Amazing Life Experiences

Dreaming, Our Dreams  //  3rd January 2013

Ohh friends, we are SO incredibly excited to share a little sneak peek into something we have been working on over the last few months! Since the launch of Liz and Ryan, we have found a true passion in inspiring people to live an AMAZING life. By celebrating our zest for life and sharing what makes our lives AMAZING, we have realized that we truly can make a difference in the lives of others and encourage everyone to live amazingly!!! That, my friends, makes our hearts sing!

With our singing hearts, we are so so so excited to announce the AMAZING Life Experiences portion of the Liz and Ryan brand!!!

Check out the site preview at: http://AMAZING.lizandryan.com

We have so many AMAZING things planned for this year and beyond! ;)…but we can’t give them all away at once! ;) (Truth is, we are still working out the details for many of them! More to come soon! ;) ). However, we can’t leave you hanging (and plus, we are bursting at the seems to share more with you! ;) ), so we are going to let you in on one of our favorite portions of the AMAZING Live Experiences… and that is our AMAZING Life Escapes! It just sounds so fun, doesn’t it?!? We all need an escape now and then! ;)

In a few months (dates to be announced soon!), we will be hosting a 3-night getaway for couples who are excited about escaping the everyday craziness of life to discover what makes their lives AMAZING! The Escape will take place in an incredibly beautiful location meant to provide the best of both worlds… both relaxation and adventure! Through a mix of workshops, hand-on adventures, and quiet time, we plan to provide an opportunity to dream about your AMAZING life, in hopes that every couple walks away with hearts full of unconditional love, joyful happiness, and authentic gratitude! The escape will be limited to a small number of couples to create an intimate experience that is sure to lead to a life full of amazingness! ;)

Ahhh! This is so much fun to get out there! We hope that you are as excited as we are! ;) If you are interested in learning more about the AMAZING Life Escapes or even the AMAZING Life Experiences in general, please check out our initial site and take a moment to sign-up to learn more! Your sign-ups will help us gage how much interest there is and how we can help make your lives more AMAZING! Ohh Happy Day!

Make 2013 AMAZING | A Note to Self

Dream Big, Dreaming, Our Dreams  //  2nd January 2013

With our papers in hand and journals by our sides, we sat in our favorite places and hunkered down to do the “hard work!” Ryan was at Starbucks surrounded by the music and energy of the coffee shop while I was on our couch cozy under a blanket sipping my tea in silence! We have learned that these are our spots that we go to when we really need to crank it out! We set out to complete the same set of papers… a Year-End worksheet we found through our fav, Chris Guillebeau! The 25 page worksheet put together by Susannah Conway (thank you Susannah!) was a little daunting at first glance, but we knew it was everything that we needed to let our hearts wander and see where we end up.

It is amazing what can happen when you take just a few hours in “your spot” to reflect, dream, and explore! The “hard work” quickly became an incredibly enjoyable experience. The answers flowed from our hearts onto the worksheet. At one point the worksheet said:

“Imagine you are sitting in that cafe again [for me, on my cozy couch! ;) ]. Across the table from you- looking utterly fabulous- is your future self from December 2015. She has three years’ worth of wisdom to share with you- what does she say? What does she tell you to let go of? What does she tell you to pay attention to… to believe in… to trust?”

I started (as instructed) with Dear Liz: and everything else just flowed from my heart. At one point while writing, I remember thinking “gees, that is everything that I needed to hear. Thank you God for giving me the chance -in advance- to hear your words through my future self. ;) I am going to share my letter with you, because it might just be God’s way of making sure everyone hears what they need to.

Dear Liz:

You are right where you are supposed to be. God has led you and Ryan down this path because He believes in you and has given you the talents you need to make a difference in the lives of others.

Although you may not feel like your audiance is large enough or you are not reaching as many people as you hoped- you should know that every single person you meet/touch has been impacted by you. Your audiance will grow organically- especially if you have patience. Trust that God will take care of you.

Focus on you and Ryan and don’t let what other people are doing distract you. Stay true to who you are and go where your heart may guide you. Embrace your love that you and Ryan share and know that God is using your relationship as a model/example for others- to give them faith and fill their hearts with love and joy.

Let go if the things that are not important. If it causes stress, it is probably not worth your time and energy. Let someone else take that off your hands. Trust in God and lead with your serving heart.

With love.

<3 You

As you begin this new year, we hope you are taking some time to reflect, dream, and explore! Find your spot and hunker down for some “hard work” that will definitely leave your hearts smiling!

Here are a few of our favorite Year-End guidelines to get you started:

Susannah Conway’s Workbook

Chris Guillebeau’s Annual Review Guidelines

Lara Casey’s Goal Setting Part 1 and Part 2

Emily Ley’s Financial Worksheet

 

Photo Contest: Win a FREE Photo Session!!!

Engagement, Life, Love, Stories Documented, Wedding  //  1st January 2013

Happy New Year!!!  Wahoooo! We just did a little cheers with our mimosas and good friends Natalie and Hugh…to making 2013 the most AMAZING year yet! We are so excited to think about 2013, but first we are taking a good look back at 2012 with hugely grateful hearts!

It is so incredible to look back over 2012 and think about all of the AMAZING couples who have touched our lives in such a special way! Every single photo session that we have done has left a special mark on our hearts. We always take so much away from each session… unconditional love and joyful happiness are two of our favorite takeaways! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for trusting us as your wedding, engagement and anniversary photographers! This year we even took a sense of adventure away from many of our sessions!  It is crazy to think that we photographed in Paris, Barcelona, Mexico, Punta Cana, Southport, NC, Annapolis, the Eastern Shore, Baltimore, Altoona, PA, Montoursville, PA, Rye, NY, Winston-Salem, NC, and so so so many more locations! Wow! We are so so so grateful for every couple we have had the honor of photographing and for the every adventure they have taken us on!

This year, we wanted to do something EXTRA special for our couples to say THANK YOU for such an AMAZING year! We are hosting a Facebook Photo contest (that is live now!) and we are giving away (not just 1) but 2 photo sessions!!! We pulled 1 photo from every couple’s session we photographed this year and put them on Facebook. The photo that gets the most votes by Monday, January 14th will win a FREE photo session that can take place anywhere in the United States! ;) (Yes! We will travel to wherever our couple would like to go! Who knows… maybe if they talk us into it we would even go abroad?! ;)) The official rules are on the Facebook Contest site. And there is something AMAZING in this for all of the voters too! We will choose 1 person from all of the voters at random to win the 2nd FREE photo session! AMAZING, right?!  Honestly, we are so so so grateful for all of the AMAZING people our business has brought into our lives, this is just our little way of giving back to all of you!

Now, don’t wait… please go vote! And share the contest with all of your family and friends too… maybe if they win the photo session they would share the love with you!?! Who knows!

Thank you again for making 2012 such an AMAZING year! Our hearts are so full of gratitude! Happy 2013!

Make 2013 your most AMAZING year yet! | Embrace Change

Amazing Life Manifesto, Dream Big, Dreaming  //  31st December 2012

Wahooo! We are so excited to be kicking off our 2013 a little early with a new AMAZING Life Manifesto Video! We are chatting all about Embracing Change in order to make 2013 your most AMAZING year yet! It is the beginning of a new year and is the perfect opportunity to let go of everything in the past and charge ahead! Seek out what you want to make happen and DO IT! ;)

We have SUPER FUN news to share with you all! We will be going on tour with Justin and Mary and their What’s Next Tour in January. That’s right, on a bus we go for 3 weeks to come to a city near you! We will be making 10 stops (sorry we messed that number up in the video!) within the United States beginning in LA on January 8th! Yes, we are super pumped to be out and about with our AMAZING friends Justin and Mary, Jeremy and Ashley, and our friends from Showit… but what we are honestly the most excited about is seeing the change that takes place in people’s heart as a result of going to this workshop! Mary is by far the BEST speaker we have ever heard speak. EVER! And she does not hold back. She will be the push you need to kickstart your 2013 and make it the most AMAZING year of your life! And for all of our photographer friends, Justin will be teaching a lighting portion of the workshop that will rock your world! He is so incredibly talented and we could probably say has taught us 99.9% of what we know about lighting! He is AMAZING!

Ok- so hopefully we have now talked you into joining us on one of the stops across the country! It keeps getting better…. not only do we have big hugs to share with you when we see you at one of the stops, we have a discount code just for you to help you get there!!!  Go to http://thewhatsnexttour.com/#/tickets and use the code: lizandryan to get $50.00 off your full day seat!  Seriously friends, do everything you can to make it to a stop of the What’s Next Tour. We are so excited for you to kick your 2013 off right!

Let go of 2012 and embrace the new beginning! Embrace Change!!

 

Naval Academy Wedding Photography: Jen and Scotlin’s Love Story

Love, Stories Documented, Wedding  //  28th December 2012

There was something incredibly calm about their day. Jen was as relaxed as can be! As the craziness of “bridal time” (regular time fast-forwarded) surrounded her, she stayed calm knowing she would soon see Scotlin at the end of the beautiful Naval Academy Chapel aisle.

Scotlin stood at the end of the aisle looking calm and ready to go. The moment where he would finally see his bride walking down the aisle in her gorgeous dress was finally here. As soon as he could see her, his face lit up with a big smile! This was that moment he had anticipated for so long!

Jen and Scotlin’s wedding was not only a celebration of their love and their union… it was a celebration of their strength and courage. Scotlin had recently returned from a 6 month deployment where he and Jen had very little contact. As hard as those months certainly were, they knew they had so much to look forward to in the weeks ahead! Their love certainly shined through and now they are celebrating with a wedding, a surprise honeymoon to Italy (AMAZING!!), the completion of their new home they built… and even a new puppy! So much happiness!

Jen and Scotlin, we are so grateful to have been a part of your gorgeous day! Thank you for the opportunity to celebrate along side you! Congratulations on all of your excitement ahead! We wish you nothing but the very best!!!

Thanks to all the awesome vendors that made Jen and Scotlin’s wedding AMAZING!

Naval Academy Wedding Photography: Liz and Ryan | Photo Booth: Liz and Ryan | Invitations and Stationery: Allison Barnhill Designs | Hair: Sherri Hoover, Bodywellness Salon and Spa | Florist: Intrigue Designs | Venue: United States Naval Academy | Reception Venue: Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel | Bakery: Fiona’s Cakes | Transportation: Towne Transport | Bride’s Attire: Mary’s Bridal | Bridesmaid’s Attire: David’s Bridal | Groomsmen’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse | Wedding Bands: Zachary’s Jewelers

Enjoy more of Jen and Scotlin’s Naval Academy Wedding Photos in their slideshow below and be sure to leave Jen and Scotlin a comment to congratulate them!