i’m going to try to hold back the tears while typing out this post… but I’m certainly not making any promises. i’m a big fan of the TLC show A Baby Story.. the moment of truth comes when the mom is ready to have the baby.. i cringe, i squirm, i bite my nails and gasp [!!!!] riiiiiiiight up until the moment when the baby is out and the parents see that precious little face for the first time and that’s the very moment i absolutely LOSE MY MIND and cry harder than that little baby. i need a nap following that emotional rollercoster. so i thought i knew what to expect rolling into the hospital for the birth of our close friend’s first baby “Jack” on October 14th. yeah.. friggin.. right… one can never be prepared for all those tears and all those smiles. hearts were exploding all around that room.

we have been so excited for the last 9 months [i think my husband mentioned his name once a day for the entire term and how excited he was to meet him]. without going into too many dramatics this was THE most emotional day for me as a photographer in my entire 3 years of biz. Julie asked me to photograph the birth pretty close to day 1 of the pregnancy after talking to her about wanting to get into the Birth Story game. one of my favorite photographers out west [Amelia Lyon] whose blog i stalk shoots birth stories from time to time and they floor me. i was so pumped when Julie told me she was interested.. and i’m so thankful she did!! knowing and loving this family so much made me feel so honored to be a part of this day.. gosh i loved everything about it and just can’t wait to be a part of this little man’s life.

here is little Jack’s birth story…

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i usually steer clear of shooting families these days because i’m just not that good at it.. i stick to my strengths.. but i’m super excited how this one turned out… great light, great kid and a family i just love. i donated a family shoot for a local United Way auction and the winner was the Bells!! this family is very dear to us and i couldn’t have been more thrilled that they won!! yay! alright.. but at editing.. 6 more session to go!! bring it on fall!! let’s do this!

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Yay for Katlin + Dustin! I love my job for so many reasons but the best is the people I get to meet through it… like these two. Genuine people. These two aren’t tieing the knot until 2013.. but I sure hope to be there once they do. I love Neyland Stadium engagements, I love sunset lighting and I just love these two.. all in all.. this was one great fun session to edit! Thanks guys for being. so. awesome.

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Meet Frank + his lovely lovely fiance Kendra! Kendra and my hubby are friends from way back.. so when Kendra asked me to shoot her wedding David said “oh yeah! She’s a lot of fun!” He was exactly RIGHT and then some! When you meet these two it doesn’t take long to see why they have decided to tie the knot.. there are like peas + carrots, PB + J, you get the idea.. they are perfect for one another. I loved loved loved hanging out with them a few weeks ago and look forward to our Engagements Round II.. in a few weeks. Happy people are so fun to photograph! Here.. see for yourself!
** oh! and the first place we shot [the French Market].. is their favorite date spot! Can’t wait to try it out!]

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Oh, I just loved everything about this wedding! The dress, the location, the colors + flowers… but most importantly the Bride and Groom. This couple is so much fun. I wish the very very best for them and hope this isn’t the last I’ll be seeing of these two. So thankful to be their wedding photographer!! Hope you enjoy these images just as much as we enjoyed the day! Congrats Savanna + Nick!!!

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One of the most incredible people in this world is my grandmother [or Grandmom to us grandkids]. This woman is our own personal super woman in every way. She leads with her heart as she lives completely selflessly for those she loves. Completely selflessly. She has taught us all what love really means and is the best source of wisdom and strength for her entire family. She has certainly been the most influential person in my life and I’m certain countless others. With all the love and time she has given to us.. it’s now our turn to show her how very much her love has meant to us.

Grandmom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer just a few short weeks ago. Even though super woman has a rip in her cape.. she still keeps flying. She is the strongest person I know and is standing strong in the face of this villain. She will conquer it and we will be side by side with her until she does.

In honor of this amazing woman some of the woman in our family are walking the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure here in Knoxville in a few weeks. I have committed to raising $$ for the event and have put together a gallery site for you to be a part of it! Whether you have a friend, mother, daughter, sister who is fighting Breast Cancer or you want to encourage the research being done to kill this villian for good.. please donate!

********For October only any current/past clients who purchase prints from their gallery sites 100% of the proceeds will go to Susan G Komen Foundation For The Cure*********

********Also I’ve put together a gallery site with images from my Europe Trip for you to purchase prints or canvases. 100% of the proceeds from that site will go directly to Susan G Komen! *********

CLICK HERE to view THE GALLERY SITE where you can purchase prints!!!

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2 blog posts in 1 day?? craziness!

Meet Haley + Justin! The first time I did.. I knew we were a perfect match of client/photographer/turned friends! Get this.. Haley isn’t just any girl.. she’s the real deal and once Justin realized this he knew he would have to do something off-the-charts-cool to ask her to be his bride… and he did!
You think you’ve heard of a neat story and an incredible engagement? Justin took Haley to the clouds via air balloon, popped the question and became her hero!! High fives all around Justin.. way to set the bar high for great proposals!

On top of having a killer engagement story, this couple is really great. I loved hanging out with them a few weeks ago at the stadium + botanical gardens for their sweet engagement session. I look forward to many more good times with these two including their wedding next year!

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cheers! bonjour, buon giorno + ciao!!!

i can’t believe i get the chance to share this blog post. i can’t believe only 3 weeks ago we were in europe! As a photographer it is extra tough to come back from a vacation.. not only do you have to pack up and leave a land of dreams.. but you only hope hope hope that all the 100s of pictures you just took captured the memories as they were really lived. this is a long time problem of mine.. through high school and college i was absolutely obsessed [OBSESSED] with not forgetting a great memory or a great story of my life.. my camera became my record keeper and i am now so grateful for those boxes and boxes and boxes of images. it’s sad that over the last 3 years as photography has become my life.. i’ve stopped snapping every good time, every smile and every friend. i realized this while in europe and vowed to bring back the priority of documenting my life.. starting with this trip.. and BOY did i do just that!! thousands of pictures later.. i’ve finally condensed them to my very favorites.. favorites that i want to grace the walls of our new home.. favorites that i can use to tell the story of our journey.. but first i will share them with you.

if any of you are interested in gracing your walls with my images i have set up a site for you to do so.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE PRINTS + CANVASES

this trip was capital A- amazing!! i love culture, i love languages, i love people and tradition, i love history [david loves history more].. and this trip had it all. oh and i LOVE FOOD! oh, italy.. i miss you and your food.
…anyway..

our trip itinerary looked a little something like this: fly into london.. stay 2 nights [in an apartment we booked through AIRBNB.com which we LOVE LOVE LOVE].. train ride to paris with 1 night stay [also booked through AIRBNB.com] this was the biggest regret from the trip.. we did NOT stay long enough in paris.. too much too see.. such little time.. next we took an overnight sleeper train [so cool!!] to rome, italy where we stayed in the most unbelievable artist’s loft for 4 nights [booked from VRBO.com]. truth be told.. i would skip london + paris and head straight to italy if i had it to do all over again! we brought david’s amazing sister on this trip and she would slap me silly for saying i wouldn’t go back to london.. she is a londener at heart and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if she ended up living there for a time in her life.

italy is breathtaking, happy, loving, full of life and life loving people, fast paced in a taxi and slow paced everywhere else. i adore italy and was overwhelmed by it’s wimsey. please do yourself a favor and take a trip to rome.. you can thank me later.

there is so much to say about this trip.. so many laughs, so many memories, so much beauty and SO MUCH FOOD to share about.. but i will let you take it all in yourself with these images.. grab a gelati, capaccino or croissant and savor..

bye, au revoir, arrivederci, ciao!!!

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