Kristen & Matt- Meadowlark Engagement Photography
i met up with kristen and matt at meadowlark botanical garden for their engagement session a couple of weeks ago. it was a lovely sunday morning and these two made the day just that much more beautiful. they’re so cute together and it’s obvious they are smitten with each other!
kristen and matt…i’m sure you’ll have a lovely texas wedding. my best wishes to you and your new life together.
Monday Madness: Volume 8
i’ve got a few more hours of monday left to get this post up…better step to it!
Quote of the Week:
“I think we all wish we could erase some dark times in our lives. But all of life’s experiences, bad and good, make you who you are. Erasing any of life’s experiences would be a great mistake.” - Luis Miguel
i think all of us have a few moments in our lives that we wish we could erase from our memory. or perhaps we wish we could have a do over. maybe we’d change what we did or how we reacted. maybe we would choose a different path for ourselves. maybe we wish our hearts didn’t carry that pain and we’d like to alleviate it. but there are no d0 overs. we can’t go back in time and erase it. we can’t undo the past. but what we can do is move forward and learn from our past. which brings me to this beautiful quote…
It’s easy to get lost in endless speculation. So today, release the need to know why things happen as they do. Instead, ask for the insight to recognize what you’re meant to learn.” - Caroline Myss
highlights of the week:
* i had two lovely weddings featured on two different wedding blogs last week..on the same day. always brings a smile to my face to look at images of people so in love!
* last monday i didn’t post a monday madness…too much happened last monday. my heart and mind were in different places and i felt unsettled. instead i posted these words…
“it’s tragic what happened today and my heart hurts. I cannot understand and truly have no understanding how people can harm others like this. It’s unfathomable and I cannot wrap my mind around it. Having said this….I choose to not live my life in fear. I will not allow others who are so small in heart and mind and soul to instill fear in me and make my existence an existence of fear and anxiety and always looking over my shoulder. (This is not to say that I don’t take proper safety procautions when they are warranted. I don’t walk down dark alleys at night by myself. Haha. And yes I do hate the dark…so my electric bill is high…but…) Terrorist attacks are meant to instill fear. They are meant to affect people psychologically and play with their head. Fight the terror with love and compassion and not being afraid. Don’t let them win!”
* i bought a bag of these baby cuties and i just can’t get over how cute they are! and they’re so tiny. on top of that they are delicious. i’m thinking they’d be awesome to use as wedding decor. some people use lemons…me and my love of orange…could use baby cuties.
* my next class started “beginning digital photography” or as i like to refer to it “a crash course in digital photographic imaging” that i teach in arlington. it’s actually through the county of arlington and i teach at the fairlington community center. tuesday evenings you’ll find me there with a great group of people eager to learn how to use their brand new cameras.
* i second shot a wedding at briarpatch bed and breakfast inn with the every so lovely lelia maria photography on saturday. wow what a beautiful day it was!! and it’s so much fun second shooting. i should definitely do more of it.
* sunday was a rather lazy day for me. i had a wedding consult with a lovely couple who are getting married in october. we chatted…or shall i say i chatted their ears off. i did some housework. i took a nice lazy afternoon nap. i also got some editing done and a wedding gallery posted. nothing exciting…but sometimes not exciting is good for the soul too.
and now it’s monday evening. hope you had a lovely day today!
A few lovely weddings featured recently…
so exciting…two of my weddings were featured on local wedding blogs this week…and on the same day! two completely different weddings…both filled with so much love and thought.
joe and michelle’s thorpewood wedding was featured on United With Love in two parts. Part 1 was the getting ready and ceremony. Part 2 was portraits and reception. Here are a few screen shots…
kat and rich’s delaplaine visual arts center wedding was featured on Charm City Wed.
oh and i can’t forget that araceli and andrew’s airlie center wedding was featured a few weeks ago on capitol romance!
thank you to the wonderful brides and grooms with gorgeous weddings and so much love that trusted me to photograph their weddings. thank you also to capitol romance, united with love, and charm city wed for the features!!
Life is busy…pay attention to what really matters…
life is busy. like…really really busy. so as i sit here at my desk this morning i’m gently reminding myself that i need to keep my priorities straight. or maybe it’s more that i need to re-prioritize my life. it’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day activities of running errands, going to work, cooking dinner, etc that the things you hold nearest and dearest to your heart can actually slip away. and the thing is…they slip away without you even noticing that it’s happening.
i’m a lot more in tune to my life and my relationships now than i have been in the past. perhaps it’s from lessons hard learned- friendships faded away, love lost, clients moving on, looking at my kids and realizing that they’re practically grown. i would be lying though if i didn’t admit it’s a struggle. it’s a struggle when i’m tired and worn out to make the phone call that really matters, to sit down (and leave work to pile up) so i can enjoy some time with my daughter, to actually get up in the morning on time so i can make it to yoga for a little me time.
yes sometimes it’s a struggle…at first…but let’s face it…if something really matters…we will make the time for it…and leave the excuses behind. my challenge to all of us (myself included) is to keep re-prioritizing our lives…on a monthly, weekly, daily basis…and remember who and what matters most.
happy friday!
and to answer your question…no coloring easter eggs is not a priority…but what was a priority was spending time with my daughter, and dad, and mom while we colored easter eggs. here is a reminder of all the fun we had and the work i didn’t do that evening.
Baby Joey- Ashburn Newborn Photography
this is the cutest “bunny” i have ever seen in my entire life!!! oh my!!! i could have photographed baby joey for F-O-R-E-V-E-R. i’ve photographed many newborns but i’m not sure that i have ever seen two parents as in love with their baby before. such pure love. with no conditions. no limits. no agendas. it was so beautiful.
(oh how i love my job! being a witness to such unadulterated pure love makes my heart swell. i left smiling and i think i smiled all day.)
Wedding Wednesday: DC Elopement Photography- Emily and Josh
seriously these two are the cutest!
i met with emily and josh a few weeks ago to talk about their elopement plans. we chatted….well probably i chattered non-stop let’s be honest…and i knew immediately that i liked them both. josh is a marine (everyone loves a marine) and emily is moving up here to be by him. ah…love! it’s such a sweet thing. they’re having a big wedding next year for all of their friends and family to attend…and they’re smart! they planned the wedding next year to be on the same date 4/5. genius!
emily and josh eloped in DC last friday afternoon and this day was just for them. they laughed and shed a few tears and held each other tight. we started off at the DC courthouse where they said their “i do’s” then we walked for a bit around the area. It was a bright sunny day and there wasn’t a lot of shade…so we headed into the national gallery of art.
then we headed out into the sculpture garden…
we waited a little while to get this one…a shot without 50 other people in the shot…our patience paid off…
holy smokes…their serious faces…hello hotness…
and josh kept me laughing!
Elizabeth & Jonathan: College Park Wedding Photography
elizabeth and jonathan were married at university of maryland memorial chapel. it was a beautiful march day and i don’t think we could have asked for a better day. how elizabeth and i first met is an interesting story. you see elizabeth and jonathan are both professional musicians…elizabeth plays cello and jonathan plays violin. so they know weddings as they play at a lot of them. elizabeth was given my name by another wedding photographer, she called me, we chatted, and it worked out for me to photograph her and jonathan’s wedding. yay! but the fun part is…i was already photographing the wedding of a friend of hers that she was playing cello at. small world! so the first time we met was at her friend’s sarah and alan’s wedding. so much fun!
elizabeth and jonathan are such lovely people. they’re sincere and kind and easy going. their wedding was so beautiful and the day went smoothly and was full of all of their family and close friends. now for a peek…(don’t forget to click on the link to view their slideshow at the bottom!!)
it was a beautiful day!!!
elizabeth’s dress was beautiful…oh and those gold shoes…love!
elizabeth and jonathan opted to have a first look. i absolutely adore it when a couple decides to see each other before the ceremony for a little bit of time together. these two are so cute together and jonathan was so excited to see his bride! look at that look on his face.
ceremony time…
look at those smiles!!!!
after the ceremony we headed over to the university of maryland golf course on campus for the reception and some portrait time…
dancing fun was had by all!
click here to view the SLIDESHOW!!!
many thanks to the university of maryland golf course for the use of their golf carts and the great food. thank you to kyle martell for helping with photography for the day.
and of course many thanks and well wishes for the newly married couple! i wish you a lifetime of love and laughter and friendship.
vendors:
ceremony- university of maryland memorial chapel
reception- university of maryland golf course club house
cake artist- chef alison friedman
hair and makeup for the bride- jennifer orendi at shop salon
wedding dress- by maggie sottero style “lorie” from fantasia bridal
photography- by yours truly…. amber reinink, photographer
