first look we began working through a series of wedding portraits. You really don’t have to go far for interesting locations; there’s plenty to use inside the venue. The large windows, rustic floors, industrial ceilings and stairs all provide simplicity and charm for these types of photos.

So the limo arrives and we all begin to pack into the car to make our way to the ceremony. Once we get there, it’s a fairly quick service with lovely heartfelt advice from the scriptures for the couple. Fast track through dozens of family photos and before you know it we are back at Ambient+Studio to begin the reception.

Let the party begin

Not that it hasn’t been like this since the beginning of the day; but once the reception begins, our coverage goes into heavy documentary mode. Just shooting all of the little moments between the couple and their guests. All the funny dance moves on the dance floor. All the silly photo booth moments.

This was truly a dream couple to work with. From the very start they made creative photography the focal point of their wedding journey. Carving out significant amounts of time within their wedding schedule to insure artistic imagery led the way. We can’t thank them enough for placing the emphasis on this. Thank you Omar+Sam for trusting us with one of the most important days of your life.

Sam had a custom-made wedding dress for her special day. She looked absolutely beautiful!

Xclusive DJ Group had the everyone on their feet.

I know you want to see more. Click on the link to our YouTube channel for more from Omar+Sam’s wedding.

The team that made this wedding the fabulous event it was:

Planning and coordination by the spectacular: Jaqueline Vizcaíno — Three Thirty Design Studio

Magnificent venue: Ambient+Studio

Amazing hair artist: Lydia Morales

Fabulous make up artist: Veronica Rios-Lara

Wedding gown custom design by: Le Studio Rose Couture

Brides maids Gowns: Daisy Formals

The dapper groom and groomsmen tuxedos: Macy’s Blue suits

Flower and furnishing arrangements by: Three Thirty Design Studio

Drapery/Lighting: sourced through Unique Event Elements

Cake so good you have to have a second piece by: Publix Bakery

Letting go in the Photo Booth by: Shutterbooth Atlanta

Rocking the house down with: Xclusive DJ Group

The kind of vibe we were looking for

If you know us or anyone who knows us, you’ll find out we love people, we love couples, and we love, love. We don’t get tired of it. It just makes us happy. We get to meet so many people, from our couples to their families and then their closest friends. Well, let me introduce you to Omar and Sam. We’ve known Sam for some time since we’ve hung out with mutual families from time to time. Talking about the small world again. It’s an ongoing theme. In any case, her wedding planner is a personal friend that I met when we first arrived to Atlanta, *ahem…*cough, cough* 20 some odd years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long. Oh, focus Lissette, focus. Going back to our little story. I get an inquiry from our web site from our friend Samantha (although I know her by Sam so that threw me off). Well it so happens it wasn’t Sam emailing us, it was the planner letting us know our little Samantha is getting married. That caught me off guard again, I didn’t know she was dating anybody.

So, off to meet Omar and Sam for our consult. We had to find a convenient location for us to meet due to schedule conflicts and we end up at Starbucks. So what was my impression of Omar? Answer: a gentleman. While Sam and I were talking at our table, Omar excused himself for a minute and bought us all coffees. What a sweetheart! The planner Jaqueline had Sam so organized with a big binder with everything she needed to do for her wedding. Sam realized she didn’t need all that for us so we just talked and talked about the vision they all came up and all the vendors that were going to see this vision through. It sounded amazing and at a venue I hadn’t had the privilege to photograph. I was definitely looking forward to what Jaqueline and her team were going to create for their amazing wedding at Ambient+Studio.

Back to the engagement session. Omar and Sam wanted something rustic, abandoned, an urban vibe and we had that light bulb moment immediately….The Goat Farm. That’s it. They both LOVED the idea and were excited to work with us there. At first they were a little apprehensive when we started, they’ve never been in front of a professional camera before. But within a few minutes they were well into getting a modeling career going.

Talk about forgetting we were even there.

They are so much fun together. And literally forgot we were there. Just the way I like it.

We were having so much fun, I almost forgot to take a ring shot. I like taking these type of shots with a human element. It brings it to life. What do you think?