Abby // Maternity

My friend Abby has always been a babe, so it's no surprise to me that she's also a supermodel pregnant lady. You might remember her from her & her husbands'  epic pink powder gender reveal party. (If you haven't seen it yet, take a minute to go check it out here, the look on their faces is priceless.)

A few weeks ago, Abby came into town for a visit & of course that meant a little maternity session was going to happen. We spent the day frolicking around different parts of town, taking photos & laughing too much. As the sun was setting, we found ourselves in a random parking lot, in front of a random white building. Maybe we were tired of the traditional maternity posing we had been doing all day, maybe we were a bit delirious from not eating for hours, or maybe it's just that we tend to bring out the silly side of one another; but, somehow we ended up dancing, twirling, & leaping around this lot. We made ourselves dizzy shaking our hair in the wind & I even had pregnant Abby jumping into the air wearing 4 inch heels. 

The images aren't technically perfect. Some are blurred by our dance moves or from the fact that I was laughing too much to keep a steady hand. Some are grainy because we wouldn't stop shooting till the last bit of light sunk into the night sky. But they are my favorite images because they are my favorite memories.

I hope Baby girl Hollar looks at these one day & is able to see her mom in a whole new way. I hope she can she that her mom isn't just a maker of meals, a cleaner of clothes, & a driver to places. I hope she can see that her mom is a woman who dances & twirls in the wind in some random parking lot, laughing, & celebrating life with her best friend. And I hope it inspires her to do the same. 

Love you sweet baby H, can't wait to meet you soon! :)

ATHLEISURE // Editorial

The only thing better than having a job you love is getting to do that job with people you love. I'm so fortunate to be surrounded by some seriously talented friends & get to collaborate on fun projects like this "Athleisure" inspired shoot. Hope you enjoy! 

Hair & Make up : Shelby George // www.shelbygeorge.com

Styling : Josh Owen of Willard Randall // www.willardrandall.com

Model : Kelsey Surovik

Elana // Portrait

Hello everyone! 

I hope you all had a lovely holiday season & your new year is off to a hopeful start!

I was so lucky to spend the holidays in Park City, Utah with my family. For 2 whole weeks, we cozied up in a cabin by the slopes & spent our days skiing, relaxing, & enjoying all the amazing food Main Street has to offer.  I'll post some photos from the trip soon, but today, it's all about Elana. 

I met Elana through Instagram where we stayed "internet friends" for months. When I found out she lived in the Park City/Salt Lake area, we decided we HAD to meet!  Although a snow storm sabotaged our initial plans, we were able to reschedule & one lovely morning Elana joined me for coffee. It was so fun meeting her because we kinda already "knew" each other, but of course, she's even more amazing in person. I really love meeting & connecting with new people & I am so happy I was able to spend some time with Elana. 

After coffee, we had a few minutes before Elana had to pick her mom up from the airport so we squeezed in a mini portrait session. We found a tiny pocket of trees next to the coffee shop. A few slips down a icy hill & 1 dropped camera later ( don't worry, my camera is fine, but my heart might have stopped) we were laughing & snapping & wishing for more time. 

Elana is stunning & certainly knows how to work the camera. I can't wait to shoot & hang with her again, hopefully soon!! 

Enjoy!

Spade & Annual // Wedding

Here it is, part two of the Spade & Annual floral shoot! If you missed part one, find it here!

A big thanks to Kate, our lovely model, who happily cleared her calendar on such short notice to spend the afternoon playing dress-up with us. As you can see, she is a total babe & really made the Spade & Annual flower crowns come to life!

If you're a bride looking for a spectacular custom crown and/or bouquet, make sure to contact Spade & Annual. These ladies are a pleasure to work with & they take so much joy in creating beautiful things. You certainly won't be disappointed!

Get in touch with them here.

Kate // Maternity

Remember Kate from the awesome confetti gender reveal party?!  Well this summer she was in Orlando for a few short days and, of course, we made sure to get in a quick maternity session. If you're wondering how much I love this girl & her sweet babe, you should know that the only time our schedules allowed for this shoot was early morning. I'm talking sunrise, early. There's not much in life that motivates me to wake before the sun, but for these two ladies, always. Plus, we were rewarded with some pretty morning light that just might make me reconsider my aversion to early rising. :)

This blog post is coming a little out of order, as Baby AK was born almost two weeks early, and made her appearance last Wednesday. I was fortunate enough to witness and photograph her birth. It was an incredible experience and I'm so excited to share the birth story with ya'll .

Be on the lookout for the cutest baby to ever exist coming to the blog soon. But, until then, in honor of Baby AK's one week birthday, enjoy her stunning momma! 

Casey // Portrait

Today, I'm so excited to share one of my favorite portrait sessions to date! A few months ago, my dear friend Casey was in town & we went on a photo adventure around her mom's property. Her mom lives on this amazing corner of land snuggled in the trees along the banks of the Wekiva River. In just a couple of acres there is enough scenery for countless photo shoots. The river, a greenhouse, a wooden bridge, an old tool shed, bamboo patches, wide open spaces, and even a lemon tree grove for goodness sake- it's a photographers dream world. 

Casey is probably one of my most favorite people to photograph in the entire world. For starters, she is a total babe, as you will easily see in the photos below. She is like a miniature hipster Angelina Jolie, but way cooler and nicer and funnier. (Disclaimer: I really have no idea if Angelina Jolie is nice, cool, or funny, she probably is, but since Casey is my friend, she automatically wins.) Another reason I love shooting with Casey is because she was my first ever "photographer friend". We met in high school & spent our summer days planning absurd photo shoots of us wearing inflatable inner tubes jumping through sprinklers or pretending to be whales at the beach. (Obviously, we were super cool.) As the years have gone by, I'd like to think our photo shoot themes and skills have matured along with them. Casey is now a ultra talented wedding and lifestyle photographer (Urban South Photo) based in Durham, North Carolina. She is also one of the kindest people I know & has the most contagious joyful spirit. If you know Casey, you automatically love her & even if you don't know her, you probably still love her. She has taught me so much about photography & just about life in general. I am so blessed by her friendship and cherish the sweet moments we spend together.  

So here she is. Enjoy the images of this beauty & check out her amazing work on her blog.

Viva DREAMTOWN!

YAYYYYYY!

Welcome to the DREAMTOWN blog!!!

I’m equal parts terrified & ecstatic as I write this, my very first post on my very own brand new business website. This site & brand is something I’ve been working on for a really long time. But even longer, before the actual work began, the vision & hopes for this brand stirred relentlessly in my head. Basically, this day has been a reallllly long time coming. 

I can’t really count the amount of times I’ve doubted that I would, or even should, pursue this dream. But thankfully, I’ve been extremely blessed to be surrounded by a community of friends who’ve encouraged me & lovingly pushed me towards this dream in the moments when I was so ready to give up. Their belief in me truly kept me going & for that, I am so grateful. 

I’m terrified because it’s tremendously nerve-wracking to put yourself “out there” & present to the “world” something that is an extension of your heart, your creativity, your ability, your personality, & the list goes on. But in truth, I’m even happier because it IS scary & I’m doing it anyway.

So for me, today is the biggest step & the biggest win I could hope to come from this journey. The simple fact that I’m even sitting here, about to click ‘Publish’ on this post, is enough excitement & satisfaction for me.

You might be thinking, "so what exactly does DREAMTOWN mean"? Wellllllllll....

DREAMTOWN means nothing & everything all at the same time. A made up word with no formal definition, yet, to me, represents everything I would ever want something I create to be- adventurous, joyful, love driven, fun, hope filled, genuine connection generating, freedom seeking, & forever radiating life & light.

So here it is, here is DREAMTOWN.