Blog
Love stories and more
Look for my favorite wedding planning tips and tricks, behind the scenes tidbits about my life, and, of course, features of many of the beautiful couples who spend time in front of my camera.
I promise it’s worth your while.
How to Plan the Perfect Sunset Photos
Have you ever noticed how golden, glowy sunset lighting is often used to set the scene in movies when those two characters that you just KNOW are supposed to be together finally realize it for themselves? They might be sitting in front of a window in a Paris cafe when it suddenly hits them, or perhaps they’ve realized they can’t bear to be apart any longer and are running to each other on the beach, but lighting in the film is an intentional choice to enhance the warm glow in your heart that they’ve finally realized they’re meant to be.
Does it Matter if Your Wedding Photographer Hasn’t Worked at Your Venue Before?
I’m going to share a controversial opinion:
It doesn’t matter if a wedding photographer has worked at your venue before or not.
It’s a question I see on many checklists of things you should ask when you’re hiring your wedding photographer, but it’s one that I don’t think is actually all that important. While there are certainly benefits to your wedding vendors having experience at the venue you’ve selected, there are also benefits to a photographer coming in with fresh eyes for the first time.
How to Look Good in Wedding Photos
By investing in quality wedding photography, you’re ensuring that the moments and memories from one of your most important days are documented and will stand the test of time. But it’s fair to say that if you want to display your favorite images on your walls and get out your wedding album when your grandkids ask you to tell them about the day you got married, you want to feel like you looked your absolute best in those pictures!
How can you make sure that happens? Well, I’m going to let you in on the secret.
Why Choosing the Right Venue Matters So Much
There’s a saying that we wedding photographers are QUITE familiar with, but I don’t know that it’s something that most couples hear while they’re wedding planning.
Your venue becomes your photos.
To some it may be obvious. But it’s honestly so easy to overlook (and I almost missed it while planning my own wedding!) that I want to make sure you put some thought into it, friend.
Santa Monica Soft Launch Session
Soft launching a relationship on social media isn’t a new concept. Folks have been sharing teasers about their new partners - without giving their followers too much detail - ever since social media was invented. But if you fast forward to the last few years, we now have a name for those little sneak peeks into relationships: the soft launch.
Now, y’all know I love being included in secrets and surprises, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that I was over the moon to take the photos for James and Andrea’s cutie lil’ soft launch session - the fact that it was in Santa Monica was just the ultimate cherry on top!
How to Use Lanterns in Your Photos
There are two things to keep in mind if you want to use lanterns during your engagement session or on your wedding day:
Selecting Lanterns
Using Lanterns
Let’s dig in a little deeper…
What Your Wedding Photographer Needs to Know
As a wedding photographer, it’s my job to capture the moments - big and small - that make up your wedding day. No two weddings are the same and, while I do love the variety, there are a few things you can tell me ahead of time that will help me be prepared to make sure your wedding is documented exactly how you hope it will be.
Wisconsin Winter Engagement
Did someone say Christmas in July?
Since I’ve gotten my first accidental sunburn of the year out of the way and we’re about to celebrate our nation’s independence, it seems like a perfect time to look back on Jenna and Pat’s magical snowy engagement session!
Uneven Wedding Parties
Here’s a wedding trend that I hope sticks around for a good long time: couples doing whatever the heck they want!
One example of this is? Uneven wedding parties. When you want the most important people to stand next to you on your wedding day, it may not always include the same number on both sides - and that’s okay!
Rain on Your Wedding Day
I had wedding planning in the bag…or so I thought. Things were moving along smoothly at first, but jump to five days before our wedding and I had completely lost it. There were massive thunderstorms forecasted for the ENTIRE day of our wedding and I was standing in the shower just sobbing because there was nothing I could do about it. Other than have a good cry, that is.
(Don’t worry, it gets better!)