Monday Musings, edition ten | the art of busyness, gorgeous shoots + weddings, and home sweet north carolina
Happy May 1st!!
Ohh man oh man my friends, things have gotten crazy and busy since the last installment of Monday Musings! I've had so many meetings with new brides and vendors that I can't even keep them straight anymore!
I've also had two incredibly gorgeous weddings, a lovely senior session, a cute little family, a pretty bridal shower, and two epic engagement sessions!!! And you can so bet your bottom I'm going to share a few highlights from allllllllll those! No time like the present, right!? Here we go!
- >> Megan + Shawn were married on April 8th at Backwoods Venue 222! I LOVE Megan, freakin' adore her! Her bridal details were beyond perfection in my opinion, and I could have photographed them all day! Plus! It was my first time at that venue - my review is they are amazing!!! Aimee runs an incredible space and is on top of everything, all with a smile on her face and a pep in her step! Can't wait to shoot there more in the future!
- >> A few days after that was the day for Jordan and Justin's engagement session! These two camp crush lovebirds desperately wanted to return to the scene of where they first met for their photos - the camp itself! And how could I say no?? I couldn't, there was no way! This kinda stuff is part of what makes my job even more special! The second I arrived and saw the "You are here" map, and realized we had some good looking lakes to shoot at, the next words out of my mouth were "Any chance there are canoes!!???" I've been straight up dying to photograph a couple in a canoe for like, ever. And these two were the perfectttttt couple for this! Ugh I love their photos so much!
I also LOVED the woodsy areas all over camp, especially this one!!
- >> This cute little family came up next in the que! Megan is a fashion blogger in KC and someone I get the pleasure of hanging out with every month to shoot her fashion photos! You can find her on Instagram here - Chasing Davies. Her sis was in town from Colorado and Megan decided what a good time it'd be to do updated family photos!
- >> Thennnn pretty and sweet Alexis came into my world! This girl is awesome! I had the best time spending the evening of my Easter with her and her parents, roaming about The Nelson Atkins Museum and the Plaza for her senior photos! What's nuts is the wide range of weather we got!! Some sunshine, some clouds, and a little rain! Such a mix! It's a great thing that Alexis loves rainy days!
- >> And then on April 22nd, Amber and Matt tied the knot!! And aside from their super special day, pretty little details, sweet family and friends and all the other things I photographed from their day.....I also shot what is easily my current favorite bridal portrait!! Amber is stunning!!
- >> The day after Amber and Matt's wedding, I (in mid wedding hangover fashion) went out to the always gorgeous EH Polo Club and shot a few photos of the beautifully decorated space for Kaitlin's bridal shower! Kaitlin isn't one of my brides, though I wish she was! She's the absolute sweetest! You should check out her Instagram here - Kait & Ko. She is another awesome KC fashion and lifestyle blogger!
- >> Most recently I did the engagement session for my couple Lorraine and Travis, and these guys are SO cute oh my gosh!! They had hoped for a hiking themed shoot, and while we did that too, I also begged them to leave their gorgeous white outfits on for "just a few more photos", and I'm sooo glad they followed my lead on that!! These photos ended up being some of my favorite I've ever shot, to date!!
- >> And then! 2 days later, I, along with the hubs, hopped a jet plane en route to my hometown in North Carolina! We hadn't been back in over a year and a half, which is longer than usual for us. My hometown and personal family life is a bit on the complicated side. Don't you just love when people say vague intriguing comments but don't bother to explain them? I know I hate when people do that, too. I'm glad I never do it! ;)
No, but truthfully, it's vague because it's complicated and trying to explain it, especially in the form of one random blog post, would be like trying to explain osmosis to a giraffe. Just trust me that one day you'll see a book on the shelves of all the bookstores with my name, and my story I've wanted to share for 15+ years will be in the pages for all to read. PROMISE.
The trip wasn't all negative though, and that definitely needs to be said! In fact, it needs to be said again - the trip seriously wasn't all negative! And praise The Lord for that!! It was good to be home, back in those southern roots of mine. So so good to see family and friends, those mountains I grew up in, and those perfect Carolina skies.
Every visit there are certain things we always do - Like making sure we have a BBQ with my Dad. And having him go down to the creek with us. These things are near and dear to my heart, and always will be!
Sidebar: That creek is the scene in which I lost my little Gonzo and Miss Piggy from The Muppet Babies many, many moons ago. RIP you guys.
Like most trips and vacations, I tried to collect a handful of iPhone photos and video clips - though I didn't get nearly the amount I typically do...I still got enough I guess, and I slapped 'em all together and added some tunes, as per usual! You can view that here if you'd like ;)
- >> The last tidbit of info to share is that last night...while sitting in the Charlotte NC airport, waiting to hop another jet plane and come back to KC... A lady suddenly approached Wes and I, and asked if I was Elizabeth. Uhh.....yes? Come to find out, she recognized me because I'm a Kansas City Photographer, who met her briefly like 2 years ago! What are the odds!? I mean really!!?? Her name is Lauri and she owns the precious little venue The Vintage House!
Life works in ironic ways sometimes y'all ;)
- >> Now I'm back in office after spending all morning unpacking, doing laundry and trying to rediscover some level of normalcy. I'm also mentally preparing myself to fall back into wedding season mode, especially considering this weekend coming up means 2 weddings. Oh yes, my first of many double header weekends for 2017!
I want to leave you with a vision - Me, sitting at my desk, one hand on the keyboard, and the other pumping iron with a 10LB dumbbell....'cause that's what I should be doing, and it's a solid mental vision to sign off with. Buttttttt..........let's just say that isn't even close!