Tree
Charleston and Ice Cream
Creative at Heart Conference
For the past few days, I have been very busy in Charleston, South Carolina learning all that I can from amazing creatives at the Creative at Heart conference. One of the most important things I took away was to focus on the clients I have, not the ones I'm trying to get. All of my couples and families are incredibly special to me. Everything I have is because others believed in me and trusted me enough to let me photograph the most important time in their lives. I get so much back from all of the joy in my clients. You have all helped me reach a point that I thought was just a distant dream.
While in Charleston, my fellow photographer friend, Marlayna (marlaynaphotography.com), and I dug deep and pretty much got to the root of what we want from our businesses. It was refreshing to hear "you're doing just fine" from Mary Marantz (justinandmaryweddings.com), and to be true to our story from Shay Cochrane (shaycochrane.com). Our brand should be authentic and in this creative world we need to be a positive community that builds with each other, not one that tears each other down. I'm blown away by the amount of information that I've taken in and I'm so excited for what is to come!
Post conference, Marlayna and I did some exploring of the city. We got to see the Market, Rainbow Row, The Angel Oak, and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (who also...
Alexandra & Sean
An Amazing Wedding at Billingsley House
Aly and Sean are probably two of the most laid back and kind people I have had the pleasure of meeting. They made Shawn and me feel like their close friends, and we were both honored to have captured their wedding day. They have such a wonderful love for each other and getting to witness the smiles and looks they share is something that makes me totally giddy.
I loved every piece of their day. From the location of the Billingsley House that overlooked the Patuxent River to the lawn games that Aly and Sean thoughtfully put out for their guests to have even more fun. Just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, Aly pulled me aside and asked me to photograph her giving Sean his wedding gift. The gift was a shotgun which had come from Aly's grandfather, and was engraved with her grandparents wedding year (1961) and with Aly and Sean's underneath. It was an incredible heirloom gift affectionately named "the wedding gun" :P. I couldn't help but be inspired by the loving thoughtfulness that these two possess and all that they do for one another. The life that these two continue to build is going to be such an amazing one. I wish them nothing but the best!
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(They had a second cake with Sean's cake topper :P)
All of the amazing vendors that made this day the best day ever!
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Billingsley House
Caterer: Old...
Hannah & Terry, Emory Grove
A Wedding Full of Heart
Everyone has heard that it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day; with that in mind, Hannah and Terry will have the luckiest marriage ever.
The venue for Hannah and Terry's wedding is a gorgeous historic hotel called Emory Grove. It is surrounded by lush green trees and colorful little cabins. Because their engagement session had taken place at Emory Grove, I already had an idea of the beauty surrounding the area. When Shawn and I first arrived, it didn't look like the rain was going to let up, but as soon as Hannah and Terry said "I do" their luck kicked in and the down-pour ceased. Needless to say, I was ecstatic that we were able to explore without having to bother with umbrellas. Not only did Hannah and Terry choose a breathtaking location, but they found the most uniquely fun vendors. From the meals being supplied by food trucks to The Loop band getting everyone on the dance floor -- the entire day was mind blowing.
There are tons of things about weddings that I absolutely love. One of the major things, though, is the incredible families that make the day possible. Hannah and Terry are surrounded by an absolutely amazing support system and it was easy to see how these two individuals became such a strong and loving couple. At certain points during the day, I had to step back and simply enjoy the precious moments shared between not only Hannah and Terry...
Hannah & Terry
Emory Grove Hotel Engagement
The morning of Hannah and Terry's engagement session was absolutely gorgeous. The sun covered the entire venue in a beautiful gold, which made every corner of Emory Grove breathtaking! The greatest part was that Emory Grove is where Hannah and Terry are going to be having their wedding. It was such a special morning and seeing these two in their wedding element just made me even more excited for their big day.
I'm fairly certain that I hit a new record in awwing, which I'm sure everyone will be doing when they get a glimpse of Hannah and Terry's adorableness. These two are just too cute, and I adore the way they both look at each other. Their moments together during the session were so sweet and genuine that I was constantly doing internal happy dances, haha!
I cannot wait for their September wedding! :D
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Adventures in South Carolina!
Two weekends ago my best friend, Christy, got married to the love of her life, Nate. I was in the bridal party of this beautiful wedding, and what a change it is from photographing weddings to participating! I actually got to dance! Every wedding I photograph I'm always silently singing along to the music, or tapping my foot, or even doing a light variation of the Night at the Roxbury head bob. I always keep it 100% professional, though :P. But at my best friend's wedding, Shawn and I completely put our dance training to good use and it was a blast! When the weekend was over I was sad about leaving, and even now I'm tearing up a little reliving all of the great moments I had with Christy, Nate, and their family. They now all live in North Carolina and I just need for teleportation to be a thing.
Enough sappy stuff. Shawn and I ended up staying an extra day in the South and I just cannot believe how breathtaking it was. We strolled around the wedding site, which was at this great spot called Oldfield River Club and really enjoyed the change of scenery. I now want more than ever to photograph a wedding down in South Carolina or Georgia because those trees are on a totally different level. We went over to the Hilton Head area and determined that it will be our next vacation spot :P. Ate lunch next to the water, played some...
Heather & Tommy
A Fall Engagement
I know I've probably said this a million times before, but my favorite spot to shoot is Patapsco Valley State Park. It seriously has everything anyone could ever need for photos: fields, a cable bridge, rivers, train tracks, and tunnels. Each session I try to get a different look from each spot and I never have trouble finding new and interesting areas.
Heather and Tommy are just under 5 months away from their May nuptials and there is no a better season than Fall to take engagement photos (I may be a little biased to the fall :P). The weather on this November morning was actually pretty perfect! The weather was cool, but it wasn't an unbearable freezing. These two just had to get close together in order to forget about the slight chill that ran through the air.
I think one of my favorite things from this day was how these two looked at each other. Every time Tommy would look at Heather, a smile would spread across his face that just made it obvious how much he loves her :D. I can't wait for their wedding this Spring!
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April & Corey
Sunrise in the City Engagement
I met with April and Corey in October to go over some of the details of their August wedding. In just one meeting I could tell that they were one of the loveliest couples I've had the pleasure of meeting. They had a few places planned out for a shoot, and the two that we decided to go to were Federal Hill and Patterson Park. I had shot at Federal Hill a couple times, but I hadn't ever had a session at Patterson Park, so I was pretty thrilled.
We started just before sunrise at Federal Hill and this was the morning to be out in Baltimore. The clouds were amazing, and it stayed dark long enough that the lights of the city lit up the background. Don't even get me started about the color of the sky: it was perfect! Since we were out so early, there was barely any traffic and no crowds, so we had the location to ourselves. We stayed at Federal Hill for about an hour and took full advantage of the city overlook and the beautiful fall colored trees.
Our next location was Patterson Park, which was easy to get to at 7:30 am. This park was wonderful for a morning session. The only people that were out were joggers and dog walkers - people that speed out of frame quickly and people with adorable puppies. April had looked up some facts about the park, so as we walked she talked about some...
Meghan & Morgan
A Fun and Fall Engagement
Meghan and Morgan's engagement session ended up being one of the windiest days in November, which wasn't any problem for us since it just made these two cuddle closer together :P. It was such a beautiful day: the trees still had all of their colorful fall leaves on their branches and there wasn't a cloud in sight to block the setting sun. Even though it was chilly, it really had no effect on the greatness of the day.
When I met with Meghan and Morgan back in August they mentioned that they wanted to do a comic book picnic. I was immediately on board and counting down the days until their session. I love having little scenes during engagement sessions, since it gives an extra pop to the already adorable happenings and I love when couples express themselves in super cute ways! I've seen vintage books, full picnic setups with food, and records sprawled on blankets, but I had never seen a comic book setup. It was really unique and something that just pushed this session to a whole new level.
I am so excited for their May wedding. I can only imagine how personalized and how wonderful it is going to be!
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