Marybeth and Dustin: Engaged.

I was so excited for this engagement session for many reasons. First, because Marybeth and Dustin chose the location themselves and I knew it was going to really bring them out to their full potential. Second, because believe it or not I had NEVER been to the beautiful Crestline mountains that are just a short 30 min drive from where I live and have pretty much lived my entire life thus far! I never knew what was hiding back there! The location where we shot is known for a perfectly shaped heart "bath" formed from years and years of water wearing away at the rock. It was such a wonderful secluded spot for a photoshoot and also a favorite hiking location of D&M(I'm just going to refer to Dustin and Marybeth as D&M, quicker to type and pretty cool sounding I think!). D&M were such troopers and went along with my every wish without the teeniest complaint. And did I mention that we got our exercise?? For some real entertainment, maybe later on I will show you the photos snapped by my assistant of me scaling rocks and crossing creeks trying to keep up with pro hikers D&M. Anyways, I had a blast working with D&M and I am so excited to shoot their wedding in August. Here are a few of my favorites of the day :)

Here is the famous heart! D&M said they had never seen it filled with flowers like this, guess I bring all the good luck with me ;)












I kept saying how cool it would be to have a ceremony out there and towards the end of the session, Dustin spotted the perfect wedding arch :)

Pleasant Surprise.

I'll be the first to admit, I've been caught up lately. Caught up in a world where I work 14 hours a day(come on guys i'm not being literal)... working on my website, finishing up school work, editing photos, responding to emails...and alot of time just procrastinating.(That's why it takes me 14 hours! haha). Fortunately I'm finally getting back on track and my to do list has shrunk immensely! In these busy times I almost completely forgot that several weeks back I entered some of my photos in our county fair. Today, I was reminded that this is the last weekend of the fair, and of course I had to get down there immediately and check it all out! Completely not expecting ANY recognition and just excited to see my photos displayed, I was floored when I discovered one of my entries received First Place, Best of Class, and Best of Division. I abruptly did a victory dance and then took out my phone and snapped the photo you see below :) I am so honored and without saying more, these 3 ribbons made my day...scratch that...my MONTH. :)

Sam and Jay: Married!

When my friend, Shannon Morse, asked me if I would like to fly to Napa Valley to shoot a wedding with her, I was MORE than happy to accept. Being my first trip to Napa(or Northen California for that matter), I was astounded by the beauty of it all. To add to the absolute perfection of the day, the weather was amazing and Jay and Samantha are one the the most adorable couples I've EVER laid eyes on. They are one of those couples that makes it really hard to put your camera away...luckily I didn't have to!
It took me forever to select my favorites, but here are the 13 photos I was able to narrow it down to. Be sure to stop by Shannon's blog and see the day through her eyes :)



Samantha said she's a big fan of America's Next Top Model. Looks to me like she should be on it!




The ceremony and reception both took place at Brix Restaurant in Napa California...and let me tell you, the location options for photos were UNREAL. Railroad tracks and wooden fences just a few steps away? Count me in.






Definitely my favorite shot of the day...






This is Sam and her father right after he gave a very emotional speech that had the whole room in tears.




First dance as husband and wife :)


Jay putting some crazy dance moves on Sam and cracking her up!

A day of firsts!

I am currently blogging from Dixon, a town in Northern California, and home of my good friend and phenomenal photographer Shannon Morse. I am so excited for tomorow(hmm it's 1am so technically TODAY!), because it is a big day for me..a day of many firsts!! Tomorow(Today?), Shannon and I will be shooting a wedding in Napa Valley, CA :) Along with my usual pre-wedding excitement/jitters, I am feeling a whole new set of emotions that represent me stepping out into a whole new branch of my life and business. Here are some of the very exciting firsts that this wedding is bringing for me:

-First post-internship wedding!
So excited to put into practice all of the wonderful things I learned from Sarah during my time in Nashville.

-First wedding far enough to travel on a plane to.
I will hopefully have many more of these soon, but this is the first wedding I've done that required a visit to my good 'ol friends SouthWest Airlines...

-First wedding with my Canon 5D Mark II.
Just purchased this lil baby a week ago and am so excited to put some miles on it! With the major upgrades I've made in my equipment, I am veryyy excited to give it a go!

-First of many weddings Shannon and I will be shooting together.
She will be coming out for one of my weddings in July, then later in the year I will be back here...and back and forth we will go :)

-And can I get a drumroll?.......First wedding with....CLOUD SHOES!!!
Well...to make a long story short, I have done FAR too much shooting in uncomfortable shoes that kill me. Enough was enough, Shannon and I took a trip down to Payless shoe store looking for a remedy. After 20 minutes of searching, I found them.... The word "comfort" on the box caught my eye and after slipping one foot in, I was SOLD. Cinderella and her glass slippers were put to shame by this match. After trying them on, Shannon was making a purchase also. We like to call them cloud shoes, because the idea of walking on a million clouds doesn't even begin to cover the way these feel! For once, comfort conquered fashion.

I am so ready to take on this wedding tomorow and am confident we will ROCK it! Keep an eye out for the post which will be up very quickly!
I'll leave with a few photos from the night...3 images of wedding preparation :)

The Cloud Shoes! You gotta believe me, the unbelievable comfort makes up for every bit of "un-cuteness". Comfortably Unfashionable....Better Than Barefoot....


Memory cards formatted....CHECK :)


Charging batteries...cleaning lenses...making lists...flipping through bridal magazines...

Amanda and Paul: Married

In late March, I had the honor of shooting Amanda and Paul's wedding and let me tell you....it was BEAUTIFUL. I stuck around from the early preparations all the way until the last dance! I was able to capture tons of photos of their special day and had a blast working alongside my lovely second shooter, Lea Reed. Thank you Paul and Amanda for choosing me to document your big day, it was so great getting to know the two of you! I look forward to working with you guys more in the future!! :)
Here a few of my top faves from the day....


Can you believe she had this awesome chair just sitting on her front porch?? Photo opp!


AND a "Happily Ever After" sign in her front doorway....did I get lucky or what?


I saw her Starbucks iced tea she was sippin' on all morning and couldn't resist...


They are just too perfect...I think the photos do all the speaking needed....






Here's the real jaw-dropper...she did her OWN hair and make-up! I know..I know...




A couple fun ones :)