It's time for another blog post!

My husband and I go to a little church about ten minutes from where we live, and a running theme there is families with cute kids. Really, really cute kids. 
Richard and Rebecca are an awesome couple, and they are no exception to the "really cute kids" rule, so I was VERY excited when Rebecca asked me to do some family photos for them this past fall.

​I love the awe on these sweet faces as they watch Richard climb up a hill!
We can learn so much from the wonder of children. (Marigold wasn't too impressed, though.) 

​At the end of the shoot, right before the park closed, the Simpsons kind of just explored while I kept snapping photos. This last one is nothing spectacular, but sometimes those are the best kind. I love the story it tells, and I feel like it describes this sweet family's adventurous way of life so perfectly. 

​A funny side note about this shoot- I lost my car keys before the Simpsons even got there as I was scoping out some good spots, so my husband had to drive all the way out to bring me extra keys. This doesn't sound like a funny story yet, but I'll address the conclusion of it in a different post at a later date. :) 

We were also just a few minutes away from getting locked in the park because they close at sunset, but luckily I bonded with the park ranger over all the deer we saw as we headed out, so he wasn't too upset that we stayed too long and gave me recommendations for the best time of day to get some great photos of the deer. Unfortunately, the suggested time was right around sunrise and I'm not much of a morning person. Maybe someday! 

This evening ended with a bonfire with the Simpsons and some other sweet friends. A perfect fall night! I'm thankful for adorable kids, autumn weather, and the great community of people around me. 

Hello, friends!

You read that title right... 2016! Yikes. Looks like I'm a little behind!
​
The wedding of Shannon and Nathan was actually the very first wedding I shot completely solo. Up to this point, I'd had many people ask me to shoot their weddings, but honestly I was so afraid of the responsibility! I always used the excuse of, "Oh, my camera isn't good enough, I really can't shoot your wedding, but I'd love to do your engagements!" To be fair, my old camera really couldn't handle anything less than beautiful sunlight without my photos getting ridiculously grainy, but I totally used it as a crutch to avoid what I was afraid of, too.

I finally realized that I was just making excuses, which was unfair to myself and potential clients, and also just REALLY bad for business. I decided to save up for a better camera and take the leap the next time I was asked to do a wedding, and along came these two!

I had served as a second shooter many times before, but this was the first time I was completely on my own. If anything went wrong, it was completely my fault. If I'm being honest, I was terrified! Luckily, this sweet couple was super laid back and a ton of fun. I'm so thankful they trusted me to capture this day for them!

Since I didn't have a blog going back when I shot this beautiful day, now seemed like as good a time as any to finally create this little post about it.

​Shannon and Nathan wrote their own vows the day of the wedding. It was so sweet to watch the emotions as she penned these heartfelt thoughts!

Okay, this was seriously one of the funniest moments I've seen at a wedding. Nathan was the only one who wasn't in on this joke.
​Don't worry, they did tell him at the very end. Haha!

I'll be blogging about other weddings I've done in the near future, so be on the lookout for those!

Thanks for your patience and support as I explore this new outlet of sharing my work! 

I have always wanted to take beautiful portraits in the snow.
Living in West Tennessee, where it snows twice a year if we're lucky, that hasn't been easy to accomplish. 
Luckily, my sweet, beautiful, pregnant friend, Amber (who lived in Alaska and doesn't mind the cold too much), agreed last-minute to let me take what might be the last photos of her pregnancy!

Enjoy my very first blog post, featuring this beauty being almost 39 weeks pregnant and absolutely gorgeous.

I'm really glad we were able to get these gorgeous shots before baby Patsy makes her appearance.
Stay tuned to see that little one make her debut on this blog soon. :)