Abby Grace Photography blog

Rici - April 30, 2013 - 7:40 am

Love the warmth in the first images!! Greatly done Abby!
& the coke bottles, colorful decoration & super stylish prints!
~ Saluti.

Megan Guernsey - April 25, 2013 - 3:00 pm

Beautiful setting, I love barn weddings. And those programs… adorable!

Kathy Eisele - April 25, 2013 - 2:28 pm

The blue and orange men were the groom’s brother (orange) and brother-in-law (blue). Just a private Dumb and Dumber joke between the boys.

Sarah Adams - April 25, 2013 - 1:01 pm

GORGEOUS. Especially love the last sparkler shot!!! Sooo romantic. You’re amazing, Abby!!!

Shalese Danielle - April 25, 2013 - 12:49 pm

LOVE the black and white photo of them dancing and the very last sparkler kiss!

Regan Carter - April 25, 2013 - 12:38 pm

What a gorgeous wedding!! Loved all their details, especially her bouquet! Their first look photos were so great! Beautiful, beautiful as always!!

Lauren Hammond - April 25, 2013 - 12:38 pm

Abby!!! Love these images!!! Probably one of my favorite weddings you’ve shot!!! The covered bridge=magical!!!

Chelsey May - April 25, 2013 - 12:10 pm

Abby these are beautiful!!! You did an amazing job at capturing all of these moments!!!!!! <3

Jill Powers - April 25, 2013 - 12:10 pm

Abby! I just looooove these! They’re so light and bright and beautiful! Great job!! xo

Nora - April 25, 2013 - 12:08 pm

Abby! These images are amazing!! Just looking at the photos I was able to relive the day Stunning!

Elizabeth V - April 25, 2013 - 12:07 pm

So Lovely, as always, Abby!
Just curious…. do you know the story behind the orange man?!

Rebekah Hoyt - April 25, 2013 - 12:02 pm

SO beautiful! I love the rustic and romantic feel of this wedding. I am obsessed with her DRESS, her bouquet, and the cake – such great details!!

Apr 24 2013

Pictures that heal

If I’ve learned anything watching my parents’ marriage growing up, it’s that love takes on many different forms. 1 Corinthians 13:4 tells us that love is patient, kind, it doesn’t envy, boast, rejoice at wrongdoing; it’s not rude, arrogant, irritable or resentful, it doesn’t insist on its own way. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

Love never ends. Never ever. Not when things are difficult, not when the person you love is making it really hard to FEEL lovely toward them, not when they hurt your feelings. Love never ends. Never.

But sometimes, things ARE difficult- sometimes you’ll find yourself going through an especially rough patch, or feel like you’re stranded out at sea with no idea how you got there. Sometimes love hurts. And in those moments of sadness or loneliness or hurt, I believe that photographs have the unique power to heal.

I believe that when you find yourself angry with or upset by your husband or wife, that taking a moment to pull out your favorite image from your wedding day can remind you WHY you fell in love in the first place, can help you remember how you felt the day your pledged your lives to one another, and can remind you that even though things may be difficult at the moment, that your love is worth it. That your marriage deserves to be championed and fought for.

I believe that a photograph can bring comfort during long deployments, when the absence of your other half hurts so badly you think it might literally break you in two.

I believe that, in the unimaginable event of losing a loved one, a photograph can bring about a smile, a warm memory, and the knowledge that the ones we love never truly leave us.

I believe that photographs can help to heal a broken heart, can show a person their own beauty in an irrefutable and irreplaceable way.

I believe that God uses photographs to redeem and renew us, to remind us of our promises we made to love and cherish, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, from that first day of marriage, for as long as we both shall live.

I believe that photographs can heal, redeem, and affirm us all. THIS is why I do what I do.

This photograph is my favorite in the entire world. It’s of my parents on their wedding day. Things in my family have been really hard at times over the years and watching my parents’ relationship endure everything that it has has taught me that if they can make it through the not-so-pretty/downright painful periods, anything is possible.

Happy Wednesday, friends.

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molly stillman - April 25, 2013 - 10:00 am

this is a beautiful post, abby. <3

Karen Fied - April 25, 2013 - 1:50 am

We didn’t have a fabulous photographer for our wedding, nearly 33 years ago. These 2 guys were just getting their business off of the ground. We had to choose 20 photos that we wanted and they were alright. But, my aunt and uncle were semi-pro photos themselves so they caught much more, like Abby would. The picture above was caught by them after taking a photo of the two of us with our hands over the marriage certificate, wearing our brand new rings. I just fell back into Tim’s, aka Dad’s arms from fatigue from the end of the reception before leaving for our honeymoon. I have always treasured that shot above all others of that day. Thank you, Abby, for your words about us. The pictures really do help when things hit a rough patch. Too bad we didn’t have an Abby Grace around to put her magical touches on things! I would totally order a wrap-around of this shot!

Eryn Kesler - April 24, 2013 - 6:26 pm

Love this! I need this reminder today, about what love is NOT It seems I need a heart change today with my kiddos. Thanks for the sweet gentle reminder. xoxo

ashley link - April 24, 2013 - 5:52 pm

wow! this is so heartfelt and i can totally identify with this, especially after today! you are wonderful, abby! <3

Michelle Amarillo - April 24, 2013 - 5:47 pm

Oh Abby! You hit the nail on the head! Right before my husband left for his deployment in 2010, we had our pictures taken by Jill! I looked at those pictures EVERYDAY he was gone! I could just hear us laughing every time I looked them! Pictures are snapshots of moments in your life you want to remember and when times are rough those pictures remind you why you fell in love in the first place! What a great post! And I LOVE the comment your Dad left, what a great man!

Alexandra {Heart Love Weddings} - April 24, 2013 - 5:25 pm

This is so powerful, Abby, and beautifully written. You give people a true gift when you take their photograph. It’s an amazing, amazing thing.

Kaitlyn Phipps - April 24, 2013 - 4:47 pm

ummm your dad’s comment about made me CRY! :]

Morgan T. - April 24, 2013 - 4:33 pm

“When the absence of your other half hurts so badly you think it might literally break you in two.”… You took the words right from my heart. I’m so thankful you were able to help me before our deployment…

Sarah B. - April 24, 2013 - 11:24 am

Love this, thanks, Abby!!

I can 100% relate to and agree that our engagement pictures brought joy and peace to me while Greg has been deployed as well as stationed overseas. I am SO appreciative of the pictures you have already given us and the role they have played in my heart. Thanks! I am so excited to add even more soon!

Sarah Adams - April 24, 2013 - 10:35 am

Abby- This is so beautiful. I really feel like printing this out and framing it in my office. Such an amazing reminder.

Megan Guernsey - April 24, 2013 - 9:25 am

Beautiful post!

Dani - April 24, 2013 - 8:31 am

Beautiful post and I couldn’t agree more.

Dad - April 24, 2013 - 8:27 am

I have that picture on my phone so that I see it every time I use it and it helps remind me to be the man I promised to be nearly 33 years ago.

Alison - April 24, 2013 - 8:25 am

This is so perfectly written and so true!

Chelsea Batey - April 24, 2013 - 8:18 am

Not the first time I cried reading your blog…

Rebekah Hoyt - April 24, 2013 - 8:15 am

This is beautifully written, Abby, and SO true! There is so much power behind a photograph and many times we let so many little things fog our view of that. Thank you for sharing this!

Elizabeth V - April 24, 2013 - 8:09 am

Oh Abby, I couldn’t agree more. Beautiful.

Jill Powers - April 24, 2013 - 8:08 am

This is so beautiful! Thanks Abby!!

Apr 23 2013

A preview!

Hey friends! Super short post today- I’m in Richmond for an e-session and a breakfast date with my sweet friend Kerith. Enjoy this fun preview until Drew & Morgan’s full post next week.

Happy Tuesday!

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Sarah Adams - April 23, 2013 - 2:22 pm

Everything about this shot is adorable! The hanging flowers, the sweet dip, the leg/foot kick…SO cute.

Sarah B. - April 23, 2013 - 11:16 am

LOVE.

Rebekah Hoyt - April 23, 2013 - 8:45 am

SO cute! Love those hanging flowers!

Jean - April 23, 2013 - 8:19 am

Sweet!

Apr 22 2013

Monday Mash-Up

Have any of you guys seen “She’s The Man,” that Amanda Bynes movie where she impersonates her brother to get on the soccer team? The headmaster of the school she’s attending (also Tobias in Arrested Development) has this nerdy welcome song he sings to new students. And anytime someone says “Welcome, welcome!” I always want to sing the welcome song, but I don’t because I know it would just make me look weird. So what I’m saying is, everyone else needs to become as familiar as I am with She’s The Man so I don’t feel like I have to surpress the urge to sing. Ya dig?

This weekend was wonderful! Josh & Lorinda’s wedding on Saturday was just so sweet, and yesterday was my dad and I’s first long run of the year- it felt GOOD to get back on the trail. The past two times we’ve run the marine Corps Marathon, we somehow crammed 17 weeks of training into 12- not something I recommend at all. The first year I barely managed to finish because my body was just NOT ready, and the second year, while better, still look longer than our goal finish time. This year, we’re starting training earlier so that the 15-20 mile long runs this summer don’t come as such a shock! Plus, then I can be ready for swimsuit weather prior to September.

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

People in Frederick, MD are a lot nicer than people in northern Virginia/DC. This past Saturday we shot Josh & Lorinda’s First Look at a one-way covered bridge, meaning we were constantly getting in the way of cars coming through. Instead of honking and making rude hand gestures like I’m pretty sure we’d get around home, people waved us to continue on- “we’ll wait! It’s your wedding day!”
Last Tuesday I decided to start a garden. This consisted of walking into Home Depot, choosing an assortment of plants, a cute pair of gardening gloves and 2 square feet of dirt. I should have know this wouldn’t work out- I’ve already killed one of the plants I bought, which shouldn’t surprise me since I managed to murder the succulent plant on my desk, a plant that requires minimal watering and sunlight.
Teaching Sunday School for the 2-4 year olds at church is worth it JUST to hear some of the adorable things they say. Yesterday they were coloring pictures from the lesson when little Shawn popped out with “I hope God has red hair.”

One more preview from Saturday!

Happy Monday!

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Mia Bjerring - April 23, 2013 - 8:00 am

Gorgeous preview! Can’t wait to see more! And I’ve that movie She’s the man – it is funny!

Sarah B. - April 22, 2013 - 9:44 pm

I LOVE She’s the Man!

And God with red hair – that’s just awesome

Emily Wright - April 22, 2013 - 4:48 pm

I really like that movie! You totally aren’t weird for wanting to sing randomly. My kid’s name is Shawn. I think that it is a requirement that all Shawn’s are totally hysterical!

Becca B. - April 22, 2013 - 2:07 pm

Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome tooo Illyriaaa… I just wanted to bring you here to say WELCOME!
Do not touch that. Ever. Do not do that.

Love that movie, and love this preview picture! Beautiful!

Regan Carter - April 22, 2013 - 12:48 pm

Oh my word, I totally speak She’s the Man. Between that and Pitch Perfect, nearly all conversation can be covered! I’ve got a lifetime of knowledge! Love the sneak peek! Can’t wait to see the rest!

Jean - April 22, 2013 - 11:49 am

Beautiful picture! Hope your gardening skill improve. Now I have to see that movie. Love your Monday Mash-ups!

Lorin - April 22, 2013 - 11:40 am

that songs pops into my head when I hear a double welcome, too! my roommates & I watched that movie probably 50 times in college. and constantly quoted it.

“Here’s your BOOKS.” “I made breakfast, darling!”

what a beautiful shot of the couple. happy Monday!

Kelsey Dixon - April 22, 2013 - 10:50 am

Abby the photos I’ve seen so far are beautiful!! You were such a joy to meet!!! Great job, and I can’t wait to see more of Lorinda’s pretty face Oh, and I guess Josh can be some pictures too…

Lorinda Lukenbach - April 22, 2013 - 10:43 am

I really wish I would have know how much you love She’s the Man prior to Saturday!! Nora and I quote that movie ALL of the time.

P.S. We LOVE that picture can’t wait to see more when we come back since we’ll miss out on the blog post next week!

Hannah Rancourt - April 22, 2013 - 9:52 am

“I got a lifetime of knowledge!” I love that movie!!! Amanda Bynes is hysterical!

Apr 19 2013

The evils of my Facebook newsfeed

Do you ever have one of those days when you put a lot of effort into your outfit, know you look adorable, and then meet up with a friend who looks 10x better and you know they barely tried at all? That’s how it feels sometimes when I look at my Facebook newsfeed and see images from other photographers. Last week I’d just finished editing an engagement session I really, really loved when I checked into Facebook. Lo and behold, there was an Instagram from someone else who’d just finished an engagement session too, and in less than three seconds I managed to convince myself that her one Instagram was better than my entire session. That all of her work is always better than everything I’ve ever shot. Ever.

^ That is absurd.

I heard a phrase a few weeks ago, something about “we compare other’s highlight reels to our own outtakes.” AMEN. We do! And you know what it does? It makes me ungrateful for what I already have, for what I’ve already accomplished, for the gifts God’s already given me. I’m so excited for every one of my 2013 couples, and on top of all of the gorgeous Virginia and Maryland weddings I’m shooting, I also get to travel to Kansas City, England and Puerto Rico- what an absolute dream come true! To say that I’ve been blessed would be an enormous understatement. But how quickly I forget those blessing, those wonderful gifts when I log onto Facebook and see that so-and-so just booked another wedding in California this year. How quick I am to sit down and count out how many weddings I’m not shooting on the West Coast, and how short a period of time it takes to convince myself that because I’m not being flown to California to shoot, that I must not be a very good photographer.

Guys, none of that crap matters. I have 19 amazing couples I’m photographing this year- 19 brides and 19 grooms who are trusting me to preserve the memories of their day with my own distinct style, 19 couples who wanted to be ABBY GRACE brides and grooms, not so-and-so’s brides and grooms. Men and women who chose me because they love my photography and because our personalities clicked, because they saw something special in me.

This ugly game of comparison has to stop- it’s poisoning my heart and sapping my joy. So I’m doing two things: I’m swearing off my Facebook newsfeed and my Instagram feed. Because never have I EVER looked through either one and felt BETTER about myself as a result- I always walk away from it feeling defeated, or like I’m not doing enough. I don’t want this toxicity in my life, and if you feel the same way I’d encourage you to swear yours off as well.

And in case you need a pick me up, here are 19 people who are having a worse day than you. Happy Friday! ^These two^ are getting married tomorrow!

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