Hey y’all, I’m Izzy, owner and lead photographer at Izzy + Co. I’m a sassy redhead who'd rather be in the woods than on the beach. My signature shade is hot pink and my poison is tequila. Drag queens are my role models and old fashioned mixtapes are my love language. Here you will find the latest weddings and portrait sessions plus inspiration and tips so grab a cocktail + peruse the pretty!
Oooooh I just love this couple and their elegant, navy Savannah wedding for so many reasons. First of all, these two RADIATE warmth, kindness, generosity and so much sweetness you can almost barely stand it. But you can, because they’re also really funny and really pretty to look at :)
Savannah Station Wedding
I had the best time ever exploring McDaniel Farm Park in Atlanta with them and their sweet pup for their engagement session, so I knew I was in for a good time at their elegant southern wedding at Savannah Station in Savannah. The day began with getting ready at the DoubleTree by Hilton in the historic district, which serendipitously so perfectly matched their classic wedding color of navy blue! Enjoy all their gorgeous images with a fun Q&A with the beautiful bride, Nicole:
Not one moment specifically, but rather a multitude of little moments added over time. He always held the door for me, pulled my chair out for me at restaurants, makes me walk on the inside of the sidewalk (for my safety), always holds my hand when we cross the street, lets me have the window seat when we fly, and answers the phone every time I call. He tells me I’m beautiful every day and that he loves me, he never leaves the house without hugging and kissing me goodbye — he is a true gentleman in every sense and that is why I fell in love and continue to fall in love with him every day.
My husband and I did not spend the night together before the big day. My sister (and Maid of Honor) came to stay with me and my husband stayed with his Best Man the night before. Doing this really built up a lot of excitement and really made our first look that much more special seems how we hadn’t seen or spoken to one another for a whole day. For my wedding dress, I incorporated “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”. Something old & borrowed – a piece of lace from my mom’s wedding dress was worn in my hair, Something New – the dress itself, Something blue- my navy blue, sparkly kitten heels :)
Reading our notes to each other and opening our personal gifts to each other before our first look was incredible. Very rarely does anyone sit down, put pen to paper, and write love notes to each other anytmore. Having our love notes start our day was a beautiful beginning to our journey and is something we will treasure forever.
Joe and I absolutely LOVED our first look. It was so nice to be able to have a moment away from the chaos and to ourselves to really appreciate the magnitude of the day and tell each other how excited we were. Taking photos beforehand allowed us to explore historic Savannah and take pictures against multiple beautiful natural backdrops, none of which would have happed if we were confined to one space after our ceremony. I would highly recommend other couples take advantage of the first look.
We were engaged in Chippewa Square in summer 2014 in historic Savannah. So, this place became a place associated with a sweet memory and will always hold a special place in our hearts. Also, my husband and I live in Atlanta and were wanting a destination wedding that wouldn’t break the bank for ourselves and our guests. Savannah was the perfect solution because it’s just a 3.5 hour drive for us and is an absolutely gorgeous city and oozes romance everywhere you turn. Since we were planning from afar, I would advise future Savannah brides to research potential vendors online and schedule visits (like we did) to make the most of your time when you can physically be in Savannah to scope things out. Also, I would suggest to ask all of your vendors for any suggestions they may have for other aspects of your wedding. The wedding community here in Savannah is really closely knit and almost everyone knows each other and can recommend someone if asked.
Seeing all of our family and friends in one place at one time, knowing they’ve all gathered to show their love and support for us. We have family that lives all over the US, from coast to coast. As the typical Italian-American family does, we place great value on spending time with family and friends and we were most excited about seeing our loved ones on such a joyous occasion.
I’ve been singing professionally since I was 7 years old. I wanted to incorporate a special vocal moment on the big day, but didn’t want to risk doing it live and breaking down due to the emotions surrounding our wedding day. So, I recorded a song (Carrie Underwood’s “Mama’s Song”) and changed the lyrics to personalize the moment as I walked down the aisle. It was one of the most precious moments of our day and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Our cake was definitely personalized with a “N+J” and a heart carved into the side of what looked like a tree. We also HAD to involve our furry little man, Frankie. So, we had myself, my husband, and our precious pooch sculpted out of gum paste and placed on our cake as the cake topper. We loved it. Lastly, we had cozies made in our wedding colors and laid them out on the cocktail tables during cocktail hour for guests to use and take home.
Venue and Food – The Venue was a little more expensive than what we had planned, but once we saw it, we knew in an instant it was exactly what we wanted. It has an old, historic vibe, but with some modern elements mixed in like the chandeliers in the main ballroom. Food is our passion and as such, we wanted to provide culinary options to our guests that they normally wouldn’t partake in. Once we built our menu, the total was more than what we had initially planned for, but every penny was worth it because our guests are STILL talking about how all the food was amazing and the fact that it never ran out. There was plenty for everyone.
Thrive Catering was an absolute breeze to work with. Seriously, they made everything so easy. From the initial menu building to contract maintenance and responsiveness on our ever-changing headcount, Thrive knocked it out of the park with their level of service! If I ever plan another event in Savannah, Thrive will definitely be catering that event!
“Our first dance with our parents, me with my dad and him with his mom, was one of the most emotional moments we’ve ever experienced. Once the ceremony is over and you’ve had your sigh of relief, the first dance with your parent is when it finally hits you that you’re growing up, but inside you realize you never would have made it here without the guidance and love of your parents. Having that moment just between us was beautiful and made us both bawl like babies.”
GET A DAY-OF WEDDING COORDINATOR! Leading up to the wedding, planning was stressful, yes, but totally doable. The day of, however, as a bride and groom, you are pulled in every direction for the entire day, making it extremely stressful and difficult to manage all the aspects of the day and ensuring things run smoothly. We turned to family members and friends on the day of for help, which we felt bad about seems how we wanted all guests to enjoy their time, not be bogged down with day-of chores. Trust me, a day-of coordinator will be worth every penny!
Dancing! Being able to get down and cut loose with all of our family and closest friends was amazing. We danced to “Rocky Top”, the University of Tennessee fight song, in honor of where Joe and I first met. We also danced to the traditional Italian “Napkin Song” in which the bride and groom sit in a chair in the middle of a circle of people, all of which have napkins spinning in the air as they rotate in the circle. So much fun and a great way to honor our Italian heritage!
