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Caleb & Allie

Stefanie McGuffey Photo


On April 13th, 2024 I journeyed to north Alabama to a lovely little venue called Oak Meadow in the city of Ohatchee. When Allie and I had our discovery chat for her painting earlier in the week we discussed how she wanted to capture an organic moment during their first look and how she really loved the idea of an outdoor scene and also wanted to include her florals (which ended up being incredible!). This sort of set up for a piece is something I do often, so I was confident everything would work out beautifully.


If you've ever worked in the wedding industry or have even been in a wedding party you know that it's very rare to have a day go absolutely completely to plan and after eight years of painting weddings I've navigated all sorts of challenges. When I arrived to the venue, I was told that, due to extenuating circumstances, Caleb & Allie would not be able to have their first look outside. I knew how important it was to Allie to have an outdoor scene painted, so I got to work brainstorming ideas on how to make that happen.


One of the most important things I have to keep in mind when live painting is light. Good light and light that remains consistent when working from multiple reference images is essential to create a believable painting. With that in mind, I began to look around the ceremony space and assess all of the potential compositions that would include beautiful light as well as considering ways to bring in as much of the outdoors as possible. Thankfully, the venue had beautiful tall windows and I knew they were going to be key in whatever composition I landed on. I took reference video and photos during the first look and the posed moments the photographer set up (who was fabulous, btw!). But, I knew when I saw Allie & Caleb sit down to read their vows to one another that it was going to be the moment.


I got Allie's permission to move forward with the vision and got to work. The moment between them was immaculate, but I had to figure out how to bring in the outdoors and include her florals. To do this, I used my artistic license to make the windows behind and to the side larger than they were and used references of their outdoor reception area as what would be seen beyond. I then placed Allie's stunning bouquet on a chair and brought that forward in the composition. The last thing I needed to do was carefully sketch out the parts of Caleb & Allie that had been covered by the chairs that were in front of them in the reference images. All of this extra careful planning meant things went a little slower on the day. Good painting takes time and when you're creating a composition from scratch and attempting to make it believable it can sometimes double or triple that time, but in the end it is worth every second.


Vendors- Photography: Stefani McGuffey, Stefani McGuffey Photo; Florals & Planning: Heather Jones, Once Upon a Bloom Alabama; Venue: Oak Meadow Event Center, Ohatchee, Alabama


Stefanie McGuffey Photo

Stefanie McGuffey Photo

Stefanie McGuffey Photo

Stefanie McGuffey photo

Stefanie McGuffey Photo

Stefanie McGuffey Photo

Stefanie McGuffey Photo

Stefanie McGuffey Photo

Stefanie McGuffey Photo


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