Beautiful couple and beautiful light.  Not much more that needs to be said really.  Shari and Travis are SO in love with each other – it radiates through in photos.  They are one of those couples that you know without a doubt that they were made for each other.  Just a few…taken along the side of the road while standing on the sidewalk.  You don’t need much…beautiful light and a couple in love and you’ve got a work of art!  Enjoy!

We tried to schedule Keri and Shawn’s engagement session 5 times before finally…the 6th time was a charm and we had gorgeous weather!  After all of the rainy days we had trying to schedule their engagement session, we just KNEW that the wedding day would come and their wouldn’t be a raindrop in sight!  Well…the wedding day arrived and there was a 30% chance of rain all day.  Fortunately, the rain stayed away during the ceremony, family pictures, bridal party pictures and we managed to sneak in 5 minutes worth of pictures of Keri and Shawn before it started pouring!  Perfect timing rain!  And it even gave us an excuse to shoot some inside and get some gorgeous shots we might not otherwise have thought to do.  Keri and Shawn’s wedding day was perfect from top to bottom…great people…gorgeous setting…and boundless amounts of smiles and happiness!  What more could you ask for on your wedding day?  Keri and Shawn…thank you for having me with you to celebrate your big day…I had a blast and hope you cherish your images forever!  Here are a few for now!  Mwah!

Erin and Kyle are “dream come true” clients for a photographer.  You see…Erin is a photographer herself, so she fully understands that it’s the LITTLE details that all come together to make awesome photography.  1.  Good light…we waited until we had a day with pretty light to shoot this session.  2.  Fun personalized props…Erin brought the cute pillows and scrabble letters…I brought a vintage camera since I knew Erin was a photographer herself and with the orange tulips for a pop of color, we were good to go! 3.  A willing attitude…Erin and Kyle didn’t say no to anything!  They didn’t say no when I asked them to stand up in a wobbly canoe in the middle of the lake and I’m SO glad they didn’t say no when I had the crazy idea to make them roll down a hill at the end of the night!  Because they were so willing…we got some fun and unique images that I know they will cherish forever!  Ok…no more talking…these images are so fun and they really speak for themselves…so…enjoy!

All day it was saying there was a 50% chance of rain…but by 4:30, it still hadn’t rained yet…so we pushed forward, crossing our fingers for no rain and met at Montaluce Winery to capture these engagement images!  We started our session and got a few amazing images inside and then moved outside where we shot for 5 minutes before it started raining!  Our first instinct was to run for cover…but there was really no where to go and we were already getting wet…so we decided to make the most of it!  I’m so glad it DID rain and we were able to get some awesome shots of Jamie and Justin dancing in the rain!  Reminds me of that Garth Brooks song…

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers

Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs

That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care

Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

And we got even luckier…later on, not only did the rain clear, but we had the most gorgeous rich sunset with bright orange skies!  Couldn’t have been a better night for pictures!  I hope you love them Jamie and Justin!  I had a great time with both of you and can’t wait to celebrate your wedding day together!

One of my most favorite people in the entire world & best friend, Aimee Reynolds, just happens to be an incredible photographer as well!  She and I share a bond that is truly matchless.  Not only do we share photography as a common interest we share a love of shopping (especially for antiques), dreaming of (and planning for) my future wedding, decorating, cooking together, and most importantly Christ.  She is the best friend a girl could ask for – someone I can talk to about anything and everything.  Who tells me how it is when I don’t want to hear it and loves me unconditionally.

Last summer…on one of my many trips to visit her, I got to tag along and shoot an engagement session.  Man was it an experience!  I was in the middle of nowhere Alabama…”the Catfish capital of Alabama” to be exact…and I was in for a rude awakening!  Yes, I live in GA, but…I grew up in Pittsburgh, and really haven’t had the opportunity living in Atlanta to experience true southern culture all that much.  Rewind to this gorgeous summer day.  We shot Laurie Beth and Ivey’s engagement session in a charming downtown, took some awesome boat pictures on the lake at sunset and had a grand old time.  Then…Laurie Beth’s parents (some of the sweetest people in the world) invited Aimee and I to stay for dinner.  What ensued was the biggest lesson of my life!  We pulled into a gas station where I assumed Laurie Beth’s dad needed to fill up.  No…the “Mustang Oil” was where we were eating.  I was scared out of my mind walking in there…but let me tell you…this is where the lesson comes in…DO NOT JUDGE  A BOOK BY IT’S COVER!  The food was INCREDIBLE and the people we even more incredible!  I never in my life would have stepped foot in that place to get gas…let alone eat dinner…but I was blown away!  After eating, Laurie Beth’s dad took us to see catfish being harvested…also…an incredible experience I will never forget!  I never would have gotten to do that on any other occasion…and…let me tell you I soaked it up, asked 50 million questions and had a blast learning something new that I knew nothing about!  So…I’ve been rambling…but really…this was an awesome day…filled with the best friend a girl could ask for and one of the sweetest “southern” experiences I’ve ever had!  Now…on to the pictures!

So I promised I would start blogging again and this is the first installment of the promise!  And…one of my favorite weddings EVER!  The bride, Molly, has become a dear friend of mine.  We have joked forever that we are the same person!  We have SO many of the same idea, beliefs, likes…it’s honestly a little crazy!  Molly had her hand in SO many of the details and the personal touches really added to the uniqueness of this wedding.  My heart just sang photographing every last detail…and there are so many more I didn’t even show here!  Molly loved wedding planning so much (and was so awesome at it!) that she is know a wedding planner herself!  Check out http://www.chanceycharmweddings.com/ if you are still in need of a wedding planner! Ok…onto the pictures and I’ll try to explain some of the awesomeness along the way!

 Molly was a jewelry major at UGA and hand made both her and Matt’s wedding rings!  Seriously amazing right?  Other awesomeness in this picture?  The ring pillows were also hand made by a friend of Molly’s – even the hand embroidery!

Engraving that Molly hand stamped in Matt’s ring!  So sweet!

More handmade goodness…yep!  Those ties are custom made as well!

Molly found her dress in an antique store!  It’s a 1920′s vintage party dress in almost perfect condition…and she only paid $89!  Bargain of the century!  I believe so!

Holy talented friends!  More handmade goodness in the hair accessories and earrings!  Earrings by: http://ashleybuchananjewelry.com/

Molly and her sisters are all married!!

Molly’s stepmom made this cake…seriously one of my most favorite cakes ever!  It’s SO me!  Told you Molly and I are the same person!

This crow knew how to party!

Molly breaking it down!

Perfect Southern ending to a wedding when it involves Krispy Kreme!

Wedding season is about to start up again!  Yippee!  My first wedding of the year is on February 25th and I’m READY to get back out there and start shooting all of my precious brides and grooms!  But before the craziness begins again I was able to take a much needed vacation to San Diego for a week and a half.  Today is my last day here, and I’m so sad to be leaving this incredible weather to come back to a cold and windy ATL.  So…I thought I’d share a bit of my trip with ya’ll and relive all of the amazing adventures I’ve had!

Days 1-5

The BEST friends a girl could ask for got to hang out!  I am incredibly close with 6 other photographers who live all over…literally!  Gulf Shores, AL – Dallas, TX – San Diego, CA – Portland, OR – Edmonton, Canada and Ottawa, Canada!  Seriously I am blessed beyond measure to call each of them my friend!  We try to get together at least once a year in one of our hometowns and explore the area as well as save plenty of time for girl talk!  You might remember my Portland trip in August….this time it was San Diego!  We started our trip with a day at Coronado.  So pretty and such history!

The next day we did Disneyland…and we did it right!  We got to the park at 9am and didn’t leave until midnight!  15 hours STRAIGHT baby!  As we walked in the gates we were skipping down the street…when we left we were bending over…stretching our backs…rubbing our knees…we were exhausted but had the time of our lives!

The rest of the weekend we went shopping, ate lots of yummy food, watched a few sunsets and in general just had lots of girl time.  It is so awesome to be with a bunch of friends where you click on so many levels.  Yes, we had our fair share of nerdy photographer talk, but most of the weekend was spent talking about husbands, kids, dating (me!), things going on in our lives, and already talking about our next time we’ll get together!  Love these girls!

We did fit in a little time for a photoshoot – THIS is what happens when 7 photographers that are usually BEHIND the camera get together and decide to try and take a nice portrait and be on the other side of the lens…things turn CRAZY!  Told ya we have fun doing ANYTHING!

Days 6-11

All of my girls left on Monday, but I stayed behind to hang out with Shari and her family for the rest of the week!  She has two precious little girls (5 year old twins) that I totally “used” to get to have more fun!  Wednesday we decided to take a walk and enjoy some of the gorgeous California scenery!  Seriously…isn’t this amazing!?  And…Shari and I had a hot date together!  :-P

Friday we went back to Disney…so amazing to see Disney again but through children’s eyes.  They just LIT up when they saw the princesses….so incredibly adorable! And I got to meet Mickey!

Friday brought Sea WORLD!!!  One of my favorite places E.V.E.R.!  There is something just so magical about marine animals…they make my heart smile!  A great time was had by all!

Saturday, Shari, her husband Travis and I went on a hike at Torrey Pines!  The trail leads to the Pacific Ocean and ends in amazing views!  We don’t get rock cliffs and scenery like this in GA!  Who wants to get married here?  I would LOVE to shoot a wedding with these views!  Incredible!

I leave tomorrow and while I’m sad to leave San Diego, I’m also glad to get back to GA and get back into the swing of things…wedding season…HERE I COME!

Spring is in the air!  Yeah yeah…I know it’s still JANUARY but I’m itchin’ for some springtime happiness!  What a perfect time of the year…the sun is out, the flowers are a bloomin’, and fresh fruit and little roadside stands pop up!  That’s what I think of when I think of spring…sunshine, wildflowers, and fruit!  So…I’ve created a few inspiration boards for weddings based just on those things!  I hope you enjoy and are maybe even inspired for your own wedding!  Mwah!

SUNSHINE

WILDFLOWERS

FRUIT

Wow!  First off…let me say how embarrassed I am!  This is my first post since AUGUST!!  I bet some of you thought I fell off the face of the earth or was attacked by a “bridezilla”!  Thankfully I am back to report that not only am I alive, I am fantastic (and didn’t even have one bridezilla)! I never imagined 2011 would turn into such an amazing year! Thank you thank you to all of my brides and grooms for such an amazing, incredible journey!  I promise I’ll be back soon to post some more detailed weddings (and engagements) from 2011, but for now…I’d love to share with you just a few of my favorite images from the past year.  I hope you enjoy!

Wow!  I know I say I am blessed all of the time…but it’s SOOOOO true!  Kathy has been a huge fan of BerryTree Photography for a while now and when she got engaged, practically the first thing she did was contact me to see if I could shoot their wedding next June…how sweet is that?!  Of COURSE I said yes!  A destination wedding in one of my favorite areas of the country?…yes please!   She and her fiance, Mike, live in Portland, OR – it is SERIOUSLY beautiful here!  (and the no humidity thing…I could get used to this!)  While out in Portland for a photography workshop with some awesome photographer friends of mine, I decided to fit in an engagement session for this sweet couple!

Kathy’s dad is a pilot and owns a plane, and so we decided it would be incredibly cool to use it as a prop for their engagement pictures since Kathy and Mike LOVE to travel together!  What I didn’t know was just how amazing this session was going to be.  I brought my awesome friend and Portland photographer Amber Anderson along and as soon as we got there Kathy’s sweet dad asked us if we wanted to see Portland/Washington from the air!  Um…yes please!  I have never flown in a small airplane before and it was an incredible experience!  We got to see 5 mountain peaks including Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainer, and Mt. Saint Helens…breathtaking!  Thank you so much to Kathy, her father Jim, and the whole family for this amazing adventure!

Now onto the pictures!  First…a few from up in the air…then…the engagement session!  Hope you love them as much as I do!

Mt. Saint Helens on the left an I think Mt. Adams on the right…