Recently, my mom, who hasn’t had small children living in her house for many years, took care of her grand-niece, who is 5, for a week.  After her grand-niece had left, my mom told me that it was so much fun and it reminded her how kids find everything to be fun and fascinating.  It’s so true and it’s part of why I love family sessions!  I met Dani & little Jordan and their parents at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens last week for a fun spring portrait session.  Dani is so full of enthusiasm and energy – I think the last photo of these favorites really captures her carefree spirit.  And she’s so wonderful with her new baby sister, Jordan.  Jordan watches Dani everywhere she goes and just smiles, ear to ear.  She’s absolutely fascinated by the antics of her big sister.  It was a great way to spend the morning, tiptoeing through tulips and chasing Dani about, forgetting everything outside that wonderful world that surrounds children!

By the time the day arrived, I was so excited for Ellen + Steve’s wedding!  After shooting Ellen’s brother’s wedding and Ellen’s friend Meredith’s wedding, I knew I’d get to see so many old friends again!  Steve has been Ellen’s boyfriend at all these weddings and I was so excited when she called me a few months ago and told me they were engaged.  They are so much in love with each other and everyone knows it just looking at them.  They were so filled with joy on their wedding day that I had a terrible time choosing the images to post on the blog – so many emotional moments to choose from!  I loved being there for their wedding and seeing all their family and friends again – thank you guys for including Dana and me!

This was my first time shooting at Raspberry Plain in Leesburg, Virginia and it’s really a beautiful and very relaxed venue.  It was a cloudy day with that feeling of spring freshness in the air – you could just about feel the leaves ready to burst from their buds!

The bouquets were made by the mother of the matron of honor and were just beautiful!

I love this shot of Ellen trying not to cry.  She’d just had her makeup finished and after a glance in the mirror, she began to tear up and was trying so hard to keep her eyes dry!

Thank you to Dana, my fantastic second photographer, for all these awesome and fun shots of the guys!  Look at those ring bearers – so cute!

Ellen’s dad got a bit teary-eyed when he saw his gorgeous daughter just before the ceremony.

We even found a lone cherry blossom tree in bloom!

All the stationary, including the invitations, programs and menus, were designed by Ellen’s friend Laura, owner of LATinNYC.  Laura is an amazing artist and illustrator and offers watercolor and ink-illustrated stationary – she is so talented!  And I love the way her illustrations wove together all the different parts of Ellen & Steve’s wedding.

And the centerpieces, and flowers for the cake, which were totally stunning, were done by Holly Chapple

I loved this idea – Ellen & Steve offered custom beers for their guests, which were named after certain periods of their life together.  The subtexts of each beer say “A story that began in Europe…and continues in New York…between a central bank advisor…and a blue eyed beauty!”  And even more fantastic – Steve brewed all the beers himself  - talk about dedication!

And the send off with rose petals was fantastic!