Daniel Howell Photography

Carol and Mark's Engagement Session

2009-07-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Carol and Mark's session was in Townsend at the venue where they will be wed shortly. I loved editing their images; I could tell they have so much fun together! (And isn't their pup the cutest?!)

Both Daniel & I picked this one as our absolute favorite from the session!

Slideshow of Carol & Mark's Session:

Rachel and Brandon's Big Day Finally Arrived!

2009-07-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Rachel, my sister-in-law, and Brandon (now my brother-in-law, I guess!), got married last Saturday!

As Daniel and I were in the wedding, we weren't the photographers, but are looking forward to seeing the pictures, taken by Christen Jones from Memphis when they're available (we'll keep you posted). It was quite an experience being on the "wrong side" of the camera this weekend; but, we enjoyed working with Christen, or rather Christen working with us. It helped remind me of why we do what we do -- to capture memories of one of the most important days in a couple's life.

The trip to West TN was long, but SO worth it! The wedding was beautiful and we had a blast seeing family members and friends who we have been missing! My mother-in-law, her sister, and mom did the flowers, cake, and food. BUT, this was no "do-it-yourself" wedding, it was absolutely FABULOUS; and, I'm picky, so I should know! :)

We wish Rachel and Brandon the best in their marriage together and look forward to what the future holds for them! (Photos above were by Daniel, during a quick photo session of Rachel and Brandon. To see more or purchase images, visit www.danielhowellphotography.zenfolio.com)

Proof Slideshows Are Here!

2009-07-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

The company that hosts our online ordering and fullfillment site has introduced a FANTASTIC new feature -- proof slideshows. So, in addition to posted our favorite images from a session/wedding on our blog, from time to time, we'll post the proof slideshow, so you can get a glimpse of the entire session/wedding (of course, you can also visit our ordering site: www.danielhowellphotography.zenfolio.com to see full sessions).

TIPS:
1) After pressing "play", if you place your mouse over the slideshow, you'll see a link at the top to our ordering site.
2) At the bottom right hand corner of the slideshow, you'll see a box/arrow symbol. You can click on that, to make the slideshow pop out into a seperate window.
3) Clients -- If you would like to have a copy of your proof slideshow to post on your own blog/Facebook or MySpace Page, let us know!

So, without further delay, here is Kristen and Jonathan's PROOF SLIDESHOW! Enjoy!

Kristen and Jonathan -- Their Engagement Session

2009-07-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at Kristen and Jonathan's engagement session in Maryville! Enjoy! Oh, and let us know what you think about having BIG images on the blog now! :)

Chris and Carmen: Engagement Session

2009-06-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Chris & Carmen had so many great moments during their engagement session. Enjoy a few images from another great time in Chattanooga!

To proof more images or order prints, visit http://www.danielhowellphotography.zenfolio.com/

Dana & Jonathan's Wedding

2009-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Dana and Jonathan were married at the beautiful Preserve Resort in the Smoky Mountains. We had such a great time -- and it reflects in the images!

*WARNING* This post is extremely image heavy, there were just too many to choose from, so here are a ton of our favs!

Gorgeous flowers! When I saw these flowers, I just assumed they spent a fortune on them – but not so, they actually had a quite limited budget for flowers; but aren’t they GREAT?

Part of Jonathan’s proposal:

Mom seeing her daughter in her wedding gown for the first time that day:

The guys hanging out before the ceremony…

Hiding and hanging out before the ceremony:

THE CEREMONY:

One of the most wonderfully decorated ceremonies I’ve ever seen!

Their ceremony looked over the mountains:

What's going on back there? :)

PORTRAITS IN THE MOUNTAINS:

Dana and Jonathan had allotted a couple of hours to venture out into the wilderness for their day-of portraits!

THE RECEPTION:

The feeding of the cake – which ended up with Jonathan on the couch!

No hard feelings here!

How do we get back home?

One of our FAVORITES of the day:

We enjoyed working with you both and wish you a blessed life!

To order pictures from Dana & Jonathan's wedding, visit: www.danielhowellphotography.zenfolio.com

Kari and Justin : Their Engagement Session

2009-05-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

We're a bit behind on the blogging, but wanted to post Kari and Justin's session -- which took place in downtown Chattanooga. We had so much fun (especially at Clumpy's). Enjoy!

They saw an opportunity to be part of a piece of art -- why not?

LOVE this one:

Pelletier Family Session

2009-04-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

Enjoy a few images from the Pelletier's family session! Isn't this family beautiful? While you're at it, check out their oldest daughter's, Kyla's, PSA that she filmed, wrote, and acted for a Knoxville Youth Summitt Project!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE_l_HAx7Dc

Alex and David

2009-04-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

Enjoy a few images from Alex and David's wonderful engagement session in Chattanooga!

Eliza and Matt's Engagement Session

2009-04-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Eliza and Matt's session began at the UT Law School (where they first met) and progressed downtown. They expressed to us their desire for wonderful e-session photos, because they are having a destination wedding! FUN! We wish them all the best - enjoy their photos!

Missy & Aaron - Engagement Session

2009-04-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

Enjoy a few of their images set in beautiful downtown Chattanooga!

Sneak Peek!

2009-03-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the engagement session of Missy & Aaron (the winners of our first free engagement session).

More's to come later, but enjoy this image in the meantime!

Lonnie and Natalie's Wedding - Part II

2009-03-25T10:46:00.001-07:00

As promised, here are some more of our favorite images from Natalie and Lonnie's wedding (to see more, scroll a couple of posts down).

For family/friends of Natalie and Lonnie: Their wedding images will be up by the end of the week (by March 28) at www.danielhowellphotography.zenfolio.com

Rock, Paper, Scissors - Lonnie and Natalie's method for choosing who would say their vows first!

Winners of Round #2

2009-03-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

It was close, but everyone's favorite proposal story was from Couple #3, so they have won a free engagement session. Thanks so much to all those who participated!

Couple #3

For my marriage proposal, my fiance made me truly feel like a princess. We took a short trip to Disney during January and I had been insisting that we had to watch the fireworks at least once while we were there. Though he completely did not want to watch the fireworks, I was not going to let him have his way on this one because there is just something magical about them there. Come to find out, the theme of the fireworks show right now is wishes. So once they had talked about a dream is a wish your heart makes, my fiance looked over at me to ask me what my wish was. I told him that I couldn't tell him or it might not come true. He looked over at me and told me that he could make it come true and got down on one knee! I didn't believe him at first, but when he pulled out the ring it couldn't be mistaken! I was so surprised! We got congratulated by the people around us, and I know believe that the fireworks truly are "magical". I completely felt like a Disney Princess that night!!

Natalie and Lonnie's Wedding - Part I

2009-03-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

There were so many fabulous moments during Natalie and Lonnie's wedding, that this post will be broken into two parts. WARNING - there will be a TON of pictures!

Lonnie & Natalie wed in Townsend at a beautiful wedding chapel. Natalie's gown was exquisite - and her accessories complimented it perfectly. Natalie decorated the reception site herself, turning it into a haven of candles. Enjoy these images!

Natalie bought a beautiful pendant on Ebay and then turned it into this stunning necklace:

Lonnie wanted to remember his dad, who passed away a year ago, on his wedding day.

Natalie wasn't quite sure about this couch - but we LOVE this image!

Her smile says it all!

Daniel will contort into all sorts of shapes if needed to get the shot!

The end of a long, special day...

Check back next week for Part II - another 20 or so of our favorite images from Lonnie & Natalie's wedding day!

Dana and Jonathan's E-Session

2009-03-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Dana & Jonathan's engagement session took place on an extrememly rainy Saturday afternoon! However, Daniel often tells people he likes to make lemonade - so he took the rain ("lemons") and worked with it - hopefully their wedding day, coming up in April will be sunny and bright!

Natalie and Lonnie's Wedding Day - Sneak Peek!

2009-03-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had the pleasure of photographing Natalie & Lonnie's wedding in Townsend. We had a blast and couldn't wait to post this brief sneak peek!

Vote for your favorite couple... ROUND 2!

2009-03-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

*VOTING IS NOW CLOSED.*
We will tabulate the votes in the poll and the individual emails sent to us by those who had trouble with the poll and then announce the winners by Wednesday, March 25.

If you voted in the previous poll, feel free to vote again - we're featuring two new couples and one returning!...

*If you have trouble voting, please leave a comment on this blog post and I will count your vote manually! Thanks!*

Couple #1

I live up near Nashville and my fiance Brian lives in Signal Mountain. We have had a long distance relationship for almost 3 years and have talked about marriage for a while. He came up to visit me one weekend with his two children, 8 and 4 years old, and we decided to go out for dinner at Olive Garden. When we got our food there was a new entree on the menu that Brian decided to order. Our meal went on as normal and then his daughter had to use the restroom. I took her and this is when he Brian went into motion. He placed my ring in the open box by my plate and waited for me to return so I could be surprised. His son was in on it with him and when I got back to the table his son was bouncing up and down in his chair with a huge grin on his face and clapping his hands together.

His excitement distracted me so I never noticed the ring when I sat back down. All I could think of was that he tried his dad's pasta and he really liked it. I asked him if he thought it was good and he said, "Yeah yeah really good!" I couldn't understand why he would be that excited. I told him, "Your face is priceless!" Then Brian leaned over and grabbed the box with the ring and said to me, "so is yours!" My eyes got huge and I said, "Oh my God!" The kids were so excited that everyone in our area of the restaurant noticed and said congratulations. It was the most wonderful night.

Couple #2

I met my fiance on a website called singlesnet.com. We chatted on there for awhile and then started talking on the phone, when we finally met each other it was an instant attraction, we had so much in common it was unreal. Even our birthdays are close his is Oct 15th and mine is Oct 18th. The next weekend he proposed to me in the living room of his apartment. He got down on his knees in front of me and talked about how we felt that we were drawn together by God and then he said he he had something for me and he got his key ring. While he was talking he was taking something off his key ring, what I thought was a key to his apartment but it was not when he got it off his key ring he had the most beautiful antique diamond ring I had ever seen and he ask me to marry him. We have been inseperatable ever since. I have since lost my job due to the cut backs in the workforce in the area and he has been so supportive of me in my search for work. I would love to be able to win the engagement session for us so that I could repay a little of the love and kindness he has shown to me in the short time we have known each other.

Couple #3

For my marriage proposal, my fiance made me truly feel like a princess. We took a short trip to Disney during January and I had been insisting that we had to watch the fireworks at least once while we were there. Though he completely did not want to watch the fireworks, I was not going to let him have his way on this one because there is just something magical about them there. Come to find out, the theme of the fireworks show right now is wishes. So once they had talked about a dream is a wish your heart makes, my fiance looked over at me to ask me what my wish was. I told him that I couldn't tell him or it might not come true. He looked over at me and told me that he could make it come true and got down on one knee! I didn't believe him at first, but when he pulled out the ring it couldn't be mistaken! I was so surprised! We got congratulated by the people around us, and I know believe that the fireworks truly are "magical". I completely felt like a Disney Princess that night!!

Vote & Help Someone Win a Free Engagement Session!

2009-03-02T11:19:00.000-08:00

*****VOTING IS NOW CLOSED*************

Here are the submissions for story of proposal/reason why you love your fiancee! The winner will receive a free engagement session!

Couple #1:

"I met my fiancé John on December 6, 2007 on a blind date. He had long hair and a fabulous smile and turned out to be the love of my life. I had been divorced since 1992 and he had been divorced since 1989. When I brought him home to meet my family my dad wasn't too sure of him because of the long hair and also because my dad and I have always been best buddies. I always loved helping him with his yard work and helping him work on the house. When I was little I used to climb under the cars with him to help him work on the cars. I have 3 other sisters and none of them were into these things. So when I brought John home dad just wasn't too sure about him. Needless to say John and I fell madly in love and he asked my parents if he had their permission to ask me to marry him right before Easter, 2008. Mom said yes right away but dad said he couldn't stand to lose me so he said he would have to think about it. In the meantime, John had been helping dad do some things around the house because Dads health was getting worse and they had become closer. On Easter Sunday my whole family was there (and I have a huge family) and my mom looked at John and said "John if you are going to do anything you need to hurry because people are going to start leaving". John told her that he couldn't propose because he was still waiting on something, which was my dad's permission. I was out of the room at the time and dad looked at John and told him that he could go ahead that he had his permission. So when I came back John got down on his knee and said that he thought he knew what love was until he met me and then he whipped out this big old ring and I said yes and everyone at the table was crying and I looked at my dad and he said he didn't want to lose me and I told him he wasn't losing me he was gaining the son he never had. In June, 2008 we found out that my dad had lung cancer and it had already spread to his lymph nodes. John was with us when we found out and he was my backbone!! When dad was in the hospital John was there. When dad had chemo treatments, John was there wheeling him from one doctor's office to another. One of the main things I was praying for during this time was that the Lord would please let my dad still be here when John and I got married on March 29th. I wanted my dad to be able to introduce his son-in-law to our friends and family.

My dad got progressively worse and Hospice was called in. John was there all the time. He could move dad without hurting him. John could get him up out of the recliner and back to bed even better than the nurses and dad felt sooo secure when John was there because he knew if he fell or couldn't get up that John could do it for him. My dad passed away on January 14th and John was there with the rest of the family. I told my sister afterwards that I wanted dad to be able to introduce John as his son-in-law and my sister told me that he did...when the nurses were at the house and John was there he would introduce John as his son-in-law and when John would take him to the doctor he would introduce him as his son-in-law. John has been such a blessing to me and my family and he truly is the love of my life and is exactly what my dad would have wanted for me."

Couple #2:

"I live up near Nashville and my fiance Brian lives in Signal Mountain. We have had a long distance relationship for almost 3 years and have talked about marriage for a while. He came up to visit me one weekend with his two children, 8 and 4 years old, and we decided to go out for dinner at Olive Garden. When we got our food there was a new entree on the menu that Brian decided to order. Our meal went on as normal and then his daughter had to use the restroom. I took her and this is when he Brian went into motion. He placed my ring in the open box by my plate and waited for me to return so I could be surprised.

His son was in on it with him and when I got back to the table his son was bouncing up and down in his chair with a huge grin on his face and clapping his hands together. His excitement distracted me so I never noticed the ring when I sat back down. All I could think of was that he tried his dad's pasta and he really liked it. I asked him if he thought it was good and he said, "Yeah yeah really good!" I couldn't understand why he would be that excited. I told him, "Your face is priceless!" Then Brian leaned over and grabbed the box with the ring and said to me, "so is yours!" My eyes got huge and I said, "Oh my God!" The kids were so excited that everyone in our area of the restaurant noticed and said congratulations. It was the most wonderful night."

Couple #3

"Friday the 13th, 4 years and 6 months from the day we met, Heath Pendergraft asked me to marry him at Tony's Restaurant in the Art District. The night began with him picking me up and the exchanging of our Valentine gifts; however, there was no ring in sight. After the exchange we proceeded to the restaurant and had a wonderful meal, while waiting on the bill to come a smile appears on his face as a bouquet of flowers is set on the table. That smile is soon replaced with concern as he questions the location of the card that is supposed to go with it. I being nosy want to look and smell the beautiful flowers that are sitting in front of me, but I am quickly told not to look at them.

The card arrives, he prompts me to open it and my eyes begin to tear as I read the words "To my Fiancé". I quickly flip open the card not even reading the words and there lies the most important ones of all "Will You Marry Me"! I gaze up at him sitting across from me (he had the ring wrapped up in the bow around the flowers), he stands up, walks to my side, kneels down, and says those 4 wonderful words again! However, this time those words are muffled as a women to the back left of me screams out "he is gonna propose!" He does and everyone starts clapping as he stands up and returns to his seat. Once the tears stop I return back to the card to read the most beautiful words that I skipped over earlier in my excitement. I still can not fathom that such a wonderful man was able to find me 4 years and 6 months ago."

Couple #4

"I met Aaron through a friend on myspace and it started out just silly conversation and then he came to visit me in May of 2007 the 25th - to be exact we had talked on the phone the night before for 7 hours without any breaks. He came that weekend from north carolina to see me, he was based at camp lejune marine corp base at the time. We decided to give it a shot that night and have been together ever since. I never really thought that I would find somebody who loves everything about life as much as I do. He has been an amazing person throughout this whole experience. He treats my daughter as if she were his own. He spoils me so to speak! I truly believe that God has a person for everyone and that he is my better half and without him nothing would make since. He proposed a week before valentines day to throw me off. And told me that he had never felt this way about someone and that he couldnt wait to marry me and we were gonna wait about a year to get married. But I wanted a fall wedding in Sept and he told me to do what makes me happy. He has put in so much effort for anything that I want for this wedding and helped out money wise whenever he could.I can not wait for that day to call him my husband and I know that I am the luckiest girl alive to have a man like him in my life."

Thanks for voting!

Natalie and Lonnie - Engagement Session

2009-02-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

Lonnie & Natalie were a blast to work with! We had fun taking images of them having fun! The location was downtown Knoxville, however I'm sure this session would have been just as fabulous at any location because of their love for each other! We loved their willingness to forget that the camera was even there - enjoy!

Bridal Show Recap

2009-02-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

We had a blast meeting you all at the bridal show - I hope you've had time to look through our packets and are ready for a consultation! Remember, you must book a consultation by March 10 to receive the free $100 print credit if you book a wedding package.

Our fabulous booth was built by Daniel - he has SO many talents. But, boy, the walls were heavy! :)

WINNERS OF THE FREE ENGAGEMENT SESSION ARE...

Well, there were tons of you who signed up for a free e-session! Many of you told me "I never win anything. I have such bad luck." For that reason, I've decided to take luck out of the equation. Instead, simply send in 1)the story of your proposal, 2)why you love your fiance, OR 3)the sweetest thing your fiance has ever done for you! I'll then post them on the blog and let you ALL vote on your favorite. We might even give away several free engagement sessions according to the response.

Just email us your submissions (they can be as short or as long as you would like!) to daniel@danielhowellphotography.com

Even if you weren't at the bridal show, you're welcome to join in and submit your love story! Good luck! You have until March 1st to submit!

Don't Eat That!

2009-02-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

When my grandmother passed away (see a couple of posts down for pictures of her), I knew I wanted at least one of her quirky magnets as a daily reminder of her. The one I had my eye on said "You can't trust skinny cooks"... however, a cousin called it first. So, I grabbed a cute little pig that says, "Don't eat that, you'll get fat!". This little pig has been through a lot and lost a head in the process!

It happened to be holding up our new marketing materials on our fridge when Daniel decided that we needed a picture of it! Enjoy!

Great Smoky Mountain Marriage Retreat

2009-02-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Daniel & I were blessed by our experience at the Great Smoky Mountain Marriage Retreat this past weekend. We enjoyed the enriching sessions and the time we had to relax together!

I thought that I'd share a list that Brad Harrub gave in one of his lessons...

"Gifts You Can Give Your Marriage"

- Start and end each day with a kiss
- Wear your wedding ring
- Talk about your dreams
- Send a card to your spouse for no reason
- Say "I Love You" every day
- Do it (whatever it may be) your spouse's way
- Wink at each other
- Pray for each other
- Cuddle
- Send a gift for no reason
- Flirt with each other
- Hold hands
- Be gentle
- Encourage one another
- Give each other back or foot rubs

I hope this list gives you all some ideas to help strengthen and keep the romance alive in your marriages!

Sneak Peek Natalie & Lonnie's Engagement Session

2009-02-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

This was a busy weekend for Daniel and I. We had a fabulous time at the Great Smokey Mountain Marriage Retreat (more to come on that later) and we were able to shoot Natalie and Lonnie's E-Session in downtown Knoxville on Valentine's Day! Here are a few from that session to peak your interest!

Mary Beth & Chris - Engagement Session - ENJOY!

2009-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

We had a blast shooting Mary Beth & Chris's E-Session in the Great Smokey Mountains! The first thing we noticed upon arriving was how fabulous Mary Beth was dressed - I LOVE her funky purple dress, her killer boots, and the red coat that she used to keep warm!

Fashion aside, we wandered through the Tremont area on a pleasant day in January. Just goes to show that even in the dead of winter, sessions can be rockin'!

We are so looking forward to their wedding this summer!