How to PREP for you engagement session SERIES - 2 of 2

Last week I shared some very important tips on how to ROCK out your attire for your engagement session to ensure that you are comfortable and CONFIDENT!!! This week I would like to cover some more very helpful tips! These tips are equally as important as choosing your coordinating outfits and are simple ways to get you and your groom prepared!

1. CLEAN YOUR RING! : I will be photographing your gorgeous diamond! This means that this would be a perfect opportunity to have your ring cleaned so that it’s clear of dirt and other build up that may be visible through a macro lens! 

2. HAIR & MAKEUP : Splurge a little! If you were considering getting your hair and makeup done, this is the perfect opportunity to treat yourself! You will cherish these images forever and so investing in professional hair and makeup can be an extra fun way to celebrate the occasion and allow you to be extra confident during your shoot! Tip: If you’re worried about looking tired or just want a little something special for your portraits, getting false lashes will make the most impact in your portraits! There are all types of lashes that range from looking completely natural to looking like Beyonce! I would lean towards the natural end of the spectrum! :) 

3. THE TIMELINE : I am always a few minutes early to engagement sessions so that I can scope out the location and find light that will be flattering on my couples! Because we are racing the sun and cannot shoot after it has set, I recommend leaving 15-30 minutes earlier than you originally planned just to be safe! 

4. HAVE A PREVIEW PARTY : In the past I have found that it is incredibly helpful for my brides to sit down and have a little preview party with their groom before their engagement session. Take ten minutes and sit down together to scroll through 2-3 of your favorite engagement sessions on my blog. This will allow your groom to be prepared for what he is about to experience! 

5. TAKE A DEEP BREATH! : You’re going to be amazing models! I always tell my couples that the BEST models are the ones who have never modeled professionally before! And I mean it! The couples who are usually most nervous are the couples who totally rock their session! So be encouraged! I have worked with EVERY personality type and EVERY body type, and I always create images that my clients love!! Get excited!

I hope you find inspiration AND gain confidence in reading my Engagement Session Prep SERIES!!! If you missed the last one (I covered outfit inspiration!) click here to view it! 

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Talk to you soon friend!!

Five Weeks After My Cleanse

You guys have had SO many great questions for me over the past couple of weeks regarding my blog post about The Juice From the Raw cleanse that I completed. While I answered everyone privately, I just wanted to take a moment to share with you here - just in case you were thinking it but never asked!  

A lot of you have asked me. . . 

Question #1: How do they taste? 
Good!! I actually loved them! I would have purchased more of them just to have one a day BUT you people have bought out Covington Kroger! lol I have attempted to purchase them several times now! Up until about two weeks ago they were STILL sold out! I was sad and happy about this! Sad there are no more for me BUT SO HAPPY you guys are trying something new and taking the time to learn more about how your body functions! That’s so awesome and kinda makes up for ME not getting my juice fix for three weeks! lol

Question #2: Did you lose any weight? 
I intentionally didn’t bring this up in the last blog post because that isn’t why I did the cleanse. My goal wasn’t to lose weight it was to do something kinda extreme to totally break up my normal (bad habits) routine! And that is exactly what it did for me! And yes, I actually did lose a couple pounds. FIVE!!! Whoa! And that was just in the first week! Since then I have lost an additional five pounds for a total of ten pounds down!

Question #3: How did you NOT eat for THREE days?!
I think because I was drinking the juice every two hours it kept me feeling full. There was one time on day one of the cleanse, I woke up in the middle of the night with my stomach growling! I forced myself to go back to sleep! Eek! When I woke up in the morning I didn’t feel hungry. Also, I have noticed since completing the cleanse that I don’t eat as much! Sweet!

Question #4: How did you hear about this cleanse?
I did a good ol’ Google search for “juice cleanse” and bam! The Juice From the Raw and Good Cleansing both caught my eye. I used some of the info of each site to determine the way I chose to do my cleanse.

I also wanted to add that the protein coffee that I chose to drink, wasn’t a part of the Juice From the Raw cleanse. I didn’t want to get a headache and be completely miserable for three days so I found the 1915 plant based, gluten/dairy free organic coffee and just went with it! The cleanse, as I read online, is six of their juices a day. Ah, well. . .just do what works best for YOU but I do recommend keeping it clean - dairy free, gluten free and organic!

By doing a cleanse (if done correctly) you are essentially taking ALL THE CRAP out of your diet! Once I started putting things back in like dairy, I found out that my belly HATES it! Ugh, that was a hard lesson to learn! If you remember in my last blog post, I mentioned the first thing I had the day after completing the cleanse was a protein shake and it bloated out my belly so bad and made it gurgle. It hurt so bad. After reading the label on my protein shake I realized it has milk in it! By day two after the cleanse I had a slice of cheese in my dinner and my belly bloated out again! That’s when I realized that I might not be handling dairy properly. Before doing the cleanse I would have a cup of coffee with a milk based liquid creamer. It was SOOOO good! But it was making me feel bad and I never put two and two together! It was just how I started my day! After my cup of coffee I noticed my fingers would swell, I had indigestion, my nasal passage would always feel swollen and my face just always looked inflamed, especially around my eyes. That totally sounds like I have an allergy, right???  

“I’m so thankful that God lead me to this discovery and paved the path for me to do this cleanse. Otherwise, I would still be so miserable in my body. ”

I'm still investigating all this but I have been mostly dairy and gluten FREE for almost a month now and I feel so incredible! My skin looks so clear and hydrated, my belly doesn’t look or feel bloated any more, my eyes don’t look near as puffy! However, this pollen isn’t helping at the moment!!! I am totally thrilled with the results and what it has taught me about my body! About two weeks after the cleanse, Trey and I decided to clean out our pantry and fridge! We cleared it of all gluten and dairy products!!! That was a really big deal! Trey has been suffering from a gluten intolerance for some time now. But even though we took the gluten out of his diet he was still not feeling 100%. When I decided to take the dairy and gluten out of my diet, he and I both had a light bulb moment! He probably has a dairy intolerance too! We are still investigating this.   

I sure hope this motivates at least one of you to take a step towards living a healthier life! I am by NO means a doctor or know everything about gluten and dairy intolerances BUT I am learning and making small changes here and there that I KNOW are going to make my quality of life so much better. Which in turn will make my husband and children’s lives better!!!! And that ain’t a joke! 

I am always open to questions so please don’t hesitate to ask me anything! OH! And good luck to all of you that have shared (tagged in your juice photos on IG! I love it!) with me that you are starting the cleanse!!! I’m so excited for you! I hope it reveals to you something you may not have ever known about your body! Even if it’s just that you completed something SO challenging as not eating for three whole days!!! 

Tara and Tommy | A Buckhead, Georgia Wedding

This past Saturday, I photographed my first wedding of 2018! I've been so nervous about it. Not that I didn't think I would be able to photograph their beautiful wedding well but just nervous because it's been almost ten months since I've photographed a wedding!!! After taking a super long extended maternity leave, I'm SOOOO thankful to be back in action and serving my couples again!! Y'all it feels so good and I can't thank God enough for blessing me with that extra time I got to spend with my family BUT being a wedding photographer is my JAM!!

So, let me tell you about this fabulous first wedding of twenty-eighteen! Tara and Tommy go WAAAAY back! You can read their love store here! Their wedding day was incredibly emotional. . .not only for them BUT this girl was shedding tears too! Tara and Tommy put so much thought into every moment of their special day! They chose to get married on an over 300 acre farm in the middle of nowhere. Originally they didn't want to see each other before their ceremony but due to a late ceremony time we were worried it would be dark before we could photograph their sunset photographs as husband and wife. I'm SO glad they decided on a first look!!! It was my favorite part of their day! 

After Tara's momma got her all buttoned in her gown, Tommy sent a note in with one of their little girl's. It was the funniest sweetest note that had us all laughing AND crying too!

We then headed outside towards the treelined drive for Tara and Tommy's first look! Oh you guys!!! It was so so sweet! You can just SEE how much these two love each other!!

As if the tree-lined drive wasn’t gorgeous enough, after their first look we had plenty of time to drive around the 300 acre farm for several other beautiful locations!

Tara and Tommy have two little girls (Remi is their daughter together and Bella is Tara's daughter) and they are the cutest and sweetest! Tommy loves those girls with ALL his heart!

Tara and Tommy found a pasture near one of the lakes for their ceremony site. And that’s where they became husband and wife!

Tara's cousin, Ian, is the guitarist and band manager for the band, Mariah Shea and the Story. Not only did Ian become ordained and marry Tara and Tommy but their band also played during their reception! They were SO good!! They sang a lot of songs that have meaning in my life so naturally I was emotional seeing Tara, Tommy and their family enjoy these songs as well! It's amazing how we can hold so much memory in a song!

Tommy wanted Bella (Tara's daughter) to know that she was very much a part his life! They shared their own ring ceremony and Bella was so surprised!

Congratulations Tara + Tommy!

Vendor List:
Venue: Private Farm in Buckhead, Georgia
Florals: Conyers Flower Shop, Jennifer Gaddy
Band: Mariah Shea and the Story
Cake: Le Chic Confections

Spring Mini Sessions | The Georgia International Horse Park

This year, unlike any other, I decided to host some VERY last minute Spring Mini sessions at the International Horse Park before the cherry blossoms withered away! And when I say last minute I mean the week I put it out there was the same week I photographed these sweet families!!! I never do mini sessions so "unplanned" but they were awesome enough to meet with me the day before Easter! ;) It turned out to be a very beautiful spring day for us! 

Oh and guess what happened?!?!? I need to share a little back story here!! RyAnne, my oldest daughter who is almost eight, begged to go with me to my sessions! She LOVES being my assistant and helping me with the little clients - she can put a smile on their sweet little faces like it’s nobody’s business!! Well, on the way there she asked where we were going. I told her, “It’s a place called The International Horse Park.” She about went crazy thinking she was going to be seeing tons of horses!! I had to explain that where we were going there probably weren’t going to be any horses. She said, “Well, I’m sure I will see some! I really just want to pet them!!!” Poor baby is SO horsey deprived right now! Ever since last summer, (two weeks after I gave birth to Rocco) while at horse camp she fell off her horse and fractured her elbow. Naturally I’ve been SO hesitant to put her back on a horse!

While the Payne family and I were standing by the median chatting, RyAnne yells, “There’s a horse!!!” We all glance up and see a beautiful white horse coming at us!! Upon further inspection I notice that the horse DOESN’T have a rider and it’s coming straight at us at FULL SPEED!!! I was like, “Y’all I think we need to move!” Chad, my client, suggested that we get in front of their vehicle to shield ourselves! Thankfully we did because that beautiful horse galloped RIGHT by us! I snapped a few photographs of the horse running between my props that I had set up in the cherry tree orchard!!! Totally terrifying! I’m SO thankful that God was watching out for us that day! Had we started our sessions on time (we were running a little behind on the schedule) we would have been right in that horses path!! God is SO GOOD y’all!!! And just so you know there isn't a majestic white horse running around the horse park. . .he was captured and taken back to his rider!

Now, back to these amazing families!!!

Meet the Payne Family! They are our neighbors AND we love them!! Their sweet baby girl Bristol - oh man!! Isn't she not the CUTEST?!?!?! 

Next, I met with Dallas and her son Lathaniel! I have been photographing this sweet boy since he was just a teeny baby! He is now almost TWO and he is about to be a BIG brother to a baby SISTER!!! I'm so excited for Dallas and her family!! 

And because RyAnne just LOVES all the littles, she asked to hold Lathaniel. He jumped into her arms and started hugging and kissing her!!! It totally made her day! When I photographed Lathaniel’s newborn session almost two years ago, RyAnne was my assistant that day too! She always asks the momma’s if she can hold their baby’s after their session is over. Lathaniel must have remembered her because she held him when he was a itty baby too!!

The Goss family!! Another amazing family I have been photographing since Colton, there son, was just a few months old and their daughter, Blakey, was just a newborn when I photographed her too! I adore this family and their strength!! Through their trials and tribulations of losing their sweet baby girl Olivia at just 21 weeks gestation they have gained so much strength and become an inspiration and saving grace to MANY!! This year they were awarded the honor of being March of Dines ambassadors for the Walton, Rockdale and Newton area!!!

AND last but certainly not least, here is the Nolan Family! I remember the first time I met Tessa and TJ. It was during their fall mini session with me about three and a half years ago! She had her babies, Elsa and Wyatt, decked out in the cutest outfits!! I was in complete awe of their family of four!  

I'm so incredibly grateful for these families! Thank you for letting me document your family as they grow!!!

How to prep for your engagement session series - 1 of 2

Are you READY for this?! I am SO excited to share this SERIES with you! Being prepared for something you've NEVER done before is HUGE! I know when I go into anything NEW and I am armed with knowledge, while I still might be a little nervous, I feel way less anxiety and more excitement!!! My goal is to get you as prepared as possible so that you feel comfortable and CONFIDENT when you walk into your engagement session with your photographer!

E-sessions are SO important!

During this time with your photographer, you will learn how they pose, how they give you directions, how they communicate with you and this will lead you into being the best and most confident couple on your BIG DAY during your wedding photography!

Let’s just dive right in!!! The first thing most couples ask me when we start talking about their e-session. . .WHAT SHOULD WE WEAR?!?!?! This is a very big part of your engagement session! If you are comfortable in your outfits and feel confident with what you are wearing, then you are half way there! 

OUTFIT INSPIRATION: 

I recommend a maximum of 2 outfits for your engagement session to ensure that we have plenty of time to capture both looks before sunset! During your one outfit change is when I will photograph your rings while we wait! I recommend the following for your engagement session attire: 

- Neutrals such as blush, tans, light pinks, faint blues and teals, creams, grays and whites will always result in more of a light and airy look to your images. These colors photograph softer and more romantically! 

- If you’re really looking for a soft, feminine look, I recommend a flowing, maxi-length dress or skirt! The movement of this type of fabric photographs beautifully! 

- I recommend a more formal outfit and a more casual one, so that you have plenty of variety to choose from later! 

- The goal is COORDINATING outfits instead of MATCHING! I also recommend avoiding both of you wearing WHITE as a top. White doesn’t allow for any contrast in your images. 

- Guys, I recommend that you avoid patterns that are smaller than a dime! These small patterns can create strange visual effects in a digital camera. Close-toed shoes photograph well, and I recommend avoiding graphic tees and tennis shoes! 

- Gals, I recommend that you wear something that flatters the parts of you that you love the most and also allows you to be extremely confident! If you are uncomfortable when you look in the mirror (having to suck in and only like the way you look from one angle), then that probably isn’t the best outfit choice for you. I want you to be really confident in your outfit, because I know that you will love your portraits so much more if you’re not worrying about how your clothes fit! 

there's more!!!

In the next blog post I will discuss more steps you can take to help you create the best engagement session experience possible!!! I hope you find this little guide helpful!!! Don't forget to subscribe!

Click here to view the next blog post on Engagement Session Prep!