Recent Posts

21 Random Acts of Kindness and our hearts have changed!

Gratitude, Random Acts of Kindness // 22nd July 2013

If you follow along our adventures on Instagram (Liz_and_Ryan) then you know we had a lot of fun completing our 21 Random Acts of Kindness last Wednesday. We joined over 500!!! people doing sweet things on July 17th in AMAZING honor of the 21 beautiful people from Montoursville, PA and all of the others who lost their lives on TWA Flight 800. Leading up to Wednesday, we had a list of things we wanted to do in hopes to make that day extra special for people we crossed paths with! We woke up that morning with an extra big smile on our faces knowing the impact we might be able to have! My mom even said this in a blog comment (thanks for reading mom! ;) ) and we couldn’t agree more, “If you wake up with the plan to do 21 acts of kindness the tone for the entire day is positive!”

It is AMAZING how incredible the day can be just by starting it off knowing your goal for the day is to go out of your way to do something special in hopes to make the day brighter for someone else… now multiply that by 21 and the day is pretty much magical! ;) At one point on Wednesday, I was literally skipping down the street with a huge smile on my face. I told Ryan I felt like a little fairy with a wand that was sprinkling joy all over!!! It was so much fun! And actually a really big challenge too.

The challenging part was a little bit disheartening to us… or maybe the better description of it would be eye-opening! There were a few things we did throughout the day with so much excitement… and then we watched from afar to observe how people would act on the receiving end… and for some… they just didn’t act. For some, the reaction was surprise and wow… for others, they were too busy to even notice. We created a hop scotch down the street to encourage people to take time to have fun. We watched about 20 people walk right by the hop scotch and never skip a beat. It was as if they didn’t even see it. They didn’t even take note to the message that said “have fun today.” That was kind of crazy to us… but totally eye-opening! The reality of our busy lives is that we often walk right by acts of kindness that are right in front of us and never take a moment to even recognize it or appreciate it. For those that walked right by the reminder to have fun, they didn’t even take a moment to let the smile appear on their faces!

Ryan and I sat outside on our stoop for about 30 minutes. We were about 18 random acts of kindness in and we were observing people walk right over one of them. We sat in silence and I think our minds were just working in our hearts. We knew this was a lesson for ourselves… a lesson that sometimes we just have to slow down and take it all in. And a lesson that we have a really big responsibility to help spread kindness and happiness around… because honestly, I think we could all use a little more of it in our lives! (Both giving and receiving!)

We got up from our stoop and I decided to go clear some clutter from our closet and give some of our clothing to those who need it more! On the way down to the donation box, I saw a McDonald’s Big Mac Box littered in the middle of the road. I slammed on my breaks and literally stopped the car in the middle of the road. Ryan looked at me like I was crazy and said, “what in the world are you doing?!” Once he saw the trash that I picked up, he knew exactly what I was doing. Saving the Bay, obviously! ;) It was like a no brainer at that point.

21 Random Acts of Kindness in and our hearts have definitely changed! Those beautiful friends, family and neighbors who lost their lives on July 17th, 1996 have touched the lives of so many people. Here on earth or watching down on us as beautiful angels from above, they are making this world a better place! We are so grateful for their hearts and the life lessons they are teaching us along the way!

The Oaks Waterfront Inn Wedding Photos - Jess and Chris by Liz and Ryan (13)

The Oaks Waterfront Inn Wedding Photography – Jess and Chris

Love, Stories Documented, Wedding // 19th July 2013

We are so incredibly excited to share Jess and Chris’s Oaks Waterfront Inn Wedding with you all! As I scroll through the photos and reminisce about their special day, the words vintage elegance with an Eastern Shore flair come to mind! Sounds just perfect, right?!? ;) Complete with oysters and a raw bar during their cocktail hour, and of course Smith Island Cakes for dessert, Jess and Chris know how to throw an Eastern Shore party!

However, the best part of their day was seeing the love and support that surrounded them! I can’t even count the number of times I overheard people talking about how gorgeous/handsome and how helpful their bridal party was! It’s true… they were pretty AMAZING! ;) As we were setting up the Photo Booth, we met one of Jess’ family friends, who was lending a hand with the decor and then we met another friend who was putting the flowers together for the day! Everywhere we turned, there were friends who would have done anything to help make Jess and Chris’ wedding unforgettable! And I am pretty sure they did just that!

The love and support that surrounded Jess and Chris on their wedding day is a true testament to the kind of people they are! It was mentioned over and over in their toasts… Jess and Chris are the loyal ones who would do anything to help their friends and family! They are beautiful inside and out and we could not be more grateful to have been able to be a part of this AMAZING time in their lives!

Jess and Chris- thank you so much for the opportunity to capture this special day! We had a blast and loved celebrating with you!! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs!!!

Huge thanks to all of the wedding professionals who helped make Jess and Chris’ day so special!

21 Random Acts of Kindness

Gratitude, Random Acts of Kindness // 17th July 2013

July 17th, 1996 is one of those dates we will never forget. Every year July 17th comes around and we are immediately flooded with the emotions of that day. Seventeen years later and we can still remember the details like it was yesterday. I remember waking up to the sounds of my mom sobbing as she watched CNN and heard the newscaster say that a group of High School Students from Montoursville, PA were on TWA Flight 800 when it went down. The devastation and sadness that comes over us whenever we hear of heartbreaking tragic news that happens around the world was magnified by 1 million when we saw our small town of Montoursville blasted across the screen of pretty much every major news station knowing that this tragedy was definitely hitting home. Growing up in such a small town, everyone pretty much knows everyone.

July 17th, 1996 was a day that definitely left an impact on our hearts. Through the tragedy, we witnessed our small town come together and become a stronger community. As the clouds formed the shape of an angel in the sky above our high school where people gathered to come together for love and support, we couldn’t help but know everything was going to be okay. There were now 21 additional beautiful angels in the sky who had a special way of making the hugs a little tighter.

There are no answers to the question “why”… in fact, with the most recent controversy magnified by a new documentary, there are still no answers to “how.” But the one answer that we do have is that everything happens for a reason and we have no choice but to honor those 21 beautiful people in a special way! A few weeks ago we received a facebook invite to join a group of over 200 strong in an effort to do 21 Random Acts of Kindness today in honor of those beautiful people who lost their lives 17 years ago. What an AMAZING idea.

Today, we are so excited to be out and about bringing a smile to people’s faces. With each random act of kindness, our hearts will be with each and every one of the 21 and their family and friends. With every smile, we hope we bring a million more to those family and friends as they remember their loved ones today.

Forever in our hearts… that is for sure.

We would LOVE for you to join us by doing a Random Act of Kindness today (or, I mean 21 would be awesome too! ;) !!!) Feel free to download and print these graphics and leave them with your RAK. Let’s spread those smiles today and hopefully help make those hugs a little tighter too!

Loyola Surprise Proposal Baltimore Proposal Photography TJ and Carol Photo (6)

Loyola Surprise Proposal Photography – TJ and Carol

Engagement, Love, Stories Documented // 16th July 2013

As we made our way to meet TJ to plan out his Loyola Surprise Proposal, I was talking to my best friend Megan on the phone. I told her we were on our way to meet a groom who would be proposing to his girlfriend later in the week and she pretty much jumped up and down with excitement! I could feel her excitement through the phone and in that moment I pinched myself. Yes, the words that I shared did just come out of my mouth and we are definitely blessed to be able to do what we do! ;)

We met with TJ earlier in the week to make the final plans for his proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Carol. They met at Loyola University where they lived in the same hall as First Year students. Their friendship blossomed into love a few years later and here they were just days away from being engaged! TJ had this whole plan to get Carol up to Loyola before their “dinner with a few friends” in Baltimore. (We are always so fascinated with how the guys seem to trick the ladies into something crazy on the day of their proposals! (Like, how in the world did I let Ryan blindfold me and not have any clue he was going to propose?!?! ;) lol!)) Anyway… TJ had it all planned out and we couldn’t wait to be there to capture the magic of the proposal before they made their way to “dinner with a few friends” that was actually a little party to celebrate with 40 of their closest family and friends!

Friday arrived and even though the forecast earlier in the week said it was going to be PERFECT… it poured pretty much all day. As we started to get nervous, (ok, I started to get nervous and Ryan just got more and more calm because that’s how it typically happens! ;) ) a clear spot opened up on the radar just in time for TJ to do his thing! I found my spot on the porch of the gorgeous Humanities Building at Loyola. As they turned the corner, I realized my heart was racing probably just as much as TJ’s! ;) What a magical moment!!! There is something so incredibly AMAZING about being there to witness this special special moment that TJ and Carol will always cherish with their hearts! We are so grateful for the opportunity to capture it and provide them with the visuals to never forget any of the details from that special evening!!

TJ and Carol… CONGRATULATIONS!!! We could not be more excited for you!!! TJ- thank you for reaching out to us and being such an incredible man that you are to even think of how special it would be to have this moment captured!! What a special gift for Carol!! You two are the sweetest and we are so grateful you have been brought into our lives!! Enjoy every moment of your engagement and every time you say fiancee, we hope you glow as much as you did on this night at Loyola! ;)

A Wedding at the Oaks – Jenn and Ben’s Love Story

Love, Stories Documented, Wedding // 11th July 2013

When we first met Jenn and Ben, we immediately hit it off… maybe it was when we figured out that Ben and Ryan played college football against each other while at Lehigh and Bucknell or that Jenn is an AMAZING crafter and actually owns her own crafting business… just those two discoveries made us feel like we should be best friends! ;) However, I am pretty sure (in fact, I am totally confident) the reason we love them so much is the way their smiles and personalities have the ability to light up this world! ;)

We were totally looking forward to Jenn and Ben’s wedding at the Oaks because we knew it was going to be full of big hearts and happy smiles! Ben’s family was traveling from Texas and we couldn’t wait to experience their southern charm and “Friday Night Lights” spirit! ;) We also knew Jenn would be crafting crafting crafting and their day would be full of preppy nautical goodness! ;) Sounds AMAZING, right? It definitely was… most especially because those gorgeous smiles that Jenn and Ben have never left their faces!!! ;)

Jenn and Ben’s wedding at the Oaks was so fun, so gorgeous, and all around magical! ;) Thank you so much, Jenn and Ben, for the opportunity to share in your celebration and capture your AMAZING love story as it plays out! We had so much fun celebrating with you and your AMAZING family and friends! Can’t wait to hear all about Hawaii and that magical tubing adventure in Kauai when you get back! ;) Congratulations friends!