St. Pete, FL Photographer
(select Savannah, GA dates)

I remember the very first time I ever shot a wedding like it was yesterday. I was a second-shooter (basically an assistant photographer) for a well-known wedding photographer in Gainesville, FL back in 2010. I could barely sleep the night before, and I spent the whole wedding day with excited butterflies. I can still picture the room the bride and bridesmaids were getting ready in, because it was the first spot we shot in that day and I couldn’t believe I was really there.

And then when it was all over, I spent the drive home on such a natural high that I felt almost dizzy. I called one of my best friends on the way home, shaking with excitement and just wanting to tell someone about it this FEELING I had stumbled upon…

A dear friend recently gave me some fantastic relationship advice that is SO beautifully simple, but it had just never occurred to me until she said it…

Client consultations are a given in my book, because how else would they know whether I was someone they wanted to spend their entire wedding day with?? Yes, that sometimes means I’m investing my time into someone who won’t ultimately book me, but my booking rate is absolutely higher for having put the time and attention into my couples from the first moment they contact me.

So, let’s talk about client consultations and there why, where, when and whats that make a wedding consultation go from formal encounter with a vendor to casual, comfortable coffee date with a new friend…

Back when I very first started shooting, I remember seeing other photographers win awards and feeling like that was an impossible feat. At the time, taking my business full time felt like a pipe dream, much less actually winning anything.

But this week, I won three awards. THREE!! I am over-the-moon excited to see my business baby validated in this awesome way, and I want to share with you the philosophies that are the reason why I went from a girl with a nice camera who had a pipe dream to a full-time award winning wedding photographer.

Have you ever noticed that the “end” of a romantic comedy is always the beginning of the actual relationship? You spend the entire movie watching the couple fall in love—you witness all the exciting moments that happen before the actual relationship even begins. You see the butterflies, the obstacles they overcome to be together, and then BAM—it ends with a first kiss, or a wedding, or some other big romantic event that signifies “making it.” 

When Christa + Tim are together, you can just tell it’s right.

They fit each other, they compliment each other, and they really enjoy each other’s company…

…and more than anything, they love each other. <3

Tonight’s mini shoot with Amanda + Lance was pure Savannah loveliness. Sweeping oaks, a pretty braid, a couple in love, park benches and brick pathways…I didn’t want it to end!! Pulaski Square is an absolutely dreamy location for photos, and I want more of you to have the chance to book a shoot here!

(Click through to book a Savannah mini shoot on Sept. 15 or Oct. 1, or a Gainesville mini shoot on Sept. 17!)
 

I was listening to Rob Bell’s podcast (“The RobCast”) this weekend, and one of his latest episodes is called “Seasons.” And it’s about, you guessed it–navigating the changing seasons of life. Specifically the necessity of grieving the passing of a season, even during positive changes in your life. He said that even when a really wonderful new season is beginning, it still means that we have to say goodbye to an old season–and as humans, that causes feelings of grief that need to be processed in order to be fully present and appreciative in the new season.

It was a perfectly timed episode, because this week is one of those season-changing periods in my life, and I’m feeling all sorts of mixed emotions about it.

Megan met R.J. in chemistry class her freshman year of college–but that wasn’t when the actual chemistry began. (Hehe, I couldn’t resist!!) He was simply the nice guy who helped her with her homework and played baseball for their college team. 

Late one afternoon two years later…

After Jimena booked me as her wedding photographer, one of the first things we planned was a trash the dress shoot on the beach outside Delray Sands Resort — the place where she and Keith would begin their marriage adventure together. Jimena has been one of my best friends since I was living in Gainesville, FL just after graduating college, and she’s been a willing guinea pig for many just-for-fun shoots as I built my business over the years. I wasn’t surprised at all when she jumped at the chance to be up at the actual crack of dawn the morning after her wedding to catch the sunrise and play in the waves–all in her wedding dress.