Itzel & Salvador//Engagement

I know the weather is starting to warm up & it’s finally SPRING..but I couldn’t forget to post these wintery engagement photos that I did of Itzel & Salvador back in January!!! Itzel messaged me and asked if we could do their photos at Max Patch, which I’m always excited/eager to do!! Except, the only times I had ever been there were in April, August & October. This was my first time up there in the winter..and boy did it surprise us!!!

The second we started driving up the mountain, we started seeing all this SNOW. And when we got to Max Patch & walked to the top, there was literally feet & feet of snow!! These two were such troopers and trekked through all the snow and ice and mud to get these photos. I’d say it was well worth it :) These two were extremely kind & I had so much fun getting to know them during our session. Plus, they are literally the MOST attractive couple ever. Salvador also pulled off this cowboy hat better than anyone! It was such a fun & adventurous day with these two!!

Mallory & Grant//Engagement

Someone asked me the other day what my favorite type of sessions were to photograph, and they are simply the ones where the couples are madly in love. The couples who don’t focus on me being there, but focus on being with their loved one. And that is exactly what it was like photographing Mallory & Grant. They started dating when they were 13 (!!!) and have been together ever since. They are getting married in November and after hanging out with them, you can definitely tell their love is 10 years deep. Its effortless, genuine, and so beautiful. They texted me right before our session and told me to get ready, because they’re very awkward in front of the camera. Yet, the love they have together absolutely overshadowed their feelings of awkwardness.

Everyone gets nervous when a camera is 5 inches from their face. Yet, I’m not looking for you to be the best model or to pose perfectly. All I want is to document your love. The two of yall together. It doesn’t have to be perfect and posed. It just has to be real and genuine. And if you’re truly in love, you’ll be the best models ever, in my opinion ;)

Mallory & Grant, Im counting down the days till y’alls wedding & can’t wait to watch you become husband and wife and spend decades more together!!! x

The Best of 2018

I got in my car after my last wedding of 2018. I couldn’t have imagined a better end to the year. I pulled out of the parking lot, but the road was blurred in front of me. Tears filled my eyes. Grateful. So very grateful for this year. 

2018 was my second year of full time business. My first year, I got married, moved to a totally new place, and basically started my business all over again. It wasn’t easy. But I worked as hard as I could to make new friends, build a new clientele, and get my work out there. So, heading into 2018, I prayed and asked the Lord to give me at least 10 weddings. I felt like that was a big number. I had no clue if Id reach that goal, but I set it and asked the Lord anyway. 

Little did I know He would blow that number out of the water, giving me more than double what I asked for. Not only did He bless me with more than I asked for, but He also gave me THE best couples to work with. To meet. To get to know. To hang out with. I’ve met some phenomenal people this year. Been a part of some extremely special moments. Got to witness the start of many lives together. And for that, I’m beyond grateful. Totally undeserving. But grateful. 

I got to photograph a couple all the way from North Dakota who got married at Chimney Rock, travel to Montana for an engagement session, shoot some of our best friend’s proposal, got a styled shoot featured, was able to shoot in a few of my dream locations like Craggy Gardens and Lady Luck Flower Farm, and partnered with some wonderfully talented creatives. Never thought all of this would happen this year. But God is way bigger than my little plans. 

To all my 2018 brides and grooms, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, for trusting me with such a significant part of your lives. These images mean the world to me, because they remind me of how greatly you’ve blessed my life this year. God used YOU to show me His faithfulness, His love for me, and His blessing on my business. The highlight of my year was being a part of these moments with you. So much love for you all. 

Here are some of my favorite memories of 2018. It will be hard for 2019 to beat this.

Emily+Chase// Florence, SC Engagement

Where are the words to even describe this couple?!

I’ve known Chase for almost my whole life. Both of our families are super close and grew up doing everything together. Emily moved to my hometown a few years ago and I’ve absolutely LOVED getting to know her over the years. Chase can play the violin & guitar & can sing like nobody’s business. Emily is also a great photographer, blogger, and fashion expert (I’ve never seen her NOT look absolutely flawless). These two dated off and on for a long time but I knew all along they were perfect for each other and would eventually get married. So when Chase proposed to Emily a few months ago, it was about TIME!

I’m literally so so so excited for these two to start their lives together. They both are so dear to me & I’m so glad I got to photograph the start of their lifelong story because LOOK AT THEM. Most attractive couple award goes to these two. We got drinks at The Dispensary and danced on top of a parking garage, can’t get much better than that! Super excited for yalls wedding in February!! xoxo

Jeff + Lanier//Engagement

We had planned on taking these photos in Florence before Lanier moved back to Alabama during the school year UNTIL they decided to do them in Montana during their vacation. Without hesitation, I texted Lanier & said I would be there. I woke up at 3:45am on Tuesday morning to fly out to Montana to meet them in Missoula. We swung by their Airbnb to grab their clothes & then headed off to shoot.

We started at a local coffee shop, which was only fitting, seeing that Jeff owns his own coffee roasting business called Batch Nine Coffee Company (shameless plug). Then we decided just to drive around until we found some cool spots. Lanier & I sat in the back seat of Grammy's (Jeff's grandma) little truck while Jeff drove us around, scouting out locations to shoot. We drove up a mountain until the road got too narrow to keep going (or maybe it was because Lanier was about to have a panic attack being so close to the edge of the mountain haha). So, we pulled over & shot right off the side of the road. I made them run through grassy fields, dance on the side of a mountain, sit in front of some stranger's VW bus, ride a carousel (which was fun because Lanier grew up riding that exact carousel as a kid) and eat huckleberry ice cream. They were up for ALL the adventurous, which always makes my job way more fun!!

I spent the night with them on a trundle bed in their Airbnb (which I'm SO thankful they let me do!) and it was really cool because I usually do the shoot with my couples, sometimes grab dinner afterwards, and then go home. But spending over 24hrs with Jeff & Lanier let me see a lot more of their relationship, how they love, interact, and do life with each other. I flew out the next night to head back to SC, super thankful for couples that turn into friends and all the fun adventurous my job takes me on.