Zach and Juli

Juli and I have been friends for a really long time... Maybe something about her being born on my due date and myself being born on her due date? At any rate, we had alot in common from the beginning, including lots of brothers. As a result, so many of my memories with her include banding together and trying to outdo the boys at one thing or another. As we got older and outgrew that, our conversations turned to more serious things. We had many talks about singleness and serving God... and then one day, the conversation had a different flavor. :)

Enter Zach. This is one couple that, without a doubt, will make serving God together a priority. I know this because their individual lives up to this point have been nothing less. I couldn't be happier for either of them!

This is Juli, isn't she beautiful?
Anyone who knows Juli and Zach know that they both have a great sense of humor. Here, Juli is striking her best "queen of everything" pose.
Juli, do you ever wonder what Zach will look like when he gets old? The younger version. Zach is also a good friend of outstanding character. He will lead Juli toward Jesus as only he could.
Love the vine-covered wall!
This is one of my favorites of the day.
They were incredibly blessed with good weather and a few leaves still hanging on...
Precious.

May it be everything little girls dream of. ;)
I love you both!

UPDATE: As I was editing the pictures, I came across a better picture for the caption on the picture above. Little tears might have come to my eyes when I saw this...So let me try that again: "May it be everything little girls dream of."

A backyard in Virginia

This summer, my friends Abigail and Jeremiah asked me to photograph their wedding and I have looked forward to it ever since. There are many reasons why, but simply put, because I enjoy Virginia. I love the people there. Abigail and Jeremiah were sweet, laid back and generously treated me like family, and they are surrounded by friends and family like that. And I love the beauty of the state. See below for details! The couple got married in Abigail's back yard on a gorgeous day.

It's wedding day!
Her flowers were so pretty! A little bit of western flair here.

The bling.

The wedding was beach themed...

The food was just as good as it looks, thanks to Abigail's talented friend Stacy.

The dress.
I love this little scene of Heather (another talented friend) doing Abigail's make-up. It reminds me of a little dress up scene that could have happened 10 years ago... this time its for real!The ladies.
The gentlemen.Here is Jeremiah, mustering a smile amidst the tears as he sees Abigail (for the first time that day) walk down the aisle.
Isn't this the best ceremony spot ever?During the ceremony, the couple's niece leaned over to look at me...

Their first dance. Dance lessons paid off!

The couple and I got to sneak away for a few minutes...

This is maybe my favorite of the day. Something about it. The tenderness you see here speaks volumes about their relationship.
They showed me their initials carved in a nearby tree.

Also love this one!A nice portrait.

Congratulations Jeremiah and Abigail!

Luke and Katie- part 2

It would be impossible to do justice to Katie and Luke's story in a paragraph... but I would simply say that they tried with all their hearts to honor God in their relationship and communicate to those around them that they trust God and then lived demonstrating that that was true. And God honored this in a very special way as we all gathered together to watch them join their lives together forever and know that His blessing surrounded them completely. Katie and Luke are 'God's good and perfect gift' to each other and its a beautiful thing to behold.

I was honored to stand up with Katie, and they asked if I would join them for an hour in the morning at this perfect spot to do the bride and groom pictures, then they gave me the rest of the day off. :)

This is Katie, on her way to meet Luke...
...who was waiting in the covered bridge. This is the first time they saw each other that day.
Katie, beaming...
Luke, also beaming...It was a beautiful day, especially for the middle of September in Michigan.

One of my favorites of the day...







I love you both and look forward to seeing God direct the rest of your lives together.

Luke and Katie- part #1

Katie and I have been friends forever. Together we have photo albums full of the best childhood memories that any girl could ask for. We went through the pen pal stage, have spent many weeks at each others' houses, been on road trips together, gotten into trouble together, and figured out life together. A few years ago, this great guy named Luke came along but Katie remained just as loyal as she ever was to our friendship. I appreciate that so much and look forward to more photo albums full of memories, starting with this one.

Love this one!!!Katie and Luke are adorable together. As you can see, he makes her very happy. In Katie's words, "Our life together is gonna be a party."
One of my favorites.
A nice little portrait.
Love the "realness" of this one.
Luke wasn't a huge fan of this location right away, because the "trees are so small"... but we all agreed that it turned out pretty cool.
One last shot...
I love you both! And I'm looking forward to your wedding!

Southern Style

This summer, I was once again delighted to second shoot for Hannah. Tons of fun- 1.) I love being the assistant every once in awhile because I feel like you can just shoot for "the love of the game" more than concentrating on getting each shot on the list. 2.) Because the wedding was a gorgeous outdoor Tenessee wedding, southern belle style. 3.) Because its always great to hang out with Hannah for a weekend!

Here are a few of my favorites:

The wedding site. Every Southern belle needs a plantation...
Shauna- the bride. One time I was walking through a mall and saw an image that looked something like this, larger than life, covering the back wall of a jewelers shop. I thought to myself, "If I was a wedding photographer, I would take pictures like that..." Fast forward 5 or 6 years and here it is. Booya! :) Sweet.Go to Hannah's site to check out more!