We are gearing up for another wonderful wedding weekend! Alyssa and Ryan are getting married this Saturday at Robin Hill Farm. The weather is looking truly fantastic, and I just cannot wait to see these two again. But, before we get to the wedding, I have to revisit their stunning engagement session at Quiet Waters. I love the Annapolis area, and that has probably became very obvious over the years. It is - of course - on my list of favorite locations. There's so much greatness in the area from downtown to the parks - Annapolis has everything. So when Alyssa and Ryan chose Quiet Waters for their engagement session, I did a little dance. I mean, on a bad day, the park is beautiful. So on a great day, it's phenomenal, haha! Ryan and Alyssa's engagement session was so much fun. We started off in the garden area, just getting warmed up. I remember very clearly that these two were naturals from the start. They are so comfortable with each other, it was easy for them to have a good time together. Even when our plans in the park changed, they were willing to adventure around. It was their cool and calm demeanor in hiking that ended up paying off big time with a breath-taking sunset. Seriously, the most glorious orange and pink sky I've seen. I really don't think I'll ever be over it. I'm confident that, much like their engagement, Alyssa and Ryan's wedding day will...

Sunday was such a perfect day! We met up with Jeannine and Pema at the Peace Park and - wow - what a beautiful place! It was so calm and serene. The world felt so wonderfully still for those couple of hours. The rushing cars and busy areas around us just sort of went into pause mode. It was an incredible feeling. In addition to being such a stunning location, the Peace Park also carries some sentimental value, since it's where Pema proposed. The lush gardens within the meditation areas must have soothed any pre-engagement nerves. I'm so happy that Jeannine and Pema chose this spot for their session. It holds such a special place in their heart, and getting to experience it with them was really fantastic. It's also safe to say that Jeannine and Pema are total rock stars. My greatest fear for the session was rain. The weather called for partly cloudy weather, and during our ride out to Poolesville, it's down-poured. I kept worrying that at any moment, Jeannine might reschedule, but they luckily pulled it out. Even when it started sprinkling mid-session, they shrugged it off and kept posing expertly. It was a great lesson in "don't sweat the small stuff," because not even a minute after the drops started falling, it totally stopped. These two are definitely my new heroes! Walking the trails and going through the meditation areas really put us all at ease. It's a powerful location that I totally...

It's crazy that we are now two just DAYS away from Chelsea and Ryan's wedding. Our countdown has been going since June of 2015, and I'm totally stoked we are this close to the big day. I feel like the time has gone by so quickly, especially after their engagement session at College Park last year. It is so true that once the e-session is complete, the rest of the time goes by in the blink of an eye. At least for me it's that way, haha! If you follow me on Instagram (@britneyclause), you are probably very familiar with these two. I'm pretty nuts over them since they are ridiculously sweet and so kind. Shawn and I had never seen a lot of College Park prior to their session, and they took the time to give us little facts about the campus and guide us to the best spots. It's such a beautiful location with huge colonial buildings and a really wonderful atmosphere. The thing I loved most about Chelsea and Ryan's engagement session is that they chose a truly special place. Their relationship began on the stunning campus and it only made sense to include that in their engagement. The university means more to them than just where they lived and walked to class. It will always be the very first stepping stone in their forever. Shawn and I cannot wait to celebrate these two this Saturday. It's going to be an absolutely amazing time. I for...

This is the time of year when a lot of our couples are planning their engagement sessions. Whether they are dreaming of a "lost in the wood" session or high fashion city shoot, timing means everything. For Shawn and I, breaching this subject is a point of contention. We are both night owls, so whenever the thought of early morning comes up, we both kind of shudder. However, we recognize the beauty in small crowds and fabulous light. Our couples, though, don't always know of those benefits as well as we do. It means so much to me through chatting with our couples that we are able to provide them with loads of session information. One of the biggest things we cover before an engagement session is the timing for a session. So what better way to benefit everyone than through a blog? There are pretty images below, so everyone stick around until the end :P. What is proper timing? One of the first things I want to touch on is the best hours of the day to be out. We have found that for sunrise sessions, we want to be shooting 30 minutes after the sun has risen. For sunset, we like to give ourselves 2 hours before the sun has fully fallen. These times are typically called the "golden / magic / perfect hour," but I just like to say "ohhhhh, mah gawsh! Best!". Here's a cute little info graphic I've created...

I've been anticipating Kristin and Andrew's engagement spotlight since we shot their session back in July, haha! Their gorgeous e-session took place in Old Town Alexandria, and I am still not over how much fun it was. We met up in the early morning hours, and it honestly felt like they were life long friends. We had a great adventure through the city, and we also caught loads of Pokemon. Seriously, never in my life did I think we would play Pokemon with a couple, but Kristin and Andrew are that fantastic :P. Engagement spotlights are some of my absolute favorite posts. Not only do we get to relive an awesome shoot, but we also get an extra day of celebrating the couple. Kristin, Andrew, and their families are working hard to bring everything together for this Saturday. They are tired, stressed, but - most of all - excited. My goal with this little injection of pretty is to ease some of the nerves and add to the anticipation. Kristin and Andrew, I'm sure, are well aware of how fabulous they are. They are truly one of a kind and I'm hoping that post wedding we keep in contact and remain friends. Honestly, I have never had a bride put on their timeline that Shawn needs to be ready to play Super Mario with the boys. But that's different for this wedding, and I'm totally obsessed. We've always said that our ultimate goal is to make our couples feel like...