CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS:
Anna & Chris!
I am so overwhelmed by the support of all of you who took time & voted! I just really did not even expect such a passionate response, there were over 1100 votes on my Facebook page! I just really want to thank all of you for participating! Since each and every couple is very deserving of a gift, I would love to extend a complimentary portrait session OR 20% off wedding photography packages for all the contestants. You all are incredible & I’m honored to have such a wonderful military family! Thank you so much for sharing your stories!
Since today is Valentine’s Day, I’d love to share a special session.
I’ve been finding that it is becoming more & more common for married couples to express their desire for styled sessions, but there is still a slight stigma associated with having “engagement” pictures taken after they are already married for any length of time. However, I think that is one tradition that we should all consider an antique relic.
After the wedding, traditionally you unwrap your china & move into a phase of life that isn’t celebrated quite the same way as the season leading up to your marriage. You settle into new routines & the magic of dreaming about “the perfect day” is replaced with the hum of un-romantic reality. It’s not to say you don’t love each other a little stronger every day. It’s just not usually documented the same way it is in the beginning. As you age together, you find that the connection you thought you had in the beginning was more like a preview of the real thing. I think it’s wonderful to have a portrait session that gives you a glimpse of the happy ending that you are living.
I would like to introduce you to “Unending Love” sessions. This is how I will be referring to any session that involves two people in love, whether they are engaged or already married…
This past weekend I had the immense honor of photographing some very special clients. Kate & Preston were married this past fall, but expressed a desire to have photographs taken before he leaves to join the Navy. I was so excited for this session, because I sincerely connect to their situation as an Air Force wife. I know just what photographs I would want if I had the opportunity to get them taken before Rocky left for basic training. I know what they are feeling & how much they will treasure these images. I asked Caitlin to style this session, inspired by a hint of vintage & classic romance.
We took these photographs at The Patterson Homestead near the University of Dayton. Caitlin knew exactly how I wanted to capture this shoot & “Mac Gyver’d” the set to work for us! 😉
Kate is so pretty, I loved her vintage curls!
Their pup, Peyton, came and did a cameo for some portraits.
The night before our shoot I came across this beautiful embroidered calendar on Etsy. I knew there would be no time to order it, but since I had similar materials I made one. I think that you should check out SaraLynn’s Etsy shop, because it would be a perfect gift to a wife/fiance/girlfriend of a deployed soldier. She makes them to be “perpetual calendars” so you can move the dates each month. I was inspired by the theme of “time” for this shoot because of my experience with staring at clocks & calendars when my husband Rocky has been TDY & deployed. Anyone else who has ever gone through a similar experience can definitely relate!
Caitlin’s Grandma lent us this vintage pillow with a prayer from a navy spouse during WWII. The picture is Preston’s dad, who was also in the Navy.
Did you know that there is a Gigi’s Cupcakes in Beavercreek?! I tried them for the first time in Alabama & was so excited to see they opened a local shop. Here we have Italian Cream Wedding Cake & Hunka Chunka Banana Love… they have the best flavors!
Thank you Preston & Kate for allowing me to photograph you all before Preston left… we wish him all the best in the Navy! Loving thoughts go out to Kate, I know you miss him {but it will get better}. ♥
Don’t forget to check out Sarah Lynn’s Etsy shop for the embroidered perpetual calendars!
Sooo pretty, as usual! 🙂 I love the phone that you used in their session!
[…] I was a little disappointed, but they are so cute that I decided to make them into necklaces {see the Navy Session from the last post}. I think it’s a really sweet way to keep a marriage vow, favorite poem, or someone’s […]
[…] Kate & Preston had a beautiful woodland ceremony at the Toledo Botanical Gardens last September. Rain flirted with us the entire day, but it held off during all the right moments. Preston was already planning to join the Navy this winter, so their wedding day was also like a wonderful farewell party. […]
[…] we can see their whole shoot on Andrea’s […]
[…] The Patterson Homestead in Dayton, Ohio {you may recognize it from this post last […]