Cooking Together Engagement Session | Jessie and Mike

Engagement, Stories Documented  //  2nd January 2014

Happy New Year! Hope you are coming off of an absolutely AMAZING break (or maybe you are still on break- better yet! ;) )! We definitely took some time to enjoy the holidays with our family and friends and it was AMAZING!… in fact, we are continuing that celebration with our family today on the blog! ;) Ahh! You have no idea how excited we are to share this cooking together engagement session with you! It is super special in so many ways!

Just before Christmas, in fact on our way back from Ryan’s birthday celebration in Charleston, SC, we stopped along the way to visit our cousins in Durham, NC! It is ALWAYS such a special treat to visit with them, but this trip was even more special because we had the opportunity to photograph my cousin Mike and his fiancé, Jessie’s engagement session!!! SO MUCH FUN! ;) Jessie and Mike wanted their engagement photos to capture the here and now of their lives! They wanted to always remember this incredibly special time enjoying the everyday of life!

Jessie and Mike cook together all the time! Jessie’s mom owned a restaurant as Jessie grew up, so we could say that being in the kitchen makes her feel right at home! ;) And Mike, well with MeMe as our grandmother, we will always have AMAZING food to look up to and try to recreate! (I think Mike would agree, we will likely always be working toward perfecting MeMe’s pies and crust! ;) )

It was such a treat for us to be able to spend the day with Jessie and Mike and Mr. Darcy (their super soft bunny that they rescued!)! They gave us such an incredible reminder of how simple love really is! We pray that these images will be an everlasting memory to Jessie and Mike of their love and happiness in the simplicity of their everyday lives! Love is pretty AMAZING, my friends! ;)

We have a super fun story to share from our Christmas celebration that involved these two! But we might just have to save that for another day because I am too excited to get this post up! We will definitely share that story soon… but just to give you a little glimpse, picture me in front of my whole extended family opening a present and busting into tears! Big tears! ;) I have more tears just thinking about it! Ohh gosh, I better go get some tissues before I start writing that one out! ;)

Jessie and Mike, thank you for bringing so much happiness to our hearts! It means the world to us that we are able to capture this incredibly special time in your lives! Honestly, it is gift that we will cherish forever!

Christmas Engagement Session in NYC | Jill and Tripp

Engagement, Love, Stories Documented  //  19th December 2013

One of Jill and Tripp’s all time favorite things to do around the holidays is go to NYC and take it all in! When they suggested a Christmas engagement session in NYC, you can only imagine how excited we were!!! There is nothing quite like NYC around the holidays and we could not wait to be able to capture the magic with Jill and Tripp!

As the day got closer and we watched the weather closely, we started to get a little nervous. They were calling for a snow and ice storm the day before (which also happened to be the day Jill and Tripp were driving to NYC!) and another snow storm the day after the session. The day of the session, it was suppose to rain. It takes a lot for us to get nervous about the weather, but this is one of those moments where we definitely refreshing Accuweather a little more than normal! ;)

After a crazy long day of travel for Jill and Tripp the day before (think 10 hours instead of 3 :( ), we were saying our prayers that the weather would clear for them! And that it did! The cloudy skies definitely created a dreamy atmosphere and a picturesque day that we will never forget!

Jill and Tripp, we had an absolute blast with you in NYC! When Ryan said my excitement was like I was a little kid in a candy store, he was absolutely correct! This was a dream for us to be able to capture the magic of your love right along with the magic of the holidays! We loved every minute of it! Thank you for being so adventurous with us and walking so much that our bodies reminded us for the full week after! ;) It was worth it! We hope these images always remind you of that special magic you two share!

 

Old Town Alexandria Engagement Session – Jen and Kevin

Engagement, Love, Stories Documented  //  12th December 2013

You may remember this SUPER sweet couple from their AMAZING surprise DC proposal that we had the honor of photographing last February! I am excited to say that we get to share Jen and Kevin’s AMAZINGNESS with you again for this super fun Old Town Alexandria Engagement Session and then again for their DC wedding in just a few months! ;) They certainly bring smiles to our faces, and we know they will do the same for you!

Jen and Kevin absolutely love Old Town Alexandria! They spent many fun dates just hanging out, escaping the hustle and bustle of DC for a bit, and enjoying brunch at Chadwicks. Now that they live a few hours away in Jersey, any excuse to get back and visit is a bonus! Especially when it involves Old Town Alexandria during the holidays! Christmas in Old Town brings out even more charm than it has during the rest of the year! (And THAT is definitely difficult to do! ;) ).

We had such a blast strolling through the cobblestone streets with Jen and Kevin! Their smiles, laughs, and happiness made for one pretty AMAZING afternoon together! We would do it again in a heartbeat! ;)

Jen and Kevin- thank you for taking the adventure to soak in the AMAZINGNESS of Alexandria with us! We loved every minute of the adventure with you! Thank you for adding to the charm of Old Town on Saturday! ;)

 

St. Mary’s Waterfront Engagement Session – Liz and Jordan

Engagement, Love, Stories Documented  //  26th November 2013

This St. Mary’s Waterfront engagement session is gorgeous. I am just going to put it out there. ;) Liz and Jordan are two incredibly beautiful people… and as AMAZING as this is, we can confidently say they are even more beautiful on the inside than they are on the outside! That says a lot considering Ryan and I both agree Liz looks just like Emily Maynard from the Bachelorette and Jordan looks like the perfect mix between Billy Bush and Channing Tatum. Haha. No, we don’t typically compare the looks of our brides and grooms to famous people, but it was hard not to for these two! ;) Maybe it was because they shared their love story with us and it definitely sounded like the best possible episode of the Bachelorette.

Liz was visiting Florida for a girl’s weekend and Jordan just happened to stay in town (when he actually had plans to be elsewhere). They found themselves at the same bar and it was pretty much love at first site! But wait- it gets even better. Their proposal… they had been doing the long distance thing for quite some time. And then one day Jordan decided to quit his job (without telling Liz this was happening) and surprise her with a visit that would quickly turn into forever! ;) He schemed a plan with Liz’s sister and friends to convince Liz to join her girls for a night out on the town in a limo (the story was that one of her friend’s won this as a reward perk for her job. The limo would swing by her place to pick her up on the way.) When the limo arrived to pick Liz up, Jordan was in the backseat with a ring in hand! Ahhh! I have goosebumps just thinking about it! How AMAZING is that?!?

Liz and Jordan have this absolutely beautiful romance and it is such an honor to be able to capture it! We photographed their engagement session on Liz’s grandparent’s property in St. Mary’s, MD. We could not think of a more perfect place to capture this special time in their lives. The beauty that surrounded them is a beauty that is incredibly familiar to them. It is one of Liz’s favorite places to escape to in the summer and she is so excited because now she gets to share this special place with Jordan too!

While we were photographing Liz and Jordan, we had the honor of meeting Liz’s grandparents, who will be sharing their Anniversary on Liz and Jordan’s wedding day! They are so incredibly sweet and this photo below on an antique couch their family brought over from Norway might just be my favorite from Liz and Jordan’s session. I know that this photo will be one that they will always hold close to their hearts. That beautiful example of love is one that we are all blessed to be in the presence of! And we are grateful to have experienced it… both with Liz’s grandparents and with Liz and Jordan too! So grateful for you all! Liz and Jordan, you make our hearts happy! ;)

Baltimore Federal Hill Engagement Session – Stephanie and Samij

Engagement, Love, Stories Documented  //  21st November 2013

A few months ago we had the incredible honor of photographing the moment Samij proposed to Stephanie. You may remember it… at Sherwood Gardens when the tulips were in full bloom! It was magical and if you are new to the blog (or even if not! ;) ), you should definitely go check it out and relive their super special day! ;)

A few days ago we met up with Stephanie and Samij during the wee hours of the morning for a Baltimore Federal Hill Engagement Session. An evening full of rain the night before made for some foggy skies that were dreamy! It was so much fun to start our day off exploring Federal Hill with Stephanie and Samij!  Hearing all about their upcoming wedding was so much fun!!

Their wedding day is quickly approaching and with two very busy work and med school schedules, Stephanie and Samij don’t get much time to just be and explore new places together! Since Stephanie goes to school in the city, they rarely come in just to hang out! So it was super fun to walk around Federal Hill with them and just have a fun morning on the town! ;) We may have even finished off the morning with breakfast at our favorite cafe, Spoons! ;) What a special treat!

Stephanie and Samij, what a perfect way to start off our Saturday morning! We loved hanging out and sharing this precious time with you! Thank you for the opportunity to capture this AMAZING time in your lives! We are so happy for you two!