Help Me Donate to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

I think we can all agree it's been a tough week. I've been deeply moved by recent events. I'm married to a man who is half black, which has opened my eyes to a lot of the racial injustice of the world that I was entirely unaware of in my little white bubble. This is such a painful time for the black community. I'm also a Dallas native, so the events in Dallas tore me apart. 

There's so much darkness in the world and at times it feels like there's no light, no peace, no good. In the midst of all this darkness it's easy to forget that there are amazingly good things happening all around us all the time. This week I was inspired to try and create a little bit of light.

My friend Kristina is running in the St. Jude half marathon and is raising money for this awesome cause. I think it's so amazing that St. Jude is committed to treating children free of charge. I can't imagine the pain of having a sick child and I'm so glad that people dealing with that don't also have the added burden of figuring out how to pay for it. In order to help her raise money for the race I'm dedicating 25% of my photography income for July sessions to her race fund. If you've been wanting some photos taken I'd love to do that for you and donate the proceeds to this cause. If you don't need photos, but just want to be awesome you can donate directly to Kristina here. 

Contact me for more info about getting your session booked!

Carmen + Paul - Fall Creek Falls Engagement Spencer, TN

You know when things just work out perfectly? Carmen and Paul are one of those things for me. I know that sounds weird - stick with me.

Back in April I was having a really scary time in my business (quitting your job and going in to business for yourself is tough sometimes). I was worried constantly and doing everything I knew how to bring business through the door. One of the things I did was confide in my friend Hannah. There's more to this story, and it's really cool, but the short version is that we started talking about something, which led to something else, which led to something else, each topic more fortuitous than the last. We made some awesome discoveries in the course of this conversation, which went on for the better part of a day total. At the very end of all of it, after every topic had been exhausted Hannah mentioned Carmen. 

I was looking for clients who are like Hannah's sister Rachel. Running a business involves identifying your "ideal client". So far, Rachel is mine. Hannah said she knew someone kind of like Rachel with similar hobbies and personality. Her name was Carmen and she'd just gotten engaged. Hannah and Rachel talked, and in the end Rachel mentioned me to Carmen.

During this period of time where my business was super scary I spent tons of time in prayer asking for something (someone) to show up. I'm sorry to say I don't always dedicate much time to prayer but I REALLY did during this time. It was all I did. 

Then I got an email. It was Carmen. Within the week Carmen and Paul had hired me.

These two are adventurers! They love to hike and even got engaged up on a mountain. I knew we had to do something cool for their engagement session and Carmen wanted mountains. I did some research, she did some research, and in the end I decided Fall Creek Falls was our best bet for an awesome shoot. I looked up the park and realized that traveling here would put me 4 hour away from home! I didn't really want to get a hotel room and then like a lightning bolt I remembered that my friends had planned a camping trip for that weekend. I tried to remember where they said they were going. Phone call. Where are you guys camping again? Fall Creek Falls. 

Perfect. I'll see you there. 

YES, that IS a butterfly to the right of the photo. Totally real - promise. How magical is that?

I love this view off the edge of the waterfall! I want to shoot in locations like this all the time. All. The. Time. Someone hire me for photos and go adventuring with me?

The second half of our shoot was quite the adventure. We knew where we wanted to end up and had rough directions for how to get there. Getting to the look out involved about a half mile hike both directions. I LOVED working with Paul and Carmen because I said "mile hike" and they said "ok". It's not every day you get clients who don't mind a sweaty walk to get their photos. 

This is the happy couple and their precious dog Indi right as we set out for our hike. 

After a bit of hiking we thought we had arrived at this lookout point, but then discovered we were not in the right place. We kept hiking, turning off on random trails that we thought would lead to the lookout. Only to discover after three false trails that we had been originally right the first time and needed to turn around. I promise we're not dumb, it's just honestly not that easy to tell. 

So, we finally found the correct trail leading to the lookout. Getting to this point involved a wardrobe change in the woods, climbing down into the rocks then back up while holding camera gear (me), or a dog (Paul), or wearing skinny jeans (Carmen). Not your typical mountain experience. We deserve props for even attempting this.

I think the view was totally worth it. 

Thanks for being willing to do all the ridiculous things I asked of you guys. I loved working with you and I can't wait to see you again for your October wedding!

Whitney + Ethan - Sugar Grove Carriage House Wedding

I can't remember the exact moment I met Ethan, but I do know he was one of the first people I met when I got to college. We started college at the same time and though we were never properly friends I always just knew of him. I do remember Ethan was a student in my least favorite college class ever. Don't worry, Ethan had nothing to do with it being my least favorite class. I still get angry to this day when I think about that class. I probably need to let that go...

I do remember the exact moment I met Whitney. Several years ago I was the photographer at another wedding, which is where I met Whitney. Whitney was busy being a bridesmaid that day. What I didn't know until just recently is that she was also busy being set up by her friend. The bride and groom were trying to to play match maker with two of their friends and the wedding was going to be the "date", essentially. Whitney's friends were matching her up with Ethan.

Again, I was totally clueless to this at the time. I didn't learn about it until Whitney and Ethan's wedding! I had no idea I was actually witnessing the very beginning of something awesome.

One of my favorite parts about my job is learning how people end up together. In these stories there are so many tiny choices and coincidences that all add up to big life-changing awesomeness. 

Whitney and I are both obsessed with yellow and I LOVED her shoes. Adorable, right?

While the girls were getting ready the boys were busy playing games.

What an exciting first look with her bridesmaids!

This is one of my favorites. It's joyful and genuine - pure love.

Whitney pulled up in this amazing vintage truck to be walked down the aisle! It was such a cool moment because no one saw it coming. And the truck is also just really cool.

I loved this cake because it's the beautiful "naked cake" style, but with a cool unique twist of icing details. If you know Whitney at all you know she's a huge Harry Potter fan (ME TOO). Below is their Harry Potter "cake topper" and I think it's just about the best thing ever.

And these rings! Whitney's ring is so dainty and beautiful - completely elegant and classic. Ethan's band was something I'd never seen before. It's wood grain on the outside! I thought it looked so cool.

I really can't say enough how much I loved this dress.

At the end of the night there was the most beautiful sunset over the corn field. This light isn't edited at all. It was wonderful to watch.

Congratulations to Whitney and Ethan! It was so great being part of your special day. It was a blessing to get to work with you and your families and friends!

Five Essential Tips for a Stress Free Wedding Day

1. Break in your shoes.

Nothing can put you in a bad mood faster than blisters on your feet. Pick shoes that are beautiful AND comfortable, then break them in anyway. Trust me. Just... trust me.

2. Delegate! And then delegate some more!

It's tempting to think that no one could possibly do it better than you. It's difficult to let go of control and have someone else take the reigns. What's more important than being in control? Having a stress free day! Do not overwhelm yourself with a million tiny tasks that someone else is perfectly capable of doing. Hire a wedding planner or day of coordinator to be in charge of decorating and cake deliveries. That's what they do best! Spend your day completely living in the moment. Let someone else do the rest.

3. Only surround yourself with positive.

Don't choose bridesmaids who are going to complain about the heat, or the dresses, or the timeline. Don't spend time with your sister if she's stressing you out. Don't let your future mother-in-law boss you around. Surround yourself with an awesome team of friends and family who are going to help you stay calm and have the day you want. On your wedding day you only need positive vibes surrounding you. Ditch the rest. 

4. Stay connected with your partner.

In the throws of wedding planning couples often forget to spend time with each other, especially in the week leading up to the event. Family and friends are in town, everything has to be finalized, stress levels are high. It's easy to get caught up in it all and forget to have a single "non-wedding" conversation with your special someone! I recommend taking a little time out of planning and going on a date the week of the wedding. Just the two of you, no wedding talk, no phones allowed, remember why you like each other. 

5. Remember what actually matters. 

Here's a little story about me. Lots of people I invited to our wedding couldn't come. It was too far away for most of my friends. I left my iPod (the source of the ceremony music) sitting in my car for several hours (IN JUNE IN TEXAS) and the poor thing got overheated and couldn't play my music on time and my ceremony started like fifteen minutes late. I spent a couple hours creating a beautiful toss bouquet for the reception and forgot all about it and left without tossing it. My adorable navy blue pumps that I bought as my "something blue" were apparently not designed for Texas heat and the blue started to peel off of the shoes. Kyle and I didn't arrange for anyone to bring our car around so when we did our "exit" there was no car for us to get in to. 

Things WILL go wrong.

And it won't matter at all. 

All of this happened on my wedding day and it was still an absolutely amazing day. Things went wrong, and none of it mattered because Kyle and I were married and having a great time.

The lesson here: STOP FREAKING OUT! This is supposed to be fun! Pick your battles, don't sweat the small stuff, soak up this awesome time in your life, and plan an amazing wedding. Plan your perfect day. Then when the plan falls apart know in your heart that it is STILL the perfect day.

Whitney + Ethan - Sugar Grove Carriage House, KY Wedding

I can't wait to say more about this wedding! I'll save it for the full blog post. I'd hate for you to have to listen to my thoughts twice. :) 

For now, let's all just SWOON over her dress. Tulle skirt dresses might just be my favorite thing. This tulle skirt PLUS the beautiful lace bodice? I'm done for. Just done for.