I remember the day I met Carley and her mom at Starbucks. Instantly, I felt so at ease with them. They were super easy to talk to and had me laughing right away! My husband grew up with Carley’s family, going to the same private school. However, I had never met her or her family before. I quickly came to see that they are wonderful people! We just talked and talked about anything & everything! After that initial meeting and hearing about all what Carley had planned, I was so excited for the wedding day to come!

Hurricane Hermine was threatening to ruin the beautiful weather for this wedding day! While driving to the salon early that morning, we all saw black clouds in the sky and could feel the cool air blowing. Honestly, the cooler weather was definitely welcomed over the crazy heat Virginia had been experiencing just the week before. The moment I saw Erin, though, she was completely calm. There is nothing you can do about it at that point, so why worry, right? Right! David & Erin were both so positive and upbeat all day! Their wedding party was the exact same way, which is so helpful on the wedding day. When there is something happening that could POSSIBLY cause any worry or anxiety, your job as a bridesmaid or groomsmen is to ease the minds of the bride & groom (just a little bit of advice from yours truly). After random rain showers and gusts of wind, the sun ended up coming out and giving us the chance to get so many great pictures!

Happy Tuesday!!! Also, for all of you mamas & dads out there – happy back to school day! I dropped by oldest baby off at Kindergarten today! How is this possible? How do I have a kid old enough to be in SCHOOL!? I’ll be honest with you…I don’t think I’m totally okay with it. She was ready though! I know she will do great! Okay – enough about that! I am sure Hayley will have a post all for herself soon. Today, I want you to meet Zack & Sarah! I met them both a few months ago at Zack’s sister’s wedding. I remember talking to Zack during the reception and he was telling me how he was going to propose soon. Of course I told him that he knew who to call when he needed a wedding photographer! Well, sure enough, his sister called me to tell me Zack & Sarah were getting married & could I be there. I said ABSOLUTELY!

It has been a WEEK with no blog post here – I am so sorry!! I have had LOTS of bridal portrait sessions the past few weeks so I can’t share any of those pictures. Such a bummer for you, but they will be up soon enough. My fall wedding season kicks off THIS Saturday and I can not wait!! My brides are amazing women…every single one of them. I love hearing them tell me new details they have added to their day, the things they are most excited about, little secrets they have planned, the delicious cake flavor they chose, or ANYTHING else. I love being one of the people they text about new ideas or email pictures to when they want to change something up. The wedding day is always amazing! All of that planning leads to a beautiful day filled with joy, love, laughter, and so much more. But it is also sad because it means I say goodbye to my bride. I sound so sappy, I know!! Okay, okay…that’s enough! I just love my girls!

I was so excited when Casie’s mom contacted me a couple months ago about doing senior portraits! I have seen this girl go from a little middle schooler coming to see her sisters compete on the competition cheer squad, to now being a senior in high school! I coached Casie for a couple of years and I just love seeing how she has grown & changed as a young woman. I love these sessions (as you know). I also love cheerleaders (of course) so this was an all around WIN!

I love senior sessions! They are one of my favorite kind of shoots. High school seniors are at such an amazing place in their lives and most of them don’t even realize it! Ohhhh to be that age again (okay, okay…now I sound old). I feel for the mama’s at these sessions, though, and I know that it has to be the start of what’s going to be a very emotional year. My oldest is about to start kindergarten in less than a month so I can not even imagine what I am going to be like when she is starting her senior year. Emotional wreck sounds about right!

One of the most common things people say to new parents is to cherish every moment because it all goes by so fast. They are right!! It truly does fly by! Pregnancy seems to take forever, but that first year of a baby’s life goes by in a blink. I remember Brooklyn’s newborn session like it was yesterday!! My husband and I went to Dan & Jamie’s house just days after Brooklyn was born. She was so tiny and beautiful! Now, here she is a YEAR OLD!! Just as gorgeous and sweet as can be!

Engagement sessions are so fun for me! Usually it is the only time I meet and talk with the groom before a wedding. I see the bride a few times and talk with her through email a lot, but the groom is usually not a part of all of that. I love hearing the groom’s side of things though! I want to hear him say how his bride caught his eye or how he planned out the proposal. The men always tell the story a little differently. Also, it’s just sweet to see them light up when talking about the girl they love!

David & Rachael are two people that you instantly love. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say that! If you know them, then you get it! I met these two for the first time over FaceTime (oh, technology), then officially at their engagement session. I said it then and I’ll say it now – they are amazing! Both of them are so fun and laid back. And they are CRAZY about each other! You can see it in the way they talk about one another and look at one another. It was just such a beautiful wedding day!

It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here!!!
I am so excited to announce the launch of my BLOG!

I have wanted to start a blog for a little while now, and I am so happy the day is here! I think this will be a fun way to share my work & to really showcase my amazing clients! I know I probably won’t be making blog posts about every single session (in the beginning at least), but this will be a fun place to highlight some different photos I take.

I am also excited for this blog to be a place where you can get to know me & my family better. I want this first post to be about just that – introducing myself! This way you can figure out who I am, what I am all about, and if I am possibly someone you would like to work with one day.

So grab a coffee, find a comfy chair, and keep reading!