Friday Favorites ~ Emily & Hays

15 days to go!

We are so excited for Em and Hays’ big day but it seems a bit surreal to be staring down the barrel of barely two weeks until the wedding. I have people asking me frequently how I am handling everything and if it’s all crazy stressful. Honestly, that stressed me out more because I wasn’t and it made me wonder if I was supposed to only I wasn’t because I wasn’t doing something I was supposed to be doing.

I’m sure the next two weeks will get a bit chaotic as we finish up some last minute little things but it has been a fairly easy process. Partly due to Emily not being anything other than a laid back low maintenance bride and partly because of our wonderful friend who is the creative talent behind Soiree by AJ who is our wedding planner and coordinator. I just know that everything is going to be beautiful.

Sweet Em is a bit exhausted from all of the running back and forth and she is completely over wedding planning. We laughed because when they got engaged we thought 6 months was so quick but goodness, people who take longer are either completely crazy or something. Enough already, let’s have a wedding instead of just endless conversations and decisions!

We were originally going to do Emily’s bridal portraits this weekend while I am in Monroe for a bridal shower given by Hays’ church but the weather has not cooperated and there was a snafu with her bridal veil not arriving. But talking about it did remind me that I shared very few of the engagement pictures I did for them back in November. So today’s Friday favorites are a few of my faves from that day. In no particular order…

I love getting shots like this when a couple is really laughing. Add to it being black and white and I am in love with the final result.

If I had had any doubt about the beauty of the state of Louisiana it was put to rest the afternoon we did their pictures. The bayous are simply gorgeous and Hays & his mama knew exactly where the best spots were for pictures. Especially that time of year with the gorgeous colors.

My girl seems to have a wee bit of sass going…

And thank you to whomever lives on the other side of the bayou and thought it was a good idea to put those little lights along your decking. It was and I love this picture the most I think.

We are so excited for Emily and Hays and we are looking forward to celebrating God’s kindness in leading them to each other with the ones we love. See y’all in a couple of weeks!

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Vince And Kait

Sometimes last minute things just work. One day in the beginning of June my friend Mel (of Our Blessed Arrows fame) sent me a text asking if there was anyway I could possibly photograph her oldest daughter’s surprise engagement that afternoon. She and her about to be future son-in-law were plotting and planning and while Mel figured she could probably get a few pictures with her cell phone she decided to see if I could be there.

Now I have photographed all kinds of events from family, children, and senior sessions, a 95th birthday, engagement pictures, weddings, 50th anniversary celebrations, gender reveals, maternity and even a birth. I’ve also been blessed to have the privilege of recording some of life’s more difficult moments when friends lost their one month old baby and another said goodbye to her husband too soon. I had never ever photographed an actual proposal though and for that reason alone I would have been excited to do it. But this was also some of our dearest friends and I was beyond excited to have the opportunity to photograph this special moment.

Turns out I am a stinkin’ ninja. They never even saw me and Vince was kind of looking for me when he wasn’t down on one knee asking Kait to spend the rest of her life with him.

Last week I got together with the happy couple and we had such a great time in downtown Pensacola shooting their engagement pictures. I love how diverse the downtown area is with so  many varied backgrounds all within walking distance to take advantage of. We started near Plaza Ferdinand and just meandered around Palafox Street before ending our time together on the pier.

Vince is completely smitten with Kait and it was so sweet to see the way he looks at her.

Of course Kait is equally smitten with Vince. 

I love Pinterest and I encourage my clients to make use of it when preparing for sessions. Everything from planning what to wear and picking out favorite poses. I make sure to explain that it is for inspiration and that we won’t be making exact recreations. I mean, we live in FL so that gorgeous California mountain light just isn’t going to happen here and unless you and yours are the exact same size and shape as the people in the photo logistically it’s just not going to look exactly the same. Knowing all of that we pulled up the Pinterest board we had created for their session and found a few that we really liked. I think it only took us about nine or ten times to finally get this shot the way we liked it. 

There was a bout of Rock, Paper, Scissors and a few rounds of thumb wrestling and even a game of arm wrestling.

I don’t think Vince was worried about loosing.

This was one of my absolute favorites from their session. I’m not sure exactly why…maybe the way they’re looking at each other, so completely sure that they’re each other’s other, the part that fits and connects like no one else has or will. Whatever it is or however you describe it I hope they always keep looking at each other that way.

Vince and Kait, I am so excited for you both and cannot wait for your wedding. Until then may you both jealously guard and protect the love God has so generously given to the both of you. 

And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes,

in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality,

I’d find you and I’d choose you

Throw Back Thursday…Sort of

Most of the photography I do is for family and friends and people connected to my community of church and the kids school. Every now and then though I get contacted by a friend of a friend kind of thing and that’s how I came to meet this sweet  couple. Tim’s mother is a long time friend of my sister’s neighbor and family friend so when they mentioned wanting to do engagement pictures a few months ago my name popped up and I’m so glad it did.

We actually did the pictures back in April (hence the blog post title)  during spring break when his parents were visiting so it was a family event. Both Tim and Abbey are students at a local Christian college and the wedding will be back in her home state but they wanted their engagement pictures done here.

Because I hadn’t met them before I was a little nervous but they were all so laid back and happy it was easy for us to settle into good rhythm and we got some really sweet pictures.

Congratulations to you both, Tim and Abbey! I know you are counting down the days until the BIG day and I pray that you continue to find love in each other and in the details of all the planning.

Being in love is not merely a feeling.

It is a deep unity maintained by the will

and deliberately strengthened by habit;

reinforced by the grace which both partners

ask and receive from God.
~ CS Lewis

Just The Right Time

Ansel Adams, a famous pioneer in photography, once said “Sometimes, I arrive just when God’s ready to have someone click the shutter.”

That is exactly how I felt with Gary and Bethany’s engagement pictures. All the necessary parts that make for a successful session fell into place with an ease that was uncommon, including meeting a total stranger that was willing to allow us to use her beautiful courtyard for pictures.

The courtyard was almost magical with it’s winding ivy and lush greenery but what really made the session magical is the connection between Gary and Bethany. The only way I can sum it up is that they are perfectly suited to one another. 

Have you ever heard of the word lagniappe? It’s that little extra something something. There is a sense that God has added a little lagniappe to Gary and Bethany’s story…to their love for one another. It was pretty sweet being a part of that for the morning and capturing it with the camera. The right place at the right time to paraphrase Mr. Adams. 

So sweet that I got totally caught up in the moment and forgot to get an individual portrait of Gary after this beautiful one of Bethany.

I  hope that means we get to do a part two session the next time they’re in town 🙂

Gary and Bethany, may the Lord continue to bless you and make His face to shine upon you. And may you always so joyfully share that lagniappe He has given you with those around you. Thank you for letting be be a part of this special time in your lives!

Tim and Chrisann

One of the hardest things for a photographer who wants to share their work is choosing which images to post. Especially when there are so many good ones to choose from which is certainly the case with Tim and Chrisann’s engagement pictures. They are both photogenic but it really is the way their happiness and delight with each other just shines through every image that makes narrowing them down difficult. 

Except this one. This one is easy to share so that we can collectively enjoy the awesomeness that is Chrisann’s hair. Gorgeousness. 

We started our time together in Gulf Breeze on a giant sand cliff and then moved on to Ft. Pickens. I ended up with way more images than I normally deliver and if the light had lasted longer probably would have ended up with even more. Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order.

My goodness I just love this one.

 

Tim and Chrisann, may the Lord continue to pour out His generous blessing upon the two of you as your love for each other declares His goodness and faithfulness. May He bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you.