Athens Engagement

June 4, 2012

I am so excited to post pictures from the engagement session I had with Brad and Ginny Rae for multiple reasons that need to be listed: 1. Ginny Rae's fashion sense is AMAZING. I actually told her that I might need to go out and buy the same exact outfit she had on for the pictures (and then grow my hair out, dye it blonde and buy some colored contact lenses. jk.) Her green dress was killa and the necklace sent me over the top. I love photographing colors so this outfit made for some amazing green in pictures. I should let everyone know where they can get this look (Ginny Rae didn't know she would be a trendsetter but if you see ladies everywhere mimicking this you know who to blame:) Dress: Nordstroms. Necklace: Anthropologie. Ginny Rae's hair? God and some good product.

2. The weather for the engagement shoot was horribly amazing. That's right... both horrible and amazing. As they were smiling and I was taking pictures, we heard thunder and saw the sky getting pretty dark. We drove to the next little spot and you could actually see the rain coming down in the distance. So there we were, pretending it was just another beautiful day hanging out in random fields while the sky was just minutes away from opening up on us. This was amazing because the sky turns a deep dark blue before it rains, so the pictures almost look fake in terms of the colors and lighting. But that is the beauty of a pre-storm landscape. You can see some raindrops on Brad's shirt in a few pictures. And seconds later we said quick good-byes and bolted to the car!

3. One last reason I'm excited to post this session is because of how much fun this couple is. Ginny Rae told me she wanted just fun pictures- pictures of them having a good time, being silly, smiling and some sweet ones. This is my kind of couple! Brad was such a good sport about everything and up for all sorts of craziness, including dancing and swinging Ginny Rae around. Their wedding will be in the fall at a family members' home in the midst of a pecan orchard, so I'm hopeful about getting some fun and beautiful wedding images of the two of them. You guys are a party waiting to happen... thanks for having me be a part of the party!!!!

Ben + Brooke//Athens-ish engagement

May 25, 2012

I just had to write the location for this engagement session as "Athensish" because I'm not quite sure where we were- somewhere near i-85 and Commerce? Ben's mom told me about this park and we decided to give it a try for Ben and Brooke's engagement session and sure enough it was a beautiful place!! The shoals looked like a good photo place, so I asked them if they were up for standing in the water for a few pictures. Brooke had mentioned wanting to do that so they were good with it. I found a good place to stand but then my foot started slipping a little bit... so I got to a dryer spot. Then I look up and see Ben starting to wobble in the water and wooooooosh!!!! Ben went down with the current of the water and got totally submerged into the river!!! I couldn't believe it and of course (being the opportunist photographer I am) I pulled out the camera and took some quick photos of him in the water. I later thought about how that could have been offensive but Ben was such a good sport laughing about it and glad I got some shots of it. So poor Ben. We joked around that we were so glad it wasn't Brooke (every girl knows once your hair is wet there's no rescuing it for pictures!). Soooo that's how our engagement session started. I knew this meant good things for the rest of the time:) Ben had more clothes in the car so he changed and we opted out of the water pictures and stayed on dry land for the rest of the session. You guys were both so good natured about all of it- which says a lot about you! I included some pictures of Ben's swim (with his permission:) just to get a feel for what happened. But the rest of the pictures worked out great- we stayed dry and happy. I can't wait for their wedding next year and know that they will be anything but bride and groomzillas based on the engagement session. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

and a few pictures of Ben during/after his quick engagement session swim:)

Julian + Emily//Athens Engagement

May 9, 2012

This engagement session is close to my heart for a number of reasons: because (1.) Julian is a friend of mine from college and happened to be a very close friend of Jared's (my husband), and was a groomsmen in our wedding 8 years ago (2.) he waited on God to provide the right person for him for what felt like a long time... finishing medical school and his residency and still waiting until last October when he met Emily and it became clear that she was the one (3.) to see how much joy Emily brings Julian, and vice versa. When Julian smiled at Emily for pictures, it was the smile of a guy who his head over heels in love and more than overflowing with gratitude to God for bringing this amazing girl into his life when he did not expect it. Emily is in PA school to be a physician's assistant at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta where Julian graduated and now works as a medical doctor. Emily is spunky and smart and deep all at the same time, and I'm sure so much more than that. Julian is wise and funny and intelligent (I remember when he got into both med school and law school and he was trying to decide which he would choose... that's a smart guy right there) and so helpfully honest about life and all the joys and sorrows of it. They hope to do medical missions in a Spanish speaking country, serving people through medicine and bringing the good news of a God who loves us and is for us because of Jesus to people who haven't experienced it. I couldn't be more excited for Julian and this upcoming marriage. I also couldn't be more excited about the wedding reception they will be having for multiple reasons: (1.) it turns out Emily LOVES to dance and especially to fun popular rap songs (i.e. "white girl pretends she ghetto" at dance parties- ME!) (2.) Julian doesn't know what to do when Emily pulls out all her crazy dance moves, and that's just like my husband!! (3.) husband Jared will be at their reception and since he would do anything for Julian the word on the street is that my own husband will bring back a college dance that has been put away for too many years called, "Little Horse" where he calls a horse out of a stable and proceeds to ride on the pretend horse around the room. This reception is going to be the highlight of my year. Emily even showed some dance moves during the engagement session and it was amazing. Love it. This couple is such an example of the goodness of God to bring people together who are just so right for one another, and I'm thankful I have the opportunity to document this great gift. Praise be to God for fun music, making our bodies in such a way that we can do awkward dance moves, and being so kind to give us best friends to marry. You guys are great. We went to eat at Ted's Most Best pizza before taking pictures so we could all catch up and introduce our wee ones to them. I'll include those pictures too because it's part of the story, and because I think my kids are cute. Quick story about this restaurant: the pizza place is named after a guy who worked at the Grit named Ted who has since died. Supposedly Ted would tell his waiters and waitresses when he was in charge at The Grit to do their most best every time everyday. So this restaurant was named in his honor- Ted's Most Best. I thought that was a pretty awesome statement. Just had to post some pictures from our time together with the kiddos... now to just Julian and Emily!! Emily's awesome dance face came out- amazing...