Ashley & Jared {Wedding}

"I love the way Jared makes me smile and laugh. He has a way of helping me to lighten up when I’m in a bad mood or stressing over something. He is also very gentle with me. He knew I had been hurt before and has been so patient with me. He loves God so much and wants to be a man of God. "

"I love everything about Ashley; the way she loves teaching and caring for children; how she is very gentle and kind and loving; I love how she lights up the room when she comes in; Ashley makes me want to be the best that I can be; I love how much she loves God and how she has dedicated her life to serving him. Another thing that I love about Ashley is how she loves and treats my daughter Mikaela as if she were her own and that I admire, respect, and absolutely love about Ashley. Also, she loves me for who I am and I am very much in love with her!"

The clouds where grey as Dad and I walked into the Courtland Mansion. Everyone's hopes of an outdoor wedding had to change because of the weather, but as I was with the girls it was if it was the sunniest day. Ashley was getting married, and they were so excited.

The curling irons were hot, the hair spray was flying, and Ashley sat and patiently watched as her bride maids got ready.

Ashley's sisters helped her get into her wedding gown.

While they did that, mom helped with make-up. :)

I was so grateful that the rain held off for a little while so we could get some shots outside!

Mikaela, Jared's daughter, was the flower girl. :)

Work it, ladies!

While I did the girls, Dad was over doing pictures of the guys. A lot of phone calls and texts were sent to make sure we didn't overlap on the property. We came really close to it one time!

Jared was so excited the whole day. When I walked out to see how Dad was doing the first thing he said to me was "Hey Anne! You look very nice!" and then later he pulled me aside and went "Does she look pretty?" and I responded with a "She is absolutely stunning." He is so in love with her, his tears just started flowing!

Mikaela was so amazing the whole day, but right before the ceremony she started to get a little antsy, so we quickly bopped out to see Dad and show him her lovely dress!

Jared was so in awe of Ashley. It was truly beautiful to watch him the whole ceremony. It was so evident how much he loves Ashley and how he cares for her.

He is so gentle with her!

Woohooo!

Their bridal party did such a wonderful job with pictures!







The new family

Ashley's step Dad wrote them a song for their first dance and that gave the reception such a classic touch. The song talked about how God brought them together and should lead their relationship, and it was truly beautifully done.

Dad's favorite shot of the night.

Ashley and Jared, your wedding was beautiful and I was honored to capture your day.

Stay Beautiful,

Anne

Chris & Melissa {Couple}

I love Chris and Melissa. And i'm pretty sure everyone on the workshop loved them a lot too.

Melissa is the beautiful, smart, caring, and thoughtful one. & Chris is the artist who also does photography. They are so adorable, and the way they care for one another is very evident.

You know the shoot is going to well when these are the "testing the lighting" shots.

ae photography new models? Yeah, they're perfect. :D

Normally I would say that they think i'm funny, but honestly, this wasn't me. They are just that smitten with one another. :)

Props to Chris for being a strong yet gentle leader in their relationship. He's a winner. :D

I love hugs, and snuggles, and curly hair, and rain in the summer, and....

Props #2 to Chris. He can dance. You know how annoying it is to start dancing with a guy who has no idea how to lead? I was quite impressed with his snazzy moves with Melissa. :D

That's just happiness in a picture right there. :]

Stay Beautiful,

Anne

The Workshop

Not many people can say they did a shoot with a Tornado warning in affect. ;)

The morning started with the ever important questions "Did we get everything?" "How are we supposed to get the iMac in the car without it getting wet?" "Should we take a bunch of umbrellas?" "Where are the papers? Did you grab the info papers for them?" "I forgot my chapstick!"

Somehow, we still ended up having a successful day. ;)

Back in April, Dad and I have the privilege of hosting our first workshop! A good amount of stress and tears went into this day on our part, there was so many things we wanted to teach them! The large amount of stress came from the location for the couple shoot. I knew it was going to be pouring rain, I knew I couldn't change the date, I knew I needed natural light, and I was SO lost on where to turn. Thankfully by the grace of God I found a greenhouse close to where we did the workshop, and everything went very smoothly! The workshoppers know how to own a shoot even in the rain. ;D

In the morning we focused on manual and how to use your camera (I was going to only allow 20 minutes to learn manual. Needless to say, they were REALLY glad we ended up spending more time. ;) And the afternoon we focused on the business side. We covered a lot of points in a couple hours!

We had a really fun group of people, and I legit love all of them. :D

I was so amazed with how everyone did. All of them are just starting, but their "eye" was amazing! They all had great pictures and I was so very proud of them.

At this point in the day we had thunder, lightning, pouring rain, and we were all pretty wet. Packing rain boots that morning was the best decision I ever made that day. ;)

I would also like to take note that all the workshoppers have an inner ninja. With over 9 people shooting, it was a challenge to get the shot they wanted, so they would squeeze between places, climb on-top of things, sneak behind people.... I was amazed at the places they went to get their shot. "Goodness look at you guys! Yeah, get that shot! :D"

Everyone loved taking the pictures, but didn't really focus on the encouraging part of posing the couple. So we got some pretty great quotes out of the day. "Guys, you want them to feel confident and comfortable. Keep talking, keep complimenting!" "I love your hair!" "Your boots are super cute!" "You're such a cute couple!" "More emotion, I love it!" "Feel it guys, feel it!"

Guys, I was absolutely amazed at how well you did posing, shooting, making your pictures different from everyone else's, and having a great attitude. (Even though we might have been struck by lightning. ;) I am really looking forward to watching your photography journey, you've got major talent!

Stay Beautiful,

Anne

(Heyyyy! Look who got a new blog! *wink* It's still a work in progress, but it's up! Love it, hate it, like it? I'd love to know!)