Brianne + Jeffrey::Preppy Southern GA Wedding
We’ve all been feeling the beginnings of warm weather, which has us majorly itching for all-things-summer. Luckily, Brianne and Jeffrey’s southern, summer wedding did just the trick! The pops of bright colors, the amazing warm light, and the overall light and airy feel of this day embody all that is summer – we’re loving it! Brianne and Jeffrey got married at their hometown church, and had a bright, preppy feel to their day. They used pinks and bright greens throughout all of their details, and we are seriously, seriously loving the amazing lime bridesmaids dresses. Brianne also used bright green ribbons with white polka dots throughout some subtle details (everything from the wreaths decorating the church doors to the wrap around the bridesmaids bouquets), and it gave just a touch of a prep. Our amazing photographers were able to really utilize the area around the church in downtown Powder Springs, Georgia.I mean….vintage Coke signs and hidden alleyways? Can it get more perfect? After their ceremony, Brianne and Jeffrey and their guests headed over to the reception at Marietta Country Club, where our photographers were able to take advantage of the pristine light as the sun was setting and get some *gorgeous* couples shots. B+J’s reception was a total blast – the shot of the guests egging on the keyboard player is one of our favs! Thanks so much, Brianne and Jeffrey! We love you guys!
Ceremony: First Baptist Church of Powder Springs; Reception: Marietta Country Club; Florist: Your Flowers by Isa; Cake: Sheila Morris; Band: Nathan Angelo; Wedding Dress: Allure; Shoes: Caparros; Bridesmaid Dresses: Watters; Accessories (Necklace and Hair Flower): Etsy; Hair: Salon Silhouette; Makeup: Parish;
Read More
FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY IN GA and FL….and meet Tara!
UPDATED: We’ve extended the contest to ALL of Georgia and ALL of Florida, so if you are getting married anywhere in those states, enter now! 
Alright folks….we promised you a big announcement last week – and here it is! First off, we’re SO excited to let our (once like a spark) family know that we have officially expanded to South Georgia/North Florida, and we could NOT be more excited about the amazing photographer that we’ve added to our team. But for our big announcement, a drumroll please………..
To celebrate our excitement about our amazing photographer, Tara, we’re giving away a FULL DAY OF FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY to one lucky couple getting married ANYWHERE in Georgia or Florida! AHHHHHH!! Yep, that’s right. You can have KILLER wedding photos like the ones below….at NO cost! To enter, just follow the instructions below – all it involves is sending us some basic information and a picture of you and your main squeeze. We’ll post it on our Facebook page, and you’ll send all your friends and family there to “like” your photo, and the couple with the most likes wins! ALL couples who enter will receive a discount on a wedding photography package, regardless.
More detail on entering is below, but in the meantime here’s some info on our sweet Tara (we can’t say enough how THRILLED we are to have her as part of our family!) Be sure that you also check out some examples of her work below and on our website (www.oncelikeaspark.com).
Tara is our quirky girl with a boatload of talent and spunk to match it. This South Georgia native wows us time and time again with her absolutely drop-dead gorgeous photography – she’s a master at light, portraits, and pulling out just the right amount of emotion from our brides and grooms.Tara’s not only a photographic phenom, but she’s also a musician (she plays music with a friend, and they call themselves From Maps) and a transformer of all-things thrifty. She knows how to take a grandma skirt and whip it up into something you’d see in a boutique.We told you she was quirky, as is evidenced by her wide array of interests that include everything from foxes to teacups to sloths (yep, sloths) to Vanilla Diet Coke. Tara uses her natural artistic talent to truly personalize shoots based on each client. She’s seen too many photographers who use the same poses, templates, and formulas for every bride and groom, and that’s totally not her style.  To Tara, her photography is all about conveying WHO you are as a couple, and the result is absolutely stunning photography with a sense of depth and authenticity that can’t be beat.
To enter for free full-day wedding photography coverage from (once like a spark) photography please do the following:
1 – Email your first and last name, your fiances first and last name, your wedding date and location, and why you think (once like a spark) is a perfect fit for your wedding day to ashley@oncelikeaspark.com by Monday, March 19th at 5 pm EST.
2- Send us a photo (no professional photos please) of you and your main squeeze to the same email address (ashley@oncelikeaspark.com). We’ll run it through a little Instagram action, and everyone’s photos will be posted at the same time.
3 – Once we receive your information and a photo, you’ll receive a confirmation email from us with details on how you can let your family and friends know how they can vote for you! The contest will run from Tuesday, March 20th to Sunday, March 25th, and the winner will be announced Monday, March 26th!
4 – If you have ANY questions at all  email ashley@oncelikeaspark.com.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Read More
The Hart Family::Atlanta::Why Family Photo Sessions Are Important
The precious Hart family has come to us multiple times now for family photos, and this adorable bunch absolutely melts our hearts every time. Â The Hart’s contacted us to shoot another family portrait session now that baby #3 was on the way, and we can’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy looking at these amazing photos. Â Here at (once like a spark) photography, we believe in the power of photos….especially family photos. We hear from people time after time after time who wish they had more photos taken of their family over the years, and we can’t emphasize how important we believe that family photography is. The Hart family has got it right, and makes sure to schedule family sessions consistently, and we ABSOLUTELY recommend doing the same. Read why below, and then contact us at info@oncelikeaspark.com to get your session set up!
1 – Time moves quickly, and photography allows you to press pause. – We hear from people a lot who tell us that they always intend to schedule a family session, but that life gets in the way. Putting it off a day becomes a week becomes a year, and suddenly she doesn’t have that snaggle-tooth grin anymore, and his baby curls have grown out. This is the only time in your life that your family will be just the way it is now. Â As sad as it can be to think about sometimes, he’ll never be three and she’ll never be five again (insert your kids ages here). You can’t recreate these moments later – so NOW is the time to do it.
2- Photography sessions don’t have to be a big ordeal anymore. – Sometimes we hear from clients who get stressed about family photos, Â or think they need to put a huge amount of preparation into their session. Folks, the days of forced portraiture are over, and we literally want to capture your family just as they are on your favorite days together. Family sessions aren’t stressful, and most of the time just include going to a beautiful place and letting your kids do their thing. A more natural, relaxed session lets us capture the essence of who your family truly is.
3 – You’re providing a gift for your children in the future. – Â Although your 7 year old may not appreciate these photos now, you can be certain they’ll be some of her prized possessions when she’s an adult. Most of us would give anything to have a record in photos of a tender moment with our mother, a silly playtime with our siblings, or a warm embrace from our father. Scheduling a family session is about more than hanging photos on your wall – you’re providing a beautiful gift to your family in the future.
4 – Photos are about more than paper. – I can’t say it better than this post from a photographer, who had this letter hand-delivered to her doorstop.
Read More
Victoria + Brent :: CA Wedding Part 1 :: How To Plan A Modern & Glam Wedding
We don’t know about you guys, but we have been so blown away lately by how crazy gorgeous these weddings have been!! We shouldn’t ever expect anything less from our OLAS brides, but it’s like you just can’t stop WOW-ing us with your exquisite taste and fun ideas  :) As I’m sure you would expect – Victoria + Brent’s California wedding (actually shot by our talented southeast photographer Carla) is no different! The very first thing we noticed about V + B’s wedding was how truly modern and glamorous it was. Here are a few tips on how to “luxe up” your wedding day:
1. Sparkle, sparkle, SPARKLE! As you’ll notice below, Victoria adds a lot of sparkly little details throughout her wedding day decor. She has bling in her headpiece (oh.that.headpiece!), added to her dress, on her bridal bouquet, attached to the white fabric on the backs of the chairs at the ceremony, bling is everywhere!
2. Use lots and lots of white: Victoria’s wedding is a vision in white. While she infuses subtle little accents of aqua and gold here and there (we here at OLAS sure love those aqua nails), the predominate use of white in her flowers and overall ceremony decor are what really pull the whole modern – glam feel together. Adding the big, beautiful, white flowers down the center aisle was a stunning touch as well.
3. Arrive to the ceremony in a Rolls Royce: Nuff said  :)
4. Add special little details no one will be expecting… like a dove send off! We just love that Victoria + Brent decided to release white doves at the end of their ceremony as they were announced for the first time, as husband and wife. Talk about  making the importance of the moment truly stand out above the rest –> so glam.
Be on the look out for part two of V + B’s modern and glam wedding tomorrow!! x’s & o’s!
Ceremony: Pines Park in Dana Point; Florist: Green Leaf Designs; Harpist: Tomoko Sato; Dress Designer: Marisa purchased at Panache Beverly Hills; Transportation: Classic Limo; Chairs: Chiavari Chair Rental
Read MoreJessica + Jon::Augusta, GA Wedding::Part 2::A Little Swapping Around
Happy Monday little (once like a spark) chickadees! We hope you all enjoyed your weekend (and that our East Coast friends didn’t get snowed in!) I know that you all remember Part 1 of Jessica + Jon’s absolutely breathtaking Augusta, GA wedding that was posted on Friday – we included some great tips, tricks, and ideas for ALL brides, so be sure to check it out if you haven’t already…
But for now…on to Part 2! Here in the OLAS offices, we all spend many hours of our day swooning and ooooohing and aaaahhing over the beautiful, beautiful photos we work with all day. When I showed our team the photos below, everyone commented on how stunning the couples photos are, and how Jessica + Jon look so peaceful, calm, and relaxed. Â They do, don’t they?
Well, I played a little trick on you all (but don’t be mad!) In Part 1, we saw beautiful individual photos of Jessica, Jon, and their ceremony, and you’re about to see some GORGEOUS couples photos below. Â The truth is that this post isn’t totally chronological – Jessica + Jon took these AMAZING couples photos before their ceremony! Our OLAS clients will often times hear us talk about a “first glance,” which allows the couple some time together BEFORE the ceremony with their photographer. We find it often results in some really sweet intimate time between our couples, and our brides and grooms are able to relax and enjoy the photography process, without worrying about running to their reception! We totally think it shows in these photos….
We love you Jessica + Jon! xoxo (Don’t forget to see a list of all of their vendors at the bottom of the post!)
Photographers: Carla and Jen; Ceremony Location: First Christian Church of Augusta;  Reception: The Richmond on Greene; Wedding Director: Once Upon A Wedding; Florist: Garden Cottage Florist; Headpiece: Mayra’s Veils; Cake: Dianna Tornow Cakes; Invitations and Monogram: Papercake Designs;  Shoes by: Christian Louboutin; Dress by: Alvina Valenta purchased at The House of the Bride; Hair By: Fringe Hair Salon; Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale purchased at The House of the Bride; Caterer: Roux’s; Band: Reunion
Read More
How To Prepare For Your Portrait Session::Susie::Atlanta
Happy Thursday OLAS loves! Today we wanted to talk a little bit about how best to prepare for a portrait session. We had some amazing, AMAZING inspiration from Susie’s seriously adorable portrait session with Jen (one of our uber talented southeast photographers). Jen did such a beautiful job capturing all of Susie’s fun personality (and gorgeous red curls)! Ok, so a few quick tips:
1. Wear something cute (of course!), but more importantly, wear something you are comfortable in! Nothing kills confidence faster than wearing an outfit that doesn’t make you feel comfortable in your own skin. Sure you want to look stylish – but make sure you don’t sacrifice feeling at ease for fashion, because it WILL show in your photos! Susie wears this easy belted white dress and cowboy boots, paired with a pop of color necklace that looks both relaxed and fun (the killer combo!).
2. Bring items to the shoot that are important to you and showcase your personality. Susie’s fun personality is really highlighted in her photos, which is what makes them so beautiful! Just by bringing big & bright flowers, a few favorite books, a and colorful blanket, she was able to give us all a little look into what makes her happy.
3. Have FUN with it!! It’s not everyday that you get to have your portrait taken, so enjoy it! Don’t be afraid to be silly – usually the very BEST shots come from the “off moments” when you’re not even trying to pose for the camera. Come to the shoot prepared to have a little fun and let our crazy talented photographers do the rest  :)
Read More
