Kate & Matt
Categories: Weddings.
A few weeks ago I shot Kate and Matt’s beautiful Beaufort wedding alongside the wonderful Kathleen Amelia – Photographer. I hung out with Matt and his groomsmen at the City Loft Hotel as they got ready, and then it was time for the ceremony which took place at the historic Old Sheldon Church Ruins just outside of Beaufort. The reception was hosted by Lowcountry Produce in downtown Beaufort, which is a family business and definitely somewhere you should stop for lunch if you’re ever in Beaufort! The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was fun, and the dancing was insane! The band really had everyone going and seeing everyone gettin’ down and having such a good time was SO much fun :)
The Good Stuff
Categories: The Good Stuff.
Lately I have been OBSESSED with this salad, so I figured, what better way to share than with a Good Stuff blog post? This is probably a really common salad and I just don’t know about it, but on a whim I kind of threw it together one night and felt like a genius. You see, I am no expert cook. And I have no ability to cook if I’m not looking at a recipe and following it exactly. Recipe’s are my security blanket, so for me to just throw this together…I’m kind of proud! Anyways, since last year my cooking has improved leaps and bounds, but now that Dustin is away for work and it’s just me, I have NO motivation to cook for myself. Cooking for one is totally different than cooking for two. For the first week he left, I literally ate ramen. Every night. The entire week.
So lately I’ve been trying to get more creative and figure out something easy and healthy to have for dinner each night since it’s just me. This salad is the bomb.com. It’s so yummy and colorful and the dressing has just enough sweetness but a little bit of a fun kick too.
Salad Ingredients:
- Spinach (I buy the little plastic container full of spinach at the grocery store because I also use it for smoothies. And breakfast wraps. And basically anything else I can put it in…love spinach)
- Fresh strawberries, quartered
- Slivered almonds (you can find them in a bag in the baking section of the grocery store)
- Grapes
- Sliced cucumbers, halved
- Grilled chicken breast
Dressing:
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Now, I honestly have no idea how healthy this salad is. But it looks healthy enough to me. I also just picked random stuff for the dressing, so it may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I loooove it. Obviously, feel free to adjust to taste. And then pair it with a glass of raspberry tea…DELISH!
Jessi & Kyle
Categories: Engagements.
Jessi and Kyle’s engagement session was nothing short of a super good time. I knew it would be, so I had been looking forward to working with them for a while now. We started out at their beautiful home with their pups Blue and Bella. By the way, I LOVE that both of my couples from this weekend wanted to include their four-legged kids :)
Then we headed off to Jefferson Patterson Park for the rest of their engagement pictures and they could not have picked a better location. The beaches, fields of clover, beautiful architecture, AND it’s the place Kyle proposed last summer. I love all of the “rawr” Jessi brings – she is GORGEOUS, and Kyle can really make her laugh, which is so clear throughout their images. He had me keeled over laughing hysterically a few times throughout the session too…they are just so much fun together and I can’t wait for their big day back in Maryland this September!
Kelly & Jesse
Categories: Engagements.
I am in LOVE with Kelly and Jesse’s engagement session images from Saturday. They were one of the most natural couples I have EVER worked with and it definitely shows in their pictures. We met Saturday evening at Jesse’s parent’s farm in Southern Maryland, and we had the most amazing weather for an evening engagement session. The farm offered every possible dream backdrop of mine. Then add the fact that they included their hunting dog Ninja (a lab!), and we basically had an equation guaranteeing success. I am really excited for Kelly and Jesse’s wedding this July back in Maryland, and it’s obvious why. They are incredibly adorable together and totally go-with-the-flow. My kind of people :) Enjoy some of my favorites!
Nothin’ like a little lady bug for good luck :)
Why I Love Engagement Sessions
Categories: Tips for Clients.
I’m getting ready for a busy weekend of engagement sessions in Maryland, so I thought it would be the perfect time to explain why I love engagement sessions so much. I include an engagement session in each of my collections for these very reasons below, however I know that everyone is different so engagement sessions can always be swapped for bridals or a day after session. I definitely think that the engagement session directly affects wedding day pictures, though, so I’m a zillion thumbs up for them at all times :) Here’s why:
We get to meet and hang out before the big day!
I believe in developing friendships with my clients because I definitely think that trust and quality portraits go hand in hand. I don’t want to show up on the day of the wedding and just be “the photographer.” I love being “Brittani, the photographer” when my clients introduce me to their wedding party and family. Because we had a whole evening to hang out and get to know one another, we’re friends. And that directly affects how comfortable, relaxed, and real your wedding day pictures are. We can laugh and joke and have a good time and understand one another. That is awesome and makes working together SO much more fun!
You learn to trust me.
Trusting your photographer will be an entire post in and of itself, but trust on the wedding day is HUGE. As clients, your job isn’t to understand lighting and posing and this and that. That’s my job. So the engagement session is basically a practice run for the wedding day that helps you trust in me and my judgement on the big day. There may be things you’re totally thrown off about during your engagement session. “What?! Direct light isn’t best?!” Nope, sure isn’t! And then when you see your engagement session images with the light behind you or in open shade, you’ll totally get why. That way we aren’t wasting precious time on your wedding day discussing these things. I’ll put you in the best lighting situations and pose you in relaxed and comfortable ways and let you interact naturally from there and you’ll never second guess me, because you’ve seen what kind of images those situations produce.
You’ll feel like you’ve had “practice” for your wedding day!
Like I mentioned above, your engagement session is like a practice run for the wedding day. You know exactly the kinds of poses I go for and the way I want you to feel toward and look at one another. You already know that I’m going to tell you to focus on one another and ignore me. I already know if there are poses you don’t prefer or don’t feel are flattering. You are confident. You are relaxed. You feel yourself. You are in the moment. You feel the gravity of the day. Who doesn’t want to feel that way on one of the most special days in their life? And we don’t have to waste time figuring all these things out on a day where the timeline is important and every second is precious.
You get awesome casual portraits that make you feel amazing.
This is kind of a “duh” but these pictures are awesome for displaying in your home in a much more casual manner than your actual wedding day pictures. These images have an “every day” lifestyle feel to them and are also perfect for things like Christmas cards, Save the Date’s, Thank You cards, a guest book at the reception, or for displaying in a fun and personalized way at the reception. Who doesn’t want more pictures feeling amazing and in love, anyways?
You look forward to working with me on your wedding day because we had fun!
I’ve had clients tell me their engagement session made them feel like the wedding is really happening. Grooms who previously dreaded pictures are now excited for me to show up on their wedding day. They know I’m laid-back and I go with the flow. I joke, we laugh, and I encourage you to love on one another at all times. Now you both know I’m not telling you to smile all day long or “LOOK HERE!” That’s definitely not how I roll and now that we’ve had a chance to work together, you both get that. Especially your groom, who was made you were dragging him to get “pictures” done. ;)
You leave more in love than when you came…
Ultimately, this is always my goal. This is what I want at the end of the session. I want you to leave more in love than when you got there. You just had an hour and a half to focus on nothing but the person you’re getting ready to commit your life to. You cuddled, kissed, and felt AMAZINGLY good looking and like models. So you leave on a bit of a “love high” (cheesy? Maybe). Go enjoy the rest of your evening and soak in that feeling! Make a date night out of it! 
I lead a simple life on a farm in a small southern town. Because I grew up in Maryland, sweet tea, boiled peanuts, and y’all are all relatively new to me... but this is where my heart feels most whole. I’m passionate about remembering the easily forgotten and enjoying the simple, little things. I’m happiest when my clients are passionate about the same things and when I can give them tangible keepsakes of the relationships they hold closest to their heart.
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I love weddings that radiate of a genuine love. An intimate first look, and photographing an event designed around two people joining together as one, are what I love most about being a part of the story. But better than all of these things combined is spending the day with a couple so excited to be celebrating their new start as Mr. and Mrs.
I am currently booking weddings for the 2013 season and beyond, so please get in touch below to start this beautiful journey.
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