I remember every thing about the day we found out that this little girl was in my belly. I remember it like it JUST happened! But somehow, it was 6 years and 9.5 months ago that we found out. How in the WORLD has that much time passed? When you get pregnant, every one tells you that they grow up too fast. Before you know it they will be grown…blah blah blah. THEY AREN’T KIDDING!!! This is a FACT! You might feel like it took forever for you to “grow up” or whatever, but…to your parents…it was literally like 5 seconds.

Happy Monday!!! I hope you are snuggled up on your couch with a blanket and a cup of coffee while reading this…mainly because that is most likely what we all WANT to be doing on a Monday. However, if you are reading this while at work or wherever else, I am just as excited that you stopped by! I had every intention of blogging Shannon & Will’s wedding last week. I really did. But then life happened!! My husband and both kids were sick most of the week and weekend! Nurse mommy to the rescue! Then, I got to spend some great time with lots of friends, so I call that a win! I still need to catch up on all of the housework that accumulated over the past few days…as well as do some online grocery shopping (ClickList all the way!!). But first, I want to share this beautiful wedding with all of you!

If 2016 showed us anything, it is that we made the ABSOLUTE right decision staying in the wedding business!! I still take pictures of families and seniors – both of which I LOVE as well!! But we just LOVED all of our couples this past year! Their weddings were all so different and so beautiful. We gained so many wonderful friends and even gained NEW brides for 2017 from some of these weddings! We have already booked DOUBLE the amount of weddings for 2017 and that just warms my heart! With one wedding already in the books for this year, we know it is going to be a great year!

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!

The moment this family session started, I knew I couldn’t wait for them to be on the blog. The Flagg’s aren’t new to my site or my blog. I have been photographing them since Brooklyn was born. We have done newborn pictures, multiple family sessions, and birthday pictures. They are so special to me and I LOVE working with them!!

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!

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!