Anna and Travis grew up in the same hometown. They went to school together and started dating back in high school when Anna was a sophomore and Travis was a junior. These two have been through ring dance, prom, homecomings, then stayed together through all of those college years and now, here they are! More in love and just as taken with each other! The sweetness Travis has around Anna, and the giggles she gets when talking to him, definitely showed us they are legit crazy for one other!

Happy Fri-YAY! I am hitting you with some advice today! Here we go!! I love engagement sessions – it’s no secret! I feel like they are SO important to the wedding experience and..basically..they are just fun! Some times couples won’t want to do them because they don’t think they need them or don’t think they will like them, but NEVER have I had a couple leave an engagement session regretting that they did it. NEVER! If anything, the guys end up telling me how it was actually fun or they actually didn’t hate it (those are huge compliments coming from a groom), and the girls are just so happy they have these pictures of them with their fiancé!

You guys…wedding season is literally right around the corner and, I don’t know about you, but I am getting so anxious!! A good anxious! I don’t think I will ever NOT feel that way, and I hope I always do. Right before any session I get that nervous/excited feeling, just because every session is different, every client is different, and I am excited to see the beautiful images we are about to take! Also, I just love getting to know my clients more!

When I became a photographer, I did it because I wanted to capture the joyful, beautiful moments in people’s lives for them so that they could hold on to those memories forever! Those pictures could be something that they hang on their walls, put in their family albums, or pass down to their kids and grandkids so that everyone can remember. That is what you want from your pictures, too, right? Well, choosing the person to take those photos for you means thinking through a few things and doing a little research. Now, you may have someone very close to you that is a photographer and you love their work so – BAM – it is a no-brainer for you. However, some people don’t have that. OR maybe you like multiple photographers – GASP! Is that even allowed!?! Of course it is!! I have a lot of photographers that I love and I would absolutely use quite a few of them! So how do you decide who you should choose or what even to look for? Here are 4 things I think you should think about when searching for you photographer.

This year is already starting off with so many exciting weddings being booked, one of which is for these two! Melissa had me hooked from her very first email to me, when she said, “We are getting married on a farm (my fiancé is a farmer)!” I immediately was hoping I had her date open and we could meet up to talk details!! Turns out, we clicked instantly! We hung out for over an hour in a coffee shop, talking like old friends, going over all the details, and discussing possible vendor choices. It was so fun! She and Cody already had ideas for locations on the farm they wanted to use and, of course, incorporating their sweet dog!

It is officially engagement time!! The winter usually calls for a break in weddings, which is interesting because my wedding date was in January, but it is booming for engagements. There will be quite a few e-sessions on the blog in the coming months and I love it! Engagement sessions are complimentary with all of my wedding packages because they are such a great way to get to know couples. I get to chat with them about how they met, hear the groom’s side of everything, see how they interact, and help them get a feel for how pictures will go on their wedding day. Wedding day portrait time is usually 30 minutes or less, so getting the hang of it during engagement pictures is SO helpful. My clients who do engagements seem to be able to jump right in to it on their wedding day. Megan & Cameron did not really need any practice though…these two were naturals from the start!

Fall is literally the busiest season ever! Which is why I have only blogged about one session a week for the past few weeks. There have been a SURPLUS though so I will be sharing plenty of them over the next few weeks, I’m sure. So, other than fall being the busiest season, it is also my favorite season!! The weather, the outfits, pumpkin everything, the glowy sunsets, the days getting shorter (aka bedtimes getting earlier because my kids are too young to understand time! Mom win!), and all of the engagement sessions! I fully support fall engagements! Clare new she wanted to do she & Geordie’s pictures in October for all of the reasons everyone else should – they get to wear super cute clothes (scarves, boots, vests, etc), it won’t be super hot outside (which is a huge plus for the groom, too), and the colors are perfect! Also, their wedding will be next October so it was only fitting.

This past Saturday, at Dellwood Plantation, Jordan and Blake promised their lives to each other in front of their closest family and friends….and it was simply perfect! Wedding days are meant to be joyous, exciting, and full of love. Their day was exactly that!! From the moment Jordan arrived, her smile never left her face!! Unless she was crying happy tears! Even at the beginning of the day, when she was getting her hair and makeup done, she kept telling us how much fun she was having and how wonderful the day already was! She was able to really take it all in.

Sean and Stacey have a love story that I KNOW will be told over and over!! These two met while going to school at this very college we took their engagement pictures – Richard Bland College. Nothing sparked between them while they were there – they were just friends and hung out with the same crowd. Well, fast forward to 20 YEARS to one night at a VCU basketball game. Before we go any further, I need to give you some more background information. Stacey is a real deal VCU basketball fan. She was actually wearing a Rams shirt the first time I met her for coffee! She let me know about her love for them right away, but that Sean is NOT a VCU fan. However, Sean IS a sportscaster for CBS 6 News. Out of ALL the games that Stacey went to and ALL the games that Sean covered, they never crossed paths. Not until one night, 20 years after they met at Richard Bland, when they were both at a Rams basketball game.

It was just a few months ago that I met this great couple at a cute bakery in Petersburg. I knew from the first minute that we were all going to get along just great! They were laughing and joking with me from the start. Justin told me all about how he proposed and Maggie joked about how she anticipated it multiple times but, when he actually proposed, she was shocked! He knew he had to keep her guessing! I think that is what makes their relationship so beautiful. They both know each other SO well but still know how to keep each other guessing! They know how to keep things fun!