a ring and a date

How could I forget to post these! I seriously almost did. I was looking through my flickr and thought, wait a minute, what are these doing here? Uhhh, hello!

Evan approached me a couple months ago about doing their wedding pictures. Still very wary at the time and not even sure how to sell myself as a wedding photographer, they decided to book me. The confidence i've received from others, believing that I could do this even when I wasn't sure myself, is huge. HUGE.

We got all the paperwork together and when I talked with them about engagement pictures, I realized that (for me) engagement pictures aren't even an option. I feel so strongly that I need to connect with the people that I'm working for in order to give them what they are hiring me for. I don't want to show up the day of the wedding only having talked over coffee about money and contracts... I want to know their real personalities and the reasons they fell in love with eachother.

So I convinced them that this was mandatory :D And about a week ago, we set out to capture them in their young love.



Wouldn't you know, this was the first thing we came across on University Ave. I had seen some pictures on Kristina's website (she was also my friend Melissa's wedding photographer) that had been taken up on University and was set on the spot for Evan and Taryn.



I'm sure we're not the only ones to have used this spot for photographic opportunities, and I was proven right when Susie left me a comment to tell me that her bridal shots were taken here too!







We walked in the back way to the Eastman house and utilized the lovely gardens for awhile...



and then there was this. I have nothing to say here... a LOL is not nearly adequate to describe the way I feel about this.







It started to rain midway through, which I expected, so we got in the car hoping to drive long enough that it would stop raining. We were looking for a big open field, but when we drove by these train tracks and the station, it was love.



Seriously, how hott are they.





I want to look this amazing in plaid when I have engagement pictures taken.



I am soo excited about shooting your wedding in September! I cannot wait seriously. I am so glad that you chose me, I cannot thank you enough!

Riley (Rochester children's photographer)

Last summer as I was getting started, I used craigslist to try and get some bookings. And while I didn't have much luck with it, I did have a little :)

Denise emailed me interested in doing family portraits, and although I had not much of a portfolio to show her, still booked me! I met them up at Charlotte (pronounced shar-LOT for all you out-of-towners ;) beach and went from there. Riley had just turned 1 at that time and I was just dying to take pictures of chubby sandy baby toes. Seriously.

And I got to!



The last time I saw her, this is what she looked like. We all know that babies turn into kids, but it's always a shock to actually see it happen!



We met up at beautiful Highland Park to take these pictures. It was a gorgeous morning, shining sun hidden by clouds and it was the perfect balance of humid and hot.







Riley was an absolute pleasure to take pictures of. She knew just how to say "cheese!" and smile :) I got so many awesome shots of her, it was very hard to pick the best ones.



But these moments are my favorite. The precious "in between" shots... that's what you'll really want to remember when you're picking out pictures for her high-school graduation slideshow :)







Can she get much more adorable? Like, seriously?

I'm totally honored that you asked me to do pictures for you again this year Denise. What a compliment! I can't wait to see your new little one in the fall :)

Nate and Em... Married!

Somewhere along the way, in my endeavors to steer clear of wedding photography, I somehow got sucked in... I'm still working through my feelings about it. Because I honestly love so much being able to give people pictures like this that they'll have forever to remember their special day, but at the same time... it's really hard. and I question myself so often as to whether i'm up to the challenge. I'm figuring it out, but in the meantime, the weddings keep coming to me. I've booked 3 more weddings for the summer/fall and am very excited to keep up the trend... but when can I stop questioning my abilities?

TMI I'm sure. Like, you don't come to this blog because you want to hear my introspective thoughts on my own talent. So onward we go!

I had the pleasure of working together with Rachel at Savor Photography to do my friends Nate and Emily's wedding.

Threats of rain loomed over the day, and after having shot my first wedding in the slush/snow/rain, I was prepared, if not a little disappointed :( But the day turned out to be beautiful. It rained, but only during the ceremony.

I may or may not have been able to narrow these down... so there's a ton... oh well :)









































































This last picture is of me and my assistant Bekah. You'll be seeing her on here in the coming months as she's working with me at weddings to pay for senior pictures! I love this girl, she is amazing and helpful and I love that she's 17 years old but I feel like we are peers. I'm looking forward to doing pictures with her soon :)

I'm so pleased with how this whole wedding went. It was a pleasure doing this for such good friends, and I was so honored to be a part of their day! Love you guys!