down on the farm...

Dawn had been telling me for months now that she wanted to do a shoot with all of their family on the farm where her mother grew up. We finally scheduled a date and headed out early one morning for the trip to the farm. I was armed with camera equipment and absolutely no knowledge of what to expect. From the moment I drove down the long driveway, I knew that this was an amazing place. A place full of history and memories and experiences. The house itself is truly incredible with its wrap-around porch and tall windows and doors. And the land just seems to stretch on forever. The best thing about this shoot though truly was watching this family enjoy it all together. They explored the old barns, took turns on the 4-wheelers, climbed on the hay bales. A day in the country that I know they will not forget.

Can't you see how pretty this home is?
The kids were all truly interested in exploring the farm. It is easy to see what a cool place this would be to come with your family.
Scott loves pictures.
The view from the house...
All the kiddos. (Jake had had enough of pictures. Also, there were no guard dogs.)
I was told that a picture of this (former) post office hangs in the Smithsonian Museum. How cool is that?

You cannot take a picture of the Harrisons without getting this shot. They just won't let it happen.
The always adorable Fischer.
I love the vintage-y feel of this one.

Jeremy & Katie:engaged!

I had SO much fun taking these engagement pictures of Jeremy and Katie. They are a beautiful couple and it was a beautiful afternoon with the most perfect light that fall can offer. One of my favorite things was just getting to hear their story and see the way that they have been prepared for a lifetime together. It is crazy to think that it took them a while to finally start dating because it is so obvious that they are the perfect match! We are looking so forward to their wedding in January. Here is their slideshow.

fall leaves...

You never know what to expect in a session with a set of barely two-year-old twins and their three-year-old brother. I made it my goal on the way there to just get one shot where they were all looking at me. I have to honestly say though that the Armstrong kiddos were just awesome. It may have been the prettiest day of the whole fall on the day of our shoot and they were so willing (with only the occasional two-year-old no!) to play in the leaves and explore their backyard with me. I could have taken their pictures all day long! Here is the link to their slideshow!

Lindsey and Vince

Vince and Lindsey had a beautiful wedding day from start to finish. The weather was perfect, the details exquisite and the bride truly could not have been more gorgeous if she tried! From the first day I met with Lindsey, she was so excited about all the plans for her wedding-the veil, the trolley, the getting ready suite. It was one of those weddings where I can truly say the vision from the beginning was truly executed in the day. And the fact that Lindsey and Vince are surrounded by so many friends and family who love them was really what brought it all together. We were so grateful to have the privilege of photographing their day! Click here for their slideshow.

Getting ready was an event in itself for Lindsey and Vince. They really took the time to enjoy the preparation process! What a gift to not have to rush this part!


Lindsey's amazing dress and shoes!



The details of this wedding were incredible. I know I've said that like twelve times but it's true! Hoover Florist did an amazing job on these bouquets!




Super cute flower girls!


Lindsey is a supermodel.





Lindsey had her bridesmaids just choose a dress in a different fall color. Don't the colors look awesome? As the girls were dressing, the zipper on one of the dresses broke! It would have been more traumatic had they not had different dresses already! Luckily the getting ready suite was in a hotel connected to a mall so the bridesmaids made a mad rush for a new dress just hours before the wedding. Funny now but stressful then!



First dance.



This may be one of my all-time favorite pictures!

Ashley Mac's

I am sort of obsessed with strawberry cake. On the whole, I do not have what you would call a sweet tooth. I will almost always take chips and dip over something sweet. But I have a thing with strawberry cake. For years, I have requested the strawberry cake from a local bakery for my birthday because it has been my very very favorite. I swore it was the best strawberry cake in the world.

But that was before I tasted Ashley Mac's.

And that was when everything changed. It is the very best strawberry cake I have ever had. I can't wait to eat it for every birthday for the rest of my life. And any other time I can think of a good excuse to have it.

If you have not been to Ashley Mac's, you are really missing out. They are a catering service who also offers boxed lunches and to-go dinners that you can pick up. I have ordered their casseroles (there are tons of awesome choices) for dinner parties and it makes it like a gazillion times more fun than cooking. Ashley felt like they needed some pictures of some of their most popular items to hang up in the shop so she asked us if we could help them out. Corey took all of these pictures and did an amazing job showing the absolute yummy-ness that is everything they make. I am so happy to post some of Corey's pictures other than weddings on this blog for a change.

Here it is. It will change your life.

A piece of this came home with us. Also incredible.
If you are like us, you are always on the search for great chicken salad. This is just about as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned. I think I might go get some out of my fridge right now.
I don't even know what kind of dressing this is on this salad but I think that I could drink it. We were so excited that Ashley let us take home all of the food we photographed for dinner that night. I really did not want to share this salad with Corey. There. I said it.

Actually I just realized that these did not come home with us and so I have yet to try these amazingly beautiful strawberry cake TRUFFLES. Seriously, how amazing does that sound? Plus they're so pink and pretty.
Ashley Mac's also ships their yummy brownies and they come in this adorable box. Doesn't it make you just want to give someone a present? And share the brownies that are inside of it?


If you are not hungry after seeing all of these, I am very impressed.

election day 2008

I was so excited to take Grayben with me to vote today! I remember going with my mom to vote when I was a little girl and the experience of going in the booth and pulling the curtain. I know that Grayben won't remember this experience but I want him to know that he was there! I am always overwhelmed at the opportunity we have to voice our opinions and so grateful to be able to cast my vote. I hope all of you were able to cast yours as well! No matter what, this is a historic day and I am so thankful to be a part of it.

this just in...

I have an open time slot this Saturday at 12:15 for pictures. If you want it or know anyone who does, just shoot me an email!

checking in...

Well, as usual I managed to eat way too much candy without doing any trick-or-treating personally. Luckily the older brother of the one trick-or-treater that came to our house took all of the Reese's cups out of our candy bowl so I don't have to worry about that this week. Just the banana Laffy Taffy. Things continue to be crazy around here but it's also really fun in the midst of the craziness. I am looking so forward to the holidays coming up and am so so happy that the season is upon us! I'll be updating the blog this week as much as I can...there is so much to post. Weddings from the summer that still haven't been posted as well as so many fun kids and families that I can't wait to share. We really have the best job ever.

And just to kick off the week, I found this picture on my desktop and thought I'd post it because it makes me laugh. This is a shot from the super impromptu maternity shoot I did of Andy and Kelly in September before baby arrived the next week. Though Andy's smile looks like he knows, they really had no idea that their photo session was being crashed by a certain sweet baby!