Traveling to Guangzhou, China to help my sister bring home my new niece was one of the most surreal, amazing experiences I've had. My niece adored exploring and walking around the city, so we were lucky enough to be able to visit several gorgeous parks, climb a mountain, see some temples, and even spent a day at a safari park. If you're looking to see more travel photographs, then my recent Iceland trip or last year's Peru trip would be the way to go. Just as a reminder, I’m always looking for an excuse to travel, so if you are planning a destination wedding or adventurous elopement I would LOVE to be part of it.
Anniversary Couple's Session // Blue Hour Swim in Deam Lake
I've been in the mood to shoot during blue hour lately. There is just something about that time right after sunset that allows for play in so many ways— switching up shutter speeds and accessing a whole different color palette. For this session, we got the most gorgeous golden hour complete with a light rainstorm, a small rainbow, and a stunning sunset— as well as an interesting blue hour as well.
Abby and Schyler have been together as long as I can remember. I first photographed them dancing at my senior prom. Over the years, I've loved watching their big milestones online— including seven years of marriage and two sweet children. They've had so many amazing big moments together and have supported each other through some really hard times too. Despite all the years, as they played together and goofed off during our session they were giving off some serious newlywed vibes. It's obvious that they are just as in love now as they were ten years ago.
Abby made me cry, when the morning after the session she wrote me, "Thanks again so much for last night. For us, it was more than just a photo session. It was nice to be a little more carefree and focus on each other. We got to reconnect in a way and play around like we were young again thanks to you. You are so amazing at what you do and you made us feel super comfortable all while having fun. Thank you so much."
I love anniversary sessions so much, in case you do too check out Chris & Cassie's Chicago conservatory session or Alex & Collin's in-home session.
Whitehall Garden Wedding in Black & White
For Amanda & Gil's blog post I wanted to try something a little different. Their garden wedding had so many gorgeous greens and Whitehall has lots of lovely colorful wallpaper as well...but every time I went through the images the black & white versions were what stood out to me. I've always wanted to share a wedding in just black & white, so today I'm taking the leap! Please keep in mind I delivered both color & black and white images to them, you can see some of the color versions on Instagram, but I'm excited to share the monochrome versions with you all here!
Amanda & Gil had been in a long distance relationship for a couple of years while Amanda worked in Iowa and Gil worked in Louisville. Now they are happily settled in Texas. Their wedding was a celebration of their new marriage of course, but it also felt like a celebration of finally getting to live together. I really enjoyed documenting each of them interacting with their parents and their side of the wedding party before the ceremony— you could tell how much everyone in their lives cares for them. Giving them the space to have some time together alone in the gardens after the ceremony allowed for some really sweet and intimate images as well. They used Amanda's grandmother's cake stand and the knife her parents used at their own wedding. I really loved getting to stay all the way until the end of the night when they left Whitehall in their getaway car with all their friends and family waving on the front porch. I feel like the images really speak for themselves, so that's all I'll share!
If you're looking for more gorgeous, historic weddings Annmarie & Ethan's Warrenwood wedding and Lauren & Dean's Paducah wedding would be wonderful to check out!
Wedding DJ: HayDJ // Florist: J. Elizabeth Designs // Caterer: Masterson's Catering // Wedding Gown: Lillian West through The Couture Closet // Bridesmaids Dresses: David's Bridal // Cake: Stir Crazy Cakes // Harpist: Rozanna Thompson // Venue: Whitehall Gardens