I started the year with a handful of big goals – to work with couples I felt I really connected with, to collaborate with other vendors on some beautiful stylized shoots {here, here & here}, and to sneak in a couple destination weddings {one here and another one coming soon!}. My last (and loftiest?) goal was to get some work published in print. So you can imagine I was more than a wee bit excited when the girls of Southern Weddings Magazine contacted me asking for some bouquet shots for their upcoming issue! I sent over a handful of faves & they ended up including two of them in their latest fall edition. Southern Weddings is IMO one of the most stylish & creative wedding mags out there, each & every page is truly a work of art! It is an honor to be included in their visually stunning third issue!

Also a big thank you to the amaaazing florists who put together these beauties!

Linda’s bouquet of lush pink peonies & sweet peas just left of the shot with the black dress, created by Cindy of Floral Elements. I also noticed there was an editor’s note by Emily naming it as her fave! :)

And below, a whimsical red & black bouquet along the left from the Queen of Hearts shoot, created by Mai of Bunch Studio:

A big big thank you to Emily & all the girls at Southern Weddings for including my work in their amazing publication! Their V3 is seriously one of the most inspirational magazines I’ve perused in a long time… go out and get your copy now!

I’ve also been meaning to mention just a few of our recent blog features… I follow so many of these blogs religiously for daily inspiration & it’s an honor to be included within their posts. I believe wedding blogs are one of THE greatest planning tools out there and it’s such a treat to peek into the massively creative ideas couples come up with for their day, the unique ways they weave their story into the details, the way each wedding speaks directly to who the couple is. I am a firm believer that it does not take oodles of cash to make a visually stunning wedding – all it takes is a little brainstorming, style, imagination, & DIY goodness, and I love that these wedding blogs promote these ideas in each & every one of their posts!

Thank you so much to the following blogs for featuring a bit of my work!

Style Me Pretty

Grey Likes Weddings {newly redesigned & oh-so-beautiful!}

Ever Ours

Project Wedding

One of my most favorite part of weddings are the emotions. I feel like a wedding day, aside from being many things, is a big permission slip to shout from the rooftops exactly how you feel. Emotions that are intimate and quiet and perhaps even overlooked on a day-to-day basis, are allowed to roam publicly, perhaps for one of the few times in your life, big & loud & free. That people actually get to proclaim in wide halls and giant courtyards in front of hundreds of people, that yes, I love you and I will always love you. That feelings of joy & gratitude are expressed explicitly among family and friends, hugs are given liberally, thoughts are shared without hesitation.

Angela & Fong’s wedding was just this, laden with beautiful emotion. It was not just a joining of two people who are obviously so so in love, but was the creation of a new family, of Angela’s son gaining a father and Fong gaining a son. Every moment was so beautiful and real and it was an amazing day to document!

The gorgeous flowers were done by Kim Sanders of Art with Nature.. I always love LOVE working with her!

A beautiful first look…

Love this moment of Angela’s dad sending them off lovingly right after he handed her off…

And this one where the officiant asked Angela & Fong to look over at their parents.. her dad was just so full of excitement & joy for his little girl! :)

Below has to be one of my very favorite wedding moments ever.. it was right after the recessional when everyone was giving hugs and sharing words of congrats. In the midst of the excitement & unbeknownst to the wedding party, Angela’s son had started shedding tears of happiness for his mother & new family. When Angela caught him, she looked down in surprise and said “are you crying..?” and gave him the sweetest embrace. It literally had everyone in tears, including yours truly and each & every groomsman :)

Surprise, I exist! My apologies for the random blogging hiatus – lots of weddings and shoots have been happening in that midst of it all & blogging unfortunately took a temporary backseat. September (which is somehow almost over, what?) has been filled to the brim with some of the most creative & heartfelt weddings and I can’t wait to share! But for now, one more from summer :)

Katherine & Jason were married at the beautiful Casa Romantica, a historical estate nestled in the cliffs above the sea. It was the perfect backdrop for an intimate day filled with their closest family & friends. Katherine poured her heart into the details, many of which centered around a travel theme since Jason sells planes (P.S. how amazing are those lantern centerpieces?)

But on to the eye candy…

I LOVE the way tables like the sign-in table and the one below were laid out… a mish-mash of beautiful objects and lovely flowers. It gave everything such a colorful organic feel!