Megan and Tom’s fall wedding brought us to the site of a most significant fall event: Berkeley Plantation, which claims to be the location of the first official Thanksgiving in 1619.  Former home to a whole lot of Harrisons (signers of the Declaration of Independence and Presidents), the lawn beyond the main house overlooks the water and makes the perfect site for a wedding ceremony and reception.  

The weather was amazing and everything was beautiful, stylish, personal and fun.  Megan’s Reem Acra gown was gorgeous, as was the vintage inspired jewelry she had friend Laura Gordon create for her bridesmaids and for herself.

The tent that Megan planned along with Shawn from Beehive Events was stunningly original in design.  Burlap table clothes, arrangements of fresh basil, fall cabbage and greens, mason jars filled to the brim with pickled veggies and chutneys, and family style seating with passed plates created the tone of a farm fresh picnic.  Candelabras, fine linen napkins, and ceramic leaf plates lent an air elegance. The music made the party with the sounds of the Soul Providers and a guest appearance from a local Fredericksburg band (folks, give me more info/links in the comment section so I can credit these great musicians).  And for the record, Megan and Tom’s cake, with what we are guessed were alternating layers of zucchini cake and spiced chocolate cake, was the best we’ve tasted all year, hands down.  Check it all out: 

I know, I just wrote paragraphs about how perfect the weather and venue and details were but honestly folks, its Megan and Tom that made this wedding such a pleasure to document.  It could have dumped rain and guests could have been eating Chik-fil-A on paper plates for all we cared, we still would have loved shooting this wedding.  I don’t think I talk nearly enough on this blog about how lucky we are to shoot for the folks we do.  Megan and Tom, we’re so glad you found us and that we connected on so many creative levels, its always an honor to shoot for artists.  You guys are the bees knees, thanks for your hospitality.  

Here’s a slideshow with our favorites from the day and if you are a guest and would like to be notified by email when all the pics are ready, click here.  Congrats, you guys.

(Had to slip this in there.  Guests were asked to write well wishes for the couple on these cards.  I’m not sure if Sam dared a guest to do this or it was of their own free will but he got a picture anyway:)

Posted by Mel @ 6:00 pm, in Weddings | 4 Comments | Permalink

The folks at Queensberry see a lot of albums.  

(If you look up the word “understatement” in the dictionary, you’ll see the sentence above.)

But seriously, when the top album maker in the world contacted us to write about one of our books, we were on cloud 9.  Tickled pink.  Its no small honor to be featured on Queensberry’s blog and website, in the company of amazing photographers from around the globe.  In short and and in the words of our West Coast brethren, we’re stoked.

Check out the post here and congrats to Melanie and Neal whose beautiful duo album was chosen!

Posted by Mel @ 3:31 pm, in Albums, News | No comments | Permalink

I admit that I am not completely on board with the portrait industry’s nomenclature du jour for pregnancy portraits: the belly session.  I am a big fan of bellies (even beer bellies), I love the playfulness of the word “belly” and that baby bump belly is certainly the focal point of such a session.  My issue is that there’s so much more going on in a belly session than a belly or even a baby.  I don’t have the experience to confirm this but it seems to me that pregnancy, particularly a first pregnancy, is a time charged with excitement, anticipation, waves of fear in moments, and the impending inevitability of change.  Many are likely to disagree but I believe that the birth of a child is a more significant life change than getting married, at least in this day and age.  Being married is a lot like living together (which many couples including ourselves chose to do prior) except now you’re wearing rings and eating on brand new dishes.  Having a baby is like…. nothing that came before it.  Its a great time to have portraits made.

Amy and Jeff are expecting their first child, a little boy, at the end of this month.  I loved the warmth and comfort of their living room with its overstuffed, comfy sofa and sooting palette of earth tones.  We spent a lot of time photographing there:  

Their dogs, Sammy and Ella, were keen on staying close by and being part of the family portraiture.  Sammy follows Amy around and gets a little protective of the belly.   

Amy likes to play piano for the baby so we thought portraits near the piano were key (knuck, knuck):

Amy and Jeff are preparing an adorable nursery for Brayden.  While its not yet finished, it will be fun to look back at photos in its progressive state when its complete and in use!

I couldn’t be more grateful that Amy and Jeff allowed me into their home to photograph this time.  We hadn’t met before so I appreciate that you let this goofball take such intimate portraits.  I can’t wait for Brayden’s arrival and am super excited to document him throughout his first year of life so stay tuned!

Here’s a slideshow of the session and if you would like to view the online gallery, click here.   Amy and Jeff, I wish you a safe and speedy delivery and thanks again for everything, its going to be an amazing year.

Posted by Mel @ 2:13 pm, in Bellies, Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink

Baby Caroline has grown so much since our last session, she’s got some new choppers and can sit up all by herself.  In fact, she’s pretty close to crawling… she can lift herself up and scoot forward so she’s almost there.  Best of all, you can already tell what a stunning beauty she is will be as she grows up, just look at those deep and mesmerizing eyes!

Caroline is already a cat lover, nothing makes her smile quite like Lucy the cat.  Comically, nothing makes Lucy the cat nervous like Caroline the baby.  This pair had me cracking up…

I don’t know about you but I definitely share Caroline’s enthusiasm for lunch:

I had such a great time hanging out with Caroline, Catherine and Aunt Carolyn, it made me even more excited to become an aunt myself next January.  My niece-to-be is due right around Caroline’s first birthday so we’ve all got lots to look forward to.  Must…knit…faster…

Here’s a slideshow of my favorites from the session and if you would like to see all the photos from Caroline’s 8 months session, click here.  I can’t wait for the next one!

Posted by Mel @ 3:43 pm, in Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink