Steampunk Carnival Wedding in Savannah, Georgia

   12 years ago in high school I had a Newspaper class with a fabulous and unique girl named Blair. Always funny, always confident, and always naturally stunning. After school she followed her dreams and moved to the amazing town of Savannah, Georgia.
   Fast forward to about 2010 and I began a project called a 365, where you photograph yourself every single day for a full year. I did this to gain knowledge of photography and off camera lighting , practicing on myself before I started booking clients.
   One day Blair commented on one of those photos saying if she ever got married she was having me do her wedding. A lot of people say things like that, which I love, but most of the time it's just fluffy words, but Blair, she kept her promise, and I am SO beyond happy she did!
   3 years later in 2013 Blair sent me an email saying, if we were interested (ha! yeah, like who wouldn’t be interested in this!) she would love to talk to me about having us come down and photograph their wedding. It would be in Savannah and they already knew the theme- steampunk meets carnival.
   A couple of years before that we had visited Savannah on 2 different occasions for a vacation. The town is full of history and preserved beauty. I mean, again, come on! Who says no to that? ALL THAT!? I immediately said yes, looked up plane tickets, hotel rooms, and the rest is history.
   We got to meet Troy for the first time through a FaceTime meeting held in their living room. They “walked” us around showing us some of the pieces they had hand made for the reception and told us details about the day. They were keeping everything extremely easy going, yet at the same time, so over the top! I can't express what an amazing combo that is!
   The gear list we wanted to bring was pretty intense, so we opted to drive instead of fly. 14 hours and many miles later we made it to Savannah. We spent 1 day cruising around town with them fitting in an “engagement” session so they had some stellar shots of them as they usually are, and not in full blown wedding attire.
   I’ve never been to so many cool places in such a short about of time. And seeing the two of them in action together was awesome. Blair drove while Troy read off the list of places they thought about going. If we didn't have time the decision was made we would skip it in less than 10 seconds and they moved on. I'm the most indecisive person over, so I was overly impressed. haha
   The next day was the big day! We arrived to their historic home where they were both finishing getting ready. There was no big first look, or presentation of the bride. Blair is the last person to be over dramatic or look for special attention, and when someone made mention of seeing each other before the big moment her response was, “Eh. That shipped has sailed.” God, I love it. 
   We gathered up the family for “formal” shots, as “traditional” as you can make a plum wedding dress with fabulous fishnet gloves and masquerade masks, I suppose.
   The ceremony- breathtaking. The bridal party pictures- so fun. And the reception- one hell of a good time.
   Amazing people, amazing time, in an amazing city. Please, see for yourself. It’s totally, totally worth it.

Savannah, Georgia Wedding and Engagement Photographer

Photographing my Grandfather as he truly is

I want to share with you what I think, to date, may be my favorite image I have EVER taken. Let me tell you why. 

Last Sunday my husband and I had to do a commercial shoot for a rope manufacturer. We decided my grandparent's wide spread sycamore would be perfect for the job so we headed out to their place. 
We set up our ropes and got up in the tree. About 20 minutes in to the process I see my grandpa walking down the driveway and I gave him a wave. 
We continued to move around and shoot. A few minutes later I look down and I see this- my grandpa lounging under a large pine tree, in the middle of all the dried needles that had fallen, hands behind his head, watching us. I immediately stopped working and moved the camera to him and took a couple of frames.
I've never been able to capture my grandpa in his true element before. He takes horrible pictures. His grin is always ridiculous and we always laugh about it. 
But he's truly one of the most amazing men I know. 
To start, he's 87 years old. 
87 years old and still walking outside on a brisk day to lay under a tree. 
I really don't feel like I need to say much more. 
We got home and I browsed through everything I got that day. 
Out of all the shots we planned, swinging from branches at great heights, images that would make us money and get us published, none of them compared to the one I got of my grandpa. I saw it and was instantly filled with joy and pride. 
That awesome man, looking like a total bad ass in the photo was my grandpa, and I now had a moment that I could look at forever that truly reflected him and his whole life in one photo. 
 

Natural teen Beauties with a boho twist

This shoot explains what photographing in Michigan is like, in a nutshell. We had planned this shoot with mom in the spring. We picked a date and the weather read cold and possibly rainy. How were we supposed to do sunny boho AND the beach with no sun and goosebumps?
Well, as it goes, summer got really busy, really fast. We all know, in this state, summer lasts 3 months, if we're lucky, so you have to cram everything in in those 3 months! The girls left for summer camps, had all kinds of sporting events, and right before Fall hit, we were finally able to schedule them in!
And, of course, even at the peek of summer, the sun was still missing. Good thing I love working with artificial light, we just made our own sunshine! Off camera flash, a yellow gel, and boom- the best summer day.
I knew the girls wanted to do something natural, with a boho feel so my hubby, the unsung hero to many of my big creative projects (you can meet him here), and I pulled out tons of little down trees and branches out of the yard and now the studio is complete with a real, handmade, 10 ft tall teepee that rocks! 

I extra love this session because it's a time many moms forget to capture, and it's so important, if not the most important age!
You stay on top of the baby photos, but then your child grows in to a beautiful person of their own and you have no idea where the time went. Their photography legacy has a huge hole in it when you look back. The worst part of not capturing this age? It's the last years you will get of them still as a child, full of wonder, and innocence, before they jump on over to the adult side of the world, with it's brutal honesty, hardships, and no return. 

See how we captured these beauties. <3
 

AND. An extra amazing bonus. Mom jumped in at the very end to capture this special time with her girls. They live right on Lake Huron so we got to photograph at their home. That day the water was so beautifully blue, it was the perfect visual ending to the summer. 

---

View our full Family Gallery!

For another boho look check out Kristina's Family Photoshoot!

For more family shoots on the water check out The Burnette's Session!

---

A family session in London Ontario- pure happiness and true love

A look at family, happiness, and love through photographs.

A Family session shot in
London, Ontario Canada

   When I look through these images the first word that pops in to my head is innocence. Pure Innocence. The joy we see in the beautiful world around us because we are unknowing of anything we should fear.
   I envy children and their way of seeing the world.
   But if you look through these images, you’ll see Mom and Dad have that same look in their eyes, but it’s when they are looking at their daughter.   
   Oh, the magic of family, of happiness, and of true love.

London, Ontario, Canada Family Photographer

---

Check out our full Family Gallery!

For another shoot In London Ontario, check out Megan's Family Session!

For more fun in the sun family time check out Linsay's photoshoot!