Earlier this fall I was super blessed to get to help capture the wedding of Colleen and Sean.  My amazingly talented friend, Amber Anderson, was contracted to shoot this wedding and since I lived a mere 6 hours away, I decided to make the trip with her to help her shoot it!  What better than a road trip with one of your best friends and then getting to shoot a gorgeous wedding once you reach your destination!  Sometimes it’s good for the soul to step into a 2nd photographer position where you can work on shooting things differently or challenge yourself in ways you couldn’t as the primary shooter – and we had a blast together!  Below are just a few of my images from the day.  I hope you enjoy!

I’ve known Kathy from an online forum for the last 8 years.  We’d never met in person, but Kathy told me that she loved my photography and that some day she’d get to meet me because she was hiring me if she ever got married!  Seeing that Kathy lives in Portland, OR and I live in Atlanta, GA (total opposite all the way across the country from each other) I was hopefully but figured it would be a long stretch to actually make it happen.  Imagine my surprise when Kathy contacted me, said she was newly engaged and the only thing she could think about was making sure I could come shoot her wedding…what an honor!

Kathy and Mike’s wedding was gorgeous, but what I remember most about their day was the amount of love that was EVERYWHERE!  These two are one special couple…and along with their boys…they have a mighty special family!  One of the neatest things about their day was that they included a Persian ceremony to honor Kathy’s heritage!  It was so unique and just perfect!  Ok…enough from me.  Let’s let the pictures do the talking!  Enjoy!!

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to get to shoot with my best friend and amazing wedding photographer, Aimee Reynolds.  Sometimes, getting to take the roll as a 2nd shooter is an awesome thing to help grow your skills and stretch your limits.  As the 2nd photographer, you don’t get to be in charge, you don’t get to stand in the exact position that you want to get “the shot”…so…you have to adapt, and get creative!  And sometimes…that’s an amazing thing!  Sometimes that challenges you to think differently and in turn makes you a BETTER photographer.  That’s what I got to do at this wedding shooting along my best friend!  I had a blast and am so excited to share the images with you.

Before the ceremony Kyle’s grandmother gave him a pocket watch that had been his grandfathers who had passed away.  This was one of the most touching, heartfelt, moments I’ve ever been apart of.  So precious.

Nadia and Izak are some of the coolest people I know!  They are both from South Africa…she moved here in 2000 and he moved here in 2001.  When Izak arrived, Nadia was asked to show him around town and introduce him to some people and they have been inseparable ever since!  Izak is the “Country Mouse” and Nadia the “City Mouse” however, despite their differences, it is obvious that they are perfect for each other!  They had dreamed of doing their engagement session in Charleston because they love the city so much, but didn’t know how to make that work.  Well…luck would have it that I happened to be in Charleston for my little brother’s wedding.  So Nadia and Izak came on out and we had a blast shooting around the city!  These two are getting married in 2 weeks…so you’ll see more of them soon!  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…

One of the incredible perks of my job is getting to travel.  Last year I got to shoot weddings in Maine and San Diego.  Coming up on the books are weddings in Pennsylvania and Oregon.  And Josh and Sara asked me to be a part of their special day in Las Vegas!!  Seriously…how lucky am I?  Josh and Sara live here in ATL but most of Sara’s family is from New Zealand.  So…a destination wedding in Las Vegas seemed like the perfect place to meet up and celebrate!  I was excited beyond measure to get to shoot this wedding…the glitz, the glam, the lights…what photographer wouldn’t be?  But what surprised me most was just how ROMANTIC Las Vegas can be!  Of course…Sara and Josh being completely in love with each other didn’t hurt…made my job easy!  The wedding took place at a catholic church on the strip (who knew??) and the reception was at the Bellagio!  Let me tell you…not only the best wedding food I’ve ever had…but some of the best food EVER.  The sea bass was to. die. for.!  Josh and Sara thank you so much for inviting me out to capture your wedding day…it was truly and honor!

Thank you so so much to the fabulous Amber of Amber Anderson Photography for coming along to shoot this wedding with me.  I had a BLAST getting to hang out with you for a few days in such a fun city and you helped more than you know on the wedding day…you are amazing and I’m so glad to call you my friend and fellow amazing photographer!