All this week, The Rising Tide Society has been challenging it's members to create even more community over competition. I tell ya. This week was very cool. I thought I would end the challenge this week by sharing a collaboration that I've been working on with a calligrapher from California! Liz, your work is beautiful and it was an honor to photograph it!! I look forward to seeing more of her stunning pieces!
I'm terrible. I'm so sorry. Oh gosh. Its been FAR too long since I last posted. I don't even want to do the actual math. But to be fair there has been LOTS going on. So this blog post is going to update you all :)
At the end of June I started my job as a physical therapist. Photography and physical therapy are both loves of mine and I enjoy working in two completely different fields! I took my boards at the end of April and found out I passed on Cinco de Mayo. WIN. The actual licensing process takes a while in Maryland so I didn't get started work until the end of June.
The next weekend was 4th of July. Bryce and I went with his parents to the beach for a long weekend, which was exactly what we both needed at the time. Life had gotten very hectic, very fast (starting new job, running my photo business, planning our wedding and dealing with various other things). Not to say we don't love being busy, but 3 days to sit our tushies in the sand was perfection.
Then really fast came my family's trip to Disney World! And what a whirlwind that was! M family flew in Thursday morning and were staying a week. Bryce and I flew in late Thursday night after work (actually got to the hotel about 1:45am!). Our flight got delayed quite a bit, but I didn't care because we were on our way to Disney World! I decided to get a coffee, knowing we had a long night ahead of us. In line, being the extrovert that I am, I struck up a conversation with the man ahead of me. Sweet as pie, he bought my coffee for me. Wow. Almost cried. So when I went to pick up my coffee (opposite side where you pay) I paid for the person behind me. Pay it forward.
Anyways, we got in super late (or early) slept maybe 1.5 hours, and then off to Animal Kingdom. We did the Safari ride which was SO FREAKING COOL!!! I loved taking pictures of the animals. If you didn't know better, you might have thought we were in Africa. Saturday we went to Magic Kingdom (where I rode Space Mountain FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!!) and got Minnie Ears and I rode all my favorite rides. (BUT NOT SPLASH MOUNTAIN BECAUSE THAT ONE IS TOO SCARY) So I took pictures. Find my adorable momma as they come down the drop. Then, we went to dinner at Ohana's (SO AMAZING) and then did extra magic hours in Magic Kingdom. Side note: if I ever work in Disney it will absolutely be in Ye Old Christmas Shoppe. Because Christmas and Disney. Duh. Sunday we went to Epcot but started our day with a character breakfast in Magic Kingdom. Which my sister planned super early so we could get into the parks before everyone else got in, which is perfect picture taking opportunities in front of the castle. GENIUS. Epcot was fun, but we were starting to get tired. We were running low on sleep and had walked about 20 miles in the few days we were there. We flew out late that night after another delay (Orlando airport you are killing me). Finally made it into our beds at about 2am, just in time for work Monday morning! phew. I'm tired just reading all of it. (Also a few at the end are iPhone shots and poor quality but because you have to live in the moment who cares). ALSO FLORIDA HUMIDITY IN JULY.
BUT WAIT! There's more. BUSY I TOLD YOU. We move into the end of July and beginning of August and I have my bachelorette weekend! My lovely ladies kept it a total surprise from me (I knew dates but nothing else). They picked me up and gave me my first clue...off to sushi! We had an amazing dinner and then drove to our cottage on the water in St. Michaels! The next morning we we donned our cutest outfits, gold flash tats, a fantastic sash and off we went! We went wine tasting, then on a ferry ride. Lunch wasn't complete until we had awesome ice cream (whose place escapes me). Then another ferry ride and a nap. Yes a nap. I was tired from the sun, the mimosas and the wine tasting. Plus I woke up at 3am Friday morning because I was so darn excited!! The girls all wore black dresses and I wore a white one and my sash! Naturally, I planned out a photoshoot before dinner (and before the humidity got to the hair. Which speaking of hair, Rebecca is amazing and curled everyone's hair.). Dinner was fantastic pizza and lovely conversation. My girls asked me at one point what was my favorite thing, and it was just being with them. My oldest childhood friend flew in from LA for me, for this weekend. All my girls took a whole weekend off of life to be with me, plan endlessly and celebrate! Saturday night we played a game where I had to guess who gave me what wine (with instructions on when to open) and what lingerie! We finally crashed into bed and I was terribly sad to leave the next day. We stopped for breakfast and the ever crucial cup of coffee. Sunday night there were tears because it was all over but I can't wait until October. (Couple of iphone shots at the end. because live in the moment, don't stay behind the camera)
If you are still reading this, I am so impressed. Hope you enjoyed catching up on life with me! I promise not to wait so long next time!!
xoxo
How do I even start this post. Its going to be long, so be forewarned. Let's just start at the beginning.
I've known Natalie since I started PT school. Our friendship is one of those non-traditional ones, but lets just say I'm so thankful for how the stars aligned and that she is one of my most dear friends!
At some point during school, she started "talking to" this guy who was in her class. That guy was Josh. Even in the early days, it was easy to see how smitten they were with one another.
Fast forward a year, and they moved into a place right down the street from us. I was thrilled. Our Thursday night Grey's Anatomy dates could still continue!
Fast forward a few months, and Natalie was telling me they had looked at rings. THIS WAS BIG. Being the photographer I am, I immediately reached out to Josh (without Natalie knowing) and said when the time comes, if its something he would want, I would be honored to shoot his proposal.
Fast forward a few more months and I got a message from Josh asking me to go get Natalie's ring finger sized. I concocted this elaborate scheme to make that happen (something involving looking at rehearsal dinner dresses for me and getting my ring cleaned). I couldn't have her getting suspicious.
Fast forward 2 more months, to about 2 weeks ago. I got a text from Josh saying, "Are you free next Friday or Saturday?" To which I replied, "IS THIS WHAT I THINK THIS IS??!!" And thus we started planning.
Josh wanted to propose on Federal Hill in Baltimore. Their relationship started in Baltimore, so it was a perfect place to propose. The cover story was that Natalie was going to be my model as I took some more pictures of my portfolio and then we were going to do a girls dinner! Josh went out of town, conveniently to not get back until late after our pictures were done so she wouldn't suspect anything.
Meanwhile, I had a card from him to give to her (at a specific time that he was to let me know), at which point he was to come out from where he was hiding and propose. It was really hard to stall, because I knew what was coming. The problem is Fed Hill is all open. Meaning I had no idea where he was hiding exactly, but I didn't want Natalie to accidentally see him before she was supposed to! So I kept checking my phone, and making her face the harbor (so her back was to the rest of Fed Hill) for some "wide dramatic shots". I think she got a little suspicious at that point. Finally I got the okay, and the rest is history.
The pictures speak for themselves (Can you figure out when she starts to put everything together and when she sees Josh?). It was a beautiful moment, and I'm so touched that I could be part of it. Natalie + Josh, I'm so thrilled for you, love you guys and I can't wait to watch you embark on this adventure together! Best wishes and many congratulations!!
"It's all messy. The hair. The bed. The words. The heart. Life..." William Leal
Marriage. Doing life together.
Jared and Missy just celebrated their 1st Wedding Anniversary! I had the pleasure of knowing both of them back in college when they started dating, and what a wonderful thing it is to see them with their first year of marriage down!
We chose Quiet Waters Park, in Annapolis, MD to set the stage for their photos. When we left home, it was super cloudy and had been ALL day long. Clouds aren't a bad thing, because it acts like a soft box with no harsh shadows. However, you don't get that amazing sunset! As we kept driving towards Annapolis, the clouds got less and less, until it was SUNNY! Not a single cloud. Man oh man did we luck out.
You can see from their photos, they are just as in love (if not more), than when they started dating. What a pleasure it was to work with you guys and capture this special time in your life!
I wish you all the best, for the many many anniversaries to come!
I would be remiss if I didn't start by saying that I was not the primary photographer for this wedding. The fantastic, Brittany Thomas let me come shoot with her on the most perfect day in May.
Being that I'm in the process for planning my own wedding, what this bride did 5 days before the wedding had me floored. The original venue was to be in the heart of downtown Baltimore. The couple made a big decision to move the wedding outside of the city secondary to the rioting and the imposed curfew that had been currently going on. So wow. But D+J knew that the day wasn't about their venue, but that they were getting married.
So the new venue. Guys. Wow. They got married at The Winery at Elk Manor. There are no words. The ladies got ready in the sweetest blue cottage that overlooked the water. The men got ready in a lighthouse. A LIGHTHOUSE. Everyone smiled. And laughed. I didn't once notice anyone being nervous. They were ready for this.
The bride wore a custom, blush, 2-piece dress that twirled and twirled and twirled. Any time someone came up, she very happily demonstrated the twirling capabilities of her dress!
And then there was the cake. Oh this cake and its cat cake topper. Being a cat lady myself, this cake spoke to me. I even got the name of the Etsy shop where it came from (in case I can persuade my own man to let me put it on our cake) because I loved it that much.
There were so many wonderful moments, I can't begin to cover them all. And I've already written far too much. Enjoy!
