It occurred to me last weekend while Matt and I were at the mall that I’ve never purchased a bottle of perfume for myself, and since I had some extra spending money, I decided it was about time I own that bottle of Chanel I’d been coveting for the past seven years. Poor Matt- it took me half an hour of smelling practically every perfume Chanel’s ever made (and having Matt smell them as well) to decide, but in the end I finally settled on the one I’d wanted in the first place! The pink version of Chanel Chance is just a little bit more floral-y than the white/yellowish version than I originally thought I’d wanted, but I like it better!

This may seem petty to some, but when I was choosing I refused to smell/consider any perfume that was housed in a bottle I didn’t like. That meant nothing from the Thierry Mugler line, nothing from the Dolce section, and DEFINITELY not Nicki Minaj’s perfume. Seriously- get a load of this bottle design. I wanted whichever perfume I chose to be something that I could see myself loving for a long time, and part of that involves looking at it every day! That’s not crazy, right? My Granny has worn the same perfume (Shalimar) for as long as I can remember, and part of me wants that same kind of elegant consistency throughout my life. If I have grandchildren one day and I’m still wearing Chanel perfume, I’ll consider that a success.

What’s your favorite perfume or cologne? Was I missing out by passing by the other perfume counters?

Eddie took it upon himself to make things perfect for Priyanka, and despite the frigid temperatures and unexpected snowfall, his plan worked perfectly. And they were finally able to share the good news they’d been keeping a secret with family and friends- that they were engaged, that they had almost the entire wedding planned, and that they’d been working on it for several months already. There was plenty of jubilation to go around, because if there was anything that was certain, it was that this couple belongs together.

Eddie & Priyanka, you breathe life into those around you. I’ve left every encounter with you both in an exceedingly better mood than the one I arrived in, and I am so thankful to call you friends! Thank you, thank you for one of the best Monday mornings I’ve ever had- I can’t believe we have to wait until October for your wedding!

A huge, huge thank you to Pam of ATrendy Wedding for pointing Eddie & Priyanka in my direction! Happy Thursday!

Chris & Chrissy, I feel like I’ve known you both for years and years! Thank you for letting your guards down in front of me for the  morning and for the opportunity to document your love in such an organic way. It was such a joy spending the morning in Alexandria with you both, and you have me SO excited for September!

THIS is why I love sunrise.

Happy Wednesday!

When the class was over and work brought them back to their home building, Jen began to see Charles a lot more frequently around the office… despite the fact that he worked on the opposite side of the building. It wasn’t too long after that he worked up the courage to ask her to accompany him to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert, and it wasn’t much longer after THAT that he knew he was in deep. So Charles brought Jen to the Jefferson Memorial, knowing with her love of all things TJ that she’d appreciate the location, and got down on one knee in view of hundreds of tourists to ask Jen to be his.

Charles and Jen, I had so much fun with you both in DC! Thank you both for being so flexible, and I think we can all agree that the third time was definitely the charm. I had no idea the Memorial was so perfectly lit in the evening- you may have turned me on to a new favorite shooting spot! I can’t WAIT to see you again in just a few short weeks for your wedding .

Favorite!

Happy Tuesday!

As always, lessons learned/events that transpired over the past week:

• After my dad and I’s long run on Saturday morning, I proceeded to eat my way through half a bag of kettle corn. But it’s cool, right? Calories don’t count after you run 11 miles?
• I abhor driving in DC. Really- WHOSE decision was it to close a major road during rush hour on a Wednesday evening? I was supposed to drive directly to the Jefferson Memorial and somehow ended up at the Embassy of Zambia on Massachusetts.
• Radio commercials totally work. I was driving home from said disastrous DC driving and heard a commercial for Jimmy John’s… so I immediately told Siri to find me the nearest Jimmy John’s location. And it was SO DELICIOUS.
• Is it just me or is anyone else completely exasperated whenever they see another “Fast & The Furious” commercial? I mean, seriously. It’s becoming the “Land Before Time” series of the 2000′s.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a photo of Lily, and since there was no wedding this week to issue a preview from, here you go. You’re welcome!

Happy Monday!

Happy Friday!

Greg & Jackie, all I can say is thank you. Thank you for bearing the ups and downs of the unexpected of your wedding day with such cheerful hearts, thank you for making each other a priority, and thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to photograph such a big moment in your lives. I hope the shores of Jamaica have welcomed you with white sand and blue skies!

I love petal tosses!!

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. O’Neill!

Details-
Coordinator & Event Design: Ashlee & Tricia of Ashlee Virginia Events
Venue: Merriweather Manor
Dress: Fabulous Frocks of Alexandria
Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Floral Design: Growing Wild
Hair & Make-up: Hair & Make-up by Claudine
DJ- Bialeks Music

One day I’d love to photograph a wedding in….
– Paris
– Santorini, Greece
– London (we’re doing an engagement session in London in June- that’s pretty darn close!)
– Tuscany
– Ireland
– Germany
– Switzerland
– China
– Turkey
– Australia’s Gold Coast
– California’s wine country

I’d love to shoot an elopement…
– at a carnival/state fair
– in New York City
– in an Italian villa
– at a malt shoppe

It’s on my bucket list to…
– photograph a professional ballerina
– host a workshop
– have Matt as my exclusive second shooter and business partner
– learn to shoot editorial portraiture (watching Joey L on CreativeLive was so inspiring!)
– photograph a bride in a colored dress (how about pink?)
– shoot a wedding coordinated by Rhi of Hey Gorgeous Events
– build a custom home with my very own dark room and secret passage
– attend one of Kenny Kim‘s Photoventure Italy tours
– donate my time to the A21 Campaign

Are some of these a little ridiculous? Yeah, but that’s why we call them “dreams” . What about you guys? What’s one thing you HAVE to do, one thing that lights a fire in you and pushes you to keep reaching?

^ This wedding is hitting the blog tomorrow! GET EXCITED!

Happy Wednesday!

It first dawned on me that I was making a mistake when I caught myself taking a photograph that I really and truly couldn’t justify, and honestly, didn’t even like. I was at a gorgeous venue and for some reason decided that photographing the dress outside was the perfect place to shoot, so outside we went. Something didn’t feel right, and it wasn’t until I was culling a few days later that I realized the reason behind my discomfort- I couldn’t explain WHY I’d taken the dress outside.

Before I offend anyone, let me be perfectly clear- I have no qualms whatsoever with photographing dresses outdoors . I’ve seen some really beautiful images of dresses hanging on tree branches, stone walls, etc- my friend Lauryn does it really well! But for me and my personal style as an artist, I’m discovering more and more than I prefer images that feel as though I may have happened upon the item/couple and photographed them as they are.

I won’t call myself a photojournalist- TRUE photojournalists like Jonas Peterson don’t move or style anything. If there’s a water bottle on the bed next to the shoes, that’s how they’ll photograph it, Aquafina and all. But I do want the images I capture to feel classic, authentic, organic; I want my brides and grooms to look back on their images and be able to enjoy reminiscing about their memories without the distraction of wondering why their rings were photographed on a complicated background involving their wedding cake, sparklers and a pair of cufflinks. Again, not that there’s anything wrong with that- it’s just not my style. So when I photograph something like a pair of shoes, I’ve learned that the images I’m MOST satisfied with are usually clean, free of lots of extra detail, and reminiscent of an elegant simplicity.

The same sort of idea applies when I’m posing my brides and grooms. To be clear, I DO pose my clients- I know they’re not professional models and being given direction on how to stand, where to direct their eyes, allows them to relax and trust that I’m going to make them look amazing. When I pose my brides and grooms, I’ve learned to try and filter each and every pose through the same “WHY” filter- why am I posing them this way? Is this how they may stand/sit when they’re alone, without onlookers? If the answer is yes, then fire away! If the answer is no, I reevaluate.

Sometimes, it’s fun to break the rules. Because I’m my own boss and I can. One of my favorite ring shots EVER is from Brad & Lauren’s wedding- that pink bottle of Coco Mademoiselle was calling to me. I made an artistic decision to bend my own rules and as a result, I captured an image that I will ALWAYS love. There are still elements of that classic simplicity that I love, though- the bottle of perfume is timeless, Lauren’s ring is effortlessly elegant. Would Lauren have naturally set her ring down on top of her perfume bottle like this? Probably not, but this is an instance where I took creative license… because I am, at heart, a creative.

It doesn’t always work out like that- I’ve put a lot of time in the past into creating these crazy complicated-yet-awesome jewelry shots only to look at them later with distaste- why? Because they look too contrived. Because it feels like I was trying to be someone else. And in those instances I’m reminded to ask myself WHY, and that it’s ok that my images don’t necessarily look like what everyone else is doing, that my photographs don’t involve the trendy poses I see so often on big wedding blogs. Because that call to classic? That’s what makes me ME.

As always, things that have happened/lessons learned from the past week:

• I need to embrace the fact that I’m an utter klutz. During my run last Wednesday I tripped on flat sidewalk and totally ate it, landing on my elbow and hip. I was rewarded with a a large batch of road rash on my arm and pain while walking. Perks: I DID have an excuse to sport the Spongebob band-aids my dad sent me during my freshman year of college.
• While on my flight home from Florida last week, I calculated taht with my trip to Jacksonville and my trip to Kansas city the previous weekend, I’d been at 8 different airports in 7 days. This is a record for me, and I’d like to avoid beating it in the future.
• On my flight TO Jacksonville, I sat next to an especially tall gentleman who’d played for the NBA back in the 70′s- I felt pretty famous chatting with him! It turns out he has the gift of telling it like it is- when he asked my about my band-aid and I told him I’d tripped on flat ground, he said “You’re not very coordinated, are you?” Guess not.
• Hip injuries are no joke. It’s a good thing I’ve always been a stomach sleeper because even rolling over hurts.

And (you knew it was coming) a preview from Greg & Jackie’s wedding on Saturday! Full blog post coming on Thursday!

Happy Monday!