Featured: TheKnot.com

TheKnot.com has selected one of my bride's website to be featured as one of their favorite wedding sites!!!

I am beyond excited for Stephanie and Brian! I still am kind of on cloud nine for the two of them (OK, there's no "kind of" about it- still super excited...YAY!!!)



Their site is filled with their love story, fun facts about the two of them and full of their lovely engagement session images that we did on Big Talbot Island and Amelia Island. Congratulations you two- love you both and can not wait for the wedding celebration!!!

Check out their wedding website here and their engagement session here!

Engagement: Laura & Chad

Slowly between the clouds the first rays of light began to peek through. Beautiful soft pinks and oranges filled the sky. It was dawn. I have gotten used to starting off the weekends with a gorgeous sunrise, but it is even more of a blessing when I get share its beauty with a wonderful couple! Even more of a bonus is documenting that moment in time shared between them at the dawn of a new day- almost as if it is a metaphor of things to come…their wedding day. The day that will start the beginning of the rest of their lives together. I can never express enough how truly thankful and lucky I am for these couples who invite me into their lives to witness, document and be such a special part of this chapter in the story of their love and life together!

Laura and Chad arrived ready for anything, already laughing and flirting with one another before the camera even began to snap- this, I loved! Within the first few frames I knew- this was going to be easy, fun!As we walked along the beach they talked about how they met and laughed at the memories as they relived the past… They met in High School and Chad was on the baseball team- a fact that still makes Laura smirk when she talks about it. Chad said with a smile...that he first developed a crush on her when she was dating one of his friends (on the baseball team), something that he loves to tease her about. Reflecting on what it was that really attracted her to him, she smiled and said it was how he looked in his baseball pants. I thought that was just the cutest thing- I love how one detail can stand out so much and the littlest thing becomes such a precious memory!
Their friendship and love has just continued to blossom over the years and it is easy to see how well they complement each other. They are so considerate and just plain sweet! I can not wait for their wedding and to share more about their love story and the proposal!

Thank you guys so much for getting up early with me and for having so much fun- see you soon!

Annie & Philip

Bubbly, enchanting and caring are just a few words to describe Annie. I loved her from our first meeting. She is not only beautiful on the outside but equally (if not more) on the inside!One of my favorite things about being a photographer is getting to know our clients and hearing their (life) stories- how they met, how they knew this was “the one”, their future plans…but the stories of young love and high school sweethearts are VERY close to my heart and always makes me tear up. Please, do not get me wrong- I am a romantic at heart and fall in love with everyone’s love story- BUT the ones that I most identify with are those that are similar to mine (I have known Adam since the 7th grade and we started dating our freshmen year of High School…and he is STILL the LOVE of my life- my rock and BEST FRIEND!) so, it really hits home when other people have had a similar experience! Annie and Philip share that experience- they have know each other since high school but did not date until after they had graduated. It was Annie that chased Philip which I had to laugh with her because my husband was also shy when it came to girls (Thank God for aggressive women- lol!) Now, things are a little different though and Annie doesn’t have to do all the chasing.
Philip is entering his last year of Medical school in Tampa so he is very busy, but to meet him you would never know it- because when he is with Annie, it is all about her and there is nothing else in the world that is more important (seeing first hand the love and adoration a couple has for each other is another awesome perk of my job!)
They both attended UNF and loved to walk the nature trails together, so that was the spot that Philip decided to purpose to her. For their session we started out at the beach and ended at “their spot” where he took her to ask "the big question" (the full story coming soon!). It was soooo sweet!

Also at the beach we filmed a little video with Ed Roy for their save the date announcements (ohhh- and it's looking good...can't wait to share it!)

Thank you both so much for sharing with me your love and commitment to one another. It is so refreshing seeing true love in action :)

Engagement: Stephanie and Brian

We have all heard the love stories- you know the ones…I knew from the moment I saw him/her…Well, this is NOT one of those stories…

Imagine you work in an office, an office with cubicles, an office with different personalities but there is this one guy that you just don’t get, a guy that is mostly quiet but when he does say something to you it just comes out all wrong- even rude at times…Enter Brian into Stephanie’s world... Brian secretly (or, not so secretly) snooped in Stephanie’s cubicle to get a better idea about “the new girl” and eventually grew to have a crush on her. That said, Stephanie did not even have a clue about this until it was brought to her attention from a mutual friend and even then did not believe it. Eventually, however Brian’s charm and unique sense of humor made Stephanie fall in love (now here’s the gushy part) and she quickly found her prince charming! Stephanie and Brian met at Coach (yes, ladies- that Coach!) and have an absolute blast working together. In addition to working at Coach, Stephanie is also a wedding planner, so we both had a WONDERFUL time talking about the details of their wedding and engagement session.

They live on Amelia Island (Fernandina) and really wanted to incorporate that and their two (beautiful) retrievers, Elle and Emma! We also filmed a little love story for Stephanie and Brian to incorporate into the wedding festivities and to create a unique way to introduce and preserve their story. We came up with some questions and I played the part of the interviewer (loved it!). It was so sweet to hear them talk about how they met and how they feel about the future and one another. Ed Roy manned the camera and we will be incorporating images from their session into their love story (so stay tuned).

Thank you so much for letting us get to know the two of you and spend such a wonderful Saturday morning with you both (well, you five...can't forget Elle, Emma and mom)

Engagement: Rose & Rob

Have you ever met a gator fan- I mean a REAL gator fan??? I am happy to say that I have many and have added another wonderful couple to the swamp bunch…and I am pretty sure that this couple definitely has orange and blue running through their veins! And now even though they live in Dallas, they do not miss the important games (Thanksgiving, maybe…but not the games!!!). Both Rose and Rob are graduates of University of Florida so the choice of their session location was a no brainer. Because there were certain favorite spots of theirs we mixed things up a lot-keeping it fun, quirky and sprinkled in a little mushy, gushy romance. The passion and energy these two have for each other and their beloved gators is contagious. Rob will be the first to tell you he is a lucky man- not only to have found the love of his life but the fact that she IS a football fan is an unbelievable bonus. And the kicker is, Rose was a fan long before Rob! She happily told me about the first football game she ever watched with her dad, she was 5 and it was the Washington Redskins vs. the Dallas Cowboys!
sidetrack…
Needless to say for this, Rose is a rock star to me and a real inspiration. My husband absolutely loves football- I mean in the sense that he knows more history, dates and information than is humanly possible…and me, not so much. About as far as I go with football is Brett Favre (I like his dedication), so I feel like there is a little bit more effort that I could put in because it is something he loves (Thanks Rose!)

Ok, now back to Rose and Rob...They were an absolute blast to work with and I enjoyed our time traveling together to Gainesville. They shared their love story and passions in life. Friends and family are VERY important to them and since moving to Dallas it has even became more of a priority.
Rob was a trooper but quickly began to fade when hunger began setting in so we took a break for lunch and after a full tummy and a couple refreshing drinks- he was ready for round two.
After we were finished we all piled back in the car and headed home. Then it got really interesting...I always look forward to road trips because you can really learn a lot about people when you are stuck in a car for hours at a time (but even more when there is no air conditioning on an 80 degree summer afternoon- lol). But, a nice big slushy solves every problem :)

Thank you guys for such a wonderful time!

Weekend Teasers

This weekend was another wonderfully busy one! I had the extreme privilege of spending time with two AWESOME couples!!! Below is just a short teaser we are leaving tomorrow for some good family fun at Wild Adventures with the boys... don't worry, all the fun details of their sessions will be coming up this week :)

FRIDAY: Rose + Rob {Gainesville}

Coming up: Read all about our adventure through Gator Country...from football in the stadium, wrestling alligators, almost rained out, why Rose ROCKS and what makes Rob tick!

Thanks Rose and Rob for such a great day!

SATURDAY: Stephanie + Brian {Amelia Island}

Stay tuned for the official press release of the man eating mosquitoes, serene sunrise, a little office romance and an insiders tour of Fernandina :)

Thank you, Stephanie & Brian for letting us share in your love story!

Stacie's Photo Cards & Signature Frame

Stacie's event cards and signature photo frame are here!!! I can not wait for her to see these- she was so excited with the proofs and now here they are in person! She is using her photo cards in her wedding program for guests. Stacie and Chris picked their two favorite images from their engagement shoot and a beautiful bible verse for their photo cards. Her signature frame photo is also one of my favorites from their session- they are sooo cute! A metallic 8x10 print will be the centerpiece for her guest signatures. This frame is very elegant and I know they will enjoy it for years!