The weather this day was just perfect. That sun was glowing beautifully through the trees and around the large plantation house. I could have teared up when I saw Laura in her gown. The fact that she and Marc were getting married soon really hit home in that moment. Laura got that bridal feeling then, too! It was all coming together and she was just weeks away from being Marc’s wife. And she looked stunning!!! Also – fun fact – she made her bouquet for this session all by herself…that day! She just swung by the grocery store, grabbed some different flowers, and threw this gorgeous thing together. No big deal.

I loved getting to know this family! Joey and Jennifer were so laid back and easy to work with! Jennifer had told me that she and Joey wanted pictures together, just the two of them, and I was all for that! Mom’s & Dad’s NEED that!! Sometimes they think I am crazy when I ask the kids to step aside for a little bit, but every one always appreciates this. The fact that they wanted these images just made my life so much easier. What really impressed me though were their kids! I started the session with taking pictures of the 3 kids together and they were awesome! Posing together, smiling, & cheesing it up for me! They were cracking me up, too!! Camden & Kinston probably kept us ALL laughing the entire session.

Taking senior portraits is such a special experience for me. I don’t feel like it was that long ago that I was a senior (yeah, yeah…10 years..whatever) and I remember it all too well. Being a senior, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I didn’t think that I was about to make this big change or take a huge leap or anything like that. But when I take senior portraits, I just feel so excited for them!! It IS a big deal! Seniors are about to make SUCH a big change! Being a mom, I get emotional about it too! This girl I am about to introduce to you definitely made me feel emotional. So, let me introduce you to Haley.

I am so SO excited to share this blog post with all of you! Last week I was able to spend time in Wilmington, North Carolina with some extremely talented wedding photographers! I was geeking out the entire time!! The ladies behind Magnolia Photography, Jana & Michele, put together this entire event and they did such an incredible job! Half of the day was spent at The Cottage on Orange Street where Jana & Michele poured their hearts and souls into us. They were open books and taught us so much about this business! I had never attended any type of workshop or styled session before so I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect. I knew what I wanted from this workshop and what I hoped the experience would be like but..y’all…I was not prepared for how wonderful this day would be!

Blog posts are going to be popping up left and right over the next couple weeks – prepare yourselves! Between senior sessions, mini sessions, and a fun event I went to this past week (seriously, amazing), I have so much to share!! However, I am behind on posting this awesome guy’s senior photos and his session definitely deserves a spot on the blog! I met Benjamin a couple weeks ago and I instantly knew we were going to have fun. Most seniors need a little bit of time to warm up to the idea of this crazy girl telling them how to pose, where to look, when to smile, when to laugh, and whatever else – especially the guys. About mid-way through the session, they are usually anticipating what I am going to ask for. Benjamin didn’t need any warm up time! He didn’t mind my silly ways and he could go from a full on laugh to a blue steel serious look in half a second.

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.

We have been counting down the days until this wedding since the night that Marc told us he had proposed to Laura and she said YES!! You can’t be in the same room with Marc & Laura and NOT know that they are crazy about each other. They were so happy and full of joy on their wedding day – as they should be – that it made me tear up! I just loved seeing their excitement, as well as everyone else that was there to support them! I can’t stress enough how much we love this couple. They are the definition of a CG Couple and I am SO very grateful! They are fun, joyful, easy going, trusting of ME (this is necessary), and so in love.

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!