GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Gratitudes

I had the honor of photograph my friends Katie + Ralph on Friday at the Goodstone Inn + Restaurant in Middleburg. These two have been together for 7 years and originally planned to have an October wedding, but when things didn’t go as planned in August they reset their wedding planning button and started from the beginning opting for an elopement style celebration. Katie was the perfect Norman Bride both hip and bold and humble. I have always loved her boho effortless style and her wedding day was no different. Katie got ready with the help of her two best friends, she slipped on a enchanting lace dress with delicate sleeves, hooked her ears with quartz crystal, and placed a floral crown with deep rich colors on top of her head. She was ravishing. Ralph looked equally as sharp in his blue suit with a deep burgundy tie that matched Katie’s bouquet. Their ceremony was short and sweet as they wanted to maximize their time with their friends and family. A poolside cocktail reception followed with heartfelt toasts, some with hilarious stories of the two of them and others that offered advice, well wishing and a personalized poem. The globe lights over the pool looked like glitter in the water and the smell of the fire pit was welcoming just as the sun sank behind the mountains.

Tuesday of last week was full of joy. I visited my best friend Jenny in the hospital so I could officially meet the newest addition to their family Everly Jane. She was identical to her older brother Cooper and again had the best features from both parents. I left the hospital to hop over to our friends house for a dinner party. I swear I had every intention of making homemade guacamole and even asked for recipes from my sisters, but it was way to easy to walk into the grocery store and scoop up the pre-made kind. It also took the pressure off of me if it tasted bad, which was a legitimate concern. There were 6 of us and three dogs that enjoyed each other’s company that night on the back porch of a cabin. This was the first time it really felt like fall was here, maybe it was because we had a pumpkin based pasta sauce and pumpkin spice donuts for dessert.

Saturday I had the opportunity to hybrid shoot for a super, fabulous film photographer from Philly. He had a wedding at Keswick Vineyards and hired me to tag along. Keswick was gorgeous, it had all of the things that I love about Virginia in one place: a striking manor house, wine vines and mountain views. This was the first time I was able to shoot film for a wedding, I was so nervous. I shoot film for fun and have dabbled on wedding days but never to the extend that I did on Saturday. I loved the experience and how it made me slow down and really take notice of what I was shooting as well as my settings. Here’s hoping those rolls of film have some keepers on them and also to maybe a new adventure shooting a roll or two of film at weddings.

Sunday I met my family at Uncle Julio’s to surprise my Grandma Jean for her 80th birthday. My entire extended family was there including aunts, uncles and grand kids. We had a table for 25 and we housed their salsa and chips. No joke I bet we went through a gallon of it. My family is large and we have the tendency of celebrating everything, but that’s what my Grandma said she appreciates and loves the most, when we are all together.

Hello fall, and hello rich nail colors! I’ve been waiting for fall to officially hit for this one. I’m using Malaga Wine. “Rich and intoxicating wine red,” as OPI playfully describes it is ideal for this weather. It’s got a touch of magenta not making it a true red, I would say a light burgundy. It’ll go nicely with my fall ponchos and boots. What are your favorite fall colors?

Breakthroughs

I am a planner girl, or… well I used to be. All through college I would sit down with colored pens and markers and block out my semesters, pencil in time for the gym, flag weekends away and coffee dates with friends. I had that habit for a few years after college and especially through grad school to keep me on task and moving. I sort of lost that routine sometime this year, I had purchased a planner in January and set it up but my enthusiasm for using it slowly faded and it was tucked away in my computer bag. This past weekend I felt the need to have that structure and schedule so I purchased a new planner and will be blocking everything out this week. The idea of sitting down with pens, washi tape and a ruler bring me more joy than it should. I’m looking forward to having a little structure again versus trying to remember dates with friends, when my rent is due and doctors appointments.

As always, thanks for reading. xoxo.